Search results

The purpose of this article is to summarize the basic literature and concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the relevant studies for Latin America. The authors aim to assess the role of Latin America in the world innovative activity utilizing the production of USPTO patents.

To achieve the first objective, the authors review and summarize the relevant literature for innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America. They also introduce each of the papers included in the current special issue of Academia. To achieve the second objective, the authors use the production of USPTO patents by Latin American residents, and examine those levels to the rest of the world.

The authors find Latin America to be a marginal contributor to the world innovative activity. Although the region represented 8.7 per cent of world GDP in 2011, it only generated 0.19 per cent of the world patents registered at the USPTO between 2008 and 2012, and only 0.17 per cent of all patents registered since 1976. However, countries such as Costa Rica and Uruguay have larger levels of patent production by 100,000 inhabitants with 7.05 and 4.72 for 1976-2012.

This introduction introduces work that continues the intense discussion on innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America. It is to the extent of the authors' knowledge, one of the first attempts to measure the level of innovation at the regional level, and compare the performance of different countries. This special edition has implications for individuals, firms and governments striving to introduce new products, services and processes in a region that has historically confronted important barriers to innovation.

En esta introducción presentamos algunos conceptos básicos sobre innovación y empresariado, y hacemos énfasis en la literatura que ha estudiado estos fenómenos en América Latina. Evaluamos, además, el papel de América Latina en la actividad innovadora mundial, utilizando la producción de patentes registradas en la Oficina de Patentes y Marcas de Estados Unidos (USPTO), y encontramos que América Latina desempeña un papel marginal con relación a otros centros mundiales de innovación. Finalmente, se presentan los artículos de este número de la revista Academia. Esta edición especial tiene implicaciones prácticas para individuos, empresas y gobiernos, que quieran introducir nuevos productos, servicios, y procesos desde una región que históricamente ha tenido que enfrentar barreras a la innovación.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between ISO 9000:2000 certification and business results. It aims to provide reliable and valid constructs for measuring quality results and operative results in a specific sector: the furniture industry in Spain and to test the effects of certification on the aforementioned results.

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 130 Spanish companies. Confirmatory factor analysis tests were used to verify scales validity and reliability. The analysis of the variance (ANOVA) was utilised to investigate the statistical effects of ISO certification.

The results revealed two reliable and valid constructs: quality results and operative results. These measurement scales differentiated all the certified companies in the sample from the non‐certified enterprises due to the better results obtained by the former.

Although some studies have concentrated on analysing different quality results deriving from certification and the results of different operations, there is still a clear need for research using previously validated tools to measure results. This research aims to fill this gap by validating two scales to measure both types of results: quality results and operative results.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the memory of the unexpectedly deceased Professor Luis J. Sanz, president of BALAS and Associate Editor of ARLA. The issue includes six papers from Chile, Spain and Costa Rica/Argentina. The case study is on the privatization of the Buenos Aires underground in 1998, a topic of renewed interest in 2015. One of the studies determines the effect of director education and international experience on the firm’s access to international markets. Another paper studies the effect of corporate board diversity on company reputation. The third analyzes the negative effect of the politicization of State savings banks on the benefits of these financial institutions in Spain. The fourth studies the effect of the diversification strategy and cross-control by shareholder groups on firm value in Chile. Finally, we have a literature review, using meta-analysis methodology, on the relationship between auditor specialization by industry and the structure of audit fees.

Este número especial es dedicado a la memoria del súbitamente fallecido profesor Luis J. Sanz, presidente de BALAS y Editor Asociado de ARLA. Publicamos seis trabajos originados en Chile, España, y Costa Rica/Argentina. El caso trata sobre la privatización del metro de Buenos Aires en 1998, tema de renovada vigencia en 2015. Un estudio determina el efecto de la educación de posgrado y la experiencia internacional de los directores en el nivel de acceso a mercados internacionales de sus empresas. El segundo estudia el efecto de la diversidad en la composición de las juntas directivas sobre la reputación de la empresa. Tercero, se analiza el efecto negativo de la politización de las cajas de ahorros estatales en los beneficios de estas instituciones financieras en España. Cuarto, se estudia el efecto de la estrategia de diversificación y del control cruzado de grupos de accionistas sobre el valor de la empresa en Chile. Finalmente, una revisión de la literatura con metodología de meta análisis sobre la relación entre la estructura de auditores especializados por sector empresarial y la estructura de precios de sus tarifas.

