Search results
1 – 10 of 12Mercedes Mareque, Elena de Prada and Margarita Pino Juste
This study aims to delve deep into the differences observed in leadership acquisition and development between men and women and analyse the impact of certain extra-curricular…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to delve deep into the differences observed in leadership acquisition and development between men and women and analyse the impact of certain extra-curricular activities demonstrated to influence leadership acquisition. With this evidence, this study intends to detect areas that require deeper analysis and suggest actions to redress the balance and promote a more egalitarian leadership in education in both teaching and management positions.
Design/methodology/approach
Accidental, as opposed to random, sampling was used via a cross-curricular study with a quasi-experimental design. The participants in this study were 335 teacher training students in Spanish universities. The Teamwork Skills Questionnaire was used to evaluate leadership and a self-assessment questionnaire to measure extracurricular activities.
Findings
Female students score lower in leadership skills and are engaged in fewer activities associated with successful leadership skills development. Very few students receive any training on leadership, with even fewer female than male students. Furthermore, the practice of certain extra-curricular activities can boost leadership skills. It has also been noted that these activities are carried out in different ways, depending on student gender.
Originality/value
This study has two points of focus: the level of leadership among education students, differentiating between male and female students, and the impact of certain extra-curricular activities carried out during the academic year, which have proven to have a considerable effect on the development of leadership skills.
Details
Keywords
Elena de Prada Creo, Mercedes Mareque and Iago Portela-Pino
This study aims to determine whether university students are successfully acquiring or improving skills related to teamwork through a variety of extra-curricular activities, such…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine whether university students are successfully acquiring or improving skills related to teamwork through a variety of extra-curricular activities, such as sports, music, volunteering, international group work experiences and professional practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive statistics have been calculated to evaluate the normal behaviour of the variables. Accidental sampling was used via a cross-curricular study with a quasi-experimental design. An analysis of means was performed using the Student's t-test.
Findings
The results show the students to have highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, followed by adaptation and decision-making skills. The lowest scores corresponded to coordination and leadership skills. On the other hand, a significant correlation was established between extra-curricular activities and the acquisition of essential teamwork skills.
Originality/value
This study can confirm the important relation between extra-curricular activities and the acquisition of the teamwork skills that play a vital role in the overall development of our students, as well as for their integration into the job market, with particular emphasis on the acquisition of leadership skills which students are most lacking in, but which have shown to improve with any of the proposed activities. The promotion of the extra-curricular activities by the University, could greatly support our students' soft skills acquisition and complement their education.
Details
Keywords
Mercedes Mareque, Elena de Prada Creo and Maria Beatriz Gonzalez-Sanchez
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the way leisure activities and soft skills relate to creativity in higher education. It determines which activities have a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the way leisure activities and soft skills relate to creativity in higher education. It determines which activities have a positive impact on the student body’s overall education. Previous research evidences the relationship between specific leisure activities and creativity performance in several scenarios. Our work applies a broad range of these leisure activities to find results within our own specific student population.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is based on a survey of 303 Spanish students in Business Administration and Tourism. The study uses two instruments to measure the creativity of students, the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) and a three-dimensional construct that measures divergent thinking (originality, fluency and flexibility).
Findings
The results reveal that the average for creativity is higher for those students participating in some of the activities proposed. A positive correlation was also observed between the number of leisure activities and the creativity measures analysed. This confirms that students participating in more leisure activities display higher levels of creativity. Finally, the results display that the vast majority of students are involved in some type of activity, but two of the interpersonal skills that companies appreciate the most (reading and writing) are performed by very few students. This is especially the case of writing.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the pedagogical strategies that can be used in universities to motivate practising leisure activities as a mean of fostering creativity. It is important to note that the involvement of students in leisure activities can benefit from their integration into the labour market.
