Marta M. Vidal-Suárez, Cristina López-Duarte and Pilar L. González-Torre
The purpose is to explore the existence of different export manager profiles in terms of managerial attributes and personal traits according to gender. The study aims to answer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to explore the existence of different export manager profiles in terms of managerial attributes and personal traits according to gender. The study aims to answer two research questions: (1) Do export manager profiles differ depending on gender? If so, (2) which are the traits or managerial attributes that differ by gender and which is the relationship among them?
Design/methodology/approach
The article relies on a quantitative empirical analysis of a sample of export managers of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Findings
Our results point to the existence of gendered export manager profiles that differ in terms of objective managerial attributes, personal traits, managerial styles and subjective perceptions relative to discriminatory practices and detrimental stereotypes. Two gender-specific substitution effects exist: one between managers’ experiential skills and their formal education and the other between managers' entrepreneurial orientation and the use of relational networks.
Research limitations/implications
Our data are limited in terms of geographical scope and firms size; therefore, our results are no generalizable without new studies on this issue.
Practical implications
Our findings can help firms to understand the relevance of export teams that encompass different gender managers and benefit from the combination of diverse managerial attributes, personal traits and relational processes in their international growth.
Originality/value
Gender is an scarcely studied issue in international business and management literature despite its relevance in the international institutional context. This article addresses the gender aspect of export management.
Objetivo
Explorar la existencia de perfiles de gestor de exportaciones diferenciados en función del género. El estudio pretende responder a dos preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿difiere el perfil de los gestores de exportación en función del género? En caso afirmativo, (2) ¿en qué atributos directivos/rasgos se observa la diferencia y cuál es la relación entre ellos?
Diseño/metodología
Análisis empírico cuantitativo sobre una muestra de gestores de exportación de pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) españolas.
Resultados
Nuestros resultados apuntan a la existencia de perfiles de gestor de exportación diferenciados por género en términos de atributos objetivos, rasgos personales, estilos de gestión y percepciones relativas a prácticas discriminatorias y estereotipos perjudiciales. Existen dos efectos sustitución en función del género: (1) experiencia profesional versus educación formal y (2) orientación empresarial versus uso de redes relacionales.
Originalidad
El género es una cuestión escasamente estudiada en la literatura sobre gestión internacional a pesar de su relevancia en el contexto institucional internacional. Este artículo aborda el aspecto del género en la gestión de exportaciones.
Limitaciones
Nuestros datos son limitados en términos de ámbito geográfico y tamaño de las empresas; por tanto, no son generalizables sin la realización de nuevos estudios.
Implicaciones prácticas
Nuestras conclusiones pueden ayudar a comprender la relevancia de los equipos de exportación que integran a directivos de diferente género y se benefician de la combinación de diversos atributos directivos, rasgos personales y procesos relacionales en su crecimiento internacional.
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Pilar L. González-Torre and Eugenia Suárez-Serrano
This study aims to explore a holistic framework for implementing and reporting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in universities. The aim is to define elements of the content…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore a holistic framework for implementing and reporting sustainable development goals (SDGs) in universities. The aim is to define elements of the content as well as the context, which will allow us to understand and compare sustainable development processes at the university level. Using the 2030 Agenda context, this research describes a university profile which is accountable to its stakeholders, thus aligning its sustainability report with the SDGs.
Design/methodology/approach
This research has considered the entire Spanish university system and relies on data collection from sustainability reports published by 50 public universities and 34 private universities. Through an analysis of the contents of public reports, the aim is to build an index like the social responsibility dissemination index, but specific to the 2030 Agenda in the university context.
Findings
The holistic model, based on a dissemination index, showed diverse methods of implementing and reporting contributions to the SDGs, with varying degrees of depth, priority, reach, suitability and visibility. The proposed index was also used as a classification variable to group Spanish universities into two conglomerates, one that leads the contribution to the 2030 Agenda and another that follows the previous ones.
Research limitations/implications
This research work could be extended to include any European university educational systems. Case studies could add qualitative value to the implementation of the SDGs.
Originality/value
As a pilot study, the developed index can be used to analyse the sustainability reports of Spanish universities to determine the use of reporting to render accounts to stakeholders.
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Virginia García Fernández, Pilar L. González Torre and B. Adenso Díaz
In industrial installations, the Taguchi methodology has come to play an important role in recent years in the achievement of improvements in quality objectives. This article…
Abstract
In industrial installations, the Taguchi methodology has come to play an important role in recent years in the achievement of improvements in quality objectives. This article presents the experiences and results obtained in the installations of a hospital laundry, where the aim was to minimize operating costs while guaranteeing standards of disinfection and the quality of the wash. Owing to the multiple quality objectives that this type of problem presents, it was necessary to define a hierarchy of criteria to optimize. Thanks to the application of these techniques, an improvement was achieved in the bacteriological quality offered at the same time as reducing operating costs, thus demonstrating the importance of the use of this methodology in the solution of quality operating problems.
