Search results

Emphasizing the critical role of technology-enabled distribution in tourism, this study, a viewpoint, aims to highlight the potential of democratized technologies in readdressing the competitive imbalance between small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) and their larger peers in today’s online marketplace. By enhancing competitiveness and performance, democratized technologies can strengthen the resilience, sustainability and competitive position of the SMTEs on which tourism depends, helping to support the Horizon 2050 agenda and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Examining the development of online and electronic distribution in tourism, the viewpoint identifies the key challenges to the successful use of technology-based distribution systems by SMTEs, as well as highlights the trend toward democratized technologies as a potential solution to help improve technology take-up and performance.

With no/low initial capital or operating costs, and little need for technical expertise, democratized technologies have the potential to overcome two of the three key challenges limiting the successful adoption and use of distribution technologies by SMTES. The key blockage remains one of managerial awareness and acceptability. With informal organization structures, little managerial or technical training and an ingrained reluctance to change, SMTE managers remain unfamiliar of the possibilities offered by this developing trend. While this challenge could be addressed by awareness building and training, in the longer run, it is likely that more substantial progress will arise from generational change in SMTE management, with digitally native successors more likely to exploit this development to improve competitiveness and performance.

Emphasizing the pivotal role that democratized technology can potentially play in redressing the competitive imbalance between SMTEs and their larger peers in the distribution space, this viewpoint serves as a call for action for tourism businesses to re-examine their approach to technology adoption and leverage democratized technologies to address current deficiencies in their distribution approach, helping to improve competitiveness and performance, thus supporting the Horizon 2050 initiative and furthering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

这篇观点论文强调了技术驱动的分销在旅游业中的关键作用, 强调了民主化技术在重新解决中小旅游企业（SMTEs）与其大型同行在当今在线市场中的竞争失衡方面的潜力。通过提高竞争力和绩效, 民主化技术可以加强旅游业所依赖的SMTE的韧性、可持续性和竞争地位, 有助于支持地平线2050议程和联合国可持续发展目标。

该观点论文考察了在线和电子分销在旅游业的发展, 确定了SMTE成功使用基于技术的分销系统的关键挑战, 并强调了将民主化技术作为帮助提高技术使用率和性能的潜在解决方案的趋势。

由于没有/较低的初始资本或运营成本, 也几乎不需要技术专业知识, 民主化技术有可能克服限制SMTES成功采用和使用分销技术的三个关键挑战中的两个。关键的障碍仍然是管理意识和可接受性。由于非正式的组织结构、很少的管理或技术培训以及根深蒂固的不愿改变, SMTE的管理人员仍然不熟悉这一发展趋势所提供的可能性。虽然这一挑战可以通过提高认识和培训来解决, 但从长远来看, SMTE管理的代际变革可能会带来更大的进展, 数字原生继任者更有可能利用这一发展来提高竞争力和绩效。

强调民主化技术在纠正SMTE与其在分销领域的大型同行之间的竞争失衡方面可能发挥的关键作用, 本文呼吁旅游企业采取行动, 重新审视其采用技术的方法, 并利用民主化技术来解决其分销方法中的当前缺陷, 帮助提高竞争力和绩效, 从而支持地平线2050倡议, 推动联合国的可持续发展目标。

Haciendo hincapié en el papel fundamental de la distribución posibilitada por la tecnología en el turismo, este punto de vista destaca el potencial de las tecnologías democratizadas para corregir el desequilibrio competitivo entre las Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas Turísticas (PYMETs) y sus homólogas de mayor tamaño en el mercado online actual. Al mejorar la competitividad y el rendimiento, las tecnologías democratizadas pueden reforzar la resistencia, la sostenibilidad y la posición competitiva de las PYMETS de las que depende el turismo, contribuyendo así a apoyar la agenda Horizonte 2050 y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU.

