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This paper aims to highlight certain comments made by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials, which may provide insight into compliance and enforcement issues that may be important for market participants, including broker-dealers, investment advisors and reporting companies, in the future.

This paper explains comments made by SEC officials and highlights potential regulatory issues based on past experiences of attorneys within the firm, past comments made by the SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and past regulatory exam results.

This paper summarizes remarks from the recent SEC Speaks 2018 Conference conducted by SEC officials related to the Commission’s regulatory and enforcement priorities. Issuers, brokers, advisors and other financial organizations should familiarize themselves with the themes and guidance discussed at the Conference to prepare for regulatory compliance challenges in the upcoming year.

Practical guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of the intellectual capital (IC) on the competitiveness in the manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico.

The approach of this investigation is developing a theoretical construct to determine the correlation between IC and competitiveness and find the most relevant factors that impact it, where IC is independent variable and the competitiveness is dependant variable. Using the Likert scale to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement, the survey was applied to 420 SMEs. The results were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha and subsequently structural equation models.

The results show that the IC dimensions – the information obtained, IC developed and learning and feedback – have an effect on the competitiveness of SMEs. The paper presents the theoretical validation of the factors that impact on IC and competitiveness and hence they are the key elements that impact mostly on each analysed variable.

The results obtained measure the level of correlation between the variables in the study, helping to design strategies for the key factors needed to integrate the IC and to develop competitive synergies in the manufacturing SMEs.

This study shows the effects of the IC that are directly impacting the competitiveness of SMEs so that each factor of the dependent and independent variables should be analysed separately to propose improvements in implementing IC to seek higher level of competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to study how job reductions affect product innovation and marketing innovation in a sample of 2,034 Spanish manufacturing firms in the period 2007–2014.

Poisson and logistic regression models with random effects were used to analyse the impact of downsizing on some innovation outcomes of firms.

The results of this research show that the stressful measure of job reductions may have unexpected consequences, stimulating innovation. However downsizing combined with radical organisational changes such as new equipment, techniques or processes seems to have a negative impact on product and marketing innovation.

This research has two original features. First, it explores the unconventional direction of causality from the planned elimination of jobs to innovation outputs. Secondly, the paper looks at the combined effect of downsizing and other restructuring measures on different types of innovation. Following the threat-rigidity theory, we assume that this combination represents a major threat for survivors that leads to lower levels of product and marketing innovation.

Tourism sustainability is a challenge for 21st-century destinations – this paper aims to analyse smart destinations' sustainability through a case study of Benidorm, the first world destination to be certified under the UNE 178501 standard as smart tourism destination (STD).

The methodological component has been divided into developing a framework for measuring sustainability through economic, social and environmental open data. Moreover, studying the plan's contribution “Benidorm, Destino Turístico Inteligente y Sostenible” to the city's sustainability through a time series analysis.

The main contribution shows that Benidorm's transformation into an STD leads to more sustainable cities. Thus, the conversion of Benidorm into an STD has a sustained effect in the medium and long term, contributing to the sustainability of the city.

An open question as a limitation is the subjectivity of the distribution of the relative weight of each indicator. However, statistical analyses are developed to explore the relationship between indicators and global sustainability.

The debate to contextualise this paper is bridging the gap between sustainability and tourism intelligence, giving an original framework for measuring destination sustainability that provides a reasonable starting point for comparing tourism sustainability in different destinations.

Tourists in the 21st century prefer environmentally friendly tourism. Marketing campaigns based on destination sustainability must be based on data rather than mere slogans.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the originality of this paper provides a flexible framework for measuring sustainability from open data sources, being one of the first empirical analyses to study the effects on the sustainability of converting a mature destination into an STD.

Many of the papers that analyse human resource management (HRM) in merger and acquisition (M&A) processes focus on the last two stages (integration and implementation). Then, the purpose of this paper is to propose an HRM model for the first stage of the process (planning) with four key factors: the due diligence process, the integration plan, the communication plan and the learning plan.

From the theoretical model, the authors analyse a case study of a multinational company that operates in the mechanical engineering sector.

The results show the special importance of HRM in the success of the M&A process. And, the main actions implemented in human resources (HRs) contributing to the success of this process are identified.

Subsequent investigations could conduct similar analyses for the rest of the stages of the M&A process (integration and implementation), with the objective of presenting a complete HRM model in M&A processes.

The case study allows researchers to learn from professionals and business leaders while also offering a theoretical model that can help managers make decisions and improve the management of these processes.

The main contribution of this study has been to observe how HRs are managed in the planning stage of M&As.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a human resource management model for the integration stage of mergers and acquisitions (M/A) process with four key factors: leadership and integration team; change and restructuring process; human resources (HR) resistance; valuable HR retention.

The authors analyze a case study of a multinational company that operates in the mechanical engineering sector.

