Jaime Ortega-Gutiérrez, Ignacio Cepeda-Carrión and Helena Alves
This paper aims to study the relationship between the knowledge obtained in social networks by firms together with the firms’ knowledge absorptive capacity and organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the relationship between the knowledge obtained in social networks by firms together with the firms’ knowledge absorptive capacity and organizational unlearning as influencers of service-dominant (S-D) orientation, as well as the mediating role of absorption capacity and organizational unlearning in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample amounts to 101 responding companies, obtained from the SABI database. The companies belong to the service sector in Spain and have at least 50 employees and 5 years or more of existence in the market. The model was estimated through partial least squares structural equation modeling with smartPLS software 3.2.6.
Findings
The results show that the use of social media is very important for firms to acquire knowledge and capabilities that help them to become S-D oriented. In addition, absorptive capacity and unlearning processes are dynamic capabilities necessary to transform the knowledge acquired in social media and to become S-D oriented.
Research limitations/implications
Companies’ managers draw conclusions that can generate great value, while better meeting the needs and desires of the market, the more knowledge is obtained. In addition, the use of the knowledge generated in this process will reduce the risk of sudden changes in the market.
Practical implications
The more knowledge is gained using social networks, the better the companies’ managers will be able to draw conclusions that can generate great value, while at the same time better satisfying the needs and desires of the market, and thus create capacities that allow the company to be service-oriented. In addition, the use of these knowledge platforms strengthens the strategic advantage of companies through the promotion of innovation and by relating dynamic capabilities with the orientation toward sustainable development. As mentioned above, a process will be generated that will reduce the risk of sudden changes in the market.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies trying to study the antecedents of S-D orientation and the first to study the direct effect of social media use, and the direct and indirect effect of absorptive capacity and organizational unlearning on S-D orientation as dynamic capabilities.
Details
Keywords
Antonio Leal-Millán, Jose Luis Roldán, Antonio L. Leal-Rodríguez and Jaime Ortega-Gutiérrez
Despite the positive effects of customer capital (CC), questions remain over how managers enable CC growth by applying their skills and capabilities through managerial actions and…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the positive effects of customer capital (CC), questions remain over how managers enable CC growth by applying their skills and capabilities through managerial actions and strategies, such as developing information technology (IT) capability, fostering relationship learning (RL) activities and developing green innovation performance (GIP) with clients. These questions are especially pertinent in small and medium-sized enterprises and automotive industry companies that operate through supply chains, where knowledge about customers is likely to result from personal contact between customers and organisational members. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which these managerial actions were more likely to lead to the successful creation of CC.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the partial least squares technique, this paper studies how these three managerial actions impact on CC. To do so, data from 140 companies in the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector have been used.
Findings
The findings support the influence of RL on both GIP and CC. RL is a key managerial action in exploiting customer information and knowledge advantages, enabling firms to structure and reconfigure resources to produce new ways to compete and to satisfy stakeholders. In addition, results show that GIP is a determinant of CC because of its contribution to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, with GIP performing a mediating role in the relationship between RL and CC. A second contribution shows that IT is not in itself able to yield a competitive advantage, thereby validating the existence of complementary or co-focused strategic assets such as RL and GIP, which enhance IT’s influence on CC.
Research limitations/implications
The authors were unable to explore the subtleties of the processes over time. Future research should include a longitudinal study.
Practical implications
This study considers RL an essential factor in achieving both GIP and CC. Consequently, managers should seek to build strong RL cultures. In addition, this study shows that IT is not in itself able to yield a competitive advantage, thereby validating the existence of complementary or co-focused strategic assets such as RL and GIP.
Originality/value
No study has ever examined these three antecedent variables (IT, RL and GIP) together, with the aim to examine their effects on CC.
Details
Keywords
Helena Alves, Ignacio Cepeda-Carrion, Jaime Ortega-Gutierrez and Bo Edvardsson
This research aims to understand the relationship among Intellectual Capital (IC), Service Dominant Orientation (SD-Orientation) and firms performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to understand the relationship among Intellectual Capital (IC), Service Dominant Orientation (SD-Orientation) and firms performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A model conceptualizing the relationship among the three constructs was tested through structural equation modelling on a sample of 101 firms from SABI Spanish database.
