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Although R&D plays a crucial role in innovativeness and R&D expenditures is the most widely used tool to measure the level of innovativeness of companies, other variables and inputs may be equally interesting. The purpose of this paper is to define an innovative propensity index (IPI) which considers these variables and allows the identification of those companies which have a higher propensity to implement different types of innovativeness.

Taking into account, the different criteria that may be considered in an IPI and that the perception of the relative importance of each criterion is subjective, the use of an innovativeness multicriteria decision methodology has been considered appropriate. In particular, an IPI is built from the weighting of the criteria through FAHP methodology. Data mining techniques are subsequently used to establish a non-supervised ranking (clustering) of a sample of firms, considering their IPI values.

The application of an IPI to a sample of 1,639 companies operating in different industrial sectors has helped us to find out that this index is useful for identifying those companies which really show an increased innovative capacity. A comparative analysis by sectors has shown that although there are companies from all sectors with a high innovative propensity, the proportion increases in more technological sectors. Moreover, it has been observed that in companies with higher net personnel expenses and high productivity level the innovative propensity is also higher.

The criteria used to build the index affects innovativeness individually, but the value of the analysis lies in its multicriteria approach and use of fuzzy logic. The validation of the index in a wide sample of firms is another outstanding aspect of the analysis.

This paper aims to propose comparing the performance of three algorithms based on different population-based heuristics, particle swarm optimization (PSO), artificial bee colony (ABC) and method of musical composition (DMMC), for the districting problem.

In order to compare the performance of the proposed algorithms, they were tested on eight instances drawn from the Mexican electoral institute database, and their respective performance levels were compared. In addition, a simulated annealing-based (simulated annealing – SA) algorithm was used as reference to evaluate the proposed algorithms. This technique was included in this work because it has been used for Federal districting in Mexico since 1994. The performance of the algorithms was evaluated in terms of the quality of the approximated Pareto front and efficiency. Regarding solution quality, convergence and dispersion of the resulting non-dominated solutions were evaluated.

The results show that the quality and diversification of non-dominated solutions generated by population-based algorithms are better than those produced by Federal Electoral Institute’s (IFE’s) SA-based technique. More accurately, among population-based techniques, discrete adaptation of ABC and MMC outperform PSO.

The performance of three population-based techniques was evaluated for the districting problem. In this paper, the authors used the objective function proposed by the Mexican IFE, a weight aggregation function that seeks for a districting plan that represents the best balance between population equality and compactness. However, the weighting factors can be modified by political agreements; thus, the authors decided to produce a set of efficient solutions, using different weighting factors for the computational experiments. This way, the best algorithm will produce high quality solutions no matter the weighting factors used for a real districting process. The computational experiments proved that the proposed artificial bee colony and method of musical composition-based algorithms produce better quality efficient solutions than its counterparts. These results show that population-based algorithms can outperform traditional local search strategies. Besides, as far as we know, this is the first time that the method of musical composition is used for this kind of problems.

This paper aims to provide a broad overview of the corpus of studies on digital finance in relation to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups.

Bibliometric analysis was used, allowing to investigate the relevant literature (735 articles). In accordance with best practices, relevant articles were identified on the topic following the PRISMA 2020 framework that ensures reproducible and rigorous results. The search then proceeds with performance analysis, identifying key trends at the intersection of research fields, including distribution of articles by year, citations by year, most cited contributions and most cited and prolific authors. This is followed by analyses of co-citation, co-authorship and co-occurrence with a detailed description of the thematic clusters identified.

Performance analysis shows that scholarly output covers a 12-year period, starting in 2011, and demonstrates a growing interest in this topic. Co-occurrence analysis reveals a significant intellectual structure which allows numerous knowledge gaps to emerge, and these offer new opportunities to be addressed in future research.

This study uniquely focuses on the evolution of the research domain related to digital finance associated with SMEs and startups. It provides implications for practitioners and avenues that researchers can develop in the future to produce impactful studies.

