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The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of online social networks and competency-based management on innovation capability.

The paper is theory-confirming. Theoretical relationships were tested using an empirical study of 289 firms from the Spanish biotechnology and telecommunications industries.

Results confirm that online social network use for internal cognitive processes (e.g. reading, searching and storing information) and external cognitive processes (e.g. sharing and co-creating knowledge) positively affects knowledge transfer. This knowledge helps firms to achieve superior competency in R&D to succeed in innovation programs.

All survey respondents were from Spain, which may limit the generalizability of findings. A longitudinal approach was not used. However, doing so would make it possible to explore time lags between online social network use, competency-based management and innovation.

This paper highlights the potential as well as the limitations of online social networks and competency-based management in promoting innovation capability. Businesses must consciously manage the assimilation and use of online social networks to benefit from them.

The study contributes to the literature by identifying effects on innovation capability at the meso-level (i.e. online social networks). Findings highlight the need for a shift in focus away from collaborating and interacting in online social networks (micro-level) and organizational contexts (macro-level) so as to improve innovation capability.

In the vast majority of the individual robot installations, the robot arm is just one piece of a complex puzzle of components, such as grippers, jigs or external axis, that together compose an industrial robotic cell. The success of such installations is very dependent not only on the selection of such components but also on the layout and design of the final robotic cell, which are the main tasks of the system integrators. Consequently, successful robot installations are often empirical tasks owing to the high number of experimental combinations that could lead to exhaustive and time-consuming testing approaches.

A newly developed optimized technique to deal with automatic planning and design of robotic systems is proposed and tested in this paper.

The application of a genetic-based algorithm achieved optimal results in short time frames and improved the design of robotic work cells. Here, the authors show that a multi-layer optimization approach, which can be validated using a robotic tool, is able to help with the design of robotic systems.

The usage of the proposed approach can be valuable to industrial corporations, as it allows for improved workflows, maximization of available robotic operations and improvement of efficiency.

To date, robotic solutions lack flexibility to cope with the demanding industrial environments. The results presented here formalize a new flexible and modular approach, which can provide optimal solutions throughout the different stages of design and execution control of any work cell.

This paper aims to examine the effect of technological, organizational and environmental factors on the level of innovation outcomes in manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Drawing on the technology-organization-environment theory this paper conducts a discriminant analysis of firms’ innovation level based on a data set of manufacturing SMEs.

The results show that low- and high-innovative firms can be distinguished in terms of information technology (IT) knowledge and infrastructure, commitment-based human resources (HR) selection practices, exploitative innovation and organizational capital.

The study findings support the idea that innovation is a complex phenomenon explained by multiple factors. As a consequence, firms need to devote extra efforts to develop IT knowledge and infrastructure, commitment-based HR selection practices and organizational capital because these are crucial for obtaining greater innovation outcomes. In addition, the identification of exploitative innovation as a strong discriminant variable highlights that the most effective way to be a highly innovative SME is through incremental innovation, which permits the firm to capitalize as much as possible on previous exploratory efforts.

Although many studies have highlighted that innovation is more challenging for SMEs than for their larger counterparts, the vast majority of studies has been conducted in large companies. This paper extends prior literature by analyzing the discriminant variables that may distinguish between low- and high-innovative manufacturing SMEs.

Considering the importance of services and innovation for the modern economy and the peculiarities that differentiate services from tangible goods, the purpose of this paper is to better understand how, based on the capabilities approach, innovation takes place in services.

A qualitative multi-case study was conducted in five instances of innovation in the fitness market, using a semi-structured questionnaire as devised in Zawislak et al. (2014).

The results show that the traditional capabilities framework is limited in explaining service innovation, as there are many levels of intangibility and non-linearity in service provision. Cases show that it is not possible to think of capabilities linearly in the service context. The authors propose that capabilities overlap, and the results show that this is a more accurate way of describing service dynamics. An alternative framework is suggested based on field findings, and a set of propositions are made for future research.

For many years, services were perceived as non-innovative, complementary activities, geared mainly towards the production of goods. The value of this study is to investigate a topic (innovation) that is widely studied in the industrial sector in a service context, contributing to a largely unexplored field.

Considerando a importância dos serviços e inovação na economia moderna, e as peculiaridades que diferenciam serviços de bens tangíveis, este estudo visa entender melhor como se dá a inovação nos serviços baseado na abordagem das capacidades.

