David A. Munoz, Harriet Black Nembhard and Jennifer L. Kraschnewski
The purpose of this paper is to quantify complexity in translational research. The impact of major operational steps and technical requirements is calculated with respect to their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to quantify complexity in translational research. The impact of major operational steps and technical requirements is calculated with respect to their ability to accelerate moving new discoveries into clinical practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-phase integrated quality function deployment (QFD) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to quantify complexity in translational research. A case study in obesity was used to usability.
Findings
Generally, the evidence generated was valuable for understanding various components in translational research. Particularly, the authors found that collaboration networks, multidisciplinary team capacity and community engagement are crucial for translating new discoveries into practice.
Research limitations/implications
As the method is mainly based on subjective opinion, some argue that the results may be biased. However, a consistency ratio is calculated and used as a guide to subjectivity. Alternatively, a larger sample may be incorporated to reduce bias.
Practical implications
The integrated QFD-AHP framework provides evidence that could be helpful to generate agreement, develop guidelines, allocate resources wisely, identify benchmarks and enhance collaboration among similar projects.
Originality/value
Current conceptual models in translational research provide little or no clue to assess complexity. The proposed method aimed to fill this gap. Additionally, the literature review includes various features that have not been explored in translational research.
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David Andres Munoz and Juan Pablo Queupil
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of secondary education schools in Chile. Since the early 1980s, several educational reforms have been passed with the main…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of secondary education schools in Chile. Since the early 1980s, several educational reforms have been passed with the main objective of improving the quality, equity and efficiency of the Chilean education system. This has initiated a debate about the efficient use of public educational resources. In response, this study provides insights into identifying the most efficient types of schools based on a set of different inputs and outputs.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative research study used data envelopment analysis (DEA), which estimates a single index of efficiency to identify schools performing at superior levels compared to other schools with similar characteristics. Two sets of models are created for evaluating efficiency. The first set of analyses provides a longitudinal efficiency comparison based on student performance on two national standardized tests as outputs, and the second model incorporates socioeconomic characteristics of students attending different schools as inputs in the efficiency estimation.
Findings
Based on the longitudinal models, it was found that private schools are more efficient and more consistent in maintaining their efficiency over time than other types of schools. In addition, when accounting for socioeconomic factors, publicly subsidized schools were more efficient than public schools.
Practical implications
The Chilean parliament is currently discussing new educational reforms that focus on more efficient use of educational resources to improve educational quality and equity. The results provided in this study generate useful evidence for policymakers and other stakeholders regarding school efficiency and the appropriate allocation of public resources to support diverse students served by different types of secondary educational institutions.
Social implications
Education is a key factor affecting social mobility and socioeconomic improvement of societies. Schools are called upon to improve their performance to promote these social goals. Accordingly, more novel forms of research on efficiency are necessary to assess how well schools are transforming their inputs into performance outputs.
Originality/value
This study provides a longitudinal analysis of educational efficiency using DEA with a national data set of Chilean schools to evaluate how consistent the schools are in maintaining their levels of efficiency over time. In addition, one DEA model accounts for a social “vulnerability” index at the student level to better understand how efficiently secondary schools use their resources. The insights gained provide data-driven answers to support more informed educational decision-making and policy processes in Chile.
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Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mora, Sebastian Aparicio, Diego Martinez-Moya and David Urbano
Motivated by a lack of evidence regarding the effect of migration on entrepreneurship in a highly informal country, such as Colombia, this paper has a twofold purpose. First, it…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivated by a lack of evidence regarding the effect of migration on entrepreneurship in a highly informal country, such as Colombia, this paper has a twofold purpose. First, it explores how Venezuelan immigration affects entrepreneurial activity in Colombian regions. Second, it intends to shed light on this relationship, by distinguishing between formal and informal sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
With a sample of 1,776,063 individuals, from the Labor Survey Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH) from the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), the authors employ an instrumental variable approach to account for the selection of immigrants into locations with more or less desirable conditions.
Findings
The results suggest Venezuelan immigration positively influences self-employment and own-account workers, but negatively affects employers. However, once these immigrants proliferate in the informal sector, the effects increase.
Originality/value
This paper brings new insights into the intersection between immigration, unofficial economies, and entrepreneurship. First, while the prior literature focuses on migration from developing to developed countries, migratory flows between developing economies and its effects on local entrepreneurial activity remain unexplored. Second, although informality is mostly common in developing countries, little (albeit growing) evidence of its role in the relationship between migration and entrepreneurship research exists. Finally, the authors bring together these two phenomena to enhance our understanding of different types of entrepreneurial activities when immigration and informality take place. Policy implications are derived from these insights.