Cities have been exposed to a variety of natural disasters such as flooding, extreme temperatures, storms, earthquakes, and other natural shocks, and have had to respond and adapt to such pressures over time. In the context of global climate change, natural disasters have increased across the globe. Apart from climate change, many urban environments in Latin America are experiencing significant transformations in land use patterns, socio-demographic change, changing labor markets, and economic growth, resulting from recent decades of globalization. Such transformations have resulted in the internal fragmentation of cities. In this context, the purpose of the present chapter is to demonstrate the importance in both theoretical and methodological terms, of integrating the concept of socio-environmental fragmentation into urban vulnerability research in order to make progress toward higher degrees of local sustainability in those areas of the city that suffer natural disasters and fragmentation.

A mixed methods approach is used in order to combine different technical issues from urban and climate change studies.

The findings are related to the importance of an integrated approach, regarding the complexity of urban life, and the relationship between the urban, the social, and the environmental phenomenon.

This chapter relates to the revisit of the current state of preparedness and to determine whether further adaptations are required. The authors understood that these kinds of mixed approaches are necessary in order to understand the new complexity of urban processes.

This study scrutinizes the evolution of thematic directions in the domain of growth-oriented women entrepreneurship research over the past two decades. Furthermore, it explores the implications of this evolution for future research and practical endeavors.

The authors conduct a bibliometric analysis of 741 publications from 2004 to 2023. The analysis first examines publication numbers and identifies important journals and articles based on performance analysis. Moreover, using science mapping techniques, the study provides four thematic maps organized into five-year periods, as well as a Sankey diagram.

The analysis reveals a significant surge in research activity, particularly since 2014, in terms of both the quantity and diversity of themes. The findings show that in 2004–2008, six themes were driving the research domain, but in 2019–2023, the number of themes increased to 24. Moreover, this study offers a holistic perspective on prospective research directions, emphasizing two key themes: emerging economies and sustainability.

This study makes an important contribution by bringing together scholarship on women entrepreneurs and growth-oriented ventures. These themes can be a significant factor in stimulating new approaches to economic growth when considered together. Moreover, this study emphasizes the need for a more diverse and inclusive research environment.

This chapter presents two examples of misinterpretation of the philosophical term and historical concept of human dignity in contemporary legal theory and practice. Current legal theories (R. Alexy) still introduce Pico’s concept of dignity regarding the human personality and personal (volitional and rational) abilities. The term ‘dignity’ is marginal for Pico and shows the spiritual way to the status of the original Adam. Pico’s concept of dignity is located in the area of spirit (hyperphysics), not metaphysics (soul) or physics (materials). Günter Dürig in his commentary to Grundgesetz also used the Kantian concept of human dignity. Dürig exaggerated this value and used it also for the area of physics (to protect the human being as a personality). For Kant, the term ‘dignity’ was also marginal, and he used it in the area of metaphysics (soul – especially the moral and rational parts), regarding transcendence for homo noumenon, not for homo phaenomenon. In general, it seems to be problematic to use the ideal of the dignity for the law, which regulates the social relations between concrete phenomenal personalities. There are parallels to Pico. The Kantian starting point was different from Pico, because Kant stays in the area of metaphysics (especially the moral and rational parts). Both consider freedom as a condition of dignity. The concept of autonomy of will is significant for both, but each thinks of it in different ways. For both, human being can become master of oneself, but in a different context.

Technology business incubators (TBIs) form an indispensable part of an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the promotion of tech start-ups across the global economy. However, they have evolved in varied forms over a period of time, in terms of typologies, sponsors and stakeholders, goals and objectives, functions and services offered, process of incubation support provided through hard and soft infrastructure, outcomes and achievements and even in terms of theoretical bases. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to review the extant literature on TBIs to arrive at a framework that explains how TBIs contribute to start-up generation.

This paper reviews extant empirical literature for a systematic evaluation to throw light on the various dimensions of TBIs: typology, goals and objectives, functions and services, process and provision of incubation support, outcomes and achievements. Further, after critically reviewing some of the theoretical propositions, it develops a conceptual framework combining pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation processes of TBIs.

