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While research on sustainability reporting in the construction industry has already provided comprehensive findings, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question of how construction companies anchor the topic of sustainability in their strategic and operative management control practices. The implementation of sustainable business models and sustainability strategies requires proper management control instruments or mechanisms that support the transformation process or make it possible in the first place.

A qualitative content analysis based on deductive and inductive procedures was conducted. 39 sustainability reports published by the largest construction companies in the EU were examined.

Valuable insights are provided by showing which control instruments and mechanisms are used to improve corporate sustainability performance as well as how these are linked systematically. The results show that the focus is on strategic planning, cultural and administrative controls, while short-term targets, which could set out the path to achieving the long-term sustainability goals set, are often not reported. Strategic stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory provide explanations for the use of management control practices identified.

Previous studies often focus on selected single control practices and miss holistic approaches for investigating corporate sustainability in construction companies. Furthermore, theoretical perspectives with instrumental and socio/political views on corporate sustainability help us explain the control practices applied. Moreover, practitioners, standard setters and legislators can use the findings for sustainability management or for developing standards and legislation.

This paper aims to explore the behaviour of city managers in the ongoing context of city leadership in Italy where there are high levels of political, economic and social turbulence.

A survey was administered to 140 Italian city managers, with a response rate of 56%. The main research questions were the following: Who are the Italian city managers? How do they spend their time? Are their actions influenced by political, administrative, management and/or governance-related pressures?

The results depicted Italian city managers as caged leaders. They feel like they are capable of soaring to great heights outside the boundaries of their organisations, but they are constrained by their day-to-day organisational activities.

This paper offers new empirical insights into the different leadership activities carried out by Italian city managers discussing the differences between the time devoted to some activities and the perception of their leadership style.

Spatial ability is essential for engineers’ professional performance. Several studies describe it as a skill that can be enhanced using new technologies. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology that is proving very useful for training different skills and improving spatial perception. In this chapter, the authors firstly present some previous works that use VR to train students, mainly in the area of engineering studies, and which demonstrate that VR can improve some aspects of the spatial perception. This study took a group of engineering students who used VR technologies to carry out learning activities designed to improve their spatial perception, which was measured with a widely used spatial ability test. The results obtained confirm that the use of VR technologies can improve students’ spatial perception. This proposal is easily transferable to other educational contexts. On the one hand, it could be implemented to improve spatial ability in other engineering studies, and on the other hand, with simple adaptation, it could be used to enhance other skills.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that Facebook Fan Pages (FFPs) play in the generation of visit intention. The study has three objectives: first, to examine the effects of museum-generated content (MGC) on perceived information quality and perceived customer service and perceived information quality and perceived customer service on visit intention and, second, to test the model with two samples to make comparisons that provide useful insights.

Data were collected through an online survey that achieved 308 valid responses. A multi-group analysis was conducted to compare the results from two groups: users of the Frida Kahlo museum and Anahuacalli museum FFPs.

The results reveal that there are significant differences between the two samples regarding the direct effects of perceived information quality on visit intention and perceived customer service on visit intention. The authors also noted a slight difference between the two museums’ FFPs in the relationship between MGC and perceived information quality.

Further research is needed to examine other FFP factors that influence visit intention to clarify the results obtained from the two samples and to analyse the proposed model in other settings. This research contributes to the literature concerning the impact of online platforms on visit intention.

The findings provide useful insights for managers as to how to increase their FFP followers’ intention to visit their establishments.

El propósito de esta investigación es examinar el papel que desempeñan las páginas de fans de Facebook (PFFs) en la generación de intenciones de visita. El objetivo de este estudio es doble: primero, examinar los efectos del contenido generado por el museo sobre la calidad de la información percibida y el atención al cliente percibido, y la calidad de la información percibida y el atención al cliente percibido sobre las intenciones de la visita y el segundo, probar el modelo en dos muestras para establecer una comparación que proporcione ideas útiles.

Los datos fueron recogidos a través de una encuesta online de 308 respuestas válidas. Se realiza un análisis multigrupo para comparar los resultados entre dos grupos: PFF del museo de Frida Kahlo y la PFF del museo Anahuacalli.

