Tatiana Marques, Inês Carneiro e Sousa and Sara Ramos
The aging of the population is changing the composition of the workforce in most developed countries. With increasingly older and age-diverse workforces, organizations need to…
Abstract
Purpose
The aging of the population is changing the composition of the workforce in most developed countries. With increasingly older and age-diverse workforces, organizations need to redesign jobs to keep their workers healthy, happy and productive across the lifespan. In the current research, the authors integrate socioemotional selectivity theory and selection, optimization and compensation theory with job design to investigate how certain job characteristics influence the work engagement of older and younger workers.
Design/methodology/approach
In a two-wave survey with age-diverse employees from multiple organizations (N = 372), the authors explore how autonomy and feedback contribute to the engagement of older and younger workers, depending on levels of task variety.
Findings
In the case of older workers the relationships between autonomy and engagement, and feedback and engagement are positive when task variety is low but non-significant when task variety is high. Conversely, in the case of younger workers the relationships between autonomy and engagement, and feedback and engagement are positive when task variety is high but non-significant when task variety is low.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on aging and work, particularly the lifespan perspective on job design. Nonetheless, the correlational design warrants caution about drawing causal inferences.
Practical implications
The findings inform managers on how to combine autonomy, feedback and task variety to design jobs that can engage the multi-age workforce.
Originality/value
The research is among the first to investigate the combined effects of different job characteristics on age-diverse employees' engagement at work.
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María Calero, Tatiana Pina, Olga Mayoral, José Cantó, M. Ángeles Ull and Amparo Vilches
The purpose of this research is to analyse the level of knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of pre-service teachers in Early Childhood and Primary School…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to analyse the level of knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of pre-service teachers in Early Childhood and Primary School Education at the University of Valencia (Spain) and the origin of this knowledge over several academic years, as well as to compare it with that of students of the Degree in Environmental Sciences at the same university.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was designed, validated and administrated to 1,040 students of Degree in Early Childhood Education, Primary School Education and Environmental Science of the University of Valencia to analyse their knowledge of the SDGs and their evolution over three academic years (2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22).
Findings
Statistical analysis shows that most of the participants are either unaware of the SDGs and their importance or have insufficient knowledge of the SDGs and their linkages.
Practical implications
The need to continue promoting teaching resources to favour the implementation of education for the SDG in initial teacher training is highlighted.
Social implications
Pre-service teachers can become agents of change if they understand the magnitude and complexity of the socio-environmental crisis and get involved through their educational action in the required measures to advance in the construction of more sustainable societies.
Originality/value
This study aims to emphasize the necessary training and involvement of students of the Degree in Early Childhood Education, Primary School Education and Environmental Science at the University of Valencia to advance in the transition to Sustainability.
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Luana S. Pimentel, Jeremias Moraes, Aderval S. Luna, Diego B. Barros, Tatiana C. Pimentel, Jonas T. Guimarães, Hugo L.A. Silva, Celso F. Balthazar, Erick A. Esmerino, Mônica Q. Freitas, C.S. Ranadheera, Marcia C. Silva, Simone L. Quitério, Renata S.L. Raices and Adriano G. Cruz
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mineral content of seven Brazilian infant dairy product categories (petit Suisse cheeses, fermented milks, yogurts, fermented dairy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mineral content of seven Brazilian infant dairy product categories (petit Suisse cheeses, fermented milks, yogurts, fermented dairy beverage, dairy dessert, Requeijão cremoso spreadable cheese and UHT dairy beverages) and estimate their contribution to daily intake.
Design/methodology/approach
The composition of major (Ca, K, Mg, and Na) and trace (Pb, Cd, Cu and Mn) minerals was determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the mineral levels with the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) at different child development stages was carried out.
Findings
High Ca levels were observed in petit Suisse (3.44±1.66 mg g−1), dairy dessert (3.88±0.02 mg g−1) and Requeijão cremoso (4.14±0.07 mg g−1). Dairy dessert presented the highest K level (2.57±0.07 mg g−1), while the Requeijão cremoso presented the highest Na content (4.78±0.10 mg g−1), and both products had the highest Mg contents (238.55±16.27 and 197.39±5.18 µg g−1, respectively). Trace elements (Cd, Cu, Mn and Pb) were below the limit of detection for all commercial dairy foods. Among food products analyzed, petit Suisse cheese and dairy dessert can be considered good sources of calcium, while Requeijão cremoso is high in both calcium and sodium.
Originality/value
This study is the first to analyze the mineral levels of several Brazilian infant dairy foods and the daily intake contribution during important child development stages. These findings provide valuable guidance for researchers and practitioners trying to develop healthy and nutritious dairy products for infants and children.
