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1 – 10 of 50Carla Curado, Maria Miguel Jesus and Nick Bontis
The purpose of this study is to identify managerial perceptions, as well as individual and organizational contingencies, that influence the use of balanced scorecard (BSC) among…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify managerial perceptions, as well as individual and organizational contingencies, that influence the use of balanced scorecard (BSC) among SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a mixed methods approach to study the use of the BSC from a survey database of 414 SMEs across several industries in Portugal.
Findings
This paper shows the perceived benefits, reasoning and obstacles that managers face when using the BSC in SMEs. The BSC is not the first choice for strategic management control of most firms in the sample. Most SMEs in this study have an explicitly formulated business strategy. The results show that it is possible to implement the BSC in SMEs without a formalized strategy. Such findings seem to suggest that the use of the BSC may stimulate the formulation of strategies for those firms.
Research limitations/implications
The use of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis limits the generalization of the findings; nonetheless, the transparency of the report enables replication without restrictions.
Practical implications
This paper proposes that the size of the firm and the characteristics of the manager may compensate for the absence of a strategy to guide BSC use.
Social implications
This paper advises a match between the stage of development of the SMEs strategy and the gender of the manager, which may have implications for recruitment purposes.
Originality/value
This study reports alternative configurations of individual and organizational conditions that lead to the use of the BSC in SMEs as well as configurations that prevent its use.
Objetivo
El propósito de este estudio es identificar las percepciones de los gerentes, así como las contingencias individuales y organizacionales, que influyen en el uso del BSC entre las PYMEs.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Adoptamos un enfoque de métodos mixtos para estudiar el uso del BSC a partir de una base de datos de encuestas de 414 PYMEs de varias industrias en Portugal.
Resultados/hallazgos
Mostramos los beneficios percibidos, el razonamiento y los obstáculos que enfrentan los gerentes al utilizar el BSC en las PYMEs. El BSC no es la primera opción para el control de gestión estratégica de la mayoría de las empresas de la muestra. La mayoría de las PYMEs en este estudio tienen una estrategia comercial explícitamente formulada. Los resultados muestran que es posible implementar el BSC en PYMEs sin una estrategia formalizada. Estos hallazgos parecen sugerir que el uso del BSC puede estimular la formulación de estrategias para esas empresas.
Originalidad
Este estudio reporta configuraciones alternativas de condiciones individuales y organizacionales que conducen al uso del BSC en las PYMEs, así como configuraciones que impiden su uso.
Limitaciones/implicaciones de la investigación
El uso de la fsQCA limita la generalización de los hallazgos; no obstante, la transparencia del informe permite replicarlo sin restricciones.
Implicaciones prácticas
Proponemos que el tamaño de la empresa y las características del gerente pueden compensar la ausencia de una estrategia que oriente el uso del BSC.
Implicaciones sociales
Aconsejamos hacer coincidir la etapa de desarrollo de la estrategia para las PYMEs y el género del gerente, lo que puede tener implicaciones a efectos de contratación.
Objetivo
O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as perceções dos gestores, bem como as contingências individuais e organizacionais, que influenciam o uso do BSC entre as PMEs.
Desenho/metodologia/abordagem
Adotamos uma abordagem de métodos mistos para estudar a utilização do BSC a partir de uma base de dados de inquérito a 414 PMEs de diversas indústrias em Portugal.
Resultados
Mostramos os benefícios percebidos, o raciocínio e os obstáculos que os gestores enfrentam ao usar o BSC nas PMEs. O BSC não é a primeira escolha para o controle estratégico de gestão da maioria das empresas da amostra. A maioria das PMEs neste estudo tem uma estratégia empresarial explicitamente formulada. Os resultados mostram que é possível implementar o BSC nas PME sem uma estratégia formalizada. Tais resultados parecem sugerir que a utilização do BSC pode estimular a formulação de estratégias para essas empresas.
Originalidade
Este estudo relata configurações alternativas de condições individuais e organizacionais que levam à utilização do BSC nas PMEs, bem como configurações que impedem a sua utilização.
Limitações/implicações da pesquisa
O uso do fsQCA limita a generalização dos resultados; no entanto, a transparência do relatório permite a replicação sem restrições.
Implicações práticas
Propomos que o tamanho da empresa e as características do gestor podem compensar a ausência de uma estratégia para orientar o uso do BSC.
Implicações sociais
Aconselhamos uma correspondência entre o estágio de desenvolvimento da estratégia para as PMEs e o género do gestor, o que pode ter implicações para efeitos de recrutamento.
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Eduardo Tejedor Tejada, Domiciana De la Fuente Marcos, Maria Jesus Cuesta Lozano, Juana Benedí González, Jesús Moro Aguado and Jesús Miguel Tejedor Muñoz
This study aims to assess the potency and dose of Δ-9-Tetrahidrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) in cannabis joints. This will enable better estimates of the degree of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the potency and dose of Δ-9-Tetrahidrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) in cannabis joints. This will enable better estimates of the degree of exposure in a user and contribute towards a better understanding of potential harmful effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of intact joints confiscated by law enforcement on the street in the autonomous region of Castilla y León (Spain) during the years 2017–2019.