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Francisco Javier Blanco-Encomienda, Shuo Chen and David Molina-Muñoz
Due to the intense rivalry in the smartphone market, manufacturers of mobile phones are becoming increasingly interested in knowing the factors that influence consumers' purchase…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to the intense rivalry in the smartphone market, manufacturers of mobile phones are becoming increasingly interested in knowing the factors that influence consumers' purchase intention. This paper aims to examine the effect of country-of-origin image, brand image and attitude towards the brand on the purchase intention of smartphone users.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study was performed based on the information gathered from smartphone users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
The authors found that brand image and attitude towards the brand significantly influence consumer purchase intention. Additionally, there is an indirect effect even when the nation of origin image does not directly influence the consumer's purchase intention. Indeed, brand image and attitude towards the brand act as a mediator between the country-of-origin image and purchase intention.
Originality/value
This study presents a conceptual model on the impact of country-of-origin image on the propensity of consumers to buy smartphones in a field where little research has been done. The investigation offers a consumer-focused analysis regarding the country-of-origin image. This suggests a significant shift from the current strategy, which is frequently centered on the viewpoint of the companies.
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Omar Romero‐Hernández, Miguel de Lascurain Morhan, David Muñoz Negrón, Sergio Romero Hernández, David G. Muñoz Medina, Arturo A. Palacios Brun, Manuel A. Oneto Suberbie and Jose E. Detta Silveira
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a business process modelling approach based on: the incorporation of the best practices in the industry; higher reliability standards…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a business process modelling approach based on: the incorporation of the best practices in the industry; higher reliability standards for operation; real‐time settlement; improved security; and transparency in the process and information handling.
Design/methodology/approach
This novel process modelling considers three major phases. First, devising a new operating model covering the following main aspects: core services, secondary services, support services, common processes for all services and, system interaction with the national and international financial markets. Second, modelling of the redesigned business processes. Third, construction of a new system.
Findings
Significant improvements in the five attributes mentioned above were achieved by incorporating a straight‐through continuous processing model with a single entry and exit channel, a new account structure, an intelligent pre‐settlement process, and by stressing transparency in every process (system log).
Research limitations/implications
The illustrated methodology represents close to 10,000 work‐hours of research and consultancy at the Mexican central securities depository –CSD (INDEVAL). Although, arithmetic results are case specific, insight knowledge can be easily adapted on other CSD worldwide.
Practical implications
International standards as well as the best international practices were incorporated in the new system. Hence, the operation of INDEVAL will be in the leading edge of financial systems.
Originality/value
The present contribution illustrates a comprehensive re‐design of a complex business environment. One of the most innovative proposals for this new model was the new pre‐settlement module which optimizes the settlement process. Moreover, the incorporation of a straight‐through continuous processing model for a securities depository provides a transparent and efficient operation for a CSD.
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David B. Audretsch, Sebastian Aparicio, Mathew (Mat) Hughes and David Urbano
Motivated by the constant daily emerging social challenges worldwide, this special issue analyzes how entrepreneurship becomes a mechanism for social change under different…
Abstract
Purpose
Motivated by the constant daily emerging social challenges worldwide, this special issue analyzes how entrepreneurship becomes a mechanism for social change under different institutional settings. A brief reference to the content of each of the articles included in this special issue is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
Institutional theory at the macro, meso and individual levels is utilized to further comprehend the inherent complexities involved in the entrepreneurship–society nexus. A brief literature analysis is offered for the different research questions that framed the current special issue.
Findings
By exploring the extant research and the articles collected in this special issue, we find that social, sustainable, immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship, among others, emerge as a response to exclusion and market failures. However, we also observe that other forms of entrepreneurship, such as opportunity-driven, self-employment, senior, etc. transcend economic purposes to pursue societal outcomes.
Social implications
Our results serve to inform scholars, policymakers and practitioners about the importance of integrating and coordinating actors and elements in national, regional, university and community ecosystems to guarantee entrepreneurial activities that bring inclusion and social solutions as a natural mission and action.
Originality/value
Our paper offers insights into how to bridge entrepreneurship and society. This stems from the institutional analysis of entrepreneurship as a catalyst for personal realization, industrial development, economic growth and social inclusion.