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Margarita V. Melnik, Tatiana V. Skryl, Elena A. Gureeva, Irina F. Vetrova and Aleksandr V. Vetrov
Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to determine the regularities and tendencies of decision making in business systems by the example of modern Russia.Methodology: The method…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to determine the regularities and tendencies of decision making in business systems by the example of modern Russia.
Methodology: The method of logical analysis (analysis of causal connections) and the method of dynamic analysis of development of socioeconomic systems are used. These methods are applied with the current statistical and analytical information. The information and analytical basis of the research is the materials of the Federal State Statistics Service for 2018.
Conclusions: The factors of functioning and development of modern business systems, related to development of E-commerce, liberalization of state regulation of business systems, growth of their competition and corporate responsibility, change of technological mode, and crisis are determined. Influence of these factors on managerial decisions is connected to reduction of resource provision of business systems, accessibility of new managerial tools, complication of made decisions (growth of the number of accessible decisions), growth of the number of new technologies of decision making, and increase of the risk component of decisions. Regularities and tendencies of decision making are determined: striving for saving resources during decision making, more active usage of new managerial tools during decision making, striving for acceleration of the process of making of more complicated managerial decisions, more active usage of new technologies during decision making, and striving for minimization of risks of made decisions.
Originality/value: It is substantiated that the determined regularities and tendencies of decision making lead to increase of contradiction during making of managerial decisions in modern business systems, connected to growth of complexity of this process and simultaneous reduction of resources and time that are accessible to business managers. In order to solve this contradiction, it is necessary to implement cardinal changes into the process of making of managerial decisions in modern business systems, which allow – with minimum managerial cost – determining multiple alternative variants of solutions of the whole specter of current problems of a business system and comparing them as to mutually excluding criteria, thus making complex decisions.
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Tatiana N. Litvinova and Irina A. Morozova
The purpose of the work is to specify the fundamental treatment of causal connections between conflicts in socio-economic systems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the work is to specify the fundamental treatment of causal connections between conflicts in socio-economic systems.
Methodology
Treatment of causal connections between conflicts in socio-economic systems by the existing concepts is determined. Contradictions of the existing concepts are determined and the existing knowledge on causal connections between conflicts in socio-economic systems within the new (authors’) concept of economic conflicts is systematized.
Conclusions
It is shown that conflicts in economy are not necessarily of the social nature (emerge due to subjective reasons – influence of “human factor,” weakness and/or imperfection of the social institute of interaction of economic subjects, and their interest in conflicts), as they could be caused by objective reasons – deficit of resources and imperfection of the model of development of socio-economic system. Consequences of conflict in a socio-economic system are determined by the result of its solution and are related not only to participants of the conflict but to the system on the whole.
Originality/value
It is substantiated that the most preferable (connected to positive consequences) option is failure of both participants of the conflict, its quick overcoming, elimination of “human factor,” and involvement of third party into the process of solving of the conflict. Due to this, interest in conflicts will be reduced (undesired conflicts will be eliminated), the model of development of socio-economic system will be improved, its sustainability will be raised, and social institutes of interaction between economic subjects in the system will be improved. Further development of specified foundations of the developed concept of economic conflicts envisages its classification.
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Tatiana Andreeva and Aino Kianto
While nowadays an extensive literature promoting knowledge management (KM) exists, there is a worrying shortage of empirical studies demonstrating an actual connection between KM…
Abstract
Purpose
While nowadays an extensive literature promoting knowledge management (KM) exists, there is a worrying shortage of empirical studies demonstrating an actual connection between KM activities and organizational outcomes. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to examine the link between KM practices, firm competitiveness and economic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a framework of KM practices consisting of human resource management (HRM) and information communication technology (ICT). These both are hypothesized to impact competitiveness and economic performance of the firm. Hypotheses are then tested with structural equation modeling by using a survey dataset of 234 companies.
Findings
The results show that HRM and ICT practices for managing knowledge are quite strongly correlated and have a statistically significant influence on both financial performance and competitiveness of the firm. The findings also indicate that ICT practices improve financial performance only when they are coupled with HRM practices.
Research limitations/implications
The data are limited to companies from Finland, Russia and China.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to managerial practice by pointing out the importance of utilizing a combination of both social and technical means for KM and illustrating that they do matter for the company bottom line.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on knowledge‐based organizing by empirically analyzing the performance impact of various areas of KM. It thereby tests the proposition put forth in many previous theoretical and case‐based studies that KM promotes high organizational performance. It also addresses the interaction of social and technical KM practices in producing organizational outcomes.
