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1 – 10 of 197Maria Beatriz Gonzalez-Sanchez, Cristina Gutiérrez-López and Mercedes Barrachina Palanca
There is an increasingly growing interest in treading beyond the traditional university goals of teaching and research to focus on their contribution to society through knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
There is an increasingly growing interest in treading beyond the traditional university goals of teaching and research to focus on their contribution to society through knowledge transfer (KT) performance activities. This paper aims to determine how performance management systems (PMSs) encourage lecturers to engage in the transfer of knowledge from higher education institutions (HEIs) to society.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a sample of 3,812 Spanish university lecturers surveyed about different PMS tools – strategic plans, budgeting, meetings and reward systems – and different KT activities – research and development contracts, patents, extended patents, licenses, services and spin-offs – for the 2011–2016 period. A logit model was applied for the statistical analyzes.
Findings
As expected, enabling the use of these tools generally increases the probability of producing KT while only in some cases does coercive use reduce it. Moreover, combining enabling and coercive uses does not increase the likelihood of KT performance.
Practical implications
University policymakers and managers should reduce the gap between KT and research and teaching by, for example, examining the effects of their performance management practices on scholars’ perceptions and their subsequent behavior.
Originality/value
Despite previous literature states that coercive use decreases performance, the authors reveal that this is not the case for KT performance in HEIs. According to the findings, a specific record of KT, i.e. a coercive strategic plan tool, has a consistently positive effect on all four KT activities as follows: R&D contracts, patents, extended patents and licenses.
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Cristina López-Cózar-Navarro, Tiziana Priede-Bergamini and Sonia Benito-Hernández
The purpose of this paper is to suggest two main objectives: to analyze if the size of the company is determined by the use of external legal and human resources (HR) advice; and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to suggest two main objectives: to analyze if the size of the company is determined by the use of external legal and human resources (HR) advice; and to analyze if the size of the family business is determined by the use of these two same types of external advice.
Design/methodology/approach
The assessment is developed (2,013 firms, the Spanish industrial sector) by using descriptive statistics to compare the features of the different types of firms in the sample: family and non-family ones. This is completed with a test of equality of means and using econometric models.
Findings
Regarding legal advice, results show that as far as legal matters are concerned, when family businesses make greater use of this type of advice, they are smaller. This is a remarkable and interesting result because it differs from non-family firms, in which the use of this type of advice is positively related with size. Regarding the use of HR advice, while it remains significant in general cases with a positive result, this is not the same for family firms.
Originality/value
The use of advising in family firms is seldom dealt with in the literature, despite its helpfulness for family firm managers. There is gap in this field and a great deal of interesting research remains to be developed, because the authors consider that factors determining the use of advice in family and non-family firms are different.
Propósito
El presente documento propone dos objetivos principales: (1) analizar si el tamaño de la empresa está relacionado con el uso de asesoramiento externo tanto jurídico como de recursos humanos. (2) examinar si para el caso de la empresa familiar su tamaño está relacionado por el uso de estos dos mismos tipos de asesoramiento externo.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
El análisis se desarrolló (2.013 empresas, el sector industrial español) utilizando técnicas de la estadística descriptiva para comparar las características de los diferentes tipos de empresas de la muestra: familiares y no familiares queridos. Esto se completa con una prueba de la igualdad de medios y el uso de modelos econométricos.
Hallazgos
En cuanto a asesoramiento jurídico, los resultados muestran que, en lo que se refiere a asuntos legales, las empresas familiares hacen un mayor uso de este tipo de consejos a medida que son más pequeñas. Este es un resultado notable e interesante, ya que se diferencia de las no familiares, en las que el uso de este tipo de asesoramiento se relaciona positivamente con el tamaño. Respecto al uso de asesoramiento de recursos humanos, mientras que sigue siendo significativa en los casos generales con un resultado positivo, este no es el mismo para las empresas familiares.
Originalidad/valor
El uso de asesoramiento en las empresas familiares rara vez se aborda en la literatura, a pesar de su utilidad para los directivos de este tipo de empresas. Hay un vacío en este campo y una gran cantidad de investigación interesante que queda por desarrollar, teniendo en cuenta sobre todo, que los factores que determinan el uso de asesoramiento en las empresas familiares y no familiares no son los mismos.