Details
Keywords
Bruno S. Sergi, Elena G. Popkova, Aleksei V. Bogoviz and Yulia V. Ragulina
The purpose of the article is to study the recent tendencies of growth of Russia’s agro-industrial complex (AIC), determine the optimal scenario of its development, and develop…
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to study the recent tendencies of growth of Russia’s agro-industrial complex (AIC), determine the optimal scenario of its development, and develop recommendations in the sphere of state regulation for its practical implementation. While there are tendencies of growing production and increase in Russia’s export, against this background, there is a tendency of quicker increase of import of food – if it continues, positive balance of foreign trade of food products in 2018 will turn into negative balance in 2020–2024. Though efficiency of crop farming is peculiar for a tendency of quick growth, efficiency of animal breeding is stable, which does not allow overcoming the growing deficit of food in Russia, which grows under the influence of the tendency of wear of fixed funds and slow implementation of new fixed funds due to insufficient financing. Scenarios of mid-term (i.e., until 2024) growth of Russia’s AIC are compiled, of which the most optimal is scenario that requires technological advancements, due to which increase in the value of index of food security up to 85.00 points (27%) will be achieved and the set goals of growth and development of Russia’s AIC will be reached. For a successful optimal scenario of the growth of Russia’s AIC, we offer recommendations in the sphere of state regulation of its digital modernization: adoption of the national strategy of transition to AIC 4.0 within the program “Digital economy of the RF,” development of import substitution in the AIC with emphasis on B2B markets, preparation of the technological platform for transition to AIC 4.0, and sufficient financing for digital modernization of the AIC.
Details
Keywords
Veronica Scuotto, Elisa Arrigo, Elena Candelo and Melita Nicotra
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new perspective on ambidextrous innovation orientation looking at how the current digital transformation is accepted in the fashion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new perspective on ambidextrous innovation orientation looking at how the current digital transformation is accepted in the fashion industry in Italy. Precisely, the objective of the paper is to test whether the use of social media platforms positively influences ambidextrous innovation orientation in fashion companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 853 small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the fashion industry in Italy. Using a logistic regression methodology, four hypotheses were tested to verify the correlation of four dimensions of social media platforms with an ambidextrous innovation orientation among fashion firms.
Findings
The four hypotheses were validated: the structural dimension, the relational behaviour dimension, the cognitive dimension and knowledge transfer practices of social media platforms were proven to positively influence ambidextrous innovation orientation in fashion firms.
Research limitations/implications
Though this is one of the few research studies that offers a quantitative analysis in this field, it could be further developed, for instance by extending the sample of firms to SMEs operating in other countries or by comparing multinationals with SMEs.
Originality/value
This paper provides an original contribution to studies on the use of social media to promote ambidexterity in firms, which has only been studied to a limited extent in the extant literature. From this perspective, the originality of the study is further strengthened by the unique context of analysis, namely, the fashion industry in Italy.
Details
Keywords
Kristína Predanócyová, Peter Šedík and Elena Horská
The aim of this paper is to study attitudes and perception of Slovak consumers toward healthy food in terms of consumption, as well as to identify key factors during the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to study attitudes and perception of Slovak consumers toward healthy food in terms of consumption, as well as to identify key factors during the purchasing process.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire survey was conducted using snowball sampling method in Slovakia (n = 1,138 respondents) between March and May 2021. By applying categorical principal component analysis, five latent factors were identified. Moreover, non-parametric tests (Chi-square test for independence, Kruskal–Wallis H test) were carried out to study differences between age cohorts.
Findings
Results showed that Slovak consumers mostly perceived as very healthy the following food categories: fruit, vegetables, honey, juices made of fruit and vegetables, fish meat or cereals, nuts and seeds. Moreover, research has identified five latent factors, which consumers mostly consider during purchase of healthy food as follows: price-marketing factor, information and composition factor, authenticity factor, quality factor and factor of motivation.
Originality/value
Research paper gives an important insight about consumer behavior and perception toward healthy food in Slovakia. Results provide valuable information for producers in terms of marketing and communication strategies. In addition, provided information can be used by policymakers for improving food policy to foster public health in the society.
Details
Keywords
Daniel Espinosa Sáez, Elena Delgado-Ballester and José Luis Munuera Alemán
In a context where the sharing economy (SE) plays an important role in the transformation of today’s business landscape, profoundly changing the behavior of consumers and many…
Abstract
Purpose
In a context where the sharing economy (SE) plays an important role in the transformation of today’s business landscape, profoundly changing the behavior of consumers and many established companies, some companies have begun to adapt to SE by incorporating its value propositions into their business models. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study the role of consumer innovativeness, brand levels and the need for uniqueness on the way to attitudes and intentions to participate in SE.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected the data through an online user survey, achieving a total sample of 717. The data were first analyzed using structural equation modeling and then combined with the use of the PROCESS macro.