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Tatiana Andreeva and Aino Kianto
The purpose of this paper is to examine innovation from a knowledge‐based view by exploring the effect of knowledge processes and knowledge intensity on innovation performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine innovation from a knowledge‐based view by exploring the effect of knowledge processes and knowledge intensity on innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a theoretical model of the connections between knowledge processes, knowledge intensity and innovation performance is presented. The posited hypotheses are then tested statistically, using a survey dataset of 221 organizations.
Findings
The result shows that while all knowledge processes have a beneficial impact on innovation, knowledge creation impacts innovation the most and fully mediates the impact of knowledge documentation, intra‐organizational knowledge sharing and external knowledge acquisition on innovation performance. Furthermore, knowledge intensity increases all knowledge processes. Knowledge intensity also moderates the relationship of documentation and knowledge sharing with knowledge creation. The interaction effect is negative, meaning that firms in less knowledge‐intensive conditions will benefit more from documentation and knowledge sharing for their knowledge creation purposes, and ultimately innovation.
Research limitations
The data are limited to companies from Finland, Russia and China.
Practical implications
To promote innovation, managers should pay close attention to knowledge creation processes in organizations. Furthermore, knowledge creation can be facilitated by ensuring efficient documentation procedures, and internal and external knowledge sharing and acquisition practices. Documentation and knowledge sharing are especially effective means to promote knowledge creation for non‐knowledge intensive firms.
Originality/value
This paper makes a contribution to the existing literature by building and testing a knowledge‐based model of firm innovation and articulating the inter‐relations of knowledge processes and knowledge intensity with innovation performance.
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Pablo Antonio Archila, Brigithe Tatiana Ortiz, Anne-Marie Truscott de Mejía and Jorge Molina
In November 2022, the commercial company, OpenAI, launched ChatGPT. Since then, university students have rapidly become regular users of this artificial intelligence (AI…
Abstract
Purpose
In November 2022, the commercial company, OpenAI, launched ChatGPT. Since then, university students have rapidly become regular users of this artificial intelligence (AI) platform. One reason for this is the powerful capability of this generative AI tool to produce textual content, which in many cases, is almost indistinguishable from human-generated content. Another reason is that ChatGPT easily gives anyone access to knowledge. However, there is a problem as the vast majority of its users have no idea how this AI platform works and thus overlook the importance of thinking critically about information communicated in ChatGPT. While some call for banning this generative AI tool, this study aims to provide evidence that science classrooms can become scenarios where students find explicit, concrete, and realistic opportunities to critically evaluate scientific information generated by ChatGPT.
Design/methodology/approach
An intervention study was conducted with 55 students (26 females and 29 males, 17–24 years old) during a university Spanish-English bilingual science course taught within an active learning environment. The data consist of the written critiques of the students about Spanish-English bilingual scientific texts produced by ChatGPT.
Findings
Results indicate that the intervention had a positive effect on students’ abilities to construct sound arguments in Spanish and in English while judging the quality of scientific texts produced by this AI bot. Moreover, the findings suggest that the intervention enriched students’ skills to make improvements to texts produced by this generative AI tool.
Originality/value
The evidence provided in this study contributes to the exploration of possibilities to help students become critical users of ChatGPT.
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Tatiana Gavrilova, Artem Alsufyev and Anastasiia Pleshkova
The purpose of this paper is to develop the model of knowledge management influence on company performance for further empirical testing of the links between knowledge management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop the model of knowledge management influence on company performance for further empirical testing of the links between knowledge management practices and processes and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study establishes a model for comprehensive analysis of knowledge management’s influence on performance and describes the preliminary results gained from the experience of 120 Russian companies. For further testing structural equation modelling and the partial least squares methods are proposed.
Findings
The results of the literature review justify the importance of the study conducting this study in the field of knowledge management and its connection to organizational performance in the developing market of Russia. A theoretical model for future empirical testing is provided and methods suggested for further data analysis and interpretation. The preliminary conclusions are discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The focus on Russian firms limits the generalizability of the results. The non-response bias is also taken into account for further study.
Practical implications
This pilot study outlines the importance of knowledge management practices and processes for firm performance. The preliminary results will be interesting both for researchers and practitioners in the countries with the developing economies. The final results will provide new insights in understanding and formalizing the portrait of a typical Russian company with regards to knowledge management policies.
Originality/value
Few studies have been published on the knowledge management process within the Russian context. This study is expected to encourage future studies in this field. The present paper fills an important gap in the extant literature by conceptualizing the model for knowledge management performance analysis and proposes empirical testing of the relationship between knowledge management and firm performance in the context of a developing country that will be presented later as the direction for future study. This study is one of the first ever to study these relationships within the Russian context.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.