Search results

Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) play a crucial role in the development of any country by generating innovative ideas. However, they face inherent restrictions that hinder their innovation capabilities. It is essential to support innovation policies to overcome these barriers and foster innovation. This study aims to explore how innovation policies can reduce barriers to innovation in MSEs using the lens of innovation capabilities.

Through a multiple case study, the authors examined eight MSEs in São Paulo (Brazil) and five in Florence (Italy) to conduct this study. These countries share a similar level of importance when it comes to MSEs.

Current innovation policies could be more effective for MSEs if certain barriers they encounter are faced and resolved, such as limited financial resources and a scarcity of qualified workers. These barriers directly affect two key elements of their innovation capability: financial resources and human resources. Therefore, it is essential to develop innovation policies that target these elements directly to enable MSEs to overcome these obstacles and thrive.

This study aims to enhance the knowledge of how innovation policies can help alleviate obstacles to innovation and how they can influence the various components that comprise the innovation capability of MSEs. This research can be valuable for policymakers as it provides insight into which innovation policies impact each aspect of innovation capability, enabling them to choose the most suitable policy based on the specific needs and local circumstances of the MSEs.

This study aims to reveal the potential for ecotourism of a locality with high marginalisation index in the municipality of Tlalpujahua, a Magic Town in the State of Michoacán, Mexico.

This case study was based on several methodologies. First, socioeconomic, environmental, sustainability, geographic and institutional variables were used in the evaluation of 62 localities of the municipality. Geographic information systems identified study areas and determined their potential for ecotourism. Second, participatory diagnosis was used to collect specific information about the locality regarding their organisational aspects, development strategies, current socioeconomic problems, land use and resources availability and interest in developing projects related to ecotourism. Finally, the authors adapted the FAS Model (factors, attractors and support systems) to include environmental and organisational variables contributing to a theoretical approach to ecotourism. To identify attractors, they applied a questionnaire to determine the profile of tourists visiting Magic Towns and their potential interest in ecotourism.

The authors conclude that ecotourism is a possible alternative to highly marginalised localities within Magic Town municipalities and would be able to expand the benefits engendered by the program. Ecotourism can therefore represent a new option for tourists visiting marginalised communities in Mexico.

A diverse methodology applied key elements to identify localities suitable for ecotourism, characteristics of marginalisation and endowment of natural heritage. The authors conclude that the benefits to localities included in the Magic Towns Program can be expanded to surrounding spaces through strategies such as ecotourism.

This research note discusses three essential and practical questions related to social entrepreneurship and social activities in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): What motivates SMEs to undertake social activities? What are the obstacles faced by SMEs when undertaking social activities? What are the types of social activities that SMEs undertake? The article presents preliminary answers and provides research suggestions related to these questions.

The authors search and review articles that study social entrepreneurship and social activities of SMEs and synthesize their findings based on the three main topics of interest.

The authors synthesized findings based on their three motivating topics: motivation, obstacles and types. They extracted three primary motivations of SMEs for social activities: (1) demands and expectations from external stakeholders, (2) nonpecuniary incentives that stem from organizational values and culture and (3) anticipation of improving relevant organizational outcomes. The authors extracted two obstacles for social initiatives: (1) limited resources and knowledge and (2) lack of perceived benefits or incentives. Finally, the authors extracted two types of social activities: (1) activities that address social and ethical issues and (2) activities that address environmental concerns.

Pressing concerns in society have pushed numerous entrepreneurs and small business managers to create and manage businesses that aim to alleviate social and environmental problems. Accordingly, researchers have devoted some attention to how SMEs get increasingly involved with social activities and initiatives (i.e. addressing social and environmental challenges through their firms). The authors highlight existing findings and propose future research opportunities based on our three essential and motivating questions.

The main objective of this article is to visualize the structure and trends of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) between 1999 and 2023 through mapping and in-depth analysis. The aim is to analyze PEB, which has received considerable academic attention in recent years due to its key role in the conservation of the environment and the protection of local communities in tourist destinations. This paper provides an important summary of the recent research that has explored the role that tourists have in protecting the environment through PEB.

This study presents a visual analysis of 2005 scholarly articles between the years 1999 and 2023 related to PEB. Using the knowledge mapping based on VOSviewer it presents the current status of research, which includes the analysis of citation analysis, co-citation analysis, co-citation network and longitudinal analysis.

PEB is an emerging topic due to its relevance to protecting the environment in the context of travel. The citation and co-citation analysis show the relevance of the behavior of tourists with regard to protecting the environment. The co-word analysis highlights the current significance of research concerning green hotels and the destination image of environmentally responsible destinations.

This study sheds light on the current research progress of PEB in the context of tourism through a comprehensive analysis (citation, co-citation and co-word). In addition, we provide theories and factors that have been previously used to study PEB in the context of tourism. The findings contribute to a broad and diverse understanding of the concept of PEB, which can provide important insights for policymakers in formulating management strategies and policies aimed at reducing environmental impacts in destinations.

