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The purpose of this paper is to create a “physical activity break” (PAB) satisfaction scale, for this, the RATER dimensions of the service quality model SERVQUAL were used.

The study opted for a correlational study and used a psychometric approach. Totally, 69 administrative workers at a public university of Chile participated in a physical activity programme and completed a satisfaction questionnaire including sections adapted from the SERVQUAL model.

The study created a PAB satisfaction scale, which shows appropriate psychometric indicators. Furthermore, satisfaction scores were positively correlated with perceived psychological and physical benefits, attendance motivation and intention to participate again in future programmes.

Because measures perceived psychological and physical benefits, attendance motivation and intention to participate again in future programmes are measured by single items, futures studies should evaluate association of the satisfaction scale with more consistent measures, as well as include anthropometric measures (e.g. body mass index and weight).

This study created a PAB satisfaction scale, using appropriate psychometric indicators which enable the evaluation of the quality of these programmes from the participant’s perspective.

Despite the popularity of PAB programmes, to the authors knowledge, up to day there is no way of evaluating these programmes from the participant’s perspective.

CEOs’ (chief executive officer) term of office may explain discretionary accruals as a result of opportunistic behavior arising during certain periods of the term of office. Therefore, CEOs, in their early years of office, have incentives to report results that meet market expectations. In turn, CEOs in their senior year may be motivated to use discretionary accruals to gain private benefits. In this scenario, corporate governance mechanisms play an important role in monitoring relationships. Hence, the purpose of this study is to verify the influence of monitoring mechanisms on the relationship between CEOs’ term of office and discretionary accruals.

Descriptive statistics, multiple cross-sectional regression to estimate the accruals and regression of panel data to test the hypotheses were used. The sample comprised 195 companies listed on BM&FBovespa.

The results indicated that CEOs’ long term of office has a negative impact on the level of discretionary accruals, and thus, Brazilian CEOs with a longer term of office tend to establish a certain reputation in the stock market. On the other hand, it is concluded that CEOs’ intentions, in the first years of term, are positively related to the use of accruals and that the monitoring mechanisms can minimize these CEOs’ opportunistic practices.

The results broaden the literature on corporate governance, pointing that different systems of variable remuneration may influence CEOs’ willingness to manage results in their last year of term.

The purpose of this article is to summarize the basic literature and concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the relevant studies for Latin America. The authors aim to assess the role of Latin America in the world innovative activity utilizing the production of USPTO patents.

To achieve the first objective, the authors review and summarize the relevant literature for innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America. They also introduce each of the papers included in the current special issue of Academia. To achieve the second objective, the authors use the production of USPTO patents by Latin American residents, and examine those levels to the rest of the world.

The authors find Latin America to be a marginal contributor to the world innovative activity. Although the region represented 8.7 per cent of world GDP in 2011, it only generated 0.19 per cent of the world patents registered at the USPTO between 2008 and 2012, and only 0.17 per cent of all patents registered since 1976. However, countries such as Costa Rica and Uruguay have larger levels of patent production by 100,000 inhabitants with 7.05 and 4.72 for 1976-2012.

This introduction introduces work that continues the intense discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America. It is to the extent of the authors' knowledge, one of the first attempts to measure the level of innovation at the regional level, and compare the performance of different countries. This special edition has implications for individuals, firms and governments striving to introduce new products, services and processes in a region that has historically confronted important barriers to innovation.

En esta introducción presentamos algunos conceptos básicos sobre innovación y empresariado, y hacemos énfasis en la literatura que ha estudiado estos fenómenos en América Latina. Evaluamos, además, el papel de América Latina en la actividad innovadora mundial, utilizando la producción de patentes registradas en la Oficina de Patentes y Marcas de Estados Unidos (USPTO), y encontramos que América Latina desempeña un papel marginal con relación a otros centros mundiales de innovación. Finalmente, se presentan los artículos de este número de la revista Academia. Esta edición especial tiene implicaciones prácticas para individuos, empresas y gobiernos, que quieran introducir nuevos productos, servicios, y procesos desde una región que históricamente ha tenido que enfrentar barreras a la innovación.