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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare powder and wire laser material deposition (LMD) processes.

In the present paper, Inconel 718 tensile test probes were built layer by layer using a longitudinal strategy, and the quality of the deposited material was characterized for both wire and powder LMD processes. The measured data during the deposition tests have been used for comparing the efficiency of both powder and wire LMD processes. Afterwards, to evaluate the mechanical properties of the parts generated by means of both processes, standard tensile tests were carried out. Furthermore, other factors have been evaluated, such as process reliability or presence of residual material, after the deposition process.

Results show a higher efficiency of the wire LMD process, and even similar ultimate tensile stress values were reached for both processes; powder LMD parts resulted in a more brittle nature.

In the present paper, a thorough analysis that compared both processes has been carried out. The results obtained will help in the future when choosing between wire and powder LMD. The main points of the wealth of knowledge generated with these research efforts are highlighted herein.

This research analyzes the role of happiness associated with sustainable purchases in social enterprises (SEs) as a key precursor of prosocial behavioral responses through satisfaction with such purchases.

This paper studies the relationships between past purchase in a social enterprise, consumer happiness, satisfaction and three indicators of loyalty: repurchase intention, word-of-mouth (WOM) intention and willingness to pay more. In addition, it analyzes the moderating role of altruistic motivation. A survey was designed to collect data from 380 consumers who had bought in a social enterprise.

Sustainable consumption is a source of happiness for ethical consumers to the extent that they feel that they meet a personal need or desire, and they contribute to achieving a social objective with their purchasing behavior.

SEs must appeal to the happiness of consumers as a strategic line to achieve their satisfaction and loyalty. Social enterprise practitioners and marketers should deploy organizational capabilities and resources in key performing areas such as communication, customer service or shopping experience, with the purpose of maximizing the happiness of ethical consumers with whom the firm is interacting for the first time.

This research highlights the importance of the social enterprise in the commercial setting, since it has been proven that purchases in these companies generate happiness and satisfaction in consumers. In addition, satisfaction has a great impact on their loyalty, which is a direct advantage for this type of company and an indirect one for society as a whole.

The Brazilian Comparative Society was founded in 1983. Comparative education was a strong component of the curriculum of the courses of pedagogy in the period of “Escola Nova,” but this focus changed. In the early 21st century, Brazilian comparative education is no longer a required discipline in the curriculum of most education programs. Comparative education in the Brazilian context has a unique “meaning or use,” which is not the same concept or scientific definition used in other regions. Second, Brazilian comparative education is characterized by an “outsider” perspective, which is a product of post-colonialism and a history of underdevelopment. Third, the majority of comparative education scholars in Brazil are limited by language since most speak and read Portuguese or Spanish only, and much of the research literature in the field is written in English or other foreign languages. The Sociedade Brasileira de Educação Comparada (SBEC) is a small society that is poised to meet the needs and interests of a growing number of members, and the best strategy is to diversify activities and involve the largest possible numbers of associates.

This study aims to explore the role of sustainable fashion knowledge in shaping individual sustainable responsibility within the dynamic landscape of the fashion industry from a novel perspective, by exploring the intricate interplay between sustainable fashion knowledge, emotional and spiritual sustainable capacities.

A quantitative study was used, and a causal model with partial least squares structural equation modeling was developed. A total of 211 valid responses were obtained, and data were analysed to confirm the proposed hypotheses.

The findings confirm the positive impact of sustainable fashion knowledge on individual sustainable responsibility, mediated by both spiritual and emotional sustainable capacities. This study underscores the significance of individuals in influencing societal norms, prompting fashion companies to adopt sustainable practices.

The proposed conceptual framework integrates insights from the emotional and spiritual knowledge dynamics. This study uncovers the pathways through which individuals contribute to a more sustainable society.

The study not only advances the understanding of sustainable fashion practices but also provides actionable insights for policymakers, businesses and individuals seeking to foster a culture of sustainability in the fashion ecosystem.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze simultaneously two moderator effects on a model of relationships between external human resource (HR) flexibility and innovation in a large sample of manufacturing firms.