Los resultados revelan que existen diferencias significativas entre las dos muestras con respecto a los efectos directos de la calidad de la información percibida en las intenciones de visita y el servicio al cliente percibido en las intenciones de visita. También se ha observado una ligera diferencia entre las PFF de los dos museos en la relación entre el contenido generado por el museo y la calidad de la información percibida.

Se necesita más investigación para examinar otros factores en las PFF que influyen en las intenciones de visitar, aclarar los diferentes resultados obtenidos en las dos muestras y analizar el modelo propuesto en otros entornos. Esta investigación contribuye a la literatura sobre el impacto de las plataformas online en las intenciones de visitar.

Los resultados proporcionan información útil para los gerentes sobre cómo aumentar las intenciones de sus seguidores de visitar sus establecimientos.

Intención de visitar, Contenido generado por el museo, Calidad de la información percibida, Atención al cliente percibido, Facebook

Trabajo de investigación

Gender competence as part of engineering education can better prepare men and women to work on sustainable solutions that benefit entire societies. This chapter describes the framework and lessons learned of a community of practice (CoP) for gender equality facilitated by the Mediterranean Engineering Schools Network. Faculty and students from Mediterranean European, North African and Middle Eastern countries came together in this CoP, which was supported by the TARGET project, to develop a practical plan using a reflexive approach. The transfer of knowledge between generations is achieved by using participatory learning processes, facilitating mindful awareness, widening experiences, deepening understandings and building a gender-sensitive mindset. Students embarked on the journey to become change agents. The process led to the consolidation of gender equality knowledge, competence building and the development of change agents for gender equality. This CoP can inspire other institutions to undertake a participatory path towards gender equality – at local, regional, or global level.

This study aims to examine the effects of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on efficiency and patient care in Italian and Israeli intensive care units (ICUs). The goal is to study how IoT might improve care settings by controlling health dynamics and responding to life-threatening circumstances.

This survey-based research explores IoT use, challenges and adaptability in ICUs in both countries. Interviews and surveys of ICU health-care workers are used to get both quantitative and qualitative data on integrating experiences and perspectives.

The research found significant variations between Italy and Israel due to technology infrastructures and health-care practices. Israel shows a more concentrated deployment in a major medical centre with advanced but limited uptake, whereas Italy shows application throughout ICUs highlighting regional health-care system disparities. Interoperability, data security and IoT training are common difficulties.

This research has limitations. One drawback is the geographical dispersion of study sites, with a bigger sample size in Italy than in Israel. This discrepancy may affect findings applicability. However, these preliminary findings provide a foundation for further research into the complexities of deploying IoT in various health-care settings.

This study compares IoT integration in two national health-care systems, adding to health-care technology literature. Regional variations affect technology adoption, but IoT may enhance ICU operations and patient care, according to one research. This study helps health-care practitioners, academics and policymakers understand the pros and cons of IoT in health care.

Accrediting boards and employers agree that there is a growing need for engineering leadership training. The aforementioned recognized, soft skills training is still an incipient initiative in the engineering discipline. This paper aims to summarize the implementation of the Engineering Leadership Program at the School of Engineering, where the implementation process uses the model for learning and teaching proposed by Reyes and Zarama, 1998b, as a strategy to embody engineering leadership capabilities. The best practices in regard to the capabilities that promote engineering leadership are discussed. The final remarks highlight the relevance of the active student roles in the development of the Engineering Leadership Program.

The author describes the implementation of the Engineering Leadership Program using Reyes and Zarama’s process of embodying distinctions.

The use of systemic models for teaching and learning in the implementation of Engineering Leadership Programs helps facilitate leadership competencies in students. The implementation of “engineering leadership” as complementary activity in the engineering curriculum demonstrated individual and program advantages – in comparison to solely modifying the current engineering curriculum.

This work enhances the understanding of how engineering schools can design activities to promote engineering leadership in former engineers as is requested by international accreditation boards and by engineering employers.