Search results

Within the Mondragón Valley – an industrial heartland in the Basque Country, in the North of Spain – there has been a growing need for a practical model of the new product development (NPD) process which fulfils a variety of needs, notably the integration of strategy and technology considerations.

The paper is based on a review of the state of the art in the NPD field, focusing on the use and limitations of both established and newer models for guiding product development. This is combined with the experiences of managing real NPD projects for companies in the Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa over the past several years.

The paper presents the Ikerlan new product creation (NPC) model, designed primarily in response to area needs, which attempts to combine the most useful aspects of existing NPD models.

In the first instance, the model is created for use by companies in the Mondragón Valley – therefore it may not be possible to generalise findings, yet the paper may be instructive in showcasing the real industrial innovation needs of a European region. The model evolved from several notable works in the NPD community which may address these limitations in part.

The model may be used as a basic guide for aspects including NPD outsourcing, idea generation and, ultimately, reducing time to market. This is specifically tailored to companies in the Mondragón Valley. However, depending on the operating context certain aspects may be transferable to other European areas.

The paper details the industrial context, introducing the Mondragón cooperative – the largest industrial cooperative in the world with over 100 companies in seven industrial sectors – the academic context, discussing state of the art in NPD processes and models, and concludes with short industrial cases which show the potential use of the developed model. As such, insight is presented into a European area with a tradition of innovation, together with some of the challenges it faces in the years ahead. A new NPD model, combining the most useful aspects of existing models may also be of use to certain members of the academic and industrial communities.

The main aim of this study is to characterise and identify specific chemo-sensory profiles of ciders from the Canary Islands (Spain).

Commercial samples of Canary ciders were compared to ciders from the Basque Country and Asturias. In total, 18 samples were studied, six for each region. The analysis comprised their sensory profiling and chemical characterisation of their polyphenolic profile, volatile composition, conventional chemical parameters and CIELAB colour coordinates. In parallel, the sensory profile of the samples from the Canary Islands was first compared with their Basque and Asturian counterparts by labelled sorting task. Then, their specific aroma profile was characterised by flash profile. Further quantification of sensory-active compounds was performed by GC–MS and GC-FID to identify the volatile compounds involved in their aroma profile.

Results show that Canary ciders present a specific chemical profile characterised by higher levels of ethanol, and hydroxycinnamic acids, mainly t-ferulic, t-coumaric and neochologenic acids, and lower levels of volatile and total acidity than their Asturian and Basque counterparts. They also present a specific aroma profile characterised by fruity aroma, mainly fruit in syrup and confectionary, and sweet flavours related to their highest levels of vinylphenols formed by transformation of hydroxycinnamic acids.

An integrated strategy to explore the typicity of the currently existing Canary ciders in the market was developed. The results are important in that they will help other regions to identify specific typical chemo-sensory profiles and to promote the creation of certifications supporting regional typicity.

Man’s action at work is not a particular issue, nor does it separate him from his being or family life, but rather work helps man to develop and unifies each of his constitutive elements. Thus, the company must see man as a whole, as an end and not as a means, to achieve what the company must seek for society, that is, the common good, and, with it, the man’s objective good. This chapter aims to demonstrate a thorough, structured way of knowing, understanding and potentiating human faculties, virtues and passions in favor of a kind of leadership that focuses more on the human person. It is framed by business’s trend of social responsibility and its current impact. In this way, social responsibility takes on a different direction and inspires workers and companies’ real commitment to the good of society.

While there have always been cultural differences between countries and between individuals, the virtualisation of markets is rendering the impact of these differences even more salient. There is clear evidence that cultural dimensions are relevant in the adoption and use of e-commerce. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the significant effects of individual cultural dimensions on perceived product quality, perceived risk and purchase intention in e-commerce platforms.

A questionnaire was developed to serve as a tool of measurement. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine whether all the indicators for the constructs are reliable. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to test the hypotheses.

The results reveal that, in the case of e-commerce platforms, the cultural dimensions uncertainty-avoidance and collectivism exert a significant influence on perceived product quality, perceived risk and purchase intention.

The present study is based on real well-known e-commerce platforms which could have influenced the responses of the sample due to potential past experiences of use. An experimental design based on fictitious platforms could offer more objective findings.

This research contributes to the understanding of e-commerce and the behaviour of consumers during online purchasing, taking into account the cultural differences that may exist between them.

The literature on individual cultural dimensions – that is, non-national cases – and the variables analysed in the present study suffers from great limitations. This study complements a growing interest in analysing the individual cultural dimensions and their effects on the sphere of e-commerce, specifically on perceived product quality, purchase intention and perceived risk during browsing, measured in terms of the six types of risk prevalent in e-commerce platforms.

Links between urban areas and public space have always had a central presence in the field of Urban Sociology. During the last four decades, and in relation with globalization processes, reflection about city places and what constitutes the “public” has increasingly been in line with what has been called an “emplacing heritage process,” which emerged as a controversial point of intervention in urban areas. In this sense, itineraries have been considered of primary importance in urban heritage signification, recognition, and symbolic production. In short, these routes appear as ways in which public space is materially and symbolically occupied, becoming emplacing heritage processes in themselves.

