Gema Ramírez-Guerrero, Javier García-Onetti, Juan Adolfo Chica-Ruiz and Manuel Arcila-Garrido
This paper attempts to fill the gap that exists in research regarding 20th-century heritage and its social appreciation. The purpose of this paper is to explore different ways of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to fill the gap that exists in research regarding 20th-century heritage and its social appreciation. The purpose of this paper is to explore different ways of evaluating the heritage value and tourism potential and to propose an innovative model validated in the Zarzuela Hippodrome as an example of cultural asset from 20th century with important economic, social, cultural, aesthetic and architectural aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study opted for an interpretation of heritage from an ecosystem, integrating and global paradigm, understanding the asset as a set of resources that interact with each other, generating a common and enriched tourist experience among all the elements that make it up. From this perspective, it is conceived that by modifying one of the elements, the whole (tourist) ecosystem will be equally influenced. On the other side, it was incorporated non-parametric techniques based on the implementation of surveys for the validation of the tool to the case study of the Zarzuela hippodrome.
Findings
The results suggest that the hippodrome's internal values have been evaluated very positively, while its external values are low. Through this study, the paper has identified several weaknesses that impede its functioning as a viable “tourist product.” The distance from the city center, the lack of available information and the scarce diffusion and tourism promotion are its main weaknesses. The proposed analysis tool reveals the importance of the active participation of visitors to evaluate cultural assets through the combination of aspects related to the conservation of cultural assets and, in turn, elements that encourage their commodification as tourist products, break down barriers between these two disciplines.
Research limitations/implications
The management tool proposed in this study can be used to underpin the creation of tourism experiences in cultural or heritage assets by diagnosing the current state of its tourist potential, quantifying its value in relation to the visitors’ perception and making visible those problematic aspects to develop actions to solve them. Although the present study is support for future research, as well as for improving the marketing of heritage in tourist settings, an in-depth analysis of the technical elements of heritage, as well as of its intervention (if applicable), will be necessary for the managers who want to use the tool.
Social implications
One of the most differentiating characteristics between the construction typology of 20th-century historical buildings is perhaps the scarcity of decorative ornamentation, with exposed concrete being the main surface coating. Many of these constructions have an important cultural and historical relevance, however, the social perception, as regards its consideration as architectural and artistic heritage seems to reflect discordant aspects. This study provides support as a decision-making tool to determine the existing valuation of a building and how to enhance it.
Originality/value
This study takes steps toward the creation of a model that supports decision-makers and owners of cultural assets through a measurement system that makes it possible to quantify and determine the current state of tourism use through the social evaluation of heritage criteria. It defines which are the elements that favor the resilience of the property or, on the contrary, which are those that undermine its enhancement.
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Juan David Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alejandro Arboleda, Sergio Botero and Javier Rojo
The purpose of this paper is to develop an investment valuation model using the mezzanine debt mechanism based on blue bonds that explicitly allude to public–private partnerships…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an investment valuation model using the mezzanine debt mechanism based on blue bonds that explicitly allude to public–private partnerships (P3s) and project finance (PF). Additionally, this study proposes the financial captured value (FCV) theory for measuring how much financial value lenders may capture by becoming sponsors through financing of sustainable infrastructure systems (SIS).
Design/methodology/approach
The investment valuation model was validated through the Aguas Claras wastewater treatment plant as a case study.
Findings
The empirical results show that lenders may capture financial value by converting outstanding debt into equity shares throughout the operation and maintenance stage. Furthermore, case study results provide new insights into the implications of the debt–equity conversion ratio on the relationship between the sponsors’ internal rate of return and the FCV.
Research limitations/implications
The most significant limitation is the lack of primary and secondary information on blue bonds. Thus, robust statistical analyses to contrast results were not possible.
Practical implications
Researchers and practising professionals can improve their understanding of how mezzanine debt, P3s and PF into an investment valuation model allows financing SIS using a non-conventional financial mechanism. The recommendations will benefit both the academia as well infrastructure industry in bridging the gap between design theory and practice.
Originality/value
Sustainability components have not been addressed explicitly or combined in the financing’s structuring. Therefore, the investment valuation model could be considered a novel methodology for decision making related to financing and investment of SIS.
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Marcela Porporato and Juan Ignacio Ruiz
Explore the factors making emergency procurement more prone to corruption by advancing explanations for when rules and transparency are relaxed allowing corrupt practices to…
Abstract
Purpose
Explore the factors making emergency procurement more prone to corruption by advancing explanations for when rules and transparency are relaxed allowing corrupt practices to emerge. Describe institutional factors, such as corruption syndrome (Johnston, 2005, 2015) and legal system, and their impact on procurement rules changes.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative event study using publicly available data offer a timeline and explanation of government procurement control mechanisms and transparency roles in emergencies by comparing two countries. Argentina and Canada had very similar and advanced food procurement systems prior to COVID-19, but they took different stances when the pandemic broke out.
