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The aim of this paper was to analyse the creative competence of students before and after a micro-learning experience carried out in a collaborative online international learning (COIL) environment between Spanish and Mexican university students in the field of education and entrepreneurship.

A single-group quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures was adopted. The composition of the group was natural and included a total of 57 students who participated in the COIL experience. The duration was three weeks, where students from both countries were linked together in the development of a micro-learning project. The creativity self-efficacy scale was used as a data collection instrument.

The micro-learning activities through COIL developed the creative competence of the participating students. In particular, the groups from both universities improved their scores on the creative competence in the post-test compared to the pre-test measure.

The limitations of this study were linked to the sample loss of some cases, as some students did not complete the post-test measure. The main implication of the study was to demonstrate that COIL experiences are suitable for developing certain skills in students, such as creative competence or co-operative work.

COIL experiences break down the barriers of physical space and give students an active role, allowing them to fully develop competences and offering an intercultural perspective, which encourages open-mindedness and understanding of the world.

The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding on how metasurfaces behave, in terms of currents in each unit cell. A better knowledge of their behavior could lead to an ad-hoc design for specific applications.

The methodology used is both theoretical and numerical; it is based on circuit theory and on an optimization procedure.

The results show that when the knowledge of the current in each unit cell of a metasurface is needed, the most common approximations currently used are often not accurate. Furthermore, a procedure for the termination of a metasurface, with application-driven goals, is given.

This paper investigates the distribution of the currents in a 2D metamaterial realized with magnetically coupled resonant coils. Different models for the analysis of these structures are illustrated, and the effects of the approximations they introduce on the current values are shown and discussed. Furthermore, proper terminations of the resonators on the boundaries have been investigated by implementing a numerical optimization procedure with the purpose of achieving a uniform distribution of the resonator currents. The results show that the behavior of a metasurface (in terms of currents in each single resonator) depends on different properties; as a consequence, their design is not a trivial task and is dependent on the specific applications they are designed for. A design strategy, with lumped impedance termination, is here proposed.

This study aims to analyze how gender, research experience and geography are related to the researchers’ importance in the co-authorship network on management and accounting in Brazil.

A social network based on the co-authorship relationships in the papers published in leading Brazilian journals was examined using a logit model to estimate the probability of occupying prevailing positions.

The findings showed a network with a high level of fragmentation and a scarcity of authors serving as gatekeepers. Based on the number of directed links and collaboration with influential and well-connected authors, men were more likely to occupy central positions than women. Authors with higher academic degrees tended to establish more links but were more likely to distance from other authors. In terms of geography, authors from more- and less-favored regions may report similar propensity to occupy central positions.

Decision-makers should consider the importance of strengthening collaboration between different research groups and encourage female participation in broader collaborative networks. Research evaluation bodies should strengthen incentives regarding interinstitutional partnerships.

Studies on collaborative networks in management and accounting sciences are less common and generally focus on describing the networks. This paper combines social network analysis and econometric procedures to analyze the relationship between demographic and geographical aspects, and distinct network centrality indexes.

This paper presents a new and well-structured framework that aims to assess the current environmental impact from a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions perspective. This tool includes a new set of Lean Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which translates the well-known logic of Overall Equipment Effectiveness in the field of GHG emissions, that can progressively detect industrial losses that cause GHG emissions and support decision-making for implementing improvements.

The new metrics are presented with reference to two different perspectives: (1) to highlight the deviation of the current value of emissions from the target; (2) to adopt a diagnostic orientation not only to provide an assessment of current performance but also to search for the main causes of inefficiencies and to direct improvement implementations.

The proposed framework was applied to a major company operating in the plywood production sector. It identified emission-related losses at each stage of the production process, providing an overall performance evaluation of 53.1%. The industrial application shows how the indicators work in practice, and the framework as a whole, to assess GHG emissions related to industrial losses and to proper address improvement actions.

This paper scrutinizes a new set of Lean KPIs to assess the industrial losses causing GHG emissions and identifies some significant drawbacks. Then it proposes a new structure of losses and KPIs that not only quantify efficiency but also allow to identify viable countermeasures.