This issue includes five of the best papers, from six different countries, presented in the Cladea Assembly of 2015. This introduction summarises the papers and presents an analysis of Latin American publications on management, and of the advantages and conditions for international collaboration. The first article looks at the positive impact of the decentralization of decision-making processes and the formalisation of work in the innovation of small and medium enterprises. The second studies the fear of failure in work and its relationship to demographic variables. The third analyses the impact of the domestic violence suffered by workers on customer services in Puerto Rican companies. The fourth discusses the relationship between teleworking and the work-family conflict, and finally, the fifth is aimed at optimising the management of dependent demand inventory systems.

This issue includes five articles chosen among the best papers presented at the Cladea Assembly of 2015 organised by Universidad de Valparaíso (Chile). The articles were sent in from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, and Puerto Rico, and were the best assessed in the fields of organisational behaviour, leadership and human capital management, entrepreneurships and SMEs, technology management and innovation, and operations management and value chains.

The selection process began with the evaluation of the works sent to the conference for each topic. The author wish to thank the organisers, those in charge of each topic, and all the evaluators that helped select the best works. In particular, we thank Sergio Olavarrieta, José Ernesto Amorós, Jorge Ayala, Silvio Borrero, Daniel Cabrera, Reinaldo Calvo, Consuelo García, Valeska Geldres, Jorge Gilbert, Olga Pizarro, José Antonio Robles, and Jorge Tarzijan. Authors interested in publishing their articles were asked to send in a revised version. These new versions were then subjected to a double blind evaluation, and subsequent revisions until reaching the current publication. This has been a collective process in which dozens of academics from all the Cladea schools and countries have taken part.

Este número incluye cinco de los mejores trabajos presentados en la asamblea de Cladea 2015, provenientes de seis países. En la presente introducción se resumen y comentan los trabajos, se ofrece un análisis acerca de las publicaciones latinoamericanas sobre gerencia y de las ventajas y condiciones de la colaboración internacional. El primer artículo analiza el positivo impacto de la descentralización de las decisiones y la formalización del trabajo en la innovación de las PYMES. El segundo estudia el miedo al fracaso en el trabajo y su relación con variables demográficas. El tercero analiza el impacto en el servicio al cliente de la violencia doméstica experimentada por trabajadoras en empresas de Puerto Rico. El cuarto estudia la relación entre el trabajo a distancia en el hogar (teletrabajo) y el conflicto familia-empresa. El quinto se orienta a optimizar el manejo de inventarios en sistemas con demanda dependiente.

En este número publicamos cinco artículos escogidos entre las mejores ponencias presentados en la Asamblea de CLADEA 2015 organizada por la Universidad de Valparaíso (Chile). Los artículos provienen de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, España y Puerto Rico, y fueron los mejor evaluados en los temas de comportamiento organizacional, liderazgo y gestión del capital humano, emprendimientos y PYMES (pequeña y mediana empresa), gestión tecnológica e innovación, y gestión de operaciones y cadena de valor.

El proceso de selección se inició por las evaluaciones que se hicieron en cada tema para aceptar los trabajos enviados a la asamblea. Debemos agradecer a los organizadores, a los encargados de cada tema y a todos los evaluadores que permitieron tener una selección de los mejores trabajos, en especial a Sergio Olavarrieta, José Ernesto Amorós, Jorge Ayala, Silvio Borrero, Daniel Cabrera, Reinaldo Calvo, Consuelo García, Valeska Geldres, Jorge Gilbert, Olga Pizarro, José Antonio Robles, y Jorge Tarzijan. Posteriormente desde esta revista procedimos a solicitar versiones revisadas a los autores que estuvieran interesados en publicarlos, versiones sometidas a evaluación doble ciego, que llevaron a posteriores revisiones hasta la publicación actual. Ha sido un proceso colectivo donde participaron docenas académicos de todas las escuelas y países de Cladea.

This chapter reviews Colombia's unique environmental and social features and Colombia's realities in the third decade of the twenty-first century. It is crucial to understand the country's recent past and to take its structural and historic struggles into account when building sustainable futures.

This chapter also reports the findings of a primary data research study using futures scenario methodologies. The study participants represent different stakeholders' visions of four alternative futures regarding the climate crisis and massive biodiversity loss and social and economic crises.

This chapter's empirical study identifies Colombia's constraints to building a future that is just, inclusive and centred on nature. In addition, we describe in detail the structural changes needed for Colombia to achieve the best possible future scenario (socioeconomic prosperity and resilience to climate change). Finally, this chapter offers conclusions and recommendations.