Laura Burgos, Nora Pece and Silvina Maldonado
The purpose of this study was to establish the degree of ripening of natural goat cheese used as a raw material; to formulate a spreadable processed cheese with creamy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to establish the degree of ripening of natural goat cheese used as a raw material; to formulate a spreadable processed cheese with creamy consistency; and to determine the level of each process variable.
Design/methodology/approach
Cheeses of various ripening times were selected for the formulation through cluster analysis. The effect of the final moisture was studied using the same proportion of fresh and ripened cheeses in the formulation, and three melting temperatures were tested.
Findings
Goat cheeses ripened for 10, 20 and 40 days were chosen for the formulation of spreadable processed cheese. Final moisture content of 63.0 ± 0.1 per cent was selected (p = 0.0008). Melting temperature at 85.0 ± 0.1°C for 9.0 ± 0.5 min was suitable to homogenize the cheese mass (p = 0.001). The level of variables was validated by changing the proportions of natural goat cheeses selected. Four formulations were obtained with a consistency similar to that of the commercial reference.
Practical implications
Processed cheese is produced by blending shredded natural cheeses of different types and degrees of ripening. The use of ripening goat cheeses as a raw material in processed cheeses contributes to the added value of the local goat milk chain. Goat cheeses have an acid and slightly salty taste and medium to long persistence.
Originality/value
The results of this work can be used by processed cheese manufacturers to better understand the impact of goat cheese ripening on processed cheese quality. The industry can also use these results to introduce the product onto the market and plan their marketing campaign.
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Laura Alonso Martínez and María Begoña Vigo-Arrazola
Government’s role and sex education are vital in promoting inclusivity and sexual health. To understand the impact that the legislation has had on sex education, it is necessary…
Abstract
Purpose
Government’s role and sex education are vital in promoting inclusivity and sexual health. To understand the impact that the legislation has had on sex education, it is necessary to evaluate it at the different training levels.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used is a critical review aimed at comparing educational and state legislation and its impact on Sex Education in Spain and the United Kingdom.
Findings
In most countries the compulsory contents in the curriculum are oriented to sexually transmitted infections and contraception. Nonetheless, this approach is deemed inadequate and restrictive, failing to cope with the challenges posed by globalization, including the increased spread of sexual infection. Legislative constraints hinder the comprehensive implementation of public health education strategies and social justice concerning sexuality.
Research limitations/implications
Scope may miss legislative nuances and regional differences.
Practical implications
Findings emphasize comprehensive sex education to tackle modern challenges and to urge policy makers to incorporate these insights.
Social implications
Enhanced sex education laws foster health equity that will contribute to reducing violence and improving positive attitudes and behaviours.
Originality/value
Insufficient analysis exists on the effects of ministry measures in sex education, connecting health, well-being and sustainability. This underscores the urgency of researching the legislative, educational and societal consequences, enabling interventions to address negative sexual attitudes and behaviours, including gender violence, biases against sexual diversity, emotional challenges, sexual freedom and health problems, based on respect for Human Sexual Rights.
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Laura García-García, Macarena Gonzalo Alonso-Buenaposada, M. Elena Romero-Merino and Marcos Santamaria-Mariscal
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the ownership structure and the investment in research and development (R&D) for a sample of listed Spanish…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the ownership structure and the investment in research and development (R&D) for a sample of listed Spanish companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the agency theory and the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective, the authors propose that R&D investment is affected by ownership structure, specifically by the identity of the controlling owner (family firms and firms with an institutional investor) and the level of contestability by other shareholders. In order to test these hypotheses, the authors build an original database identifying, at a 10% threshold, the ultimate shareholders of a sample of 96 Spanish firms listed during 2008–2018 (1,002 obs).
