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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the suitability of using gross domestic product (GDP) as a proper indicator for sustainability in a given national economy and to identify the main features that a proper measure of sustainability (composed by a set of indicators) should incorporate. After showing the inconveniences of using GDP as an indicator of sustainability for national economies, the authors aim to present complementary indicators to GDP per capita to do this task. They also aim to calculate and discuss the efficiency of OECD countries in terms of achieving sustainable development.

A theoretical framework is proposed based on recent economic studies about sustainability and also on the principles of Catholic social thought. Once complementary indicators to GDP in order to measure sustainability have been proposed, the econometric method data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to perform an efficiency analysis of the three dimensions of sustainability (social, economic and environmental).

GDP alone is not a proper indicator of sustainability for national economies. Relevant economic literature and also specific documents from Catholic social thought can help when identifying complementary indicators to GDP in order to assess sustainability. Developed economies are able to be efficient in achieving the three dimensions of sustainability at the same time.

The three dimensions of sustainability considered in this paper are the fundamental ones, and can be complemented with new ones. A comparison with other sustainability indices could bring new insights for further research.

In this paper the authors combine recent economic literature with Papal encyclicals and documents from the General Congregations of the Society of Jesus, in order to provide a comprehensive set of indicators to measure sustainability. A DEA analysis has been carried out to calculate efficiency in achieving sustainability for OECD countries.

Stakeholder theory may be the Archimedes lever that allows defining a possible Economy for the Common Good; however, the theory’s current level of development does not enable it to escape the criticism that considers it nothing more than shared egoism. The expansion of the concept of stakeholder, including not only groups that collaborate in the creation of value or which are actively impacted by the organisation, but also incorporating those affected by omission – non-stakeholders – would lead to the reconciliation of stakeholder theory and the common good. Nevertheless, to set it within corporate practice, besides having selfish and altruist incentives, would be of interest for the conceptual development of shapeholders, understood as the link between non-stakeholders’ interests and needs, and firms.

This paper aims to analyse how the economic impact of wine in producing regions can be measured. It also seeks to show the relationship between wine cluster performance and regional economic development, through the study of Rioja's recent success in both wine market and distribution of wealth.

The paper uses the input‐output analyses to estimate the economic impact of the wine cluster and its role in regional economy. The case of Rioja is taken as example of regions where wine is the driving economic force.

The paper finds that Rioja wine cluster specificities may be the cause of the recent outperformance of Riojan economy, in which the wine cluster accounts for a fifth of regional GDP. The increase in wine sales in this region is simultaneous to the spread of welfare among the local population.

The paper shows the extremely deep impact that changes in wine market may arise in wine producing regions' welfare, thus enabling wine sector's main actors to measure wine impact on regional economy.

Despite the boom corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability are enjoying nowadays in the agendas of both small and big companies, we still have difficulties in providing a clear definition of the concept of sustainability. There is no consensus on the criteria to be used to define and enhance responsible management that creates sustainable development.

After a systematic revision of the literature, authors have been mapping the limits of the research already done at different levels, dimensions, and horizons, so we do have a 360° map of the research on sustainability. Future developments are also explored to enrich and align the diverse approaches demanded to define this wide, complex, and by now, equivocal concept and the conclusions reveal the many gaps not yet covered in the research field, signposting key issues for further work.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that promote the successful adoption of lean practices in manufacturing firms operating in developing economies in South America.

Based on the results obtained from using structural equation modeling to analyze the collected data, the authors argue that manufacturing organizations need to identify the factors that assist in successfully adopting lean practices in manufacturing firms operating in developing economies in South America. A dataset of 1,809 responses, gathered from manufacturing firms as part of the World Management Survey, was used to find support for the proposed hypotheses.

Several hypotheses were tested finding that lean practice success factors such as organizational targets proved to have a significant and positive relationship with the mediating factor, performance management. Likewise, performance management was also found to have a significant and positive relationship with lean practices adoption. Human capital management (HCM) has a significant but negative predictive relationship with lean practices.

The empirical results of this study provide valuable managerial insights. The results are therefore limited to the economies analyzed and to the variables surveyed as part of the World Manufacturing Survey research.

The results of this research provide a starting point for researchers to continue studying the key lean practice factors and relationships in the achievement of improved performance management, thereby helping managers in developing strategies to improve the lean capabilities of their practices. This, in turn, will increase the organization's competitive advantage sustainably.

This paper identifies and tests the impact of key factors on successful lean practices adoption in South American organizations in the manufacturing sector.