Findings
The findings provide empirical evidence of the antecedents of consumer innovativeness in a SE context and its role in explaining consumer attitudes and intentions to participate in non-ownership consumption. Furthermore, they also demonstrate that brand tiers and the need for uniqueness moderate the relationship between intentions and participation.
Originality/value
The results of this study contribute to the theoretical development of the SE by presenting the first conceptual model that considers including the brand tiers effect and connects it to two leading theories on consumer behavior (diffusion of innovations theory and uniqueness theory). In addition, the study’s findings provide valuable insights for sharing platforms and traditional companies that choose to participate in the collaborative economy.
Details
Keywords
Opeyemi Femi-Oladunni, Pablo Ruiz-Palomino and Israel Roberto Pérez Jiménez
This study aims to identify how Spanish consumers’ extrinsic preferences for food have evolved by examining the extant literature on food preferences in Spain, focusing on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify how Spanish consumers’ extrinsic preferences for food have evolved by examining the extant literature on food preferences in Spain, focusing on food-related attributes and food-related values.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a synthetic review of the extant academic literature on Spanish consumer preferences for food-related attributes and food-related values from the mid-20th to the 21st century. This study uses key economic and social milestones that are most likely to influence food value chain actors to show how consumer preferences have evolved over the study period.
Findings
Spanish consumer food attribute preferences expanded as the food sector of the nation continued to grow, and value preferences showed a similar pattern from the mid-20th to the 21st century. The drivers of these preferences were trust, lifestyle, education (campaigns), sociodemographic factors and purchasing power.
Originality/value
Evaluating the extant literature’s contribution to consumer preferences for food-related attributes and values is important because it can aid in understanding the hierarchy and variety of consumers’ food preferences as well as the factors that drive these preferences. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore how Spanish consumer preferences evolved between the mid-20th and 21st centuries.
Details
Keywords
Julian Chamizo-Gonzalez, Elisa Isabel Cano-Montero, Elena Urquia-Grande and Clara Isabel Muñoz-Colomina
The purpose of this paper are twofold. First, to disclose whether accounting students who participate more in online activities proposed by the teacher achieve better learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper are twofold. First, to disclose whether accounting students who participate more in online activities proposed by the teacher achieve better learning outcomes. Second, to identify which virtual learning activities achieve improved outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data mining is a computer-based tool devoted to analyzing massive data sources, generating information and discovering deeper knowledge and links among variables.
Findings
There were differences between universities and subjects in the association of level of activity and learning outcomes. These findings will help teachers adjust their teaching guide, schedule and explanations.
Research limitations/implications
Further developments should include the level of online compromise of the lecturers, and the correspondence of the online activity with the designed activities in the teaching guide. In order to identify the value-added activities performed by the students to achieve better deep learning outcomes.
Practical implications
Higher Education should provide students with cognitive and transversal skills for successful incorporation into the labor market. In this sense, teaching methodology combined with online tools facilitates the process of teaching and learning with the implementation of different multimedia resources.
Originality/value
Recently, the impact of virtual platform usage on students’ learning outcomes has started to be analyzed using “data mining” techniques. Educational data mining is a new focus to disclose existing links among students, lecturers and its activity.
Details
Keywords
Luxury fashion brands have started differentiating their investment strategies and enlarging their sectors of activity, for instance, entering tourism. The overlay between…
Abstract
Luxury fashion brands have started differentiating their investment strategies and enlarging their sectors of activity, for instance, entering tourism. The overlay between traditional behaviors and innovative strategies has left a mark on the cities and neighborhoods. This chapter explores the spatial distribution of luxury tourism infrastructure in Milan. This transition does not affect only preeminent locations, such as monumental squares and high streets, but also places traditionally excluded from the “luxury circuits.” The location of 5-star hotels and premium tourism facilities in Milan (Michelin restaurants and spas) differ from the general tourism infrastructure. The study identifies polarization in the touristic offer and a parallel influence in the real estate market.
Details