Findings
This study analysed THC, CBN and CBD in marijuana joints (N = 744). Joints contain cannabis and tobacco (N = 729), had a median net weight 0.69 g (IQR = 0.28); concentration THC median was 6.30%(IQR = 4.51) and THC median dose 42 mg (IQR = 32.75). A total of 35.5% mixed joints contained CBN – median percentage 0.61% (IQR = 0.51). CBD was detected 10.3% of mixed joints – median percentage 0.13% (IQR = 0.12) and median dose 1 mg (IQR = 0.92). CBD/THC ratio presented median value of 0.02 (IQR = 0.02). The samples analysed comprised pure cannabis joints (N = 15), with THC median 11.86% (IWR = 6.30) or median dose of 118 mg.
Originality/value
The study found high values for concentration and dose of THC and CBD in cannabis joints, warning of high exposures for the user and associated potential consequences. The results obtained contribute new perspectives on the definition of a standard cannabis unit.
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Ricardo Manuel Da Costa Melo, Eunice Cristina Ribeiro Lopes, José Luis Coelho Vilas Boas, Lúcia Batista Santos, Sandra Cristina Ferreira Amaro, João Miguel Almeida Ventura-Silva and Isabel de Jesus Oliveira
The impact of dependence on self-care on people’s lives is very significant, with consequences for the person and their caregivers. The purpose of this study is to map the…
Abstract
Purpose
The impact of dependence on self-care on people’s lives is very significant, with consequences for the person and their caregivers. The purpose of this study is to map the evidence on the factors that influence the empowerment of the person dependent on self-care on returning home.
Design/methodology/approach
Scoping review according to the criteria proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute: population (people with a dependence on self-care), concept (factors that influence training) and context (return home after hospitalization in a medical-surgical context). The research was carried out from March 1 to April 30, 2022, in the databases CINAHL and MEDLINE (via EBSCO), Scielo, LILACS, Cuiden and MedicLatina; Gray literature searched RCAAP, DART-Europe and OpenGrey. Studies published in Portuguese, Spanish and English were included, with no time limit.
Findings
One hundred and eighty-one articles were obtained, which, after analysis according to the criteria, resulted in seven studies included for review, ranging from 2007 to 2021, with a level of evidence between 2. c and 4. a (according to Joanna Briggs Institute), and two thematic areas/four categories emerging.
Research limitations/implications
The need for information and training, the relationship and proximity with the health-care team, the design of nursing care targeted at the person’s level of dependence, education, gender, type of surgical intervention and postoperative period, physical space and lack of privacy and audiovisual media.
Originality/value
The perception of these factors proves to be important in the person’s training process, with the nurse’s role being highlighted due to their emphasis on the transition home.
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Antonio-Miguel Nogués-Pedregal
This paper aims to show that tourism is one of the most perfect creations of the capitalist mode of production insofar as not only does it consume places and territories and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show that tourism is one of the most perfect creations of the capitalist mode of production insofar as not only does it consume places and territories and perpetuate dependency relations, but in the expressive dimension, it also produces feelings and meanings and generates a new relationship of the past with the present and future (chronotope).
Design/methodology/approach
The study was carried out using a socio-anthropological approach with participant observation over several decades.
Findings
The modes of time are described and how the tourism chronotope shapes the historic centre of a consolidated tourist destination. The case study, analysed with the model of the “conversion of place through the mediation of tourism space”, illustrates the prevalence of instrumental and commercial values over one’s own aesthetic-expressive values in tourism contexts. This fact encourages the emergence of local political projects and the incorporation of uniformities outside the local place. These processes end up uprooting the anchors from collective memory. The definition of territories according to visitors’ imaginaries and expectations encourages the abusive occupation of public space and the adoption of new aesthetic attributes of urban space.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach and methodologies, the research results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test both the model and the propositions further.
Originality/value
This study approaches the relationship of the idea Tourism with the idea Development based on the anchors of memory.
