Roberto Pascual and Glenn Immegart
Looks a developments in the position of the school director inpost‐Franco Spanish schools. Defines the responsibilities of the schooldirector within the school operations…
Abstract
Looks a developments in the position of the school director in post‐Franco Spanish schools. Defines the responsibilities of the school director within the school operations framework, examines the current training needs of school directors, drawing on past experience and discusses the implementation of the changes which have been found to be necessary. Based on a group workshop formula, this involves the workshop context, ethics, the role of the school director, skills, decision making, planning, critical path and cost benefit analysis, motivation of teachers, improvement of teaching, confrontation, and finally a summary of the leadership concept. Concludes that the programme so far has fulfilled all these requirements satisfactorily.
Roberto Pascual and Martí Larraza‐Kintana
The control role of the Board of Directors is aimed at monitoring the decisions and actions undertaken by managers in order to protect stockholders’ interests. Considerable…
Abstract
The control role of the Board of Directors is aimed at monitoring the decisions and actions undertaken by managers in order to protect stockholders’ interests. Considerable theoretical and empirical research has analyzed whether directors’ behavior is consistent with their fiduciary responsibility, but this research has reported inconsistent findings. This paper offers a comprehensive review of both theoretical and empirical literature on the control role of the board and suggests several guidelines for future research.
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Glenn L. Immegart and Roberto Pascual
The Spanish school head is more isolated from colleagues than principalsin other countries because the school is the basic educational unit andbecause Spanish school directors…
Abstract
The Spanish school head is more isolated from colleagues than principals in other countries because the school is the basic educational unit and because Spanish school directors have no structural links within the local system. Describes the design and development of an in‐service training programme for school directors in Spain. Describes the implementations of the programme with international and inter‐cultural co‐operation. Discusses the lessons learned.
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Giovanni Giusti and Roberto Dopeso-Fernández
This paper analyzes how different dynamics of changes in piece-rate incentives affect individuals' exerted effort.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyzes how different dynamics of changes in piece-rate incentives affect individuals' exerted effort.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors constructed an across-subjects three-period laboratory setting where, for each period, they exogenously manipulate the amount of piece-rate incentive paid for correct answer. The same experimental conditions were separately applied to two different laboratory tasks, one boring and the other entertaining.
Findings
It was found that performance contingent incentives affect participants' effort provision, while the effect is task dependent and it is much stronger for the boring task. Moreover, a unique increase in the amount of piece rate between periods leads to an increase in performance only for the boring task. A decrease in piece rate incentive between periods negatively affects subjects' performance on both tasks, but only provided that the decrease follows a previous increase.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to study the effect of a sequence of changes in the amount of piece rate incentives on individual effort provided. Our main result highlights the relevance of the order in which the sequence of changes in piece-rate incentive occurs. Results could be useful for the designing of performance rewards in organizations.
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Wael Hassan El-Garaihy, Tamer Farag, Khalid Al Shehri, Piera Centobelli and Roberto Cerchione
Nowadays, a prominent research area is the development of competitive advantages in companies, due to their environmental commitment and orientation. Based on resource-based view…
Abstract
Purpose
Nowadays, a prominent research area is the development of competitive advantages in companies, due to their environmental commitment and orientation. Based on resource-based view (RBV) and institutional theory (InT), this paper aims to investigate the influence of internal and external orientation on businesses' sustainable performance while considering the effect of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 351 manufacturing companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been collected and analysed through structural equation modelling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method.
Findings
The results indicated that both internal and external environmental orientation have important effects on SSCM practices, which in turn have a considerable beneficial effect on environmental, social and economic performance.
Originality/value
Although SSCM is constantly gaining ground in the literature, most SSCM research and models examine its effects, antecedents or motivation, mainly adopting a qualitative approach. Research on the topic adopting a large-scale empirical approach is still limited. In this context, this study contributes to the SSCM management literature by exploring the role of environmental orientation in facilitating the adoption of SSCM practices and improving companies' performance.
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The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to analyze the origins of Adelco in the context of the “Consumer Orientation Campaign” (Orientación Para El Consumidor, OPEC, in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to analyze the origins of Adelco in the context of the “Consumer Orientation Campaign” (Orientación Para El Consumidor, OPEC, in Spanish) promoted by the Ministry of Economy between 1978 and 1981; second, to describe the main characteristics of Adelco during its first years, especially its activities, structure and its international connections; finally, to contribute to the study of consumer organizations in Argentina and Latin America, where very little research has been done on the subject.
Design/methodology/approach
This article is organized into three sections. First, it outlines the deep transformations taking place in the Argentine economy during the military regime, highlighting particularly the variations in inflation rates and a series of inflation-related policies. It goes on to offer a brief overview of some new studies in consumer history in Argentina as well as an analysis of the Consumer Orientation campaign, promoted by Martínez de Hoz, the Minister of Economy from 1978 to 1981. Finally, it details the origins and key features of Adelco. For source material, this paper uses a qualitative approach, working with government documents, interviews and magazines. It also makes use of the Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting of Adelco. At the same time, this paper contributes to current debates in the history of consumption.