The purpose of this paper is to show that globalisation (or de-regionalisation) in the wine business is entering a new phase in which grape production, wine production and wine exports are increasingly decoupled. In order to illustrate the case, the authors present Lithuania, compared to Romania, as a case study.

The authors tested the hypothesis that grape production and wine trade are increasingly decoupling. Based on the notion that transformation countries act as an avant-garde where new developments show first, the authors use Central and Eastern Europe as a case in point. The authors apply a mixed and a fixed effects model, where self-sufficiency in grapes explains wine exports to a reducing degree.

In the descriptive part the authors demonstrate how Lithuania, since EU accession, has become a major hub for wine trade, importing from the main export countries, and exporting mostly to Russia. In the multivariate section, it can then be shown that this decoupling between grape production and wine exports is a significant development in international terms.

The division of labour in wine trade has entered a new phase where wine production and wine marketing are decoupled. If extrapolated into the future, this may indicate that in the future world market, grape production and wine production may also decouple.

The paper has traced a new and un-described phenomenon on the global wine market. It shows that the division of labour is still advancing.

Based on the rankings of the global competitiveness index and the fragile states index, this paper aims to suggest alternative approaches to shed some light on the effectiveness of rankings in helping emerging economies improve their competitiveness from an institutional standpoint.

The statistical analysis consisted of a two-stage analysis; the first stage consisted of constructing an updated Alternative Institutional Quality Index (AIQI), intending to design a comparative measure between dimensions over time. The second stage consisted of evidencing the structure of each of the observed dimensions' variance to evidence the existing changes or gaps of the AIQI and its components. The authors incorporated the Kruskas–Wallis (KW) model to test the results.

This paper demonstrates that the analyzed countries generally maintain their competitive position, even though changes in their scores are reflected. This makes invisible the development and progress factors generated by the countries that are mainly found with low scores and only reflect stable structures that allow them to maintain their position.

The current study has a limitation because it concentrated on a few selected indicators based on the literature review. The limitations of this research may be overlooked in the future by adding additional variables and observations. The paper could be improved by including intra- and inter-regional approaches to control based on the occurrence of specific circumstances (i.e. informal institutions, economic development or factor endowments).

The paper contributes to the applicable measurement of competitiveness and its structural change over time.

This paper proposed an alternative and simple methodology to assess the evolution of the competitiveness indicators; this methodology could be used to measure structural changes at different levels, which may be an input for the design and implementation of policies to foster competitiveness.

The paper aims at dealing with the role of users in the creation (or curation) and distribution of digital contents. User generated contents (UGCs) refer to a variety of media such as Wikis, question-answer databases, digital video, blogging, podcasting, forums, review sites, social networking, social media and mobile phone photograph. It attempts assessing their potential role as co-innovators. The paper follows the progressive creation of a new space for users, tracking its specific forms in each subsector of the media and content industries. Each subsector reveals a disruption in the production and circulation of new content.

The paper is based on desk research, a review of literature, review of the technical journals, and analysis of annual reports. The paper is part of an on-going research project on media and content industries.

The paper argued that since 2007 (release of iPhone and Kindle) the landscape went through a dramatic change, scaling up. It illustrates how the entire value chain of content (production/distribution/consumption) has opened up. The amount of UGC produced triggered a qualitative jump, ushering in new modes of interaction between the customers and creators, without necessarily turning the consumer into a full-fledge producer. The UGC model adds another source of production, thereby increasing diversity, ushering in new ways for talent scouting. It reveals various forms of co-creation and the role of a community model while also showing its limits.

This paper concentrates on digital media and does not deal with any other aspect such as knowledge sharing (Wikis). The paper does not cover the reactions of traditional industry players to UGC (some elements are given for newspaper), neither possible policy and regulatory responses The paper relies mostly on reports from news agencies, consultancies or annual reports from companies so as to delineate the main trends.

It shows that the role of customers did change within this context. The new channels offer novel ways to produce, curate and disseminate contents. It offers a range of examples from different industries.

The paper documents the participation of consumers in the production of content. it hints at the evolution of labour, alludes to the issue of diversity and of creativity, but does not address other societal issues.

Some reports were devoted to UGC in 2007 (OECD) and 2008 (Idate-IVIR-TNO) but in spite of the major changes that took place over the past decade, the research has been scarce, or has concentrated on a specific segment of the media industry. The paper is trying to offer a comprehensive overview of the various segments. Each sub-segment of the media industry illustrates a specific dimension.