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Alejandro García-Jurado, Pilar Castro-González, Mercedes Torres-Jiménez and Antonio L. Leal-Rodríguez
This research has three main objectives. First, it examines influence of gamification on the behavioral intention to use an e-commerce platform. Second, it analyzes the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This research has three main objectives. First, it examines influence of gamification on the behavioral intention to use an e-commerce platform. Second, it analyzes the role of the flow state given its importance in terms of behavior in online environments. Finally, the study aims to detect and analyze differences between Millennials and Generation X.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical basis for this study stems from technology acceptance model. The extended model incorporates gamification and the optimal state of intrinsic motivation, flow state, as additional constructs. An online consumer panel was used to collect data from 253 Spanish Amazon users. A structural equation modeling, partial least squares, is proposed and multi-group moderation was studied.
Findings
Gamification in Millennials has positive and significant indirect effects on behavioral intention through the flow state. In the case of the Generation X, it has been detected that flow interferes in its perception of ease of use. The behavioral intention of using the Web page is directly correlated with the purchase intention. Companies should offer a fun interface to Millennials and an environment easier to use to the Generation X, for gamification to be successful.
Originality/value
This study expands the research scope in gamification by focusing on e-commerce sector, a field where scientific research is still scarcely developed. It emphasizes the importance of flow as mediator. Age differences confirm the need for segmentation when applying gamification and marketing strategies in e-commerce.
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Carla Gonzalez, Jessica Graber, Diana Galvez and Leslie Ann Locke
In this study, the authors investigated the academic and social experiences of first-generation undergraduate Latinx students who participated in a Latinx student-focused…
Abstract
In this study, the authors investigated the academic and social experiences of first-generation undergraduate Latinx students who participated in a Latinx student-focused organization at a large, research-intensive, Predominately White Institution (PWI) in the Midwest. Our results revealed three major themes. First, participants considered the Latinx student organization to be a significant resource for their social integration into the university; however, it was less significant as an academic resource. Second, the participants recognized that while the university “tries” to promote diversity, they felt that the university could do more in promoting ethnic student groups and their interests across campus. Third, participants perceived that the university treats all Latinx students as one homogenous group, ignoring the diversity that exists between different Latinx groups. These themes suggest that efforts to make PWIs more diverse and inclusive may benefit from the formation and maintenance of minoritized ethnic student organizations. PWIs would also benefit by incorporating the diverse Latinx student perspectives into institutional diversity policy, and prioritizing higher-quality initiatives for greater visibility of Latinx student issues across campus. Moreover, programming that does not aggregate or homogenize Latinx identity, but embraces and values the multifaceted Latinx identities, would also benefit PWIs.
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Concepción Garcés-Ayerbe, Sabina Scarpellini, Jesus Valero-Gil and Pilar Rivera-Torres
The environmental management literature has focussed on the analysis of the variety of strategic options with regards to environment protection, without providing an interesting…
Abstract
Purpose
The environmental management literature has focussed on the analysis of the variety of strategic options with regards to environment protection, without providing an interesting detail of the transformation and change process between the different alternatives. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study pro-environmental change processes in firms, focussing on the width and the intensity of environmental measures implemented in a three-year period in different areas (productive process, product, management and supply chains).
Design/methodology/approach
Performing a cluster analysis based on a sample of 303 Spanish firms, the study finds four categories of pro-environmental change.
Findings
The comparative analysis of these categories leads the authors to describe the pro-environmental change process as one with four stages that firms can go through. The first pro-environmental stage focusses on process measures. The second stage focusses on the adoption of management measures together with process measures. In the third stage, the firm moves after including measures in the product and in the supply chains. Companies that wish to advance further in this process, reaching the fourth stage of pro-environmental change, do so by increasing the intensity of the different measures adopted in previous stages, and through eco-innovation.
Research limitations/implications
The main contribution of this paper relative to the previous literature is a more detailed vision of the strategic possibilities in environmental protection, providing information about the process of change and about how firms evolve to more advanced environmental strategy stages. Knowledge of this evolution process, little studied in the previous literature, helps us to understand the complexity and strategic significance of adopting environmental protection measures. This knowledge is useful for academics and for public and private managers responsible for designing and developing environmental strategy.
Originality/value
One of the most original findings of this paper points out that it is possible to identify a pattern of environmental change through which firms can evolve. In this change process, firms start by adopting process measures, while they adopt eco-innovation behaviour only in the most advanced stage of environmental proactivity.