Findings
The results show that there is no significant relationship between the ownership concentration and the R&D investment. Only when the authors consider the nature of the main shareholder, the authors find that in family firms there is an inverted U relationship between ownership and R&D, so that at low levels of ownership, the R&D increases, while at high levels of ownership (that we compute around 54%) the R&D decreases. Also, when the main shareholder is an institutional investor, the greater its ownership, the higher the R&D investment. Finally, the authors test that, contrary to what mainstream suggests, contestability in family firms is higher when ownership in the hands of other family shareholders increases.
Originality/value
The work uses an original database to test a nonlinear relationship between ownership and R&D investment in family firms. Also, the study addresses a topic hardly ever discussed in the literature about R&D as it is the role of the contestability by other controlling shareholders.
Objetivo
El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la relación existente entre la estructura de propiedad y la innovación corporativa para una muestra de empresas cotizadas españolas.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Utilizando los planteamientos de la teoría de la agencia y de la perspectiva de la riqueza socioemocional proponemos que la I+D empresarial está relacionada con la estructura de propiedad, específicamente con la naturaleza del accionista de control (empresas familiares y empresas con un inversor institucional como principal accionista) y con el grado de contestabilidad por parte de otros accionistas significativos. A fin de testar nuestras hipótesis, construimos ad hoc una base de datos de propiedad original en la que identificamos, al umbral del 10% de propiedad, a los accionistas últimos de una muestra de 96 empresas cotizadas españolas para el periodo 2008–2018 (1.002 obs).
Resultados
Nuestros resultados muestran que no existe relación significativa entre la concentración de propiedad y la inversión en I + D. Solo cuando consideramos la naturaleza del principal accionista encontramos que en las empresas familiares la relación entre la propiedad de la familia y la innovación corporativa adopta una forma de U invertida, tal que a bajos niveles de propiedad la I + D crece, mientras que a altos niveles de propiedad (que computamos en torno al 54% de propiedad) la inversión en I + D decrece. Asimismo, en las empresas con un inversor institucional como principal accionista, cuanto mayor es la propiedad de este inversor institucional, mayor es la I + D de la empresa. Finalmente testamos que, en contra de la corriente dominante, en las empresas familiares la propiedad en manos de otras familias incrementa el grado de contestabilidad a la familia controladora respecto a su inversión en I + D.
Originalidad
El trabajo utiliza una base de datos de propiedad original para testar una relación no lineal entre concentración de propiedad e innovación corporativa en las empresas familiares. Asimismo, el estudio aborda un tema apenas analizado en la literatura de I + D como es el papel de la contestabilidad al accionista de control.
Details
Keywords
- Ownership structure
- Family firms
- Institutional investors
- R&D, contestability
- Multiple large shareholders (MLS)
- Socioemotional wealth (SEW)
- Innovation
- Estructura de propiedad
- Empresas familiares
- Inversores institucionales
- I+D
- Contestabilidad
- Múltiples accionistas de control
- Riqueza socioemocional
- Innovación
- G34
- G32
- O30
Laura Alcaide-Muñoz and Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar
The purpose of this paper is to consolidate existing knowledge and provide a deeper understanding of e-government research for assisting researchers in the development of their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consolidate existing knowledge and provide a deeper understanding of e-government research for assisting researchers in the development of their future analyses, identifying trends of research and the methodology used.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliometric approach has been used to examine e-government research in periodical publications listed in ISI in the field of information science and library science during the period 2000-2014.
Findings
The authors found that although e-participation research has increased in the last years, future research should focus on accessibility policies, and on the motives, capabilities and perceptions of disabled and older people to take advantage of e-government initiatives to be involved in the social affairs.
Practical implications
The study has shown the need to carry out further research into e-participation in order to understand the true dimension of social networks and their involvement in e-democracy. Also, it is highlighted the need for the design and evaluation of tools for automation of the services and to enable citizens to vote in local initiatives.
Originality/value
This historical assessment allows identification of significant insights and trends related to e-government, and patterns in the published articles and develops a cohesive and comprehensive research agenda to guide researchers worldwide in their quest for a better understanding of e-government.
