Sandra Bergamini Leonardo, Marco Antonio Pinheiro Silveira, Paloma María Teresa Martinez-Sánchez and Maria do Carmo Romeiro
This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of the interorganizational relationship (IOR) factors trust and knowledge resources to the relational and transactional performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of the interorganizational relationship (IOR) factors trust and knowledge resources to the relational and transactional performance of a Brazilian agricultural cluster formed by small farmers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted using a questionnaire divided into groups of variables, each group seeking to identify one of the three constructs: trust, knowledge resources and relational and transactional performance. A theoretical framework was elaborated and later compared with survey results, which were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Correlations between trust and relational and transactional cluster performance varied according to actors involved, being significant between some actors and not significant between others. Knowledge resources, on the other hand, proved to be significantly relevant for cluster performance, considering both relational and transactional measures.
Research limitations/implications
It was made in a Brazilian single cluster and its conclusions cannot be generalized.
Practical implications
Farmers cannot innovate with the efficiency and effectiveness that the process demands. They need complementary capacity that apparently is not in the agricultural cluster. Research and development involve knowledge and techniques that empirical knowledge alone may not provide. And much of the formal knowledge is embedded in universities and research institutes. If there were investments by public entities in research and development to improve the culture and its by-products, this could contribute to improving the income of farmers.
Social implications
This study provided a photograph of the current scenario of a Brazilian agricultural cluster. Changes in trust and knowledge resources could affect cluster relational and transactional performance. Special attention is deserved to the important role of scientific research on agricultural clusters to strengthen the capacity of critical analysis by the researcher who, with the results in hand, makes them public, hoping that the shared information can contribute with the research of other scholars and improve the quality of life of farmers involved.
Originality/value
This study offers empirical evidence that trust and knowledge resources can contribute to a Brazilian agricultural cluster performance, which can be analyzed considering both relational and transactional measures. These findings brought new fact to Singh and Shrivastava’s (2013) research.
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Lourdes Moreno and Paloma Martinez
The purpose of this paper is to show that the pursuit of a high search engine relevance ranking for a webpage is not necessarily incompatible with the pursuit of web accessibility.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show that the pursuit of a high search engine relevance ranking for a webpage is not necessarily incompatible with the pursuit of web accessibility.
Design/methodology/approach
The research described arose from an investigation into the observed phenomenon that pages from accessible websites regularly appear near the top of search engine (such as Google) results, without any deliberate effort having been made through the application of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to achieve this. The reasons for this phenomenon appear to be found in the numerous similarities and overlapping characteristics between SEO factors and web accessibility guidelines. Context is provided through a review of sources including accessibility standards and relevant SEO studies and the relationship between SEO and web accessibility is described. The particular overlapping factors between the two are identified and the precise nature of the overlaps is explained in greater detail.
Findings
The available literature provides firm evidence that the overlapping factors not only serve to ensure the accessibility of a website for all users, but are also useful for the optimization of the website's search engine ranking. The research demonstrates that any SEO project undertaken should include, as a prerequisite, the proper design of accessible web content, inasmuch as search engines will interpret the web accessibility achieved as an indicator of quality and will be able to better access and index the resulting web content.
Originality/value
The present study indicates how developing websites with high visibility in search engine results also makes their content more accessible.
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Antonio Barbera, Paloma Merello and Rafael Molina
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the determinants of corporate effective tax rates (ETR) of listed companies in euro area.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the determinants of corporate effective tax rates (ETR) of listed companies in euro area.
Design/methodology/approach
With a large and recent panel of 2,870 listed companies for the period 2005–2016, the authors use the generalized moments method (GMM) to estimate global models for three groups of countries and specific models for six selected countries: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Greece.
Findings
The results confirm that ETR have different determinants depending on the countries analyzed. There is a significantly positive relationship with leverage and negative with size and financial profitability. However, economic profitability shows a statistically positive effect in the new members, but negative effect on old ones. In the individual analysis, Germany and Spain maintain this negative association with return on assets (ROA), but Belgium and Greece show a positive effect. The effect of the economic cycle shows statistically relevant, negatively in Germany but positively in Belgium and Greece.
Originality/value
This paper makes a novel contribution to the current debate on the need for harmonization of corporate income tax in the European Union (EU). For the first time, the group of countries whose common currency is the euro is considered with a great level of detail. In addition, the impact derived from the enlargement of the euro area and the individual analysis of the main countries is included. The European authorities must take into account the specific differences found in the ETR determinants because it hinders to take measures that limit tax competition.
Propósito
El propósito de este artículo es investigar el efecto de los determinantes del tipo impositivo efectivo (TIE) del impuesto de sociedades de las empresas que cotizan en la zona del euro.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Utilizando un panel de 2,870 compañías cotizadas en el período 2005–2016, los autores utilizan el Método de Momentos Generalizados (GMM) para estimar modelos globales para tres grupos de países y modelos específicos para los seis países seleccionados: Alemania, España, Francia, Italia, Bélgica y Grecia.