Findings
Legal systems and corruption syndrome are linked, where Civil Law is related to Elite Cartels (Argentina) and Common Law with Influence Markets (Canada). The study contributes to understand the role of transparency to minimize the opportunity for direct purchases (electronic trails of decisions, justifications and approvals). Judicial system's actions favor corrupt practices and are aligned with elites despite the civil society outcry.
Research limitations/implications
Research on corrupt practices has limited access to primary data due to fear of reprisals. Informal conversations revealing glimpses of corruption were used to identify publicly available documents. Numbers play a role in emergencies and performativity theory literature is enriched by providing an example of different interpretation of information when frameworks differ between civil society and courts.
Originality/value
A comparative analysis that evidences the role of pre-existing institutional and social conditions shows when emergency situations will be used as an excuse to relax procurement control and transparency mechanisms which in turn facilitate corrupt practices.
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José Andrés Fernández-Cornejo, Cristina Castellanos-Serrano, Eva Del Pozo-García, Maite Palomo-Vadillo, Juan Ignacio Cáceres-Ruiz and Lorenzo Escot
In January 2021, Spanish paid parental leave for fathers was fully equated with that for mothers. Is this facilitating working fathers developing an identity of caring fathers?
Abstract
Purpose
In January 2021, Spanish paid parental leave for fathers was fully equated with that for mothers. Is this facilitating working fathers developing an identity of caring fathers?
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted qualitative research based on 31 interviews with heterosexual fathers residing in Spain, who had a child from January 1, 2021 onwards, who cohabited with the baby’s mother, and who were salaried. We also added two mothers with the same characteristics and seven human resources managers from large companies.
Findings
There has been a rapid acceptance and normalization of the use of these new equalized leaves. For many fathers this has been accompanied by the experience of a greater sense of “being legitimized” to engage in caregiving. The intensity of this process could be subject to two opposing forces. One in favor, especially when fathers care alone for as long as possible; and one against, when fathers assume the role of the mother’s helper and when the support of significant and relevant others is lacking in several domains, including the work place.
Social implications
Whether this ambivalence is resolved in favor of advancement could depend on how successful public policy is. Reforms of parental leave systems should encourage men to take on single-handed care, and companies should be encouraged to become more aware of the need for co-responsibility between fathers and mothers in childcare.
Originality/value
Spain now has one of the most gender-equal parental leave systems in the world. It is important to know what meaning new fathers are giving to this advance and to what extent this is facilitating the emergence of a caregiving masculinity.
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Belén Ruiz, Juan A. García and Antonio J. Revilla
The purpose of this paper is to identify the key antecedents and consequences of bank reputation and whether their relative importance varies across countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the key antecedents and consequences of bank reputation and whether their relative importance varies across countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of 900 bank customers, representative of the national populations in the UK (500) and Spain (400), two of the countries in which the weight of the financial system on the gross domestic product is much bigger than that of other European countries. The research hypotheses were tested by conducting a multi-group analysis with covariance-based structural equation modelling.
Findings
In contrast with previous studies, it was discovered that the most important cognitive antecedent of banks’ reputation is reliability/financial strength. This study reinforces the prominence of satisfaction as a key emotional aspect of reputation. Differences between the UK and Spain were found in the impact of employer branding and corporate social responsibility. The positive effect of bank reputation on consumer behaviour (loyalty and word of mouth) and the existence of cross-country differences as regards loyalty were also confirmed.
Originality/value
This is a systematic cross-country analysis of corporate reputation which includes not only cognitive antecedents but also emotional determinants that have been repeatedly ignored. This paper sheds light on whether the antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation vary across countries. The choice of the banking sector provides a unique opportunity to observe the determinants and outcomes of corporate reputation following an unstable time in the banking sector.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent and impact of corruption on public trust and on the stability of the Colombian police. The effectiveness of public controls…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent and impact of corruption on public trust and on the stability of the Colombian police. The effectiveness of public controls, civilian oversight, and overseeing bodies is evaluated to determine the degree of impunity and the level of independence from other agencies of control.