People visit malls not only to buy a product they need but also to enjoy the atmosphere or environment of the shopping center. Based on design and eco-natural environment, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the attraction factors of shopping centers.

The sample comprised 449 consumers from 25 different shopping centers in Bogota. The structural equation model (AMOS) enables the authors to discuss the influence of the design of green and natural spaces in the commercial management of shopping centers, given its positive and significant effect on the intention to visit.

Shopping centers are, by definition, spaces with a high level of design of the commercial environment. In this case, as evidenced in the results of this research, the design of ecological spaces and environments has the potential of becoming a field of interest for the commercial management of shopping centers, given its potential effect on visiting and shopping intentions.

The main originality of this study was to empirically include and demonstrate the influence of design and natural eco-environment on the intention to visit, along with other elements considered in previous investigations. Therefore, identification of specific empirical findings related to the way attraction factors work allows marketing directors and managers to improve their management decisions concerning design and implementation of marketing strategies, tactical decision guidance, decision-making assessment or control, and the proposal of alternative positioning attributes, such as the design, management, and arrangement of eco-natural environments that allow to increase the number of visits and purchases within these establishments.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue about generation of public value through smart technologies and strategies. The key argument is that smart technologies have the potential to foster co-creation of public services and the generation of public value in management processes, based on the collaborative, social and horizontal nature of these smart technologies. Understanding these processes from a public management perspective is the purpose of this paper and the rest of the special issue.

The approach to this paper is a theoretical and conceptual review, whereas practical implications both for scholars and practitioners arise from the review of the literature and the conceptual approximation to the notion of smartness in technologies and government. This approach is rooted in the potential of the latest smart technologies and strategies to transform public administrations and to better understand and cope societal problems.

The conceptual and theoretical perspective of this paper offers ideas for future developments. The content of this paper shows that new smart technologies and strategies will shape, and will be shaped by, the future of public organizations and management. This paper illustrates the process of change in public value generation over time, as a result of different public management paradigms (from traditional public administration to new public management), but also different types of technologies (from mainframes to websites and social media and beyond). The empirical evidence of the articles of this special issue supports this conclusion; that open and collaborative innovation processes developed under this emergent technological wave could become encouraging transformative practices in the public sector.

The theoretical and conceptual nature of this paper needs further empirical research to validate some of the discussed assumptions and ideas.

Although this paper is oriented to present the main contents of the special issue, it also provides an original approach to the theme of public value generation using smart technologies and strategies in public sector management.

Studying the gap between improvements in operational performance of a manufacturing organization does not necessarily represent the existent of safe and healthy work. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap validating a scale about social practices.

The literature was studied; data analysis instrument and the scale validated by Q-sort. The reliability and validity of research instrument indicators were drawing from the analysis of judges. The data were assessed by convergence matrix.

It was validated five social practices factors. It was enabled the adequacy of the name of the constructs and establishment which indicators better convergence to the constructs.

The judge´s number that answered the research was low. The level of convergence related of two factors was above 50 percent.

It is possible to achieve better levels of performance through social practices. Organizations must rethink the management and the routine of the workers to implement the operational practices.

The practices need to have with well-defined rules, as well as action to drive compliance. This vision also needs to be expanded to suppliers, customers and society.

Highlight five points: technology is the main factor for analyzes and decisions; the search for quality leads organizations to seek practices that improve workers’ well-being, health and safety; the activities of the worker are carried out on the factory, or in the work environment; Should not to belittle the local community; culture is an essential factor to continuous improvement.

This article investigates the quality of stakeholder engagement (SE) process disclosure in the context of non-financial reporting (NFR) introduced by Directive 2014/95/EU (NFRD). SE implies the involvement of the subjects interested in the organization's activity, according to the principle of inclusiveness and the key concepts of the stakeholder theory (ST).

The authors conducted a content analysis on 75 non-financial statements (NFSs) published by companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in 2018 and 2021 to evaluate the evolutionary profiles of SE quality through the years.

