Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Alexeis Garcia-Perez and Francesca Vicentini
The purpose of this paper is to bring the attention of the intellectual capital (IC) research and practice communities to the value of IC in hotels' efforts to resolve or mitigate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bring the attention of the intellectual capital (IC) research and practice communities to the value of IC in hotels' efforts to resolve or mitigate environmental problems over time. This research has been set to examine the relationships between key KM and IC concepts including environmental knowledge structures and exploitation and exploration of environmental knowledge (EK) as drivers of environmental organisational learning. The research has also examined the relevance of pro-environmental behavioural intention capital (PEBIC) as a component of structural capital and therefore an integral part of the intellectual capital of hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The data analysis technique used to test the proposed conceptual model is partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Sample received from 87 companies from the Spanish hospitality sector in a longitudinal study (six years).
Findings
The results support that environmental knowledge structures (exploitation and exploration) has a positive impact on PEBIC over time. In other words, environmental organisational learning has the capability to create structural capital in hotel over time.
Originality/value
The research has addressed the challenges of exploration and exploitation of EK and PEBIC from a perspective not previously covered in the extant literature, further improved by the longitudinal nature of this study. Our focus on the hospitality sector makes this research relevant for management structures at numerous of hotels, as well as to their supply chains around the world. In addition, this research highlights the value to create structural capital through EK and organisational learning in the context of take care of our natural resources.
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Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Juan Gabriel Cegarra Navarro, Alexeis García-Pérez and Ana Moreno-Ponce
The dynamics of tourism as both an activity and an industry, combined with the growing concerns about the environment, call for continuous efforts in seeking new approaches, tools…
Abstract
Purpose
The dynamics of tourism as both an activity and an industry, combined with the growing concerns about the environment, call for continuous efforts in seeking new approaches, tools and perspectives for the acquisition of environmental knowledge by organisations in the hospitality sector. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between environmental knowledge, organisational learning and business performance in the context of the tourism industry. Emphasis is made on understanding the process of updating the environmental knowledge base of an organisation through appropriate learning processes within the business.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 87 companies from the Spanish hospitality sector in a longitudinal study consisting of two distinct phases in 2008 and 2014 was studied.
Findings
The results of the analysis indicate that environmental knowledge has a positive impact on business performance. Also, the study found that a review of the levels of awareness about environmental problems across the organisation is required at regular intervals (in this research, six years after the initial analysis).
Practical implications
The focus on the hospitality sector makes this research relevant for a significant number of hotels and their supply chains around the world.
Originality/value
The research has addressed the challenges of sustainability and environmental performance from a perspective not previously covered in the extant literature, an approach further improved by the longitudinal nature of this study, performed over a period of six years.
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Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Silvia Martelo-Landroguez, Gabriel Cepeda and Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro
This study aims to explore the role of sustainable fashion knowledge in shaping individual sustainable responsibility within the dynamic landscape of the fashion industry from a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the role of sustainable fashion knowledge in shaping individual sustainable responsibility within the dynamic landscape of the fashion industry from a novel perspective, by exploring the intricate interplay between sustainable fashion knowledge, emotional and spiritual sustainable capacities.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was used, and a causal model with partial least squares structural equation modeling was developed. A total of 211 valid responses were obtained, and data were analysed to confirm the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The findings confirm the positive impact of sustainable fashion knowledge on individual sustainable responsibility, mediated by both spiritual and emotional sustainable capacities. This study underscores the significance of individuals in influencing societal norms, prompting fashion companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed conceptual framework integrates insights from the emotional and spiritual knowledge dynamics. This study uncovers the pathways through which individuals contribute to a more sustainable society.
Originality/value
The study not only advances the understanding of sustainable fashion practices but also provides actionable insights for policymakers, businesses and individuals seeking to foster a culture of sustainability in the fashion ecosystem.
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Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Alexeis Garcia-Perez and Tiphaine De Valon
This study contributes to current efforts to design and implement sustainable innovation strategies in organisations from the textile industry. This study aims to examine how…
Abstract
Purpose
This study contributes to current efforts to design and implement sustainable innovation strategies in organisations from the textile industry. This study aims to examine how businesses can overcome the current challenges (e.g. lack of resources) of sustainable innovation by the incorporation of green knowledge of customers into their value co-creation strategies. Such strategies are based on actively listening to customers and addressing their expectations with regard to environmental sustainability, in particular in the face of the negative environmental impact of the fast-fashion industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings of this study are derived from the analysis of data collected from 208 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish textile sector. A partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was conducted using version 3.3.3 of the SmartPLS software.