Findings
This paper reaches two main conclusions. First, while Adelco may have presented itself as a non-government organization (NGO) linked to consumer interests and responsive to grass-roots pressures, it maintained a top-down structure with close ties to state policy. Second, Adelco was part of what Matthew Hilton has analyzed as a shift in the consumer movement of the last several decades: a change from collective action to individual choice.
Originality/value
The main value of the paper rests on three factors. First, it offers an insight into the origins of Adelco, the first consumer defense NGO in Argentina. Second, it studies sources that have never previously been analyzed, such as the Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting and personal interviews. Third, it shows the ties between the origins of Adelco and the consumer policy of the military government in Argentina.
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Bruno Benevit, Carolina Silva da Trindade, Roberto Bezerra de Melo Junior, Daniel de Abreu Pereira Uhr and Julia Gallego Ziero Uhr
This study aims to evaluate the effects of the synergy between monitoring technologies and deforestation control policies promoted by the Action Plan for the Prevention and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the effects of the synergy between monitoring technologies and deforestation control policies promoted by the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) during its initial stage.
Design/methodology/approach
The triple difference method is employed to explore the differences between the non-metropolitan municipalities with Indigenous lands and other regional municipalities.
Findings
The findings indicate a reduction of approximately 16.1 km² per municipality between 2004 and 2007. This reduction corresponds to a decrease of 10,293 km² in the area of deforestation and a total of 498 million tons of CO2. To ensure the robustness of the results, placebo tests, event study and flexibility in the composition of the groups were conducted. The robustness tests substantiate the findings.
Practical implications
These results emphasize the significance of remote monitoring policies for controlling deforestation in isolated regions and Indigenous lands. Additionally, such results indicate that the policy was cost-effective.
Originality/value
This study innovates by examining the causal impact of the initial phase of the PPCDAm before 2008, a period not focused on existing literature. Further, employing the triple difference method innovates methodologically to assess PPCDAm's effect on deforestation in isolated Amazon areas.
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A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruling resulted in stricter rules being placed on how police organizations can obtain confessions through a controversial undercover…
Abstract
Purpose
A recent Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruling resulted in stricter rules being placed on how police organizations can obtain confessions through a controversial undercover operation, known as the Mr. Big technique. The SCC placed the onus on prosecutors to demonstrate that the probative value of any Mr. Big derived confession outweighs its prejudicial effect, and that the police must refrain from an abuse of process (i.e. avoid overcoming the will of the accused to obtain a confession). The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a consideration of the social influence tactics present in the Mr. Big technique would deem Mr. Big confessions inadmissible.
Design/methodology/approach
The social psychological literature related to the compliance and the six main principles of social influence (i.e. reciprocity, consistency, liking, social proof, authority, scarcity) was reviewed. The extent to which these social influence principles are arguably present in Mr. Big operations are discussed.
Findings
Mr. Big operations, by their very nature, create unfavourable circumstances for the accused that are rife with psychological pressure to comply and ultimately confess. A consideration by the SCC of the social influence tactics used to elicit confessions – because such tactics sully the circumstances preceding confessions and verge on abuse of process – should lead to all Mr. Big operations being prohibited.
Practical implications
Concerns regarding the level of compliance in the Mr. Big technique call into question how Mr. Big operations violate the guidelines set out by the SCC ruling. The findings from the current paper could have a potential impact of the admissibility of Mr. Big confessions, along with continued use of this controversial technique.
Originality/value
The current paper represents the first in-depth analysis of the Mr. Big technique through a social psychological lens.
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The authors have recently been seeing a rising trend towards sustainability and innovation among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kuwait, especially through the use…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors have recently been seeing a rising trend towards sustainability and innovation among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kuwait, especially through the use of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were introduced by United Nations in 2015. In Kuwait, corporations such as Zain and NBK have already implemented the SDGs as part of their main objective to create a better future for their companies. This research attempts to explore the reasons why entrepreneurs in SMEs are implementing the SDGs and specifically goal number 12 (SDG 12).
Design/methodology/approach
With this research drawing on a qualitative approach, a sample of 20 participants who operated at the executive level of the SMEs were chosen randomly using the “snowball” sampling from different industries, including the food and beverage and beauty and service sectors, and were interviewed.
Findings
The results revealed that most SMEs in Kuwait are considering their approach to sustainability. Although these SMEs are following a global trend, the Kuwait government does not support them in adopting sustainability rules and regulations.
Practical implications
This research contributes to the existing literature by presenting new knowledge about SMEs in Kuwait implementing the SDGs. It also makes an empirical contribution to the SME and entrepreneurship literature by exploring the reasons for adopting these goals. This study is one of very few that have explored the SDGs in Kuwait, and it can provide grounds for future research on SMEs' adoption in Kuwait of future SGDs. Recommendations and future directions are presented.
Originality/value
The findings add to the empirical literature by revealing the reasons why entrepreneurs in SMEs are implementing SDG 12. Furthermore, the findings will open doors for future research in this field.