Based on literature understanding and some of the key theoretical constructs, a conceptual framework is developed comprising pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation stages of start-up formation and graduation. The paper also identifies some prospective areas for future research.

Any empirical research on technology business incubation must focus on pre-incubation and post-incubation processes as much as on the incubation process, to derive meaningful implications and enhance the productivity of TBIs.

The conceptual framework derived out of the systematic literature review will enable further research and exploration of micro-aspects of pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation phases across multiple dimensions.

This paper investigates how organisations responded to the home office imposition during the recent global health crisis and its impacts on people management, detailing the organisational factors crucial for effective home-office implementation.

We used an exploratory design based on a multiple case study with four companies from two contrasting sectors (manufacturing and information technology (IT)). We interviewed a total of 12 managers, including one HR manager (HRms) and two team managers from each company. We also conducted an online questionnaire with open questions, reaching out to 128 home-office workers from the four participating companies. This diverse group consisted of 67 workers from the IT sector and 61 workers from the manufacturing sector. To ensure a comprehensive analysis, we opted for a qualitative approach to examine the data.

Findings enabled detail of the organisational factor of the Belzunegui-Eraso and Erro-Garcés (2020) extended Baruch and Nicholson’s (1997) model into people management issues: organisational culture, team management and human resources management (HRM) practices, as well as the technological support. The results also revealed that people management benefits from the successful home-office implementation, which boosted the digitalisation of human resources (HR) processes.

Considering the lessons learned from the home-office imposition, this research provides original insights into the field by exploring the roles of supervisors and HR managers, in non-health organisations, with different previous remote work experiences, in a recent global disruptive moment, based on a rich qualitative approach. The paper offers concrete guidelines for companies that intend to implement remote work management programs and contributes to deepen the knowledge of home-office experience, offering a model focusing on managers’ roles (HRms and TMs) and HRM practices.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the bibliographic references contained in the scientific papers (articles and technical notes) published from 1985 to 2005 in Zootecnia Tropical (ZT), a scientific journal.

A retrospective descriptive study is conducted using one‐dimensional bibliometric indicators such as: output, bibliographic density, institutional affiliation, recentness of the documents cited, document typology, self‐citations and scientific collaboration. Univariate descriptive analysis is used to study the indicators.

A total of 349 scientific papers (300 articles and 49 technical notes) are reviewed; output ranged from a maximum of 34 papers in 2001 to a minimum of four in 1990, with a mean of 15 papers per volume. The papers analyzed contain a total of 5,651 bibliographic references, with an average of 19 ± 9 references per paper; the largest number of references (19 ± 33) are found in the articles and the smallest (10.5 ± 13) in the notes. Venezuelan institutions account for 89 per cent of the papers and international institutions for the remain in 11 per cent; of the Venezuelan institutions, most (62 per cent) are National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) bodies and the rest universities and other organizations, especially the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and Universidad de Oriente (UDO). Universities are also among the most frequent international contributors, most prominently Marianga State University in Brazil and Tucumán National University in Argentina. Around 60 per cent of the references were more than ten years old when they were cited; 21 per cent were between five and ten years old and 19 per cent less than five years old. Journal articles, with 57 per cent, are the document type most frequently cited, followed by books, with 23 per cent; the rest consisted in postgraduate theses (3 per cent), undergraduate theses (2 per cent) and congress, conference and seminar proceedings (12 per cent). The self‐citation or endogamy rate in the journal is 4 per cent. Over half (53 per cent) of the papers are written by authors with the same affiliation. Inter‐institutional papers account for the remaining 47 per cent, with 34 per cent involving national collaboration, particularly between the INIA and the UCV; international co‐authorship comes to 13 per cent, primarily involving Brazilian and Argentine universities.

This paper analyzes the use of information in the Venezuelan scientific community from the vantage of a specific journal, ZT. These studies constitute useful and objective tools for evaluating scientific activity.