Examinando el desarrollo de la distribución online y electrónica en el turismo, el punto de vista identifica los desafíos clave para el uso exitoso de los sistemas de distribución basados en la tecnología por parte de las PYMETs, así como destaca la tendencia hacia las tecnologías democratizadas como una solución potencial para ayudar a mejorar la adopción y el rendimiento de la tecnología.

Con unos costes iniciales de capital o de funcionamiento nulos o bajos, y poca necesidad de conocimientos técnicos, las tecnologías democratizadas tienen el potencial de superar dos de los tres retos clave que limitan la adopción y el uso con éxito de las tecnologías de distribución por parte de las PYMETs. El bloqueo clave permanece en la concienciación y la aceptación por parte de los directivos. Con estructuras organizativas informales, escasa formación técnica o de gestión y una arraigada reticencia al cambio, los directivos de las PYMETs permanecen desconocedores de las posibilidades que ofrece esta tendencia en desarrollo. Aunque este reto podría abordarse mediante la concienciación y la formación, a largo plazo es probable que surjan progresos más sustanciales del cambio generacional en la gestión de las PYMETs, con sucesores nativos digitales más propensos a explotar este desarrollo para mejorar la competitividad y el rendimiento.

Haciendo especial hincapié en el potencial y fundamental papel que la tecnología democratizada puede desempeñar a la hora de corregir el desequilibrio competitivo entre las PYMETs y sus homólogas de mayor tamaño en el espacio de la distribución, este punto de vista sirve de llamada a la acción para que las empresas turísticas reexaminen su enfoque de la adopción de tecnología y aprovechen las tecnologías democratizadas para subsanar las deficiencias actuales en su enfoque de la distribución, ayudando a mejorar la competitividad y el rendimiento, apoyando así la iniciativa Horizonte 2050 y fomentando los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU.

This article aims to analyze how gender and decision-making styles of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) impact the financial performance of the firms they manage.

Data were obtained for 2017 for 185 SMEs in Chile, an emerging economy, including firm information, CEO's sociodemographic characteristics and CEOs' decision-making styles. Generalized Least Squares (GLS) models were estimated to explain the influence of gender and decision-making styles on firm performance, controlling for a series of covariates. To test whether gender moderates the effect of decision-making styles on firm performance, interaction terms were included. Furthermore, models were subject to several robustness procedures, with no significant differences in results.

The authors find evidence of significant relationships for both gender and the avoidant style. Likewise, the authors find evidence of interaction effects between gender and decision-making styles, particularly between gender and the dependent style.

Findings contribute to prior research by analyzing the relationship between CEO gender and SME performance in the context of a Latin American emerging economy; by providing evidence of the impact of decision-making styles on the financial performance of SMEs; and by examining how a specific decision-making style, namely the dependent style, operates differently according to CEO gender, shedding some light on its ambiguous character as described by prior research. For policymakers and authorities, findings indicate the importance of incorporating women to SMEs and supporting their way towards higher management.

Esta investigación analiza cómo el género y los estilos de toma de decisiones de los gerentes generales (CEOs) de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) impactan en el desempeño financiero de las empresas que administran.

Se obtuvieron datos del año 2017 para 185 PYMEs ubicadas en Chile, una economía emergente, incluyendo información de la empresa, así como características sociodemográficas y estilos de toma de decisiones de los gerentes generales. Se estimaron modelos de Mínimos Cuadrados Generalizados (GLS) para explicar la influencia del género y los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento de la empresa, controlando por una serie de covariables. Para determinar si el género modera el efecto de los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento de la empresa, se incluyeron términos de interacción. Además, los modelos fueron sometidos a varios procedimientos de robustez, sin encontrar diferencias significativas en los resultados.

Los autores encuentran evidencia de relaciones significativas tanto para el género como para el estilo evitativo. Asimismo, los autores encuentran evidencia de efectos interacción entre el género y estilos de toma de decisiones, particularmente entre el género y el estilo dependiente.

