Search results

The selection of an international market (IMS) is a prime factor in the success and growth of a company. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to consolidate and apply a systematic methodology that contributes toward the evaluation of international markets and promotes entry into the export market of Antioquia’s textile companies.

Through a systematic literature review, the criteria and sub-criteria involved in the IMS process are identified and a total of 5 general criteria and 23 sub-criteria are selected. A hybrid approach is used to address the gap. In total, a multiple case study of 11 companies from different range of export values are selected. Data analysis is conducted using two multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) models, namely, the analytic hierarchy process for weighting the factors and the technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution for the country selection ranking.

The results demonstrate the applicability of the hybrid MCDM technique to improve IMS decision-making in the textile sector and other sectors. It is found that Canada, Belgium and the UK are the best destinations for textile exports with a selection score of 0.7716, 0.7488 and 0.7337, respectively. The sub-criteria belonging to the dimensions of trade barriers, economic factors and costs are the main factors affecting the export of a textile-clothing product.

The possibility of achieving a generalized result through this case study is not possible, but the methodological application carried out is a novel for the selection of markets in the Colombian case and within the literature available in the domain.

From the managerial point of view, firms associated with trade have a broader vision when looking for new markets. Emerging entrepreneurs can equip themselves to enter the international market. Practitioners and policymakers can also use this methodology, which will allow them to evaluate new markets to outline promotional strategies for positioning products abroad.

To facilitate the selection of international markets for enterprises.

The contribution of the study is twofold. First, the combination of techniques will allow wider support for the selection of markets and act as a decision support system. On the other hand, this is the first time that such a methodology is used for IMS in the exporting sector not only in Colombia but also in Latin America. Finally, the detailed methodological process described in the study allows both academicians and decision-makers to replicate the study in other contexts and scenarios.

This paper seeks to present an overview and some preliminary results of the DAMe project. The main goal of this project was to define a unified authentication and authorisation system for federated services hosted in the eduroam network.

This paper presents the main initiatives and technologies related to the DAMe project and some first designs that show how the main goals are already being achieved.

At present, there are several activities of DAMe in progress, such as the design and implementation of a multiplatform PEAP supplicant, the middleware for managing the SSO tokens and the design of new common services for eduGAIN.

This paper is based on results from the DAMe project and the knowledge of the authors and will be of interest to those in the same field.

Our aim is to analyze the type of lender and the debt maturity of Chilean firms as a function of their ownership structure and their growth opportunities. We perform the empirical analysis using an unbalanced panel data of 169 firms from 1990 to 2001. Our results show that Chilean firms with growth opportunities, ownership concentration, and a need for external funds issue short‐term bank debt to finance their new investments. This financing source is an efficient mechanism in Chile to alleviate agency and asymmetric information problems. The Chilean institutional environment influences firms’ decisions on banking debt.

Faced with increasing environmental problems, traditional methods for transmitting information regarding corporate environmental actions are insufficient. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to suggest the environmental capital report, the knowledge map and the balanced scorecard as alternative instruments to provide the environmental information needed to develop internal corporate activity and meet the requirements of society.

A practical approach is applied to facilitate understanding of some sections of these tools, analysing the GRI reports of certain environmentally proactive firms.

The findings show that the environmental information provided relates mainly to collaborations established with stakeholders and to the development of internal processes aimed at preserving and protecting the environment. Accordingly, it could be said that the environmental capital report proposed in this paper seems to be materialized in the GRI report. Moreover, the production and R&D sections of the knowledge map and the internal processes and relational perspective sections of the balanced scorecard are the most common environmental information given by the companies analyzed.

The value of this paper lies mainly in showing several tools that could be used by companies in order to spread their efforts in protecting and preserving the environment.

This chapter studies the tourism cluster of Majorca and its connection with collective entrepreneurship. To this end, the authors review the history of four world leading Spanish hotel companies, from their beginnings, in Majorca, in the 1950s, to their internationalization, in the 1980s and 1990s: Barceló, Meliá, Riu, and Iberostar. This allows us to identify common patterns of behaviour among them over time, which in turn illustrate the dynamics of the tourism cluster and the role played by its context. This qualitative and historical research allows us to make the following contributions: first, in line with other studies in the economic history of Spanish tourism, the four cases support the identification of Majorca as a tourism cluster. Second, the authors highlight several important characteristics of the island which reinforced and strengthened the cluster and boosted collective entrepreneurship, through an intense flow of information between the companies. Third, the authors illustrate coopetition as the key nature of the relationship between the clustered companies in a simultaneous process of competition and cooperation. Finally, the authors show how the strength of the tourism cluster, in Majorca, drove the companies to replicate the same dynamics and structures abroad.

This paper aims to present the Colombian Alejandro López Restrepo as a classic management thinker from the first half of the twentieth century and discuss his ideas in the light of Anglo-Saxon authors at that time and his contributions as a professor, manager and public servant.

