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Numerous challenges in education emerge as our technology-driven society rapidly evolves and manifests more exigent requirements from engineering professionals. Higher education, nonetheless, seems to adapt to such requirements at an unequal speed, generating some tensions between industry and higher education institutions. The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences obtained through a process of assessment and redesign of a large enrollment course of programming from which the authors developed a systematic approach for course design/redesign.

A mixed method approach was deployed for data gathering and evaluation, consisting of close-ended surveys, open-ended questionnaires, information matrices and state of the art compilation. Triangulation of the information offered clear data about the necessity of curriculum redesign; therefore, a new programming course curriculum encompassed with relevant necessities in engineering and science was developed.

The authors produced a coherent and dynamic systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum, which the authors find extremely helpful to improve negotiation processes inside higher education institutions, as it can be implemented to improve any large enrollment course curricula in engineering and science.

By following the systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of curricula the authors developed, higher education systems could embark more efficiently in the ever-challenging process of adapt their courses and programs to tackle the upcoming demands of our society.

So far, a systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum was not published, and it supports the improvement of pedagogical approaches in academic institutions.

This paper proposes a conceptualization of the e-waste domain, formalized through a metamodel, to express complex e-waste realities in a simple manner. This also enables the transition from a structural model to a behavioral model to implement analysis techniques.

The methodology used is design science research (DSR), a problem-solving paradigm which seeks to construct a working artifact and prove its relevance. The artifact, a metamodel for the e-waste domain, was constructed through an iterative manner and later analyzed to conclude its theoretical relevance and contributions in this domain. As part of the approach, the authors used supplementary techniques such as systematic literature review (SLR), conceptual modeling (CM) and system dynamics (SD).

The application in the e-waste domain of CM techniques such as metamodeling, model-to-model transformation and simulation is valuable for supporting decision-making, especially when combined with SD. The approach presented in this paper, the conceptual tools and different simulation techniques could also be applied in other complex domains to obtain similar results.

The modeling method to apply simulation techniques is targeted toward the e-waste domain experts to understand, design, implement, measure and improve strategies and public policies.

The use of CM techniques to model and analyze structural and behavioral e-waste scenarios.

This paper aims to propose a conceptualization of the supply chain resilience domain using conceptual modelling techniques formalized through a metamodel and illustrated through an example.

This research uses conceptual modelling techniques to build and modularize the metamodel, the latter to manage complexity. The metamodel was built iteratively and subsequently instantiated with an example of a yogurt factory to analyse its usefulness and theoretical relevance, and thus its contributions to the domain.

Conceptual modelling techniques can represent a complex domain such as supply chain resilience simply, and the proposed metamodel makes it possible to create models that become valuable decision support tools.

Consolidation and structuring of concepts in the supply chain resilience domain through conceptual modelling techniques.

Entrepreneurship and family business.

The case is suitable for BA and MBA levels and for courses focusing on family businesses, entrepreneurship, or small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Gomez family is the owner of Colchones Eldorado, a Colombian mattress company, in business for more than 50 years. Its founder and CEO Gumercindo Gomez, 75 years old, had no succession plan but he wanted to ensure the future of his business. Given the urgency of this situation and the complexity of the family structure, Martha Gomez, General Manager, hired a consultant to design the succession plan. To prepare this plan, the consultant must take into account: the preservation of stock ownership within the family, the company's sustainability under the new CEO family member, and the assurance of the family harmony.

These include: understanding the characteristics of a family business in the Latin American context; recognizing the stages of the family ownership; and identifying personal characteristics and roles of family members in order to design the basis of the succession plan.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

This paper reports preliminary findings about how households organize street vending businesses in response to varying sources and degrees of uncertainty. The thesis is that households organize themselves in different ways in response to different types of uncertainty associated with 1) earning different types of income and 2) differences as well as changes in intra‐household relationships. The important findings are twofold: first, that household members earn income from both “formal” and “informal” sources BOTH sequentially and simultaneously. The second finding is that people coordinate the efforts of household members with respect to (un)certainty to keep income flowing from the income‐earning activities the members are practicing. I review some empirical work on the informal economy and follow this discussion with data from Chicago's Maxwell Street Market.

This paper aims to propose a methodology to develop an organizational memory to benefit from team knowledge and to make the design of electromechanical devices processes more efficient.

Different frameworks and methods were analyzed from literature, obtaining key ideas to be included in the methodology developed and considering other approaches to apply in team knowledge about design processes. The research was conducted as a case study in a Mexican small and medium-sized enterprises dedicated to the manufacturing and installation of electromechanical devices where the methodology was implemented.