Design/methodology/approach
The research in this study is based on data analyses of surveys, interviews, and an observational approach. This paper considers four general surveys, namely: Latinobarómetro, Iberobarómetro, Global Corruption Barometer, Corruption Perception Indexes, and World Values Survey. The observation consisted of accompanying Bogotá police department teams for two months during the evenings between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. This study draws upon 20 interviews with police officers of all ranks. Additionally, an informal observation of police activities during the night was carried out to discover the occurrence of corruption, which was impossible to reveal by a more formal observation.
Findings
Although corruption in the Colombian police force is presumably a generalized phenomenon, it is still one of the most appreciated agencies among Colombians. However, scandals have been cleverly mitigated by rhetoric and apparent purges and the setting‐up of inoffensive mechanisms of control. Internal inspection and civilian oversight have been weakened – rendered ineffective by an increasingly powerful police leadership.
Research limitations/implications
Since corruption is a concealed phenomenon, its analysis always causes problems. Police officers are reluctant to talk about the problem and there is an organizational denial of the phenomenon.
Originality/value
The paucity of academic research on police forces in Latin America is still apparent and the field of study lacks a real degree of specialization. Similarly, there has been no empirical examination of issues pertaining to the study of the modern Colombian force. This paper thus attempts to compensate for the lack of empirical research on the Colombian police. It contributes to the overall literature on police corruption by explaining the organizational features of bribing and police corruption on the beat.
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Sergio Amat, Juan Ruiz and J. Carlos Trillo
Multiresolution representations of data are classical tools in image processing applications. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a particular problem, obtaining good…
Abstract
Purpose
Multiresolution representations of data are classical tools in image processing applications. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a particular problem, obtaining good reconstructions of noise images.
Design/methodology/approach
A nonlinear multiresolution scheme within Harten's framework corresponding to a nonlinear cell‐average technique is used for color image denoising.
Findings
This paper finds it is possible, for example, to apply the theoretical framework to case studies in internationally operating companies delivering a mix of goods and services.
Research limitations/implications
The present study provides a starting point for further research in the denoising problems using nonlinear techniques.
Originality/value
Moreover, the proposed framework has proven to be useful in improving the classical linear multiresolution approaches.
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Angela Carrillo-Ramos, Luis Guillermo Torres-Ribero, María Paula Arias-Báez, Alexandra Pomares Quimbaya, Enrique González, Julio Carreño, Juan Pablo Garzón Ruiz and Hervé Martin
This paper aims to present a detailed description of Agents for Enriching Services (AES), an agent-oriented framework that allows adapting a service in an information system. AES…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a detailed description of Agents for Enriching Services (AES), an agent-oriented framework that allows adapting a service in an information system. AES provides an adaptation logic that can be instantiated and extended to be useful in different domains. In previous works, we presented the adaptation mechanism of AES, which considers context aspects such as location, infrastructure; user aspects such as preferences and interests; and device aspects such as hardware and software features.
Design/methodology/approach
The first step was the definition of different profiles, mainly user and context profiles. Then the adaptation mechanism was defined, which considers these profiles. With this mechanism, the adaptation filters to apply them to the initial queries was specified. Finally, feedback was provided, which included implicit and explicit information from the user and the system. AES is an agent-based framework implemented in Java, using the multi-agent platform BESA and a rule-based engine Drools.
Findings
AES can be used as the starting point to adapt services by enriching them considering different stimulus whether they come from the environment, devices or user preferences.
Research limitations/implications
This work was tested in an academic environment and was only applied to enhance queries by using keywords. AES uses the query mechanism implemented in the system that invokes it.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on: an integrated view of AES including its formal description and details about its implementation. Particularly, it includes an exhaustive and formal definition of the filters used to create the adaptation rules and three different scenarios of the application of AES to adapt content according to user and context features. Finally, a comparison analysis is presented to highlight the strengths of our framework, specially its capacity of integration with systems that require providing user- and context-oriented services.
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José M. de la Torre‐Ruiz and J. Alberto Aragón‐Correa
The purpose of this paper is to examine how, within a team, the value of their best member depends critically on the performance of the rest. Analysis of the interdependent team…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how, within a team, the value of their best member depends critically on the performance of the rest. Analysis of the interdependent team members complements the traditional focus of resource‐based‐view analyses of isolated resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data from 584 National Basketball Association teams (30 teams collected over 21 seasons).
Findings
The authors find a positive relationship between best member performance and team performance that increases as the rest of the team members’ performance improves.
Practical implications
Having team members with a high individual performance does not imply that the team will have a competitive advantage over the rest. To gain this advantage, it is also necessary that the rest of the team members also show a high individual performance.
Originality/value
These results contribute to the team literature increasing our knowledge about the effect of complementary resources on gaining competitive advantage. Additionally, sports teams offer the possibility of using objective data to assess team members’ individual value within a team.