The average level of SE is not significantly high. The research showed an overall poor quality of disclosure concerning stakeholders' key expectations and issues to be addressed and answered. Furthermore, a certain variability emerged in the quality of the disclosure between the various reports, and no significant improvements in SE quality were noted from 2018 to 2021.

The conclusions provide a replicable method for the analysis of SE quality in NFSs and the development of new standpoints in the ongoing debate on the implications of mandatory legislative frameworks for NFR. Content analyses intrinsically present margins of subjectivity. The sample was limited to a subset of NFS from Italy; hence, the results could be country specific.

This work suggests some possible ways of improvement of SE practices by companies.

Original assessment model based on eight variables identified from the academic literature and the most common international sustainability reporting standards. These variables were stakeholder identification, stakeholder selection process, degree of involvement, SE approach, dialogue channels, SE results, different points of view and integration of the SE process.

The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on entrepreneurial processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study intends to fill this gap by researching the mechanisms for facilitating AE and the variables that can moderate the relationship between such mechanisms and AE in Portuguese HEIs.

Our research model aims to assess the mechanisms of academic entrepreneurship (AE) within a sample of 125 Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs). To test our research hypotheses, we employed a structural equation model (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Additionally, our evaluation examines the potential moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs (PoCs). Our research model seeks to evaluate the mechanisms for facilitating AE and explore the effects of including incubator programs, support initiatives, and PoCs as moderators. The seven variables (Research mobilization, Unconventionality, Industry collaboration, University policies, Incubator programs and support initiatives, Proof-of-concept programs, and academic entrepreneurship) were measured using a 7-point Likert scale.

The results revealed that different drivers of AE influence the creation and development of entrepreneurial activities. Our findings also show the moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs on AE. We find that incubator programs, other support initiatives, and PoCs maintain a moderating effect on AE and benefit their respective HEIs.

The study examines only the Portuguese HEI context. Therefore, generalizing these results necessitates reservations. However, the responses came from various actors in HEIs, from different academic backgrounds and research interests. This makes the results more generalizable. Limitations are evident in external validity, given that we gathered the data over a relatively short period.

Observed factors are explored to gain a deeper understanding of their influence on the mechanisms of AE. The implications arise from the new perspective presented and the methodology used to identify mechanisms capable of fostering AE. We hope this research will encourage other researchers to study this topic further.

the engagement of universities at the global level should be emphasised in future policy. While universities in innovation systems often have a local focus, their engagement in innovation ecosystems transcends the boundaries of geographic locations.

PoCs had a significant positive moderating effect on the impact of research mobilization and university policies on AE. Thus, we find interactions between universities and industry boost AE. This study demonstrates how AE benefits HEIs by extending orientation towards mobilizing research, unconventional approaches, cooperation with industry, and university policy implementation. We thus advocate a new approach, demonstrating the influence that the mobility of research, unconventionality, industry collaboration, and university policies hold over AE.

The study aims to explore the argument of implementing the lean method to part or whole of an operation by examining the moderating impact of varying levels of the extent of implementation of four different lean methods, along with their functionalities, in predicting productivity improvement (PI).

As the focus of understanding the efficacy of lean principles is shifting from process to industry level, this study tried to generalize the approach by gathering data from 132 large Indian auto component manufacturers. This involves an assessing/monitoring approach rather than measurement.

Results highlighted the interdependence or individuality of the extent of implementation of lean methods and their functionalities. Findings revealed a significant moderating effect in improving productivity to a greater extent of 50%.

Adopting an assessment approach to a measurement study provides a noteworthy contribution to bridging theory and practical consequences. The findings can be appropriately extrapolated to medium and small enterprises forming a critical connection in the entire automobile manufacturing ecosystem.

The study showed that even if a lean method is applied to a certain extent of operations the chances of PI are significant. This is important for decision makers as they confront problems of optimum resource allocation.

PI, reduced cost and generalization of results would enable the auto component industry to become more competitive.

The examination of the moderation effect of a lean principle implementation extent, along with that of its functionalities to predict the improvement in productivity from its existing level, is a major outcome of this study.