Search results

The purpose of this article is to determine the factors in the context of entrepreneurship that are evident in Ecuador, a country that has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship worldwide with 34% according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (2019).

A qualitative study was carried out with 39 cases, applying in-depth personal interviews and focus groups to selected cases in the main cities of Ecuador.

The results suggest that “mumpreneurship”, copreneurship and sustainable thinking arise in response to the environment. Deepening then in the perspective of the 5M proposes by Brush et al. (2009) that give us a framework of the macroenvironment of women entrepreneurship and offers a holistic understanding of women's entrepreneurship, adding a sixth “M” which is “Environmental Thinking” or the environmental thinking that is present in the current context.

This article is one of the first to analyse the context of female entrepreneurship in Ecuador and determine the context factors that influence the identification of opportunities and the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities. It also presents the expectations and challenges of the women who shape the authors’ case studies and give voice to Ecuadorian women. Consequently, this research will support the configuration of policies that supports each of the stages of women's entrepreneurial processes.

Este artículo pretende determinar los factores del contexto del emprendimiento que se evidencian en el Ecuador, país que ostenta la tasa más alta de emprendimiento femenino a nivel mundial con un 34% de acuerdo al GEM (2019).

Se realizó un estudio cualitativo con 39 casos, aplicando entrevistas personales a profundidad y grupos focales a casos seleccionados en las principales ciudades del Ecuador.

Los resultados sugieren que el “mumpreneurship”, el copreneurship y el pensamiento sostenible surgen como respuesta al entorno. Profundizando entonces en la perspectiva de las 5Ms propuesta por Brush et al. (2009) que ofrece una comprensión holística del emprendimiento de mujeres, añadiendo una sexta “M” que es el “Medioambiental Thinking” o el pensamiento ambiental que está presente en el contexto estudiado.

Este artículo es uno de los primeros en analizar el contexto del emprendimiento femenino en Ecuador y determinar los factores del contexto que influyen en la identificación y en la explotación de oportunidades emprendedoras. Además presenta las expectativas y retos de las mujeres que configuran nuestros casos de estudio y dan voz a las mujeres ecuatorianas. En consecuencia nuestra investigación servirá de apoyo para la configuración de políticas que apoyen cada una de las etapas del proceso emprendedor de las mujeres.

This study aims to describe how the Hoshin Kanri (HK) strategic methodology facilitates implementation of lean management (LM), achieving greater integration of the strategic and operational levels, resulting in higher performance level.

The authors conducted an in-depth case study of a top-10 Spanish food retail company with experience in HK and LM. First, the authors conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with the management team. Second, the authors analyzed all minutes from meetings of the key management entities for HK monitoring over a period of 3 years (2016–2019). Third, the authors evaluated the reports and key scorecards for the same period. Finally, authors visited the operating facilities and attended multiple team management meetings.

This study demonstrates that deploying HK creates the strategic ecosystem for operations management that facilitates successful implementation of LM. By sharing common cultural concepts, both methodologies generate faster transformation of the organization and thus push it towards its strategic objectives with more determination and better performance.

The lack of strategic alignment is one of the most important reasons for LM failure. Although HK is a strategic methodology that facilitates this alignment, a gap exists in the literature on the benefits of HK for implementation of continuous improvement initiatives such as LM. Our research shows how HK enables a participative connection between the strategic and operational areas of the firm that reinforces the fundamental elements of LM. Employee involvement, widespread use of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) methodology and multidisciplinary work (among other effects) make HK a key element for successful implementation of LM.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of product and process innovation on the relationships between knowledge combination capability and organizational performance.

The data were collected from small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) belonging to the sector of Spanish technology‐based firms (TBFs). This study employs the structural equation model (SEM) to examine the relationships between product and process innovation, knowledge combination capability, and organizational performance.

The findings of this study suggest, first, that knowledge combination capability has a significant impact on product and process innovation. Second, product and process innovation mediate the relations between knowledge combination capability and organizational performance.

The sample includes only firms in the technology sector; future studies could analyze another kind of organization. Further studies might also use a wider sample that encompasses several countries.

This paper implies that, to achieve better performance in technology SMEs, the managers should focus more on knowledge combination capability to improve innovation, as this is the key to excellent business performance.

This study contributes to the literature on innovation and knowledge. It examines the mediating effects of product and process innovation, knowledge combination capability, and organizational performance in technology SMEs. The research demonstrates empirically that innovation strengthens the effect of knowledge on firm performance in the sector studied.

