Identification of intangible assets in knowledge‐based organizations using concept mapping techniques

This paper proposes a procedure for identifying the intangible assets that generate value to knowledge‐intensive organizations using concept mapping techniques. Concept mapping is a form of structured conceptualization that incorporates and processes the opinion of a set of experts. A double statistical treatment consisting of a multidimensional scaling analysis and a cluster analysis is applied to a set of data provided by experts to obtain the results, which are presented in the form of maps. As a case study, the social and legal departments in a Spanish university were analyzed. As a result, 60 items referring to different intangible assets of these departments were identified and grouped into 10 clusters, and they were in turn grouped in regions corresponding to the three basic components of intellectual capital: human capital, structural capital and relational capital. The evaluation of the relative importance of each of them leads to the preeminent position of the structural capital.     

The Chinese business system and its authoriliberal economic model

China's position as one of the most powerful nations in the world is undisputed. However, in an evolving landscape, China's utilization of a path-dependent business system may hinder the ability of the country's institutions to undergo necessary change, which will have important implications for international business literature. Through business system theory, empirical evidence, and a mixed methods approach, we discuss China's business system explaining how the system may impair sustainable growth and the transformation required by a less dependent industrial society. Our research suggests that the Chinese business system is still very arrested due to its recent past, and the Chinese Communist Party has only partial interest in improving some of the most important bases for the development of modern enterprises, even if fostering a somewhat liberal economic approach. Since similar political (authoritarian) and economic (liberal) approaches are found elsewhere, we theorize on what we called an authoriliberal economic approach.     

Who owns the land owns the wind? Land and citizenship in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,Mexico

Wind energy expansion across rural areas interacts with various interests at the local level, generating multiple reactions within communities. The Eólica del Sur wind farm implementation pathway in Mexico is a paragon of different positions vis-à-vis this industry after trying to install 132 wind turbines in other towns since 2006. This paper argues that there is a bias in studies of the politics of wind energy development in favour of oppositional voices, as opposed to groups that endorse wind energy expansion or that have stakes in the sector but neither support nor oppose wind projects per se. Based on fieldwork conducted over three years and semi-structured interviews with Eólica del Sur stakeholders, the paper argues that different responses to wind energy are linked to contrasting ownership claims over land in the region and competing notions of the institutions that should legitimize these claims.     

Value dimensions of gamification and their influence on brand loyalty and word-of-mouth: Relationships and combinations with satisfaction and brand love

This study examined the influence of different value dimensions of gamification on two important marketing outcomes, brand loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM), using a mixed methods approach. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) is employed alongside structural equation modeling (SEM). These methods showcase nuances that contribute to the understanding of the effects of different value dimensions. Although the SEM results stress the mediating role of brand love, the fs/QCA results indicate that brand love is a core condition for brand loyalty, but it might be indifferent to obtaining positive WOM. Different paths can be sufficient to produce the outcomes of interest. The value dimensions of gamification can be substitutes, contingent on the presence of other conditions, thereby providing a novel perspective. These findings advance our knowledge of the functioning of gamification and can serve as a guide for practitioners seeking to employ gamification experiences to alter consumers' behavior.     

Public overspending in higher education

We study the trade-off between governmental investments in pretertiary and tertiary education from an efficiency point of view. We develop a model comprising agents with different incomes and abilities, public and private schools, and public universities that select applicants based on an admission exam. Reallocating governmental resources from tertiary to pretertiary education may positively affect aggregate production and human capital if some conditions are satisfied. For instance, in an economy with a high proportion of credit-constrained students, a reallocation of expenditure toward public schools benefits many students, compensating for the negative effect of a decrease in public university investments. We also quantitatively investigate the optimal allocation of public investment between pretertiary and tertiary education, and we find that a 10% increase in productivity of public investments in pretertiary education could increase the optimal GDP between 2.1% and 3%.