Findings
This paper contributes to the literature on environmental sustainability by informing SME eco-innovation through the active listening of their customers’ perceptions while implementing value co-creation strategies. The research has found that engaging with customers and actively listening and addressing their expectations can result in the creation of green knowledge that contributes to both incremental and radical eco-innovation in the textile sector.
Practical implications
This study found that when organisations from the sector lack eco-innovation capabilities, their existing and often their potential customer base is able to acquire new environmental knowledge and transfer it to the business through a process of value co-creation. The research also found that such green knowledge has the potential to lead to eco-innovation in the sector. In other words, the value co-creation process between the textile industry and its customers is a driver of the eco-innovations required to reduce the environmental impact of the sector, helping it address both its sustainability and its ethical challenges.
Originality/value
This study proposes that co-creation challenges such as the lack of resources, funding, qualified staff or technologies motivate companies in the textile sector to collaborate with their customers to seek joint solutions.
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Diego Matricano, Elena Candelo, Mario Sorrentino and Aurora Martínez-Martínez
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way companies involved in Open Innovation Processes (OIPs) routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way companies involved in Open Innovation Processes (OIPs) routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge, i.e. knowledge that comes from the outside and, in particular, from the crowd. In-bound knowledge passes through the phases of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation. Thus, companies need to define mechanisms and paths – related to their potential and realized absorptive capacity –to manage and exploit it.
Design/methodology/approach
The present paper is based on a longitudinal case study, an OIP launched by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) that has already been implemented for three times. Multiple direct interviews with FCA top managers have allowed rebuilding the routinized procedure through which the company absorbs in-bound knowledge.
Findings
To routinize the procedure of absorbing in-bound knowledge, the company has settled specific mechanisms and paths and has established some bottlenecks over the process of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of in-bound knowledge. These mechanisms and path, as well as these bottlenecks, are identified and descripted in the paper.
Research limitations/implications
Beyond the limitations linked to the use of a single case study, another limitation might be the reference to a big company in a specific industry. Anyway, with due caution, achieved findings can be referred to other industries as well.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to exploring if and how companies managing OIPs routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge.
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Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Aurora Martínez-Martínez, David Cegarra-Leiva and María Eugenia Sánchez-Vidal
Being open-minded means listening to others’ proposals, even if they go against our criteria. Although having an open mindset is the key to “open innovation,” we find that many…
Abstract
Purpose
Being open-minded means listening to others’ proposals, even if they go against our criteria. Although having an open mindset is the key to “open innovation,” we find that many managers are reluctant to make sustainable changes, either because they prefer to stick to what they know and prefer to stay in their comfort zone or just because they are embarrassed to assume errors or ignorance in certain issues of an environmental nature. The study aims to examine the role of green skills in overcoming defensive rigidity and defensive embarrassment barriers that hinder open innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based survey was administered to 208 SMEs in the Spanish textile industry. The data collected were processed and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM) and SmartPLS 4.
Findings
The study reveals that green skills significantly contribute to the development of open innovation and the mitigation of defensive routines among managers. This indicates that equipping managers with green skills can reduce their defensive rigidity and embarrassment, thereby fostering a more open and innovative organizational culture.
Originality/value
This research is original in its focus on the Spanish textile industry and its exploration of the specific psychological barriers that managers face in adopting sustainable innovations. By highlighting the importance of green skills, it provides a novel perspective on overcoming defensive routines to promote open innovation.
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Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Eva Martínez Caro, Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Maria Dolores Aledo-Ruiz and Eusebio Martínez-Conesa
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between relational capital produced by universities and knowledge structures, which include both the capacities and competencies…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between relational capital produced by universities and knowledge structures, which include both the capacities and competencies that students have learned and the capabilities they have put into practice.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyse research data and test the proposed model, partial least squares structural equation modelling (SmartPLS 3.2.9) is used on a sample of 125 students of a Spanish university.
Findings
The results of the study demonstrate that the creation of relational capital by universities will depend largely on how students’ capacity is supplemented and merged with students’ competency to develop synergies that increase the students’ capability to give an additional value to the community members.
Originality/value
This study allows an in-depth analysis of the cause and effect link between the knowledge structures and support the members of higher educational institutions to understand how to achieve relational capital in universities.
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Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Constantin Bratianu, Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu and Dan-Cristian Dabija
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the generation of civic and public (C&P) engagement as an integrative outcome of a proper balance between emotional, rational and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the generation of civic and public (C&P) engagement as an integrative outcome of a proper balance between emotional, rational and spiritual knowledge, via the mediation of interpersonal competencies.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis relies on a questionnaire-based survey conducted with 294 respondents from two knowledge-intensive organizations. Structural equation modeling, using Smart PLS 4, is used to analyze the data.