Los hallazgos contribuyen a investigaciones anteriores al analizar la relación entre el género del CEO y el rendimiento de las PYMEs en el contexto de una economía latinoamericana emergente; al proporcionar evidencia del impacto de los estilos de toma de decisiones en el rendimiento financiero de las PYMEs; y al examinar cómo un estilo de toma de decisiones específico, a saber, el estilo dependiente, opera de manera diferente según el género del CEO, esclareciendo su carácter ambiguo tal como ha sido descrito en investigaciones anteriores. Para las autoridades y los responsables de políticas, los hallazgos indican la importancia de incorporar mujeres a las PYMEs y apoyarlas en su ascenso hacia la alta administración.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) digital technologies on promoting sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within developing economies such as Brazil. Additionally, we present a comprehensive framework that consolidates this correlation.

Qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with leaders of SMEs to identify the specific challenges in achieving sustainability. Additionally, interviews were conducted with technology provider firms to evaluate the existing solutions available to SMEs. The interview results were analyzed, and technological solutions were proposed through a focus group session involving four experts in I4.0. These proposed solutions were then compared with the offerings provided by the technology providers. Based on this, a second round of meetings was conducted to gather feedback from the SMEs.

The findings of this study confirm the feasibility of implementing I4.0 and sustainable practices in SMEs. However, it is crucial to tailor the technologies to the specific circumstances of SMEs. The study presents propositions on how specific applications of technology can address the economic, environmental and social demands of SMEs. Furthermore, a framework is proposed, emphasizing the integration of smart technologies as essential components across sustainability dimensions.

This study makes a significant contribution to the current body of literature as it pioneers the examination of the relationship between I4.0 technologies and sustainability, focusing specifically on SMEs in a developing country context.

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar el potential impacto de las tecnologías digitales de la Industria 4.0 en la promoción de la sostenibilidad en las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) en economías en desarrollo, como Brasil.

Realizamos una investigación cualitativa mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas a líderes de PYMES para identificar los desafíos que enfrentan en la búsqueda de la sostenibilidad. También llevamos a cabo entrevistas con empresas proveedoras de tecnología para evaluar las soluciones existentes. Los resultados de las entrevistas se analizaron y se propusieron soluciones tecnológicas a través de una sesión de grupo focal con cuatro expertos en la Industria 4.0. Estas soluciones se compararon con las ofertas proporcionadas por los proveedores de tecnología. Posteriormente, se realizaron una segunda reunión para recopilar comentarios de las PYMES.

Los hallazgos de este estudio confirman la viabilidad de implementar la Industria 4.0 y prácticas sostenibles en las PYMES. Sin embargo, es crucial adaptar las tecnologías a las circunstancias de las PYMES. Presentamos propuestas sobre cómo las aplicaciones de la tecnología pueden abordar las demandas económicas, ambientales y sociales de las PYMES. Además, proponemos un marco que destaca la integración de tecnologías como componentes esenciales de la sostenibilidad.

Este estudio es pionero en examinar la relación entre las tecnologías de la Industria 4.0 y la sostenibilidad, centrándose específicamente en las PYMES en un contexto de país en desarrollo.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for the development of a vibrant domestic tourism sector in emerging economies as a means of moving towards a more sustainable tourism sector and achieving many of the goals outlined in the UNWTO’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It uses a perspective approach through a critical state-of-the-art review of selected domestic and international tourism studies.

This paper illustrates how developing such a sector will provide a range of economic and social benefits to emerging economies and their residents, as well as lowering the per-capita tourism carbon footprint of destination areas.

This study identifies policy initiatives that can be developed to help emerging economies transition from an international tourism focus to a more balanced focus.

This study indicates the social benefits of developing a domestic tourism sector in emerging economies.

