The Internationalization Strategy of Spanish Indigenous Franchised Chains: A Resource‐Based View*

In this paper, we identify characteristics of Spanish franchised chains that favor the adoption of an internationalization strategy and those that have a negative influence from a resource‐based perspective. Data used were drawn from Annual Franchise Guidebooks published in Spain for 2005. Various independent variables were taken into account and the final sample included 316 Spanish franchised chains. In order to detect relevant differences between chains with some degree of internationalization and those that only operate in the Spanish domestic market, we conducted a discriminant analysis to discover which of the independent variables contributed significantly to a correct classification of chains to their corresponding group (those that have chosen to spread activities abroad and those that have not).     

The economic and organizational aspects of telecentres: the Spanish case

In this paper we present the following concept: the economic and organizational characteristics and the main aspects of the development of telecentres or telework centres, in a wide-ranging context of the use of telecommunications as an instrument to aid social-economic development of deprived rural and urban areas. To be more specific, we analyse how these Telework Centres are set up in diverse information related service enterprises aimed at other businesses or individuals. These initiatives are being subsidized by different public organisms as pilot development aid projects on an international scale. We have made an empirical study on a national scale, using 27 sample centres, from which we have obtained, amongst other things, the characteristics, economic objectives and results achieved from the initiatives that are underway in Spain or that are expected to be achieved from the setting up of these centres. Finally, we present our conclusions on the subject and list the literature used.     

Systemic risk in the Angolan interbank payment system – a network approach

ABSTRACT

In this work, we analyse the topology of the network of interbank payment flows settled via the real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) of the Angolan payment system (APS) during the fourth quarter of 2016, with the aim of discussing the APS resilience to systemic risk, focusing on its vulnerability in case of failures in the settlement of any bank payments. We conclude that (i) the Angolan RTGS payment network is sparse, characterized by low connectivity, (ii) it is a scale-free network with five banks with high connectivity, representing the main origin and destination of the settled transactions and concentrating about 47% of the total volume and amount of payments settled, which adds to contagion risk. However (iii) the systemic risk arising from the removal of a single participant from the network is low, since the largest bank in the system, with the greatest transacted volume and amount, accounts only for about 11% of the total transacted amounts. In addition, (iv) the adequate risk-mitigating operational processes of each of the RTGS subsystems safeguard the APS from systemic risk.     

Working with Corporate Social Responsibility in Brazilian Companies: The Role of Managers’ Values in the Maintenance of CSR Cultures

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the duty of management to consider and respond to issues beyond the organization’s economic and legal requirements in line with social and environmental values. However, ‘management’ is constituted by real people responsible for routine decisions and formulation and implementation of policies. It can be said therefore that the ethical ideals and beliefs of these individuals – in particular their personal values – play an important role in their decisions. It is contended in this article that the personal values of managers may contribute to the creation and maintenance of ‘CSR cultures’ in their organizations; that is, organizational cultures focused on ensuring environmental and social sustainability. Based on an exploratory study carried out in Brazil in 2008, this article explores the perceptions of five CSR managers in relation to the influence of their personal values on their work. The first part discusses the notion of CSR within the context of Brazilian society, the second provides a brief literature review on the link between values and organizational cultures and the third explores the perceptions of the participating managers, identifying the main thematic patterns that emerged in the study.     

Ten More Years of Error Rate Research

The assessment of the performance of supervised classification rules by estimating their error rate (the proportion of objects misclassified) is an important area of work in statistical pattern recognition. This paper reviews the last ten years of error rate research, bringing up to date the reviews of Hand (1986a) and McLachlan (1987). Since those surveys were published, old estimators have been improved new estimators have been introduced, and new approaches to error rate estimation have been developed. Some of this work has led to deep insights into classification methodology and statistical modelling in general.     