A five-stage methodology was developed which consisted of preparation, identification, capture & storage, dissemination & application and finally the evaluation & feedback stage. An implementation of the described processes was carried out, which was materialized into a technological tool that represents the organizational memory where knowledge was captured, organized and disseminated.

This study offers guidelines that can be applied in other organizations where team knowledge on design processes have not been adequately used for company’s improvement. The application of this methodology could be a strategy that enabled team knowledge to store their experience. This knowledge could then be consulted and recovered by the workgroup in an effective manner to solve new problems.

A methodological proposal to develop an organizational memory about team knowledge was developed. To evaluate the impact of the methodology implementation, a variety of indicators were proposed, which were classified as economic, organizational and performance indicators.

The case’s learning objectives to work on can vary according to the topic selected by the teacher. This case has been put forward with a particular interest in corporate strategy issues, specifically, on the joint management of businesses (in this case, academic programs). Therefore, students are expected to be able to understand the managerial dilemma on centralization and decentralization; recognize the peculiarities of a shared services center (SSC); and decide on which services to centralize in an SSC.

Centralizing or not centralizing is a frequent managerial dilemma. This is a challenge faced not only by business managers but also by corporate level areas responsible for jointly managing various businesses. Resources and capabilities allocation is an essential process for strategy execution, specifically in corporate strategy that must answer the question: How to jointly manage businesses? Sharing services is a collaborative strategy which aims to increase efficiency by centralizing some processes related to this joint business management. Mario, Dean of the Escuela de Administración in Medellín, Colombia, intends to optimize the school resource allocation processes so that there is more equitable support between the different academic programs. For this, he has thought of creating an SSC as it is a practice that he has seen in prominent companies in the city. His idea is to start operating the SSC in early 2018; however, the particular character of a management school leads him to ask himself: What to centralize and what not to centralize?

This case of decision (Ellet, 2007; Sánchez et al., 2013) can be used to promote student learning of strategy courses both at advanced undergraduate levels and in graduate programs. Likewise, it can be used in workshops with executives and administrative personnel of companies that face the centralize–decentralize dilemma. These types of topics are the subject of study by both corporate strategy theorists who address the question of how to jointly manage business (Menz et al., 2015; Michael Porter, 1987) and consultants (Deloitte, 2012). It is desirable, although not mandatory, that students have some knowledge or experience in strategic issues and challenges associated with the administration of companies made up of various businesses (multi-business firms).

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This paper aims to study the effects of cross-border psychological determinants among students of two Iberian universities (Portugal and Spain) on entrepreneurial intentions.

Based on previous literature, the studies do not include any model that simultaneously uses self-efficacy, risk-taking propensity and proactive personality as psychological determinants of entrepreneurial intentions. Here, the authors try to fill this gap by developing an integrative psychological model about the formation of entrepreneurial intentions, including all these variables as the main preceding factors to entrepreneurial initiative and their influence on intentions for self-employment. Taking a sample of 293 university students from both countries, the authors empirically test regression models to analyse hold influence over the preference expressed in terms of becoming an entrepreneur.

The results show differences between two countries regarding to entrepreneurial intentions. In terms of the motivations present for launching a business, the higher they are the greater the preference over the option to work for third parties.

In addition, and in terms of the variable perceived ease of launching a company, the higher this rises, the lower the level of preference for working for third party entities. Furthermore, the greater the level of perception in terms of the social value of entrepreneurship, the greater the preference for becoming an entrepreneur.

Low-income consumers’ perceptions of access and inclusion in financial services, remain underresearched. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study, is to investigate elements of low-income consumers’ informal and formal financial service experiences, from their personal experience.

Mixed methods using data collected from low-income consumers in Latin America, reveal a spectrum of consumer perceptions making up access, inclusion and social dependence within financial service experiences. Scales, grounded in the consumer experience, are developed, validated and used to test a model of consumers’ service inclusivity perceptions.

Service costs, information and documentation difficulty, convenience and social dynamics influence low-income consumers’ perceptions of financial service inclusivity.

Analysis reveals differentiation in the impact of aspects of low-income consumers’ experiences between formal and informal financial services. Working directly with this unique population exposes the nuance of their financial service experiences.

This research provides a more holistic perspective on low-income consumers’ financial service experience and provides contextually relevant scales with robust psychometric properties. Services marketers can use this research to inform design and evaluation of financial service offerings for low-income consumers.

This research contributes to study of the wellbeing of low-income consumers by providing understanding of their financial service experiences from their point-of-view and providing contextually-relevant, empirically validated tools for future inquiry.