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Gabriela Artazo, María Jesús Rodríguez-García and Gabriela Bard Wigdor
This chapter develops analytical and comparative approaches on the advance of the sexual exploitation industry in Eurozone countries, addressing specific regulations and norms on…
Abstract
This chapter develops analytical and comparative approaches on the advance of the sexual exploitation industry in Eurozone countries, addressing specific regulations and norms on what is called sex work (when regulated by the state) or prostitution (countries with abolitionist normative frameworks). Indeed, in scenarios of economic and health recession due to Covid-19, this issue is controversial and of urgency in the public agenda due to the scarcity of statistical records that can account for the impact of the sexual exploitation market on women and feminized bodies and in relation to gender equality and equity indexes, as well as public policies. As a working assumption, it is proposed that there is a “sociological erasure” on the impact of the sexual exploitation industry on populations of high social vulnerability. Methodologically, on the one hand, a comparative analysis of indicators relevant to gender equality and human rights is developed, using second-order data to compare European countries with antagonistic legal regulations on the sex market. On the other hand, the perceptions, discourses and representations of experts in the field and key informants related to the sex market are analyzed. Finally, it is concluded that coercive prostitution affects feminized corporalities, especially migrant and poor women. Therefore, prostitution should be considered a violation of human rights and should be evidenced as an emergent of gender violence. Information and analysis regarding this industry are required to know how to intervene and contribute to reach new levels of gender equality, and to provide timely assistance to those who need it, according to the objectives for the Eurozone established in agreement with UNICEF’s global Goal 5.
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Scholars have long argued that churches play a critical role in mobilizing communities marginal to the political process, primarily by pooling resources, disseminating…
Abstract
Scholars have long argued that churches play a critical role in mobilizing communities marginal to the political process, primarily by pooling resources, disseminating information, and providing opportunities for members to develop community networks, leadership, and civic skills. However, recent research suggests that churches only serve as effective mobilizing institutions when they engage in direct political discussion and recruitment. Even so, churches may face economic, legal, and institutional barriers to entering the political sphere, and explicit political speech and action remain rare. Through an analysis of two years of ethnographic fieldwork following faith-based community organizers attempting to recruit Spanish speakers throughout a Catholic Archdiocese into a campaign for immigrant rights, this paper explores the institutional constraints on church political mobilization, and how these are overcome to mobilize one of the most politically marginal groups in the United States today: Hispanic undocumented immigrants and their allies. I argue that scholars of political engagement must look beyond the structural features of organizations to consider the effects of their institutionalized domains and practices. While churches do face institutional barriers to political mobilization, activists who specialize their recruitment strategy to match the institutional practices of the organizations they target can effectively overcome these barriers to mobilize politically alienated populations.
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Miguel Gonzalez-Loureiro, Marina Dabic and Timothy Kiessling
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of two literature streams: that of strategy and supply chain management (SCM). This review should create a better…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of two literature streams: that of strategy and supply chain management (SCM). This review should create a better understanding of “strategic SCM” by focussing on relevant theories in the strategic management field and their intersection with SCM to develop a joint research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a correspondence analysis on the content of 3,402 articles from the top SCM journals. This analysis provides a map of the intellectual structure of content in this field to date. The key trends and changes were identified in strategic SCM research from 1990-2014 as well as the intersection with the key schools of strategic management.
Findings
The results suggest that SCM is key to a successful deployment of strategy for competing in the global marketplace. The main theoretical foundations for research in this field were identified and discussed. Gaps were detected and combinations of theoretical foundations of strategic management and SCM suggest four poles for future research: agents and focal firm; distributions and logistics strategic models; SCM competitive requirements; SCM relational governance.
Research limitations/implications
Scholars in both the strategy and the SCM fields continue to search for competitive advantages. Much recent research indicates that strategic SCM can be a critical source for that advantage. One of the limitations of the research is that the analysis does not include every journal that published an article mentioning SCM. However, the 34 journals selected are reputed to be the most influential on SCM and focussed primarily on SCM.
Practical implications
The map of the intellectual structure of research to strategic SCM highlights the need to combine different theoretical approaches to the complex phenomenon of SCM. Practitioners should consider the supply chain as an informal organization and should devote time and resources to build a shared advantage across the supply chain. They should also consider the inherent benefits and risks that sharing.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that strategic SCM needs a balanced and rigorous combination of theoretical approaches to deliver more theory-driven evidences. The research combines both a qualitative analysis and a quantitative methodology that summarizes gaps and then outlines future research from a large sample of articles. This methodology is an original contribution to this field and offers some assistance for enlarging the sample of future literature reviews.
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Jesús Cristóbal, Jorge Merino, Antonio Navarro, Miguel Peralta, Yolanda Roldán and Rosa María Silveira
The design, construction and deployment of a large virtual campus are a complex issue. Present virtual campuses are made of several software applications that complement…
Abstract
Purpose
The design, construction and deployment of a large virtual campus are a complex issue. Present virtual campuses are made of several software applications that complement e‐learning platforms. In order to develop and maintain such virtual campuses, a complex software engineering infrastructure is needed. This paper aims to analyse the software engineering infrastructure in the virtual campus deployed at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Design/methodology/approach
The software engineering infrastructure is analysed from three perspectives: process model; programming language and computer‐aided software engineering tools and design patterns and architecture.
Findings
Software engineering infrastructure is a key issue in virtual campuses.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is to make our experience available to a wider audience so that organisations interested in the deployment of a large virtual campus can take advantage of our work.
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