It equips national tourism organisations and small and medium tourism enterprises with specific actions for the use of tourism as a prosperity tool in the pursuance of these benefits. It, further, calls for a research agenda on investigating how emerging economies are uniquely progressing towards this global goal through thriving domestic tourism recognising that each economy is culturally different.

本文主张在新兴经济体发展充满活力的国内旅游业, 以此作为迈向更可持续的旅游业和实现联合国世界旅游组织《2030 年可持续发展议程》中概述的许多目标的手段。

通过对选定的国内和国际旅游研究进行批判性的最新文献回顾, 采用了前瞻性的方法。

本文阐述了发展这样一个产业将如何为新兴经济体及其居民提供一系列经济和社会效益, 并降低目的地的人均旅游碳足迹。

确定可以制定的政策举措, 以帮助新兴经济体从国际旅游业向更平衡的旅游业转型

展现了新兴经济体发展国内旅游业的社会效益。

为国家旅游组织和中小型旅游企业提供了将旅游业作为繁荣工具以实现上文提到的这些利益的具体方向。此外, 论文还呼吁制定一项研究议程, 调查新兴经济体如何通过繁荣的国内旅游业独特地朝着这一全球目标前进, 也需要认识到每个经济体的文化都不同。

Este trabajo defiende el desarrollo de un sector turístico interno fuerte en las economías emergentes como medio para avanzar hacia un sector turístico más sostenible y alcanzar muchos de los objetivos esbozados en la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la OMT.

Adopta un enfoque de perspectiva a través de una revisión crítica del estado del arte de estudios turísticos nacionales e internacionales seleccionados.

El trabajo ilustra cómo el desarrollo de este sector aportará una serie de beneficios económicos y sociales a las economías emergentes y a sus residentes, así como la reducción de la huella de carbono per cápita del turismo en las zonas de destino.

Identifica las iniciativas políticas que pueden desarrollarse para ayudar a las economías emergentes en la transición de un enfoque turístico internacional a un enfoque más equilibrado.

Se indican los beneficios sociales de un desarrollo del sector turístico interno en las economías emergentes.

Proporciona a las organizaciones nacionales de turismo y a las pequeñas y medianas empresas turísticas acciones específicas para el uso del turismo como herramienta de bienestar en la consecución de estos beneficios. Además, propone un programa de investigación sobre el modo en que las economías emergentes avanzan hacia este objetivo global a través de un turismo interno floreciente, teniendo en cuenta que cada economía es culturalmente diferente.

The purpose of this article is to explore the mediating role of both ethical climate and frontline employees' ethical intent on the relationship between store managers' ethical leadership and frontline employees’ customer orientation (FECO).

Original data on small and medium-sized enterprises in the Mexican retail industry were used. A survey provided a sample of 332 frontline employees. To test the hypotheses, the authors conducted a partial least squares (PLS) analysis.

The results show the positive effect of ethical leadership is mainly direct. This can primarily be explained through the mechanisms of social exchange theory. Additionally, the results show that ethical climate and ethical intent act as essential partial mediators.

Although managers' ethical leadership typically exercises a direct and positive influence on employees' work performance, the path linking the ethical leadership of the upper echelons to this outcome has not been frequently studied, especially in terms of its impact on meeting customers' needs (i.e. frontline employees' customer orientation, or FECO). This study expands on existing knowledge by considering that a true FECO is necessarily linked to being “oriented to others”, which is fostered by the perception that moral values (i.e. honesty) are embedded in an organization's culture.

El propósito de este artículo es explorar el papel mediador del clima ético y la intención ética de los empleados de primera línea en la relación entre el liderazgo ético de los directores de tienda y la orientación al cliente de los empleados de primera línea (FECO).

Los autores utilizaron datos originales de pequeñas y medianas empresas ubicadas en la industria minorista mexicana. Una encuesta proporcionó una muestra de 332 empleados de primera línea. Para comprobar las hipótesis, los autores realizaron un análisis por mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS).