The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature in order to identify trends and suggest some possible directions for future research in the framework of humanitarian aid distribution logistics with accessibility constraints.

The authors developed a systematic literature review to study the state of the art on distribution logistics considering accessibility constraints. The electronic databases used were Web of science, Scopus, Science Direct, Jstor, Emerald, EBSCO, Scielo and Redalyc. As a result, 49 articles were reviewed in detail.

This study identified some gaps, as well as some research opportunities. The main conclusions are the need for further studies on the interrelationships and hierarchies of multiple actors, explore intermodality, transshipment options and redistribution relief goods to avoid severe shortages in some nodes and excess inventory in others, studies of the vulnerability of transport networks, correlational analysis of road failures and other future lines.

The bibliography is limited to peer-reviewed academic journals due to their academic relevance, accessibility and ease of searching. Most of the studies included in the review were conducted in high-income countries, which may limit the generalizability of the results to low-income countries. However, the authors focused on databases covering important journals on humanitarian logistics.

This paper contextualises and synthesises research into humanitarian aid distribution logistics with accessibility constrains, highlights key themes and suggests areas for further research.

Polyurethane (PUR) foam parts are traditionally manufactured using metallic molds, an unsuitable approach for prototyping purposes. Thus, rapid tooling of disposable molds using fused filament fabrication (FFF) with polylactic acid (PLA) and glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) is proposed as an economical, simpler and faster solution compared to traditional metallic molds or three-dimensional (3D) printing with other difficult-to-print thermoplastics, which are prone to shrinkage and delamination (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polypropilene-PP) or high-cost due to both material and printing equipment expenses (PEEK, polyamides or polycarbonate-PC). The purpose of this study has been to evaluate the ease of release of PUR foam on these materials in combination with release agents to facilitate the mulding/demoulding process.

PETG, PLA and hardenable polylactic acid (PLA 3D870) have been evaluated as mold materials in combination with aqueous and solvent-based release agents within a full design of experiments by three consecutive molding/demolding cycles.

PLA 3D870 has shown the best demoldability. A mold expressly designed to manufacture a foam cushion has been printed and the prototyping has been successfully achieved. The demolding of the part has been easier using a solvent-based release agent, meanwhile the quality has been better when using a water-based one.

The combination of PLA 3D870 and FFF, along with solvent-free water-based release agents, presents a compelling low-cost and eco-friendly alternative to traditional metallic molds and other 3D printing thermoplastics. This innovative approach serves as a viable option for rapid tooling in PUR foam molding.

Customer identification leads to behaviors that are beneficial for firms. This paper aims to analyze the effect of firm identification and community identification on content creation, which indirectly may affect offline word of mouth and online word of mouth.

This paper proposes a research model that is tested using data from 491 users of online travel agencies. To do so, partial least squares method is used.

The results show a positive relationship between firm identification and community identification. Moreover, both variables exert a positive effect on content creation. Furthermore, content creation positively influences offline and online word of mouth. This influence is moderated by self-enhancement in the case of online word of mouth.

Firm managers must enhance customer identification, as it can turn in behaviors that are beneficial for the company. Moreover, firms that own online communities must apply segmentation strategies based on identification and self-enhancement to encourage positive behaviors from customers.

This research tests the relationship between firm identification and community identification. Additionally, this study jointly analyzes the impact of these variables on several beneficial behaviors.

La identificación del consumidor genera comportamientos que son beneficiosos para las empresas. Esta investigación analiza el efecto directo de la identificación con la compañía y la identificación con la comunidad sobre la creación de contenido, así como el efecto indirecto de estas variables de identificación sobre el boca- oído offline y online.

Esta investigación propone un modelo teórico, el cual es estimado mediante Partial Least Squares a partir de información procedente de 491 usuarios de agencias de viajes online.

Los resultados muestran una relación positiva entre la identificación con la firma y la identificación con la comunidad. Además, ambas variables ejercen un efecto positivo en la creación de contenido. Asimismo, la creación de contenido influye positivamente sobre el boca-oído offline y online. Esta influencia es moderada por la necesidad de reconocimiento de los consumidores.

Los resultados del trabajo recomiendan potenciar la identificación del cliente con la empresa, dado esta identificación conlleva comportamientos beneficiosos para la compañía. Además, las compañías que poseen comunidades online deberían aplicar estrategias de segmentación basadas en la identificación y la necesidad de reconocimiento de cara a potenciar que sus clientes llevan a cabo comportamientos positivos para la empresa.

Esta investigación examina la relación entre la identificación con la compañía y la identificación con la comunidad. Adicionalmente, este estudio analiza conjuntamente el impacto de estas variables en comportamientos que son beneficiosos para la empresa

Trabajo de investigación