The study sample consisted of 1,864 Spanish industrial firms in 2012 compiled from a large set of statements from the Survey of Business Strategies questionnaire. Logit and linear regressions tested the moderator effects of inter-organizational technology cooperation and environmental (market) dynamism in the relationship between external HR flexibility and innovation performance. To control for multicollinearity the Lance’s residual centering technique was used.

Process innovations seemed to be dependent on industry while innovative firms have developed a greater flexibility than non-innovative firms. Some moderator effects were found regarding inter-organizational cooperation while the market dynamism was negatively related to the measures of innovation with absence of moderator effects.

Future studies should integrate more moderator effects that may influence the relationship between external HR flexibility and the firm’s innovation performance. The results regarding the influences of external flexibility on innovation have to be differentiated as inter-organizational technological cooperation compensated the influence of external workplace flexibility on innovation.

Managers should use a right mix of external flexibility measures according to the inter-organizational cooperation but regardless the level of environmental dynamism.

This paper is original in the sense that it studies the relationship between external HR flexibility and innovation with the simultaneous moderator effect of inter-organizational technology cooperation and market dynamism. The value of the paper lies in the discussion of interrelated moderator effects in order to propose adequate strategies to develop external HR flexibility.

The purpose of this paper is to study the implications of managing human resource (HR) flexibility and absorptive capacity (AC) of knowledge for the implementation of agile innovation methods in the new product development (NPD) process of manufacturing firms.

To achieve this, the authors have carried out a meta-analysis by defining first a research question that determines the design of bibliometric data and compilation. The study question is: How firms can support agile initiatives in innovation considering their HR flexibility and AC? The Web of Science Collection has been consulted in three steps with several search strings. The analysis of 161 references without duplicities in the period 1997–2021 provides the foundations for exploring the research question.

The authors propose research hypotheses to analyze the interrelationship between HR flexibility, AC and agile innovation according to the literature-based discussion. The authors have identified and develop metrics to pilot the transition to agile that have been also adapted to specific innovation departures points before the transition. The authors also propose and discuss some organizational changes and practical guidelines to pilot transitions to agile that should be useful to the firm’s strategic decision of implementing the most adequate type of agile innovation.

Even though flexibility and innovation are very important needs for many firms, agile schemes are still under-studied topics in the NPD of manufacturing firms. There are no specific studies in the literature that analyze the interrelationship between HR flexibility, AC and agile innovation, identifying common aspects and different approaches. Thus, this study is of original nature and the developed managerial tools, composed of metrics and organizational changes, will be useful to managers and permitted the authors to achieve the proposed goal.

The study analyzes the relationship between human resources (HR) flexibility and absorptive capacity (AC) of knowledge in a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms. The purpose of the research is to analyze if firms with greater AC are more flexible than other firms and to assess the implications of different combinations of HR flexibility and AC for innovation.

The study sample consisted of 1,666 Spanish industrial firms in 2015 compiled from a large set of statements from the Survey of Business Strategies (SBS) questionnaire. The methodology includes a cluster analysis and a case study of selected firms. First, a k-means clustering analysis was carried out to explore how homogeneous are the SBS firms according to several HR flexibility and AC measures. The authors complement the clustering itself with some descriptive statistics for each cluster. Second, the statistical analysis is followed by a selection of case studies from industrial firms in different positions regarding innovation, AC, and HR flexibility. The information for the cases studies comes from secondary sources such as corporate governance reports and statements of managers and employees from company websites and public reports.

The empirical evidence indicates that some combinations of HR flexibility and AC are positively related to innovation outputs whereas others are not. Firms with greater AC, R&D effort and innovation outputs have less “bad” HR flexibility (external numerical flexibility from temporary employees and temporary help agencies) and more “good” HR flexibility (internal and external functional flexibility). On the contrary, firms with minimum or non-existent innovation and AC efforts have the highest levels of temporary employment and do not hire external R&D experts.