Findings
The results confirm the influence of IC, in all of its dimensions, on SD-Orientation and of SD-orientation on performance. Furthermore, the results show that SD- Orientation fully mediates the relationship between IC and performance, except for relational capital that by itself also directly influences financial performance.
Research limitations/implications
Data is limited to a sample of only one country and 101 services firms. Therefore, future studies should be carried out with samples from other countries.
Practical implications
The main results show HC, relational capital and SC are a great influence and antecedent on SD-Orientation, therefore, as an implication, firms need to take care of the several components (human, structural and social) of IC in order to become more service oriented, something that will allow them to achieve a better performance.
Originality/value
Until know there was no other study testing the influence of IC on SD-Orientation, therefore this study contributes to understand SD-orientation and the necessary resources to operationalize it, including the links to financial performance.
Details
Keywords
Juan‐Gabriel Cegarra‐Navarro, Aurora Martinez‐Martinez, Jaime Ortega Gutiérrez and Antonio Luis Leal Rodríguez
The Spanish hospitality industry is facing environmental challenges which require organisations and individuals to learn new skills and practices and create new environmental…
Abstract
Purpose
The Spanish hospitality industry is facing environmental challenges which require organisations and individuals to learn new skills and practices and create new environmental knowledge. The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationships between an unlearning context and environmental knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyses the relationships between an unlearning context and environmental knowledge and tries to identify whether environmental knowledge impacts on business outcomes through an empirical study of 127 Spanish hospitality companies.
Findings
The results support the hypothesis that, in order to create environmental knowledge and hence foster the application of new environmental knowledge, companies need to provide and support an unlearning context.
Research limitations/implications
It is important that managers provide an appropriate unlearning context to support the openness of individuals to new ideas and environmental awareness.
Originality/value
This study provides hotel managers with a better understanding of the relationship between environmental knowledge and organisational outcomes and highlights that managers need to provide and support an unlearning context, which is customised and based on three frameworks: the framework for examining the lens through which individuals view situations; the framework for changing individual habits and the framework for consolidating emergent understandings.
Details
Keywords
Sergio Morales and Oswaldo Morales
The contribution of the present case lies in the critical view that every business actor should exercise – be it general manager, middle management, supervisor or executive – when…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
The contribution of the present case lies in the critical view that every business actor should exercise – be it general manager, middle management, supervisor or executive – when building a strong organizational culture in corrupt political environments.
Case overview/synopsis
The purpose of this case study is to explore the dilemma in which Marcelo Odebrecht, once CEO of Odebrecht, found/determined whether to continue with the business model established by the founders of Odebrecht or take a new path for the organization. After exploring the corrupt acts of Odebrecht and the scope of Operation Lava Jato, the reader can reflect on the importance of organizational culture (according to the three levels proposed by Schein) in the face of the emergence of corruption. By generating discussions about organizational culture, business ethics, political culture and corruption, the organizational culture of Odebrecht is problematized in relation to its real behavior.
Complexity academic level
Students of administration, business and international business undergraduates and graduates, as well as members of senior management in companies in the infrastructure sector. Also, given the plurality of possible readings, it is recommended that the case also be used in courses or specializations in organizational psychology, organizational sociology or organizational anthropology.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS 5: International Business.
Details
Keywords
Almudena Moreno and Alfonso Lara Montero
The purpose of this paper is to map the current organisation and implementation of children’s services in three regions of Spain, to identify strengths and gaps and to suggest…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to map the current organisation and implementation of children’s services in three regions of Spain, to identify strengths and gaps and to suggest proposals for improvement in line with European recommendations.