Foi conduzido um estudo qualitativo multi-casos em cinco ambientes do mercado de atividades físicas utilizando um questionário semi-estruturado baseado em Zawislak et al. (2014).

Os resultados mostram que a abordagem tradicional das capacidades é limitada em explicar a inovação em serviços, dado que existem diversos níveis de intangibilidade e não-lineariedade na provisão dos mesmos. Propomos que as capacidades se sobrepõem, e os resultados indicam que essa é uma forma mais acurada de descrever a dinâmica da inovação em serviços. É sugerida uma abordagem alternativa e uma série de proposições para pesquisas futuras.

Por muito tempo serviços eram percebidos como atividades complementares não inovativas direcionadas para a produção de bens. O valour desse estudo é investigar um tópico (inovação) já amplamente estudado no setor industrial, porém num contexto de serviços, assim contribuindo para um campo quase inexplorado.

This study contributes to the limited literature on crowdlending by providing a data-driven analysis of the sector. A synthetic DP2 indicator is proposed to identify the leaders of the crowdlending market, the key factors behind their success and the medium-term competitive implications.

The study examines 17 crowdlending platforms and eight performance indicators. The information provided by these indicators is aggregated using a synthetic indicator based on the P₂ Distance (DP2) method.

Mintos, Evoestate, Peerberry, Bondster and Fellow Finance are the leading platforms. This method reveals the key variables in the identification of market leaders, namely year-on-year variation in the number of investors and year-on-year variation in lending per investor. The leaders in terms of lending volumes should not take their current situation for granted. Small and medium-sized platforms are pushing hard and may overtake the incumbents as market leaders.

Financial intermediation through crowdlending is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional models. Changes in the sector are expected in the coming years due to the rise of platforms with a moderate amount of lending and solid year-on-year improvement. To become leaders and to attract both lenders and borrowers, platforms are encouraged to improve the information that they provide.

This paper offers the first analysis of market leadership in the crowdlending sector. It analyses the competitive market of the crowdlending sector based on its actors and key factors. These factors explain the differences in the market position of different platforms. Based on this analysis, the trends in this sector can be identified. This study is exploratory, so it offers empirical data that can be useful in the development of theories that apply to the sector.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact the quality of online and multi-channel offers have on perceived value. It is also analyzed whether customer-centric management will ensure a greater perceived value and loyalty of the customer for the hotel. The authors analyze its relationship with customer satisfaction, perceived value and switching costs related to hotels with customer-centric management.

The sample of the paper are hotel users with Internet access. The authors have obtained 420 valid questionnaires through personal interviews. The statistical methodology used is the causal analysis, using structural equation models.

The empirical results of this paper indicate that by improving the online quality offered by hotels with a personalized online service and an increased efficiency of the service, reducing information asymmetries, search and transaction time and bargaining costs, building loyalty by customization and innovation, the customer perceives more value in the service provided by hotels.

It is analyzed empirically how the customer-centric philosophy, a key philosophy for the hotel sector, allows an effective differentiation, greater customer loyalty and, therefore, an increased profitability of the company.

In the last decade, the hospitality sector has undergone numerous changes in the organization and structure of its business models. Specifically, the adoption of new digital technologies has initiated transformative changes toward circular economy and sustainability. The present study aims to analyze whether the use of the digital reservation system in circular entrepreneurship businesses has an impact on entrepreneurs’ satisfaction and trust in the in circular economy.

The data collected via a survey of 317 entrepreneurs who use a circular economy strategy were analyzed using SEM in a proposed model based on circular entrepreneurship businesses and the adoption of digital reservation systems.

The results showed a positive relationship between usability and perceived ease of use and user satisfaction and trust in using digital reservation systems to boost circular entrepreneurship in hospitality. Therefore, it was identified that adopting a digital reservation system can increase the efficiency of entrepreneur resources, as well as lead to creation of sustainable knowledge, augment the use of new sources of user information, improve prediction of services and demand and, consequently, boost sustainability and circular economy.