The limitations of the cross-sectional nature of the study make the authors cautious about any proposition that may suggest a causal relationship among the studied variables.

Managers should pay attention to the different implications of each HR flexibility dimension for innovation activities since innovative companies value more those HR flexibility dimensions that contribute to the dispersion of knowledge within the firm.

The authors propose a framework to analyze the combination of HR flexibility and AC most suitable to different types of firms. Based on the statistical analyses and the case studies, the authors propose some strategic implications useful for the management of human resources. The matrix's framework analyzes the firm's innovation strategies according to the interactions between AC and the mix of HR flexibility dimensions.

This paper aims to provide an analysis of Spanish Defence National Foresight Exercise.

The analysis is based on a content analysis of public domain Spanish Defence National Foresight Exercise, and a study directed to analyse the impact on defence technological and industrial base.

Foresight studies on the defence and security environment uses hybrid methodologies, but rarely involve all the stakeholders, and specially the citizens. The authors place a particular emphasis on the impact of these defence and security foresight studies, and following policies to increase the competitiveness and advanced technologies in the future. The analysis of the Spanish contractors allows an evaluation of the roadmaps as a policy instrument for the industrial defence industry. The main challenges for the next exercises in the European countries are to increase the interest in the firms’ intelligence systems, and the participation and representation of citizens as a way to guarantee their rights. Therefore, a technology roadmap must be complemented with other more participative foresight methods.

Foresight studies on the defence and security environment have been the subject of very few systematic analyses of impact. This paper makes a contribution to such analysis.

This paper uses institutional theory to analyze the structure of the sustainability assurance market (SAM) at a global level. The purpose of this paper is to determine if regional differences affect industry specialization in this market.

Using a sample of 3,657 sustainability reports (SRs) with assurance statements, the authors study the global and regional specialization of assurers by breaking down the sample into three main regions. The authors approach industry specialization using previous methodologies applied to the financial audit market, and explain differences statistically significant among regions.

The authors find different industry specialists depending on the geographical region in which the audit firm is located. The Europe, Middle Eastern and Africa region has the highest number of industry specialists and the Asia-Pacific region the lowest. Notwithstanding the global participation of Big 4 firms, assurance specialization depends on the country where the company is located.

The paper reveals the need to include regional differences in the analysis of the SAM at the international level.

The study shows an in-depth study of the SAM that may be useful for assurers, to decide strategic actions in industries and countries and for regulators, to control the risk of monopolistic/oligopolistic markets.

The study presents a novel approach to the analysis of the assurance market for SRs, by studying it from the supply point of view. The analysis provides a measure of specialization that may help understand the structure of the SAM.

This article attempts to answer the following questions: Who ultimately owns firms listed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries? Does ownership structure depend on the institutional context? How does ownership affect firm performance? Do institutional factors influence the ownership–performance relationship?

We apply univariate analyses and generalised methods of moments estimations for a sample of 692 GCC listed firms during 2009–2015.

Our results reveal that corporations are mainly controlled by the state or families, the ownership structure is highly concentrated and pyramid structures are common in the region. Ownership is more concentrated in non-financial than financial firms, and ownership concentration and shareholder identity differ by institutional country setting. Finally, ownership concentration does not influence performance, but formal institutions play a moderating role in the relationship.

As our findings reveal potential type II agency problems due to ownership concentration, policymakers should raise awareness of professional corporate governance practices and tailor them to GCC countries’ institutional contexts.

Even with the introduction of new regulations by some GCC states to protect minority investors and promote corporate governance practices, ownership concentration is a rigid structure, and its use by investors to protect their economic endowment and power is culturally embedded.

Although previous studies have analysed ownership concentration and large shareholders’ identities across countries, this study fills a research gap investigating this phenomenon in-depth in emerging economies.