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Laura D'hont, Rachel Doern and Juan Bautista Delgado García
The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential influence of friendship on entrepreneurial teams (ETs) and on venture formation and development. The theoretical framework is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential influence of friendship on entrepreneurial teams (ETs) and on venture formation and development. The theoretical framework is built on the literature around friendship ties, the interaction of friendship ties and professional ties, and ETs.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking an interpretative methodological approach, the authors carried out qualitative interviews with ten business founders in Paris, France.
Findings
The authors identified different four profiles or types of ETs according to how friendship ties interact with professional ties among team members, which the authors designate as “fusion” and “separation”, and describe the orientation of this interaction, which the authors label as “affective” or “strategic”. These profiles affect the emergence of the idea and the choice of members in the formation of teams. They also shape the functioning of teams in terms of decision-making processes, recruitment and investment.
Research limitations/implications
The findings underline the difficulties of studying friendship in ETs empirically and recommend longitudinal approaches for further research.
Practical implications
Findings offer insights in to why and how ETs based on friendship ties approach the pre-launch, launch and development phases of businesses as well as in to the interactions between professional and friendship ties, which is helpful to both practitioners and academics. The authors also discuss the consequences and implications of the different team types in terms of their risks and strategies for mitigating these risks.
Originality/value
This is one of the first empirical studies to examine how friendship and professional ties may combine and evolve in ETs, and their influence on the entrepreneurial process as it relates to venture formation and development.
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Laura Guillermina Duarte Caceres and Antonio Emmanuel Perez Brito
Ana Isabel Jiménez-Zarco, M Dolores Mendez-Aparicio and Alicia Izquierdo-Yusta
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the life history of the Spanish Generation X over the last five decades.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the life history of the Spanish Generation X over the last five decades.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering that the generational cohort concept can be identified from the marketing side as a market segment, this paper proposes to analyze the socio-economic and cultural context that has marked the different life stages of Generation X, and how they have related to brands according to their needs, desires and aspirations.
Findings
The results show that the customer journey can be considered a circular concept. The customer’s relationship with the brand can begin in childhood and continue into adulthood, such that the emotional relationship established with the brand as a child influences purchase decisions in adulthood.
Research limitations/implications
Although limited to the analysis of Generation X and its relationship with brands, this paper shows the importance of knowing the socio-economic, legal and cultural context of a generation.
Practical implications
As a business implication, the importance of remarketing is evident as a business strategy that reinforces the emotional connection between the brand and the different generations.
Social implications
From a social point of view, this paper shows the power of brands as an element of self-expression of the needs, tastes or preferences of individuals is evident.
Originality/value
This paper offers a different and innovative vision of the customer journey, taking into account the individual’s life cycle, and the way in which at each stage of life, he/she relates to brands in a different way.
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Laura Kainiemi, Sanni Eloneva and Mika Järvinen
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most significant uncertainties for bioenergy applications, in order to identify factors determining the success of introducing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most significant uncertainties for bioenergy applications, in order to identify factors determining the success of introducing bioenergy into the current energy system.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework is built for identifying the most significant uncertainties based on studies exploring the positive potentials as well as possible negative effects of bioenergy. The framework is applied to explore uncertainties of bioenergy-based transport fuels and heat and power generation through two real life case studies.
Findings
The results indicate that the most significant uncertainties are environmental and economic. Bioenergy applications have potential to mitigate climate change, but also come with negative environmental effects. Case studies show that operations in developing nations contain higher political/institutional and social uncertainty than those in developed countries, due to weaker regulations and enforcement.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is part of an on-going research project. Results will be verified with stakeholder interviews and analysis. Further institutional analysis of the country settings is necessary.
Practical implications
The use of a feedstock with high environmental, social and institutional uncertainties will lower public acceptance. Acting in accordance to the law is not sufficient to ensure sustainability and additional, voluntary measures should be undertaken.
Originality/value
The paper identifies the most significant uncertainties for bioenergy. Uncertainties from social acceptance and institutional settings are higher in developing countries and acceptability requires more than following regulations.