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Rocio Ruiz-Benitez, Cristina López and Juan C. Real
In the present work, lean and resilient practices applied to supply chains are studied in order to evaluate their impact on the three dimensions of sustainability. Additionally…
Abstract
Purpose
In the present work, lean and resilient practices applied to supply chains are studied in order to evaluate their impact on the three dimensions of sustainability. Additionally, the mutual impact of lean and resilient supply chain practices is investigated. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The aerospace sector and its supply chain are chosen, since lean and resilient practices have been proven relevant in the sector. A methodology based on Interpretive Structural Modeling approach is applied in order to identify the existing relationships between lean and resilient supply chain practices and their impact on the three different dimensions of sustainability.
Findings
The results reveal synergetic effects between lean and resilient practices. The former practices act as drivers of the latter practices. Hence, lean practices lead to direct and indirect effects in achieving supply chain sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
The relationship between lean and resilient practices has been studied for the aerospace sector. Different sectors may lead to different results as the practices considered important in each sector may differ as well as the way in which each practice is implemented.
Originality/value
This study highlights the relationship existing between lean and resilient supply chain practices and their impact on sustainability. Additionally, several managerial implications are drawn out to help managers make better decisions.
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Cristina López-Duarte, Marta M. Vidal-Suárez and Belén González-Díaz
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of cultural positions on the choice of entry mode in foreign direct investment (FDI) – joint ventures vs wholly owned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of cultural positions on the choice of entry mode in foreign direct investment (FDI) – joint ventures vs wholly owned subsidiaries. The paper focusses on the impact of cultural positions along four cultural dimensions, as well as on the interactions between these positions and FDI’s contextual variables (i.e. linguistic differences).
Design/methodology/approach
A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is performed on a data set of Spanish investments located in the European Union.
Findings
Existence of interaction effects among cultural positions along different dimensions, as well as between cultural positions and FDI’s contextual variables.
Research limitations/implications
Main limitations relate to the data set, as only FDIS carried out by big corporations and coming from a single country are considered.
Practical implications
Managers making decisions on the choice of entry mode must take into account the position relative to each individual cultural dimension, as well as its interaction with other cultural dimensions and FDI’s contextual variables, rather than just considering cultural distances (CDs) between countries.
Originality/value
First, focus on cultural positions (rather than CDs). It allows taking into account both the cultural characteristics of each party and their relative values along individual cultural dimensions. Second, development of a qualitative analysis that considers the contextual features of the investment.
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Esteban García‐Canal, Cristina López Duarte, Josep Rialp Criado and Ana Valdés Llaneza
This paper aims at identifying practices that help managers to cope with two opposing forces related to global alliance management: the desirable gradual development of the…
Abstract
This paper aims at identifying practices that help managers to cope with two opposing forces related to global alliance management: the desirable gradual development of the alliance – due to time compression diseconomies in trust formation – and the need to accelerate this development in order to react quickly to the challenges of a global market. On the basis of a single case study, we show that several practices can be used to guarantee that acceleration does not put in danger either trust formation or other sources of relational rents.
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Estela Núnez-Barriopedro, Azucena Penelas-Leguía, José María López-Sanz and María Cristina Loranca-Valle
The study of citizens' perceptions of the performance of public services and their relationship with the taxes allocated to them is of great interest in the context of public and…
Abstract
Purpose
The study of citizens' perceptions of the performance of public services and their relationship with the taxes allocated to them is of great interest in the context of public and fiscal management and the welfare state. This study has a twofold objective in defining a structural equation modeling (SEM) model: on the one hand, to measure the relationship between the perception of the performance of public services and the taxes allocated to them and on the other hand, to study the reflection of the perception of the performance of public services on the happiness and satisfaction of citizens.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this objective, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out based on data from the “Public opinion and fiscal policy, 2022” questionnaire of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) through a survey with a sample of 2,543 citizens representative of the Spanish population. The partial least squares (PLS) method was applied to test the following hypotheses.
Findings
The result of this research allows us to know which variables in relation to citizens' perception of the functioning of public services have a positive influence on use of taxes and on citizens' happiness and satisfaction.
