Issue/s in progress

Issue/s in progress with articles that are final and fully citable

Technological innovation clusters and shared value creation

  • Jonathan Cuevas Lizama
  • Marcelo Royo-Vela
Published 13-03-2024

The effects of companies on society and the practices of Corporate Social Responsibility have been studied in numerous research studies. Questioning the traditional model let Porter and Kramer to develop the concept of Creating Shared Value, an approach where companies consider the value of society and the environment in their business models. We take the edge of the clusters to determine how the grouped companies understand and create shared value, identifying its antecedents and consequences. Using the multiple case study technique in a technology cluster focused on driving innovative ideas and new business development, we were able to identify that the cluster becomes a propitious scenario to create shared value, since the participants benefit from resources and skills that allow them to grow in their businesses, promoting competitiveness and innovation and contributing to the economic, social and environmental growth of stakeholders.

Intangible assets and their effects on business performance: an analysis for Colombian companies

  • Alberto Méndez-Morales
  • Camilo Anzola-Morales
  • Liliana Elizabeth Ruiz-Acosta
  • David Andrés Camargo-Mayorga
Published 20-02-2024

Intangible assets (IAs) are fundamental for the creation of firm value. However, the literature is inconclusive regarding the relationship between IAs and profitability. This paper uses financial data from Colombian firms from 2005 to 2015 to determine if this relationship exists. Thirty dynamic panel models have been used to see whether IAs are related to Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, Gross margin, and Net margin. The results, despite a limited sample size and missing variables, are related to the literature in that they signal the negative relationship between IAs and profitability. Thus, the capitalized value of IAs seems to negatively affect Colombian firms' performance in the short and long term.

Are there differences in the perception of climate change among farmers? Empirical evidence in the Mediterranean basin

  • Julia M. Núñez Tabales
  • Francisco José Rey-Carmona
Published 14-03-2024

The agricultural sector in Mediterranean latitudes is one of the most affected by climate change, mainly characterized by the incidence of prolonged droughts that jeopardize crop productivity. The main objective of this study is to analyze the perceptions of climate change among irrigation farmers located in the Mediterranean basin. Through hierarchical cluster analysis, three typologies of farmers were identified, revealing differences in three sets of factors: (1) awareness of adverse climatic events that have caused damages to their crops in recent years, (2) sociodemographic characteristics of the farmers, and (3) attributes of their farms. The results should be taken into consideration to enhance the understanding of farmers' perceptions when formulating government policies and potential adaptations related to climate change and agriculture.

The Impact of the Education Sector in the Norte Chico and Patagonia Macroterritories

  • Sergio Soza-Amigo
  • Lorena Paredes
Published 01-03-2024

This article contrasts whether the sectors with a GDP close to the average contribute more to the economic system through their employment multipliers and/or dispersion effects than those with a higher GDP. To achieve this, an 11-year horizon (2008-2018) and the 11 main centers of Chile's macro territories [Norte Chico (6) and Patagonia (5)] are used as a reference. The input-output matrices are used as source of information from which the variables GDP, employment multiplier and dispersion coefficients are obtained, the latter understood as those that allow quantifying the scope of the repercussions of an economic activity, by means of its direct and/or indirect effects. The results allow us to conclude that economic activities with a GDP close to the average, such as that of the education sector, show diffused effects that support the idea of facilitating development through changes in their production versus others that, with high GDPs, show concentrated effects that therefore limit their contribution in terms of interaction. These results will contribute to the establishment of economic development policies according to the particularities of each territory.

The Influence of Inclusive Leadership on the Well-Being of Employees

  • Ramón Rueda-López
  • Jaime Aja-Valle
  • Lucía García-García
  • María J. Vázquez-García
Published 21-03-2024

Among the different managerial styles of leadership, inclusive leadership has a particular relevance because, through its basic characteristics of openness, accessibility and availability of managers, employees can see their esteem and feeling of belonging to the group improve. This improvement can ultimately increase the degree of well-being at work. This research has been carried out through a survey of 193 working people about their perception of the inclusive leadership style and their level of well-being at work. The PLS-SEM methodology has been used for the statistical treatment of the data. The main conclusion obtained in this research is that an inclusive leadership style has a positive effect on people's well-being at work. Inclusive leadership improves job satisfaction, the feeling of being respected and emotional accessibility. These conclusions and findings support the idea that it is necessary to train managers in skills linked to labor inclusion.

Dematerialization and the economic crisis – are they parallel paths? Assessments based on the EU-15 case study

  • Pablo Alonso Fernández
  • Rosa María Regueiro Ferreira
  • Xoán Ramón Doldán García
Published 14-03-2024

This paper investigates how the consumption of material resources has evolved over the last 20 years in the member states that make up the European Union-15, with the aim of analyzing whether there is dematerialization in these countries and which sectors are leading the way. The material footprint is used as an indicator of material consumption, since it indicates all the resources required by an economy. Using data from the material footprint and GDP, a model has been proposed to allow dematerialization in the EU-15 to be studied. The main results show that dematerialization has only occurred conjuncturally since the 2008 crisis, with the GDP-material-footprint coupling subsequently being restored.

Challenges and prospects for activating a circular economy in the context of sustainable waste management in Algeria

  • Mahfoudh Hassaine
  • Belaid Abrika
Published 21-11-2023

The article deals with the problem of waste management in Algeria. It aims to analyze the various policies undertaken by the government in order to be able to respond to the principles of sustainable development and the circular economy from the perspective of sustainable and integrated waste management. The analyses carried out show that the first waste management strategies in Algeria are more reactive and constitute a response to the crisis of the proliferation of waste. It is only from the year 2016 that the national integrated waste management strategy constitutes a perspective of registration of this sector in a circular approach of profitability and sustainability.

Plastic Waste Management in Morocco: A Sociological Reflection about the Informal Sector in the Circular Economy

  • Iria Vázquez Silva
  • Javier de Rivera Outomuro
Published 10-11-2023

This article presents a case study on the link between the management of plastic waste in Morocco (mainly in Casablanca and Rabat) and the divergent working conditions of workers (formal and informal) that conforme the sector, in the context of transformation of the sector towards the Circular Economy (CE). To such an end, we take into account the perspective of multiple experts in the field, as well as the public administration in charge of managing the transition process, the private business sector and the informal collectors themselves. This approach allowed us to understand the complexities and nuances of the transition of waste management in Morocco and to identify the main challenges in terms of social justice associated with the change towards a Circular Economy.

Protein for Scraps: A Study of the European Union “Circular” Raw Materials Trade

  • Leandro J. Llorente-González
Published 21-03-2024

The shift from the current extractive linear production and consumption system to a circular economy (CE) has been heralded as a way to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of human economic activity. The European Union (EU) has committed to leading the way to a worldwide CE, with the development of an international market of recyclable raw materials (RRM) as one of the main pillars of its strategy. However, there is extensive evidence regarding the unequal distribution of the economic benefits and environmental damages related to international trade. Therefore, the objective of a global fair transition to a CE may be undermined if the related markets continue to reproduce the prevailing patterns of ecologically unequal exchange. In order to test whether or not this is the case, this research studies the physical trade balance and the terms of trade on the recent RRM trade flows from, to and between the EU27 member states.