Resultados
Los resultados confirman que el TIE tiene diferentes determinantes en función de los países analizados. Entre antiguos y nuevos miembros se evidencia una relación significativamente positiva con el apalancamiento y negativa con el tamaño y la rentabilidad financiera. Sin embargo, la rentabilidad económica muestra una relación estadísticamente positiva en los nuevos, pero negativa en los antiguos. En el análisis individual, Alemania y España mantienen esta asociación negativa con el ROA, pero Bélgica y Grecia evidencian un efecto positivo. El efecto del ciclo económico sí resulta estadísticamente relevante, de forma negativa en Alemania, pero positiva en Bélgica y Grecia.
Originalidad/valor
Este artículo hace una novedosa contribución al debate actual sobre la necesidad de armonizar del impuesto de sociedades en la Unión Europea. Por primera vez, se considera el grupo de países cuya moneda común es el euro con gran nivel de detalle, así como el impacto de su ampliación y la comparativa individual entre sus principales países. Las autoridades europeas deberían tener en cuenta las específicas diferencias encontradas en los determinantes del ETR, tanto entre antiguos y nuevos miembros como por países, porque dificultan la adopción de medidas de armonización que limiten la competencia fiscal entre países comunes.
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Paloma Suárez-Brito, Armando Elizondo-Noriega, Jenny Paola Lis-Gutiérrez, Carolina Henao-Rodríguez, María Rubi Forte-Celaya and José Carlos Vázquez-Parra
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of measuring a sample of engineering students’ perceived achievement of complex thinking at different stages of their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the results of measuring a sample of engineering students’ perceived achievement of complex thinking at different stages of their professional training. This study intended to analyze and predict the differences in the self-perception of achieved complex thinking competency by gender, semester, course of study and high school of origin.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology included applying the E-Complexity instrument to 225 university students from northern Mexico. The initial comparison of groups used the chi-square test and two supervised learning algorithms (logit regression with Lasso regularization and a classification tree).
Findings
The findings of this study indicated that the selected undergraduate degree did not reveal differences in self-perceived performance in complex thinking, while gender, semester and high school of origin had significant differences.
Research limitations/implications
Among the limitations of the study is the size of the sample and the fact that it only focused on engineering students from a single educational institution; however, this limitation responds to the exploratory nature of this study and the guidance of the institutional ethics committee. With these results, it is feasible to request an extension of the sample to include other disciplines to evaluate these findings, which, although relevant, cannot be considered exhaustive.
Originality/value
Regarding possible lines of research, the authors propose that given the difference between students who graduated from the high school of the same institution and those who did not, a possible line of research could explore new hypotheses on whether the policies and practices of the institution’s high school emphasize the development of complex thinking skills; the teachers of this high school are trained to teach complex thinking; and the learning materials of this high school are designed to develop complex thinking skills.
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Asunción Llena Berñe, Anna Planas-Lladó, Carles Vila-Mumbrú and Paloma Valdivia-Vizarreta
This study aims to identify the contextual and relational factors that enhance and limit the empowerment of young people from the perspective of social education professionals.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the contextual and relational factors that enhance and limit the empowerment of young people from the perspective of social education professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model made it possible to locate the narratives of the educators in the territory. These narratives include field diaries, i.e. hybrid narratives that include visual, written and spoken materials, and focus groups with 11 educators from different fields of action and related to youth empowerment projects.
Findings
According to these educators, the most important factors for empowering young people are their immediate environment, and the issues that affect them most. For these factors to be empowering, young people need to be accompanied, with support based on connectedness, horizontality and the creation of safe spaces and learning experiences. Both the microsystem and the mesosystem form the immediate reality for their action. Aware of this, educators do the work of connecting with the exosystem.
Practical implications
It is evident why communities are spaces with opportunities for youth empowerment, and the authors observe the need for more transversal and less welfare-based social and youth policies that generate empowerment instead of dependency.
Social implications
This methodology evidenced the environmental structures of educators and the dissimilar levels to explore and understand the work of educators and the complex interrelationships, which play an important role in empowerment processes.
Originality/value
This research presents a new perspective that allows traditional qualitative reflection to be embedded in the bioecological model. All of this sheds light on relational ecosystems with young people and proposes youth policies, in this case, oriented towards empowerment.
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Francisco J. Montoro Rios, Teodoro Luque Martínez, Francisca Fuentes Moreno and Paloma Cañadas Soriano
The purpose of this article is to determine the relative importance of the ecological attribute when other attributes referring to the functional performance of a brand are taken…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to determine the relative importance of the ecological attribute when other attributes referring to the functional performance of a brand are taken into account, and check the effectiveness of environmental labels.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper establishes an experiment in which 352 women responsible for the household shopping are exposed to different levels of environmental information. The study analyses the effect said information has on product attitude and purchase intention. In order to transmit the information, a leaflet specifically designed for the research was used.
Findings
This study confirms the presence of a positive effect of environmental associations on brand attitude, though this effect is smaller than that of other functional attributes. It also demonstrates that using independent environmental certifications strengthens beliefs in the product's ecological performance.