Future research can use the results of the present study to investigate how digital technologies work and affect user trust, satisfaction, and use of these systems in entrepreneurs’ projects in hospitality. In addition, it would be interesting to explore how these factors influence hospitality in different business models that support circular economy in tourism. To this end, researchers can use the variables used in the present study, along with other variables, to extend the proposed model and deepen the authors' research. In summary, this study contributes to the literature on the use of applications in hospitality sector and offer useful insight on how the adoption and use of new technologies can drive the management of knowledge and technology development, decision making and acquisition of new data sources that improve the experience of both entrepreneurs and users that interact with their services to enable circular entrepreneurship.

Hospitality entrepreneurs can use the results of the present study to better evaluate how using these applications can affect the communication protocols with their employees and stakeholders. Furthermore, entrepreneurs operating in the hospitality sector can use the results to develop action plans focused on the circular economy, new knowledge creation, as well as development and adoption of new digital technologies that enable circular entrepreneurship. In this way, hospitality companies will be able to effectively combine both more traditional offline channels and new technologies, such as mobile applications or the Internet.

The authors' prediction of a strong positive link between perceived usefulness and user trust was also supported by the results of data analysis. The finding that perceived utility increases user trust in entrepreneurs when making adopting these technologies is also consistent with other similar studies. Finally, the results of this study also confirmed the hypothesized link between the perceived utility of digital technologies and user satisfaction. Taken together, the results also highlight the relevance of analyzing the use of digital reservation systems in the hospitality sector to enable circular entrepreneurship.

Taken together, the results highlight the relevance of analyzing the use of digital reservation systems in the hospitality sector to enable circular entrepreneurship and increase the perceived usefulness of new digital technologies so that to improve sustainable actions and the circular economy globally.

There is a growing research interest in the relationships between networks and the firm’s assets and between networks and innovation. Studies have shown the complexity and idiosyncrasies of these relationships for firms in clusters. The way firms in clusters build certain organizational resources and capabilities, however, remains underexplored. Based on the assumption that most of these organizational assets rely on human resources, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on the mechanisms through which a set of managerial practices (the human resource management (HRM) system) enhances innovation.

Micro-level data were collected for 139 firms located in three Spanish industrial clusters. Next, the main constructs were developed. A multiple mediator model was then used to examine how HRM systems influence innovation through strategic vision, embeddedness in local networks, the implementation of enterprise systems, and cluster characteristics.

The effect of HRM systems on innovation performance was indirect rather than direct. All four mediating variables included in the model were found to be relevant mechanisms through which HRM systems affect innovation performance. The statistical significance of these variables, however, varied depending on the type of innovation (product, process, organizational, or marketing).

Greater attention should be paid to the structure and sophistication of HRM systems. Top-level managers should be aware of the linkages between HRM systems and mediators. Greater human resource orientation in strategic planning, enterprise system design, and networking practices reinforces the association between HRM systems and innovation.

This study advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between HRM systems and innovation. From an academic perspective, this study enriches the cluster literature by better integrating human resources with innovation processes. Furthermore, this study creates research opportunities by disentangling the role of different managerial practices and refining the operationalization of the mediating variables. The findings can also help managers develop human resources and innovation strategies.

Technological advances in the last decade have caused both business and economic sectors to seek for new ways to adapt their business models to a connected data-centric era. Family businesses have also been forced to leave behind traditional strategies rooted in family stimuli and ties and to adapt their actions in digital environments. In this context, this study aims to identify major online marketing strategies, business models and technology applications developed to date by family firms. Methodology: Upon a systematic literature review, we develop a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) under the homogeneity analysis of variance by means of alternating least squares (HOMALS) framework programmed in the R language. Based on the results, the analyzed contributions are visually analyzed in clusters.

Upon a systematic literature review, we develop an MCA under the HOMALS framework programmed in the R language. Based on the results, the analyzed contributions are visually analyzed in clusters.

Relevant indicators are identified for the successful development of digital family businesses classified in the following three categories: (1) digital business models, (2) digital marketing techniques and (3) technology applications. The first category consists of four digital business models: mobile marketing, e-commerce, cost per click, cost per mile and cost per acquisition. The second category includes six digital marketing techniques: search marketing (search engine optimization and search engine marketing (SEM) strategies), social media marketing, social ads, social selling, websites and online reputation optimization. Finally, the third category consists of the following aspects: digital innovation, digital tools, innovative marketing, knowledge discovery and online decision making. In addition, five research propositions are developed for further discussion and future research.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to cover this research topic applying the emerging programming language R for the development of an MCA under the HOMALS framework.