The purpose of this paper is to draw from an adapted model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and from existing models of entrepreneurial intention (EI) to analyse the role of gender on academics’ perceptions concerning the commercialisation of their research results. In particular, the authors explore differences in perceptions arising from diverse cognitions, such as attitudes towards entrepreneurial activities, the influence of close social groups and opportunity recognition self-efficacy.

A questionnaire was addressed to 500 Spanish academics who have headed research projects with public funding in technology-related areas, and the results were subjected to multigroup structural equation analysis (LISREL) to determine the extent and nature of the differences within this group.

The results obtained show that the influence of close social groups is perceived differently by men and women, particularly as regards the support received for academics’ attitudes and perceptions of control over the development of EI.

The aim is to better understand the world facing academics and the influences on their intention to commercialise research outcomes. An understanding of these issues offers the opportunity to design appropriate government interventions to assist academic entrepreneurs undertaking a business venture.

This paper considers an under-researched area that of female entrepreneurship in academia, traditionally considered a male-dominated activity. Helpful information is provided on gender differences in the academic context.

This chapter uses an intellectual capital (IC) qualitative approach for assessing the bio health technologies entrepreneurial ecosystem of a university located in Southern Europe, aiming to identify the role played by IC in fostering the sustainable success of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. There has been limited research dedicated to deepening the knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystems’ dimensions, using an IC lens, in the context of university cities with different dimensions. Small cities may not have some dimensions, so developed, comparing with the ones of the ecosystems of large urban centers. This chapter uses a qualitative approach funded in a case study exploring internal and external stakeholders of a Portuguese entrepreneurial ecosystem, UBImedical, targeted at the bio health sector. The study is part of an exploratory study funded in the scope of a European Project, aiming to explore in a pioneering way the application of the dominant triad of capitals forming IC and, thus, identifying and understanding the dimensions of different entrepreneurial ecosystems. The case study reveals that the IC’s dimensions more critical for the success of the bio health entrepreneurial ecosystems are the structural capital and the relational capital, although human capital is perceived as a basic prerequisite for fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s performance. The results are funded in primary and qualitative data collected from the interviews developed to previously identified external and internal stakeholders of this type of entrepreneurial ecosystem under study.

This study analyses the role of social networks and their effects on academics' entrepreneurial intentions (AEI), from an academic cognitive perspective. Specifically, the paper investigates how business (distinguishing between industrial and financial links) and personal social networks, through opportunity-relevant information and support, could influence academics' intentions to start a business venture on the basis of their research knowledge. The paper examines the mediator roles of entrepreneurial attitudes (EA) and self-efficacy on opportunity recognition (SOR) as important psychological variables for academics. In the same context, the paper examines the mediator role of gender.

The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling analysis, on a sample population of 500 Spanish academics engaged in commercially oriented fields of research.

The results obtained highlight the positive roles played by business (industrial and financial) networks, both directly in promoting AEI, and indirectly via EA and SOR. The paper finds that male and female academics differ in their perceptions of support from business and financial networks and in their use of these resources in business start-up.

An understanding of these issues offers opportunities to shape government interventions to assist academic entrepreneurs embarking on a business venture, or those already active in this respect, increasing their effectiveness in building, utilizing and enhancing the quality of networking activities.

The paper explores business networking for academics as a factor promoting entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the paper considers an under-researched area that of female entrepreneurship in what is traditionally considered a male-dominated activity.

To ascertain whether any relationship exists between the main processes of human resource management involved in the internal labour market (training and internal recruitment) and the use of temporary help workers (THW) in Spain.

Take into account the perspective complementary between internal and external employment systems, a questionnaire was sending by mail to a selected sample of companies to get information.

The results confirm that a relationship does exist between the use of THW and training and internal recruitment. Also reveal the effects of the size upon these processes and the use of THW.

The main drawbacks are that of not using a wider sample. The findings will not be fully extrapolable to other countries. Future works could be directed towards testing a model of the relationship between the use of THW and a greater number of parameters, and a wider sample of miscellaneous countries.

The training effort (TE) per employee and internal recruitment may be positively influenced by the employment of THW, which may be a source of motivation and increased productivity on the part of the regular staff.

This paper shows that the use of THW could favour the appearance and development of an internal labour market, supporting the perspective that internal and external employment systems are complements.