Originality/value
One of the novelties of this study is to analyse the effect of consumer perception on the performance of public services from the perspective of the welfare state by improving citizens' happiness and satisfaction.
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Francisco José López-Arceiz, Cristina del Río and Ana Bellostas
This study aims to analyse the role of persistence in the assessments carried out by sustainability agencies in the interaction between sustainability committee characteristics…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the role of persistence in the assessments carried out by sustainability agencies in the interaction between sustainability committee characteristics, sustainability strategies and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors accessed a sample of European sustainable multinational and transnational companies (EMNs) for the period 2008–2017 from RobecoSAM universe. Using a set of simultaneous equation models, the authors test the effect of the sustainability committee on sustainability performance considering the sustainability strategy as a mediating element. Moreover, the authors analysed if the persistent assessment of sustainability agencies conditions the previous interaction.
Findings
Persistence of the sustainability assessment performed by an external agency is necessary to support the sustainability strategy and the sustainability committee, legitimating an organization in its institutional context.
Practical implications
This study provides practitioners with relevant insights into the identification of the sustainability strategy followed by an EMN and the effects associated with it can be useful for social and economic agents in decision-making processes.
Social implications
A persistent assessment could be a signal over time of the evolution of organizations, reinforcing the monitoring mechanisms. It is a stimulus to EMNs as they obtain both an indicator of their levels of performance and public recognition.
Originality/value
The lack of similarity in the levels of sustainable performance observed among companies can be explained by the persistence, which is an omitted variable in previous studies.
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Ilse Maria Beuren, Guilherme Eduardo de Souza and Daniele Cristina Bernd
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the budget system use on innovation performance concerning products and processes in Brazilian companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of the budget system use on innovation performance concerning products and processes in Brazilian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted in companies with economic activities addressed by the Brazilian Industrial Research of Technological Innovation carried out by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, which provided 111 valid answers. The structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that considering the budget use with control (diagnostic) characteristics as a mechanism able to elide the benefits of innovation does not find support because no negative effect may be detected in the moderation tests. On the other hand, the belief that budget use with (interactive) planning characteristics might potentiate the effects of innovation on performance has also not been confirmed, i.e. rather flexible budget use types, which could be aligned with the elasticity required by creative processes, do not seem to have the positive effect advocated in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The sample did not allow a detailed analysis of other contextual characteristics that could evidence heterogeneity. The size difference between companies, based on the number of employees rather than the volume of innovation investments, may have affected the results.
Originality/value
The results show there is no moderation in the relation between technological innovation and performance, both by using interactive budget and diagnostic budget.
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Cristina del Río, Karen González-Álvarez and Francisco José López-Arceiz
The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of greenwashing and sustainable development goal (SDG)-washing processes by comparing ex ante (SDG Compass) and ex post (SDG…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of greenwashing and sustainable development goal (SDG)-washing processes by comparing ex ante (SDG Compass) and ex post (SDG Compliance) indicators and investigating whether the limitations associated with these indicators encourage companies to engage in washing processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a sample of 1,154 companies included in the S&P Sustainability Yearbook (formerly the RobecoSAM Yearbook). The authors test for the presence of greenwashing by comparing ex ante and ex post indicators for each SDG, whereas to test for SDG-washing, the authors compare the two ex ante and ex post approaches considering the full set of SDGs.
Findings
The results show that there is no consistency between the two types of indicators to measure the level of SDG implementation in organisations. This lack of consistency may facilitate both greenwashing and SDG-washing processes, which is due to the design and limitations of these measurement tools.
Practical implications
Companies may choose those indicators that paint their commitment to the SDGs in the best light, but they may also select indicators based on the SDGs they want to report on. These two options would combine greenwashing and SDG-washing.
Social implications
The shift towards improved standards and regulations for measuring SDG achievement is the result of several social factors such as investor scrutiny, regulatory reform, consumer awareness and increased corporate accountability.
Originality/value
Few previous studies have analysed in detail the interaction between greenwashing and SDG-washing. They focus on the use of ex ante or ex post indicators separately, with samples composed of local companies, and without considering the whole set of SDGs.
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