Design/methodology/approach
Spain features a decentralised approach when it comes to the organisation of children’s services. This means that relevant themes for children’s services refer to decentralised policies, which diverge within the regions in the country and therefore to illustrate this the authors focus on three specific regions. The study used an exploratory case study design and relied on qualitative methods, including the answers to open questionnaires provided by senior civil servants at key regional child welfare agencies, children’s services directors and service providers.
Findings
The main finding from the review of the legislation and the answers to the questionnaires is that public social services still follow an assistance logic rather than a social investment approach in regards to children’s services. Although a significant development of laws and policies has taken place, ensuring the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and services for children remains a challenge.
Research limitations/implications
The answers provided by the respondents may be subject to limitations imposed by the agencies for which they work. A general disadvantage of qualitative research is the use of subjective criteria to interpret the relevance of the results. The study was further challenged by differences across regions when it comes to their legal and policy frameworks, development of provisions and implementation and outcomes’ evaluation.
Practical implications
The findings could be used to assess the state of play in regards to children’s services across the regions studied and beyond with a focus on children being placed at the centre of public services’ intervention, using a comprehensive approach and promoting critical thinking and reflective practice.
Social implications
The three selected case studies provide additional insight into policy and legal developments, implementation and evaluation of activities and efforts to improve policy and practice in children’s services.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the evaluation of the current situation of children’s services in Spain from a decentralised perspective with the aim to facilitate changes to improve planning, implementation and evaluation of children’s services and secure better outcomes for children.
Details
Keywords
Elena Carvajal-Trujillo, Jesús Claudio Pérez-Gálvez and Jaime Jose Orts-Cardador
The main objective of this article is to visualize the structure and trends of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) between 1999 and 2023 through mapping and in-depth analysis. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this article is to visualize the structure and trends of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) between 1999 and 2023 through mapping and in-depth analysis. The aim is to analyze PEB, which has received considerable academic attention in recent years due to its key role in the conservation of the environment and the protection of local communities in tourist destinations. This paper provides an important summary of the recent research that has explored the role that tourists have in protecting the environment through PEB.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents a visual analysis of 2005 scholarly articles between the years 1999 and 2023 related to PEB. Using the knowledge mapping based on VOSviewer it presents the current status of research, which includes the analysis of citation analysis, co-citation analysis, co-citation network and longitudinal analysis.
Findings
PEB is an emerging topic due to its relevance to protecting the environment in the context of travel. The citation and co-citation analysis show the relevance of the behavior of tourists with regard to protecting the environment. The co-word analysis highlights the current significance of research concerning green hotels and the destination image of environmentally responsible destinations.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on the current research progress of PEB in the context of tourism through a comprehensive analysis (citation, co-citation and co-word). In addition, we provide theories and factors that have been previously used to study PEB in the context of tourism. The findings contribute to a broad and diverse understanding of the concept of PEB, which can provide important insights for policymakers in formulating management strategies and policies aimed at reducing environmental impacts in destinations.
Details
Keywords
Peivand Ghasemzadeh, Seyed Mahdi Rezayat Sorkhabadi, Abbas Kebriaeezadeh, Jamal Aldin Nazari, Mandana Farzaneh and Gholamhossein Mehralian
Innovative organizations are increasingly facing challenges in a dynamic market to address corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues; however, research on how organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovative organizations are increasingly facing challenges in a dynamic market to address corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues; however, research on how organizational learning (OL) contributes to organizations’ social responsibility and innovation remains sparse. This study aims to bridge the gap in previous research and examines how OL and dynamic capabilities (DCs) act as drivers of CSR performance (CSRP) and innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is survey-based and uses time-lagged, multisource data from 151 pharmaceutical industry-related companies in Iran. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the validity of the measurement model and hierarchical regression was used to test the key hypotheses.
Findings
DCs mediate the relationship between OL and CSRP. Moreover, CSRP significantly mediates the relationship between OL and innovation.
Originality/value
Drawing on the perspective of DCs, this research is among the first to offer new insights in a new context on what antecedent conditions lead to the successful implementation of organizational CSRP and how CSRP would, in turn, lead to subsequent innovation performance improvement.