Research limitations/implications
The use of washing powder can limit the feasibility of extrapolation of the results to other products. Therefore, a replication in other product categories is necessary/advisable.
Practical implications
In the light of the results, using environmental associations certified by independent bodies is recommended. This would help improve both brand attitude and brand equity.
Originality/value
This paper increases the knowledge about the precise commercial usefulness of environmental associations in relation with other attributes.
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Brittany Paloma Fiedler, Rosan Mitola and James Cheng
The purpose of this paper is to describe how an academic library at one of the most diverse universities in the country responded to the 2016 election through the newly formed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how an academic library at one of the most diverse universities in the country responded to the 2016 election through the newly formed Inclusion and Equity Committee and through student outreach.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper details the context of the 2016 election and the role of social justice in librarianship. It offers ideas for how library diversity committees can address professional development, recruitment and retention efforts and cultural humility. It highlights student outreach efforts to support marginalized students, educate communities and promote student activism. Finally, it offers considerations and suggestions for librarians who want to engage in this work.
Findings
This paper shows that incorporating social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion requires individuals taking action. If institutions want to focus on any of these issues, they need to formally include them in their mission, vision and values as well as in department goals and individual job descriptions. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries fully supports this work, but most of the labor is done by a small number of people. Unsustainable practices can cause employee burnout and turnover resulting in less internal and external efforts to support diversity.
Originality/value
Most of the previous literature focuses either on internal activities, such as professional development and committees, or on student-focused activities, such as outreach events, displays and instruction. This paper is one comprehensive review of both kinds of activities.
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Luis Cárdenas and Paloma Villanueva
This study aims to analyse the institutional changes in the Spanish labour market in the light of the measures introduced to support workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Applying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the institutional changes in the Spanish labour market in the light of the measures introduced to support workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Applying the theoretical framework the authors’ hypothesis is that the labour policy response to the crisis provoked by COVID-19 in Spain has ranged from strategy of preservation of the social democratic coalition to the anti-bourgeois bloc coalition with a greater presence of social pacts and the support of the social partners.
Design/methodology/approach
Combining the institutional theory of liberalisation trajectories, the four ideal-typical reform strategies and the social pacts literature, the authors analyse the change in the labour market policy orientation during the COVID-19 economic crisis in Spain.
Findings
In comparison to the Great Recession labour policy response, short-time work schemes and new benefits have characterised the 2020 labour policy strategy. Then, the labour policy response has oscillated between, on the one hand, a strategy of preservation of the social democratic coalition, which is characterised by measures to protect workers on the margins of the labour market without affecting the discretionary power of employers. On the other hand, a strategy of the anti-bourgeois bloc coalition, reflected in the employment safeguard clause that attempts to limit both external numerical flexibility and the increase in unemployment. Finally, the authors have analysed whether the labour policies after the COVID-19 crisis constitute a new round of social pacts in Spain and how this took place. They conclude that the main measures approved in the area of employment protection have been supported by social pacts and the social partners (trade unions and employers), as reflected in the signing of the Social Agreement in Defence of Employment (ASDE).
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a significant contribution as it is the first article to point out that the labour policy represents a change in the trajectory of liberalisation, limiting the discretionary power of employers and re-regulating the labour market. The main measure of (re)regulation has been to safeguard employment and to avoid objective or unfair dismissals, which is the traditional form of adjustment. In other words, internal numerical flexibility has been promoted over external flexibility, thus significantly modifying the orientation of labour policy. Finally, the authors have found that social pacts have allowed for greater institutional coherence between legal changes and the behaviour of employers and workers.
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Laura Gabrielli, Paloma Taltavull de La Paz and Armando Ortuño Padilla
This paper aims to present the dynamics of housing prices in Italian cities based on unpublished data with regional details from the late 1960s, half-yearly base, for all main…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the dynamics of housing prices in Italian cities based on unpublished data with regional details from the late 1960s, half-yearly base, for all main Italian cities measuring the average prices for three city dimensions: city centre, sub-centres and outskirts or suburbs. It estimates the Italian long-term house price index, city based in real terms, and shows a combination of methods to deal with large time-series data.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds long-term cycles based on the city (real) data by estimating the common components of cointegrated time series and extracting the unobservable signals to build real house price index for sub-regions in Italy. Three different econometric methodologies are used: Johansen cointegration test and VAR models to identify the long-term pattern of prices at the estimated aggregate level; principal components to obtain the common (permanent and transitory) components; and signal extraction in ARIMA time series–model-based approach method to extract the unobserved time signals.
Findings
Results show three long-term cycle-trends during the period and identify several one-direction causal non-permanent relationships among house prices from different Italian areas. There is no evidence of convergence among regional’s house prices suggesting that the Italian housing prices converge inside the local market with only short diffusion effects at larger regional level.
Research limitations/implications
Data are measured as the average price in squared meters, and the resulting index is not quality controlled.
Practical implications
The long-term trends on housing prices serve to implement further research and know deeply the evolution of Italian housing prices.
Originality/value
This paper contains new and unknown information about the evolution of housing prices in Italian regions and cities.