Findings
Individual knowledge can be considered as the refined outcome of the underlying transformations of various knowledge sources and resources, which is apposite for the next level of knowledge workers’ acumen. Individual knowledge – which relies on a good balance of rational, emotional and spiritual knowledge – exerts a positive effect on interpersonal competencies, wherein the latter positively influences the C&P engagement of knowledge workers.
Research limitations/implications
Policymakers should capitalize on the development of strong interpersonal competencies; they should be able to understand the social mechanisms of motivating people, of stimulating, harnessing and channeling individual knowledge toward higher C&P as a prerequisite of value creation.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first argumentative undertaking intended to explore the conversion of the three knowledge types into individual knowledge as a premise of interpersonal competencies development and as a relevant antecedent of C&P engagement. The results of this paper support that achieving balance in one's life is essential for increasing interpersonal competencies and C&P engagement. This study not only represents the first contribution to this debate but also helps managers and organizations to recognize that a good balance requires emotional, rational and spiritual knowledge.
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Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Aurora Martínez-Martínez, Jorge Cegarra-Sánchez and Jaume Muñoz Faus
External relational capital is the value created by an organization’s relationships with outside stakeholders, such as customers. This study introduces and examines the concept of…
Abstract
Purpose
External relational capital is the value created by an organization’s relationships with outside stakeholders, such as customers. This study introduces and examines the concept of sustainable enclothed cognition to support it, aligning rational reasons, personal values and emotions with sustainable clothing choices not only fosters envisioning sustainable learning from a user perspective but also holds the potential to help companies quickly adapt and find alternative solutions, thereby minimizing production impacts on the environment and promising the future for sustainable fashion in the industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study aims to explore how sustainable enclothed cognition, combined with envisioning sustainable learning, can enhance external relational capital in the fashion industry by fostering deeper connections between fashion brands and environmentally conscious consumers. Data collection took place between May and September 2021. A survey of 211 young workers was conducted, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The findings demonstrate that prioritizing sustainable enclothed cognition can satisfy consumer demands, strengthen customer relationships and enhance competitive positioning in the fashion industry. Furthermore, the study provides actionable strategies for implementing envisioning sustainable learning, highlighting its transformative role in turning consumer alignment into external relational capital. This insight inspires a new perspective on the potential of sustainable learning in the fashion industry.
Originality/value
This research offers a deeper understanding of how companies can strategically manage their external customer relationships by using sustainable enclothed cognition to drive eco-innovation and enhance relational capital in the sustainable fashion industry. Findings support that textile companies provide fresh insights into their innovative capacity by aligning consumer rational reasons, values and emotions with learning practices. The study also underscores the pivotal role of envisioning sustainable learning in embedding sustainability into the core of fashion industry practices, delivering both theoretical and practical guidance on achieving long-term business success through sustainability.
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Vlad Andrei Alexandru, Ettore Bolisani, Andreia Gabriela Andrei, Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Aurora Martínez Martínez, Marco Paiola, Enrico Scarso, Elena-Mădălina Vătămănescu and Malgorzata Zieba
This paper aims to categorise the approaches to knowledge management (KM) by companies. In the literature, there is no consensus on a universal or “best” approach to KM…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to categorise the approaches to knowledge management (KM) by companies. In the literature, there is no consensus on a universal or “best” approach to KM. Especially, this paper singles out and discusses the variegated features that characterise the implementation of KM by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) having different characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
A cluster analysis was used to detect the possible distinct traits of companies that have different approaches to KM. The unit of analysis is represented by small- and medium-sized knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) firms. Data were collected by means of an extensive survey of 223 companies in different European countries and sectors.
Findings
Three clusters were identified: Companies showing a relative “unconscious” attention to KM and implementing KM practices without particular awareness; Companies adopting a more conscious approach and using a significant number of KM practices; and companies with a marginal propensity towards KM.
Research limitations/implications
This study considers only KIBS, and future research should include other economic sectors. In addition, a convenience sample was used.
Practical implications
This paper improves awareness of managers of small companies concerning different KM approaches that can be adopted. It highlights that a conscious adoption of a KM strategy involves the introduction of a set of consistent practices.
Originality/value
The topic of KM approaches by small companies is still underdeveloped in the literature. Also, the paper proposes a multi-contextual investigation that makes it possible to highlight the transversality of KM approaches across different countries or sectors.