The results show the special importance of human resource management in the success of the merger and acquisition process. And, the main actions implemented in HR contributing to the success of this process are identified.

Subsequent investigations could conduct similar analyses for the planning and implementation stages of the merger and acquisition process, with the objective of presenting a complete HR management model in merger and acquisition processes.

The case study allows researchers to learn from professionals and business leaders while also offering a theoretical model that can help managers make decisions and improve the management of these processes.

The main contribution of this study has been to observe how HR are managed in the integration stage of M/A.

To protect the environment and society, research on responsible behavior and personal values has increased. Values have been identified as important for understanding and predicting environmental preservation behaviors. The purpose of this study is to analyze the validity and reliability of the Environmental Portrait Value Questionnaire in the Spanish context.

The new version of this questionnaire was administered to 742 university students (46.4% male and 53.6% female) from 16 regions in Spain.

The results of adapting and testing the instrument’s psychometric properties were consistent with accepted criteria for validity and reliability. Therefore, this updated and contextualized instrument has the potential to contribute to academic advances in the sense of expanding the empirical practice of studying environmental values. Fifteen items from the original version were retained, grouped into four factors as in the original version: Altruistic – five items; Egoistic – four items; Biospheric – three items; and Hedonic – three items. The final version showed adequate fit indices and reliability measures.

This instrument is a powerful resource for the Spanish academic community because using this application it will be possible to assess the degree of commitment of young adults to the goals of sustainability and environmental protection.

To achieve sustainable development to protect the environment and society, an increasing number of scholars have conducted in-depth research on sustainable and responsible consumption behaviors. The outputs demonstrate that consumers are increasingly concerned and aware of the issues associated with the excessive use of resources. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the validity and reliability of the Sustainable Consumption Scale (SC-S) in the Spanish context.

The adaptation of SC-S to Spanish was carried out in accordance with international methodological standards. The Spanish version of this scale was applied empirically to the research sample was composed of 962 university students (49.1% male and 50.9% female) from 54 Universities in 15 regions of Spain that participated in the study.

The analyses carried out to verify the psychometric properties retained 16 items from the original proposal, grouped equally in three factors: Cognitive – six items; Affective – seven items; and Conative – four items. The scale presented adequate adjustment indexes, as well as optimal values of the different measures of reliability, recommended by the literature.

This instrument can be used by the Spanish academic community, which will contribute to the assessment and prediction regarding a sustainable consumption attitude. From these screenings, it will be also possible to understand the impact and development of the objectives outlined by Agenda 2030.

Japanese American philosopher Magoroh Maruyama (1969) proposed the Mindscape theory, a macro model of cultural differences identification. The theory suggests inter-and intra-cultural heterogeneity and four major Mindscapes of H, I, S and G. He and his colleagues designed 64 graphic geometric patterns based on redundant and non-redundant complexity to recognize the Mindscapes in cultures. However, there is no method of identifying each Mindscape individually/separately. In other words, specificity is missing in this theory. Without such identification, the applicability of the Mindscape theory in international business is limited. This study aims to provide the needed specificity.

The present study applies Harvey’s (1966) four epistemological systems to identify each of the four Mindscapes. According to Maruyama and Harvey, three of Harvey’s four systems are identical to the three Mindscapes of H, I and G. If the authors can match the three Mindscapes with the three Harvey’s systems, what remains the authors assume to be the fourth Mindscape.

The current study determined various graphic and geometric patterns associated with each of the four Mindscapes. In doing so, the study expanded the applicability of the theory in international business.

Harvey (1966) administered nine psychological tests (instruments) to many subjects over nearly two decades to determine the four systems. Using nine major instruments is very challenging, demanding and time-consuming. For ease of application and saving time, the authors used one of these instruments as an example. Ideally, the authors should use all.

Mindscape theory suggests that each of the four salient Mindscapes is more relevant to a specific situation, such as human resource management, motivation, leadership, conflict resolution and others. By identifying each Mindscape, this study expands the use of Mindscape theory.

The identification of customer needs through relationship management and their transformation into marketing innovation are two key processes in customer value creation. When combined, they can improve a firm’s competitive position, not only in terms of profitability but also by reducing costs and promoting the use of technology. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the link between managerial relational capability and marketing innovation in customer value creation, and to look at how that value creation affects competitiveness.

We analyze 450 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the furniture industry in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara (Mexico). To this sample is applied a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model to analyze the impact of management capabilities in relationships and marketing innovation on customer value creation and to determine how the value created affects competitiveness.

The results show that management capabilities in customer relationships and in the way they convert knowledge of customer needs into specific choices in the market have a positive effect on customer value creation, as well as on financial performance, cost optimization and the use of technology, all of which can be used as indicators of competitiveness.

The study covers customer value creation in an emerging economy, that of Mexico, and relates it to business competitiveness from a holistic point of view which goes beyond profitability by also including cost reduction and the use of technology.