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Carlos Sánchez-Camacho, David Martín-Consuegra and Rocío Carranza
The purpose of this article is to provide an integrated, synthesised overview of the current state of knowledge in the field of bank marketing. This aim prompts us to seek to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to provide an integrated, synthesised overview of the current state of knowledge in the field of bank marketing. This aim prompts us to seek to determine the role of studies on sales within commercial banking literature, to contribute to the flow of new knowledge and to orient both researchers and practitioners with regard to current issues and findings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a combined process of bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping using keyword co-occurrence analysis and a representation of relationships by clustering and their longitudinal arrangement. A total of 1,203 articles were analysed using SciMAT.
Findings
The entire conceptual structure of bank marketing is organised into 12 major thematic areas. These are comprised of a set of main topics during each period, changing from one phase to another. The initial periods exhibit less depth in the pursuit of lines of work on bank marketing. The most recent periods show that interest centres on users' acceptance of online and mobile banking, along with the traditional concepts of satisfaction, loyalty and trust. However, it was determined that sales-related topics have never occupied a central role in the bank marketing academic literature.
Research limitations/implications
This study draws up a scientific map that serves as a guide to perceive what has been done thus far in the area of bank marketing. The detection of specific sub-topics allows for the application of other synthesis techniques, such as meta-analysis. The study's main limitation lies in the difficulty of synthesising all the papers published on bank marketing literature.
Originality/value
The number of disciplines in which bibliometric analyses are used to synthesise and visually portray the whole bodies of scientific literature is increasing. This study maps out the gradual advancement in the field over the years and could serve as a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners interested in bank marketing. Consequently, the conclusions of this retrospective analysis might be considered a summary of its conceptual structure and a comparable foundation for future studies.
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David A. McEntire and Christopher Fuller
Is a holistic approach to the disaster problem required? Seeks to answer this question by examining the 1997‐1998 El Niño disasters in Peru. Explores the key factors that…
Abstract
Is a holistic approach to the disaster problem required? Seeks to answer this question by examining the 1997‐1998 El Niño disasters in Peru. Explores the key factors that contributed to the disaster and highlights the subsequent effects and response operations. Discusses the need for a theory of disaster management that takes into account all types of hazards, numerous variables from the physical and social environments, as well as each phase of emergency management.
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Gareth R. T. White, Robert Allen, Anthony Samuel, Dan Taylor, Robert Thomas and Paul Jones
This chapter explores social enterprises as an alternative and addition to traditional entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). It reviews the substantial social enterprise literature in…
Abstract
This chapter explores social enterprises as an alternative and addition to traditional entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). It reviews the substantial social enterprise literature in order to identify the myriad of competing tensions constraining development and success of social EEs in areas of significant poverty and economic deprivation. Following this, the findings of several contemporary and novel studies are discussed. These collectively evidence ways social enterprises are overcoming the seemingly immutable constraints they operate under. In particular, the Social Enterprise Places initiative has been highly effective in supporting the development of flourishing social EEs in many locations in the UK. However, the growth of social enterprises, both in number and economic importance, presents further challenges that social enterprise owners and managers will have to contend with. Consequently, these organisations and their allied ecosystems require continued structural, financial and skills support.
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This opinion piece draws on the author's experience as a thought leader and expert practitioner in risk management to explore possible routes to applying antifragility in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This opinion piece draws on the author's experience as a thought leader and expert practitioner in risk management to explore possible routes to applying antifragility in the organisational context, drawing on three metaphors from outside the business domain. Organisational responses to stressors have focused on the development of robustness and resilience. Recent global events have highlighted weaknesses in both these approaches. Antifragility might prove to be a valuable addition to the organisational armoury, but little progress has been made in finding practical implementations of the concept since it was first proposed over 10 years ago (Taleb, 2012).
Design/methodology/approach
Distinctions between robustness, resilience and antifragility are clarified. Descriptive analogy is used to expose ways in which antifragility might be implemented in practice, by comparison with three disparate metaphors.
Findings
Antifragility is currently not well understood or implemented, but it offers a potentially powerful additional organisational strategy in response to stress, to complement more traditional robustness and resilience approaches. Drawing on the three metaphors, four distinct types of antifragility are outlined which suggest how organisations might begin to develop antifragility in practice: innate antifragility, adaptive antifragility, rheopectic antifragility and emergent antifragility. These are presented as an organisational antifragility taxonomy that can support further research and practice.
Originality/value
The use of metaphor to explore antifragility is unique, providing insights into ways it might be applied.