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Concepción Garcés‐Ayerbe, Pilar Rivera‐Torres and Josefina L. Murillo‐Luna
This study aims to learn more about the relationship between managers' perception of stakeholder pressure related to environmental matters and the degree of proactivity of firms'…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to learn more about the relationship between managers' perception of stakeholder pressure related to environmental matters and the degree of proactivity of firms' environmental strategies. It seeks to analyse the moderating effect that managers' perception of environmental issues as competitive advantage opportunities can have on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to verify the research framework.
Findings
The results indicate that, only in the least polluting firms, managers' competitive advantage expectations derived from environmental management moderate the relationship between the degree of environmental proactivity and stakeholder pressure. However, it is not effective in high polluting firms, perhaps as a consequence of the high degree of stakeholders' environmental pressure perceived by managers.
Practical implications
The results highlight the relevance of managers' subjective perceptions of the potential of environmental protection measures to generate competitive advantages. They suggest that the consideration of this variable is fundamental in order to better understand the degree of proactivity of firms' environmental strategies, as well as the influence of stakeholder pressure on environmental proactivity. The main limitation is the low response rate of the survey.
Originality/value
This is an original contribution because, although there are studies analysing how stakeholder pressure and managers' perceptions and values affect choice of environmental strategy, none of them analyse the combined impact of both issues.
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Cuba’s 1959 Revolution brought about dramatic changes not only in that island‐nation but also in the USA. Cubans, and later Cuban‐Americans, have changed the face of Miami and…
Abstract
Cuba’s 1959 Revolution brought about dramatic changes not only in that island‐nation but also in the USA. Cubans, and later Cuban‐Americans, have changed the face of Miami and south Florida. The economic and social successes of Cuban‐Americans, the third largest Latino group in the USA, are prevalent in scholarly and popular literature. In this annotated bibliography, the author presents journal articles, chapters in books, books, and human rights reports, published between 1990 and 1998, as well as World Wide Web sites, that discuss the Cuban‐American experience. Articles from the popular literature are not included, nor are materials that deal primarily with Cuba or Cuba‐USA relations.
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Sandra Castro-González, Belén Bande and Pilar Fernández-Ferrín
Few studies have explained how and when consumers are willing to engage in online brand-related activities (COBRAs). This study examines the role of brand love in a consumer’s…
Abstract
Purpose
Few studies have explained how and when consumers are willing to engage in online brand-related activities (COBRAs). This study examines the role of brand love in a consumer’s decision to engage in online brand-related activities, considering the mediating effect of attitudinal brand engagement and the moderating effect of brand value on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analysed data from 404 Spanish consumers using structural equation modelling and the PROCESS package in SPSS to test hypotheses, including mediation and moderation effects.
Findings
The study expands on previous research by revealing the mediating role of brand attitudinal engagement in the relationship between brand love and COBRAs and the moderating role of brand value in the relationship between brand engagement and COBRAs. The results show that online consumers who feel brand love from an online store are likelier to be engaged with the brand. This predisposes them to comment on, share, and create content related to the company or brand. Furthermore, consumers who attribute a high value to the brand are likelier to engage in brand-related online activities.
Originality/value
This study offers valuable insights into mechanisms to encourage consumers to generate content, known as user-generated content, to the extent that the tools for developing this content are the same.
研究目的
至今, 很少研究嘗試去探討消費者為何或於何時會樂意去參與與品牌相關的在線活動。本研究擬探討品牌摯愛對消費者會否決定參與與品牌相關的在線活動所扮演的角色; 研究方法是透過分析態度品牌參與的中介效應和品牌價值在上述品牌摯愛與參與在線活動之間的關聯上所起的調節效果,以求達至研究目的。
研究設計/方法/理念
研究人員收集來自404名西班牙消費者的數據,並以結構方程模型和SPSS裏的模組PROCESS,去檢測有關的假設,包括就中介效應和調節效果的假設。
研究結果
研究揭示了態度品牌參與在品牌摯愛與COBRAs 之間的關聯上所扮演的中介角色,研究亦揭示了品牌價值在品牌參與與COBRAs之間的關聯上所扮演的調節角色; 就此而言, 本研究拓展了從前學者探討有關的領域。再者,研究結果顯示,如果消費者從網上商店產生品牌愛慕的話,他們會投入這個品牌; 這使他們更有可能去評價有關的公司和品牌,以及去分享和創建關於公司和品牌的內容; 而且,若消費者視品牌本身擁有高度價值的話,他們會更易於參與與品牌相關的在線活動。
研究的原創性
本研究提供了寶貴的啟示,使我們更了解驅使消費者去創造內容 (即用戶生成內容) 的機制,以至生成這些內容的工具均儘相同的地步。