Bibliographic material including López’s books and essays and their biography published by Mayor (2001) are reviewed to organize a new reading of López as a management thinker and practitioner.

Beyond several classical managerial thinkers, López reconceptualized scientific management with a critical discussion of classical economic theory using sociology and psychology to present a unique conception of work, enterprise and efficiency as a public service that gives sense to individual and social realization to face the future and create development.

Techniques as critical biography and interpretation of data have not been used, instead the aim to contribute to the literature of management history a Latin American’ thinker.

Including López as a classical management thinker can improve the study of management history. His life and ideas give new reflexive insight to understand the development of management in Colombia and serve to inspire administrators to seek improvements in society.

The paper offers a new approach toward studying Alejandro López beyond previous sociological work by Mayor (2001) with the discussion of the contributions in the lenses of managerial practices and theoretical insights at that time.

This paper aims to highlight the factors affecting health and safety (H&S) and the SMART Technologies (ST) used to mitigate them in the construction industry through a range of selected papers to encourage readers and potential audiences to consider the need for intelligent technologies to minimize the risks of injuries, illnesses and severe harm in the construction industry.

This paper adopts a double systematic literature review (SLR) to analyse studies investigating the factors affecting H&S and the ST in the construction industry using databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct and Emerald Insight publication.

The SLR identified “fatal or focus five factors” that include objects Fall from heights (FFH) and trapped between objects; Falls, Trips and slips (FTS); Machinery/Equipment Malfunction and Moving Equipment; Pollutants: Chemicals, Airborne Dust, Asbestos; and Electrocution. The ST includes Safety Boots/SMART Glasses/SMART Helmet/SMART Vests/SMART PPE/SMART Watch, Mobile Apps, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Wearable Technology/Mobile Sensors help mitigate the risk posed by “Fatal five”. However, other factors within the scope of ST, such as Weather Conditions, Vibrations, Violence, Disease and illness, Fire and Explosion and Over Exertion, are yet to be adopted in the field.

SLR methodology limitations of not obtaining the most updated field knowledge are critical and are offset by choosing 72% of H&S and 92% of SM review literature post-2017. Limitations to capturing articles because of the restriction of database access: only English language search and journals that are not a part of the databases selected are acknowledged. However, key database search that recognizes rigorous peer-reviewed articles offset these limitations. The researcher’s Bias is acknowledged.

This paper unravels the construction H&S factors and their interlinks with ST, which would aid industry understanding and focus on mitigating associated risks. The paper highlights the Fatal five and trivial 15, which would help better understand the causes of the H&S risks. Further, the paper discusses ST’s connectivity, which would aid the organization’s overall H&S management. The practical and theoretical implications include a better understanding of all factors that affect H&S and ST available to help mitigate concerns. The operating managers could use the ST to reduce H&S risks at every construction process stage. This paper on H&S and ST and relationships can theorize that the construction industry is more likely to identify clear root causes of H&S and ST usage than previously. The theoretical implications include enhanced understanding for academics on H&S factors, ST and gaps in ST concerning H&S, which can be expanded to provide new insights into existing knowledge.

This paper highlights all factors affecting H&S and ST that help mitigate associated risks and identifies the “Fatal five” factors. The paper is the first to highlight the factors affecting H&S combined with ST in use and their interactions. The paper also identified factors within the ST scope that are yet to be explored.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators faced by workers during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Ecuador. It focused on three work modalities: on-site, telework and mixed or hybrid. It also inquired into practical implications for management based on the workers’ experiences.

Between October and December 2021, 41 semistructured interviews were conducted to delve into the experiences of Ecuadorian workers. Thematic content analysis was employed for data charting and analysis.

Barriers and facilitators varied according to each working modality, although some were shared, contingent upon the specific contextual factors and job characteristics. The findings suggest that organizations should consider implementing flexible working hours and modalities, provide safe workspaces, ensure appropriate technology and connectivity, support employees and maintain their health and well-being.

This research explores the experiences of teleworkers, on-site workers and hybrid workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in an under-researched labor market within a developing country. The study provides valuable insights that highlight the potential for management development initiatives specifically tailored to hybrid work environments.

Searching for a job is an important process that influences short- and long-term career outcomes as well as well-being and psychological health. As such, job search research has grown tremendously over the last two decades. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of prior research, discuss important trends in current research, and suggest areas for future research. The authors conceptualize the job search as an unfolding process (i.e., a process through which job seekers navigate through stages to achieve their goal of finding and accepting a job) in which job seekers engage in self-regulation behaviors. The authors contrast research that has taken a between-person, static approach with research that has taken a within-person, dynamic approach and highlight the importance of combining between- and within-person designs in order to have a more holistic understanding of the job search process. Finally, authors provide some recommendations for future research. Much remains to be learned about what influences job search self-regulation, and how job self-regulation influences job search and employment outcomes depending on individual, contextual, and environmental factors.