Los resultados muestran cómo el efecto positivo del liderazgo ético es principalmente directo. Esto puede ser explicado fundamentalmente a través de los mecanismos de la teoría del intercambio social. Adicionalmente, los resultados mostraron que el clima ético y la intención ética actúan como mediadores parciales esenciales.

Aunque el liderazgo ético de los directivos suele ejercer una influencia directa y positiva en el rendimiento laboral de los empleados, no se ha estudiado con frecuencia la vía que relaciona el liderazgo ético de los mandos superiores con este resultado, especialmente en lo que se refiere a su impacto en la satisfacción de las necesidades de los clientes (es decir, la orientación al cliente de los empleados de primera línea, o FECO). Este estudio amplía los conocimientos actuales al considerar que un verdadero FECO está necesariamente vinculado a estar “orientado a los demás”, lo que se ve favorecido por la percepción de que los valores morales (es decir, la honestidad) están arraigados en la cultura de la organización.

To predict the future of the business and implement successful changes, a credit analyst must make quick decisions about the economics and assets of their clients. Because the marketplace is constantly changing, companies that lack the interpersonal skills necessary to communicate with their customers run the risk of falling behind the competition and becoming obsolete. The objective of this research was to assess whether credit analysts in Peruvian banks that used digital resources also improved their communication and interpersonal skills. The study was quantitative in nature, with an applied and correlational design that lacked an experimental component. The sample consisted of 109 credit analysts from four different Peruvian banks (Interbank, Scotiabank, BBVA, and BCP). Two questionnaires were used in this survey; both were submitted to expert review for validation before being submitted for use, and their reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha. In terms of use of digital resources (59.5%) and mastery of interpersonal skills (61.3%), credit analysts were at the average. Conclusions the p-value for the correlation between credit analysts' use of digital resources and their soft skills in Peruvian banks was less than 0.05, indicating a direct and strong link between these two factors. The Rho correlation coefficient was 0.738.

Many scholars and practitioners in the fields of business and management have recently published theoretical and empirical studies on the subject of business culture and its impact on its growth and effectiveness; yet, there has been a dearth of research on the topic of how organizational culture affects productivity. Moreover, there are hardly any theoretical or empirical research that examines these two concepts within the context of a micro-enterprise. This chapter uses a sample of 279 Ancash Region microenterprises to investigate the effect of local entrepreneurial culture on businesses’ overall performance. Among the four types of entrepreneurial cultures studied, only the Hierarchical culture was shown to have no effect on the degree of performance of the microenterprises. There is evidence of a significant causal relationship between the variables studied, the coefficient of determination was; business performance (r² = 0.796), with an SRMR of 0.037, the confirmatory model is relevant within its range of accuracy, while market culture has the greatest impact on business performance.

The versatility of customer relationship management (CRM) systems has kept these technologies popular over the years. These solutions have been integrated into organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Similarly, CRM systems have also found applications in all types of industries and business sectors. All this has been the driving force behind the proliferation of CRM solutions around the world. In this chapter, the author not only reflects on the impact and democratization of CRM systems on business management and marketing strategies but also explores how these technologies can determine the company's income. In particular, the author presents an experiment that analyzes the extent to which the volume of annual investment in CRM solutions can be used to predict annual net income in a sample of companies. Using time series analysis and applying the autoregressive integrated moving average modeling technique, the researcher examines a sample of 10 companies from different industries, and countries, over a 20-year period. The results show the efficiency of the predictive models developed in nine of the 10 companies analyzed. The findings of this study allow us to conclude that there seems to be an association between the investments made in CRM solutions and the income of the companies that invest in these technologies.

This paper aims to explain how small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) create information technology (IT) business value through blended IT outsourcing (ITO). The explanatory framework it proposes enables SMEs to replicate IT capability outcomes (i.e. enhance their economic, strategic and technological competences, namely, ITO success) by endorsing an ITO strategy catalyzed by IT vendor integration.