Domestic GHG emissions and the responsibility of households in Spain: looking for regional differences

The aim of this article is to analyze the responsibilities of Spanish households, as final consumers, for the generation of domestic greenhouse gases emissions (GHG), by region of residence, distinguishing between NUTS 1 and NUTS 2 (autonomous regions). The motivation is the process of convergence experimented by Spanish regions based on the strong economic growth experienced by the country until 2008, which could results in different emissions responsibilities because of different lifestyles and production structures. We examine in depth the relationships between a representative household in each region and its patterns of consumption. Although we do find a relationship between per capita income and regional responsibility for pollution generation, it is based on a demand scale effect, which overlaps the effects of the regional consumption patterns. Thus, in the richest regions (Madrid, Northeast, East), despite their having a less polluting pattern than other regions, the level of per capita embodied emissions is higher, due to their higher level of consumption. This scale effect, and the linkages between regional responsibilities for emissions and household consumption patterns are analyzed using linear models based on Social Accounting Matrices. The basis of the estimations is the regional emission intensity (average emission per euro spent by each type of regional home).     

Strengthening “Giving Voice to Values” in Business Schools by Reconsidering the “Invisible Hand” Metaphor

The main contention of this paper is that our ability to embed a consideration of values into business school curricula is hampered by certain normative parameters that our students have when entering the classroom. If we don’t understand the processes of valuation that underpin our students’ reasoning, our ethics teaching will inevitably miss its mark. In this paper, we analyze one of the most prevalent metaphors that underpin moral arguments about business, and reveal the beliefs and assumptions that underpin it. By revisiting the content of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” metaphor, we show that the moral content of the metaphor has been significantly misconstrued through its subsequent reception in economic theory. The “Giving Voice to Values” (GVV) pedagogy aims to enable students to act on their tacit values and address the rationalizations that they may encounter for not acting on these values (Gentile in Giving voice to values. How to speak your mind when you know what’s right, Yale University Press, Yale, 2010a; Discussions about ethics in the accounting classroom: student assumptions and faculty paradigms, Darden Business Publishing,2010b. http://store.darden.virginia.edu/Syllabus%20Copy/Discussions-about-Ethics-in-Accounting_S.pdf; Educating for values-driven leadership across the curriculum: giving voice to values, Business Expert Press, New York, 2013). We believe our analysis can strengthen the employment of GVV in three ways: (1) understanding tacit blockages to moral action, i.e., how students’ belief in the moral efficacy of the invisible hand could undermine their own sense of moral duty; (2) addressing common rationalizations that may emerge from different assumptions about morally appropriate courses of action in the workplace; and (3) resolving values conflicts on how to act.     

Driving Factors for the Success of the Green Innovation Market: A Relationship System Proposal

This study aims to map out the relationships that make up green innovation initiatives in Brazilian industry. The sample comprised 100 managers at manufacturing companies, most of them operating in the business of farm machinery and equipment (45 managers) and steel structures (14 managers). To develop this study, Medeiros et al. (J Clean Prod 65:76–86, 2014) study, mapping critical factors that drive the success of green product innovation and the paradigm of complexity, was used as a reference study. Based on the results, it was possible to identify that the operational dynamic of the factors and variables that affect market success do not happen in an isolated or fragmented way; they occur systematically with different contingencies and structured basic and intermediate skills in order to meet the expectations of consumers, laws, and environmental legislation. Initially, the technological expertise factor was noted as very important for sustaining green product innovation. Furthermore, since proactive leaders are an important factor for successfully developing environmentally sustainable products, it must be added to technological expertise as the foundation for developing green innovation. After defining the basis for green product innovation, the intermediary conditions necessary for using the available technology appropriately were mapped out. In this sense, variables such as “elimination of cultural barriers,” “capacity for critical reflective analysis,” and “experimentation” are also very important. In addition, some of the variables of the cross-functional collaboration and market knowledge factors were a part of the structure that organizations need to transform potential into developing green products, which is the basis for the third level of the model. The fourth level of the model has the “meeting consumer expectations” and “following law and legislation” factors, which make up the main goals for developing environmentally sustainable products according to a number of surveys that were conducted.