In this chapter, we study two heritage-making processes through neighborhood itineraries, which are carried out in district territory and are located in two peripheral neighborhoods belonging to the City of Madrid (Hortaleza and Carabanchel). Ultimately, the point here is that these routes are not merely a pathway that “goes” along acknowledged heritage places; these itineraries are an emplacement and a signification of patrimony itself. These processes act as markers of iconic places and as remembrance performances of neighborhood memory. We would argue that routes around historical places in Carabanchel, as well as the “Three Wise Men” popular parades in Hortaleza bring shared geographical imaginaries, collective memory, and iconic places together in everyday experiences of both places. These itineraries change both urban sites in terms of their neighborhood heritage by disputing spatial discourses and imaginaries of heritage, urban place, and neighborhood.

The purpose of this paper is to examine both the Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social media adoption (SMA) for business purposes and the influence of culture on personal versus business social network platform (SNP) selection.

The Technology Acceptance Model’s (TAM) factors of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) as drivers of Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social network platform selection are examined as well as the effect of SMA on revenue. Data was collected from 633 small business owners across the United States via an online survey administered in English and Spanish.

Results indicate that Latino/Hispanic business owners use personal SNP more than business SNP for business purposes. PU and PEU were not found to predict personal SNP for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs. However, for Non-Latino/Hispanics, PU was significant while PEU was marginally significant. Findings for PU and PEU as predictors of business SNP indicate similar results for both Latino/Hispanic and non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs, where only PEU was significant. Finally, there was no relationship between either business or personal SNP and revenue for either Latino/Hispanic or non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs.

This research provides more insight into Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ self-directed engagement in personal SNP (Facebook) and business SNP (LinkedIn) for business purposes and invites future research in this population to further examine cultural influence and business performance. The findings support the need for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ strengthening their competency in social media usage to remain competitive, as doing so will enhance their capability for building customer relationships, brand development, and equity financing.

This investigation 1) examines SMA’s role in Latino/Hispanic small and medium enterprises (SMEs); 2) distinguishes between personal and business social network platforms; 3) investigates TAM’s relevance for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ use of social media for business; and 4) explores SME social media usage as a predictor of revenue. We seek to provide practitioners with a greater understanding of how they may influence business success and sustainability through better competency development and usage of social media platforms.

The concept of sustainable livelihoods – commonly understood as managing of means of living without undermining natural resources – has gained momentum in international development discourse. This review focuses on broadening of conceptualisation of policy intervention process for sustainable livelihoods approach and synthesis of evidence to track development in their knowledge structure.

Evidence available in the literature systematically reviewed with the established methods and themes of interest are curated, to assess the characteristics, mechanisms and caveats arising in policy and practice.

The authors found seventy-five independent studies that fit into the pre-specified research protocol and objectives. The authors classify these studies into six major themes: Economic wellbeing; Opportunities and capabilities; Climate and natural resources; Policy design; Formal-informal institutional environment; and Labour, entrepreneurship and exports. Various research gaps and directions for future research are also discussed.

The study provides a typology of reviewed literature examining the profile dynamics. Thematic analysis resulted into identifying complementarities and trade-offs and results demonstrate multiple heterogeneity in structures, processes and outcomes.

The definitive areas of interventions are discussed to broaden the utility of the concept in a structured way. This review paper brings a comprehensive view of livelihood intervention system and contribute in enriching the social policy perspective.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2022-0402

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the fast growth of online music festivals. This paper explores how festivalgoers' experience affects their satisfaction and drives their loyalty to re-attend online music festivals in China.

Based on an understanding of the music festival experience and the characteristics of live-streamed performances, this paper investigates five factors that affect festivalgoers' satisfaction and loyalty, namely the music experience, ambience experience, separation experience, social experience and novelty experience. The relationships between festivalgoers' experience, satisfaction and loyalty are also explored using structural equation modelling techniques.

The empirical results suggest that four of the above-mentioned five factors of the online music festival experience directly affect festivalgoers' satisfaction and loyalty. The online mode is a rapid adaptation of and preferred alternative to offline music festivals, whilst the creation of the experience, along with satisfaction with and loyalty to the online music festival, are determined by different factors compared to offline modes. Overall festival satisfaction positively enhances the relationship between festivalgoers' experience and loyalty to online music festivals.

This study offers a range of practical and managerial implications for organisers of online music festival, similar activities such as live-streaming concerts and stage performances and hybrid events.

This study explores a phenomenon that has evolved quickly since COVID-19 and will, potentially, have an ongoing and enduring impact on the music festival sector. It differentiates the understanding of festivalgoers' experience in online and offline modes, which is a new addition to the literature. It also enriches the theoretical understanding of the experience of, satisfaction with and loyalty to online music festivals.