This study uses covariance-based structural equation modeling to test the proposed research model. Data are collected from 251 knowledge-intensive business SMEs located in Science and Technology Parks in Spain.

The results demonstrate empirically that SMEs can replicate IT capability benefits (i.e. enhance their non-IT competences) through blended ITO in which IT, conceptualized as a transversal supporting activity, is outsourced to an IT vendor while the value creation process remains with the buyer. The integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) of an IT-proficient vendor catalyzes ITO success. More specifically, the results show that, although process integration is not directly related to competence enhancement, fosters information sharing, which directly facilitates ITO success. The results also show that IT vendor proficiency accounts for ex ante trust.

Managers should think of transformational ITO as a strategy to enhance firm competences. For blended ITO strategies to succeed, managers must have a comprehensive understanding of the business they run, as it is important to create conditions that foster inter-firm information sharing. To achieve these conditions, managers should take special care in selecting boundary spanners, who are the pivotal links in competence enhancement.

While most research focuses on ongoing trust (i.e. trust develops as ITO evolves), this study focuses on initial (i.e. ex ante) trust and analyzes IT vendor proficiency (expert, experienced and reputed) to examine trust as an antecedent of ITO. This study also draws on previous conceptualizations of vendor integration to develop and analyze a two-step integration model to explain how IT vendor integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) catalyzes enhancement of the buyer’s non-IT competences. This study focuses on SMEs, which are often neglected in ITO studies.

This study aims to identify the influence exerted by the performance of human resources (HR) through effectiveness and efficiency in the success of business projects in Mexico.

The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, where a sample of 502 was used. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed using the statistical software AMOS v25 to test the hypothesis. SPSS v25 was used for data analysis. Regarding the goodness and fit indices of the SEM, χ² = 388.83/df = 143; χ²/df = 2.71; p < 0.001; GFI = 0.92; AGFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.96; TLI = 0.95; NFI = 0.94; IFI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.05; RMR = 0.04; SRMR = 0.03, which turned out to be acceptable.

Through the results obtained through the SEM, it is shown that there is a positive and significant relationship between the performance of HR through their effectiveness (r = 0.65, p < 0.01) and efficiency (r = 0.64, p < 0.01) with respect to the success of the business projects. Likewise, the effectiveness of HR has a positive and significant influence on the efficiency (ß₂ = 0.46; p < 0.001) and the success of business projects (ß₃ = 0.89; p < 0.001) in Mexico. In the same way, efficiency positively and significantly influences the success of enterprises (ß₄ = 0.35; p < 0.001) in Mexico.

In this research, only the performance of the HR was assessed through efficiency and effectiveness as one of the variables that intervene in the development of the business project, and that is one of the main factors of analysis to achieve the success of the enterprise. In this sense, the results are limited to the extent that the findings can be generalized to business projects that are developed in different entities such as universities, incubators and other instances that promote the development of business projects and thereby guarantee success. In this sense, it is considered to carry out more research regarding these variables and others that can study the phenomenon and generate new scientific research.

HR performance is considered as one of the main factors that allow the success of business projects. However, some practical limitations are determined by the vision, strategies, as well as the orientation that entities such as universities, and incubators, among other organizations, determine to develop the business project and thus guarantee its success. Other practical implications lie in the leadership that the entrepreneur exercises in his/her work team and collaborators to generate synergy between them considering culture and identity, as well as the commitment to the business project.

The findings are relevant and of great value because they support entrepreneurship models, giving an alternative focus in the study to achieve success, specifically in the state of Guanajuato, which represents one of the main states that have with a greater number of ventures focused on the automotive, food, leather and footwear cluster, among other SMEs that promote business projects and is one of the main states of the Mexican Republic that contributes to the economic development of the region as well as the nation. Likewise, the study is relevant because there is currently not enough research focused on the variables analyzed on the success of business projects in the Mexican context.