Effect of exploitation and exploration on the innovative as outcomes in entrepreneurial firms

The main aim of this study is to establish the effect of the Exploitation and Exploration; and the influence of these learning flows on the Innovative Outcome (IO). The Innovative Outcome refers to new products, services, processes (or improvements) that the organization has obtained as a result of an innovative process. For this purpose, a relationship model is defined, which is empirically contrasted, and can explains and predicts the cyclical dynamization of learning flows on innovative outcome in knowledge intensive firms. The quantitative test for this model use the data from entrepreneurial firms biotechnology sector. The statistical analysis applies a method based on variance using Partial Least Squares (PLS). Research results confirm the hypotheses, that is, they show a positive dynamic effect between the Exploration and the Innovative as outcomes. In the same vein, they results confirm the presence of the cyclic movement of innovative outcome with the Exploitation.     

The contribution of social tourism to sustainable tourism: a case study of seasonally adjusted programmes in Spain

Recent policy from the European Union has attempted to justify social tourism initiatives on the basis that they lead to a more sustainable tourism industry. However, the majority of latest research in the field has been focused on the benefits for participants, with the addition of some evidence on the economic impacts of such programmes on destinations, which have pointed towards sustainability outcomes including: a longer tourism season, more even spread of demand, and longer periods of employment for tourism workers. Yet there is a lack of direct evidence linking such programme to these outcomes. This paper aimed to explore this important disconnect between policy assumptions and evidence-based outcomes through an analysis of the deseasonalising effects of the Spanish social tourism programme for older people. The research found that this programme does have an effect on the seasonal nature of employment and economic activity in most regions studied, but that the huge volume of demand from international tourists in the high seasons masks the quantitative effects in the regions with the highest seasonal concentration of international tourists. Recommendations for policy and practice in sustainable tourism are made that are transferable to many countries and regions that adopt social tourism programmes.     

Automatically extracting tourism-related opinion from Chinese social media

Existing tourism-destination investigations of Chinese texts remain weak, and no approach is available to realize Chinese context semantically and automatically. To resolve this, we provide a novel method based on qualitative analysis for studying the online opinions of Chinese tourists regarding the destinations to which they travel. Both traditional and simplified Chinese forums were chosen as the object of study. Spain was selected as a travel destination to evaluate the proposed method. After processing the natural language, unstructured Chinese content is analysed to derive the general sentiment and relevant topics regarding the destination through user comments on social media. The proposed method allows us to understand what tourists are interested in and how they form opinions about tourist destinations.     

Dynamics of judicial service supply chains

Behavioral issues, coupled with temporary capacity imbalances, dictate the characteristics that a service supply chain assumes in the long run. The paper looks at a service chain in which two factors, backlogs and incentives, influence human agent processing times and, hence, service supply chain capacity. The paper finds that servers within the supply chain change their processing speeds in order to maintain a backlog of cases that is acceptable and credible. The backlog must not be too small, so as to avoid the impression that work is scant and there is idleness; but it must not be too large, so as to avoid the impression of laziness. Simultaneously, the paper finds that there are implicit incentives in the formal hierarchy that impinge upon throughput rates at certain stages of the supply chain: agents upstream try not to overwhelm their bosses' stations downstream with excess work. Hence, this paper looks at the effects of perceived backlogs within service supply chains and also at capacity unbalances that stem from such incentives. The study explores these issues in the context of a managerial intervention in a judicial service supply chain. The study identifies the structure of a seemingly unstructured decision execution that leads to the observed outcomes. The research results in a preliminary system dynamics model that suggests several operational steps to overcome bottlenecks and incompetency.     

The exchange rate cycle in Argentina

This article discusses the secular volatility of output, inflation, the exchange rate, and poverty in Argentina. Inflation, currency devaluation and a wide gross domestic product (GDP) cycle have been recurrent problems in Argentina for several decades. The literature has extensively discussed those issues from different viewpoints. This study focuses on a relatively unexplored theme that may contribute to a partial explanation. It deals with the continuous tendency to equalize different profitabilities resulting, in turn, from remarkably different sectoral purchasing power parities. Thus, for any given exchange rate, an incessant tendency toward the equalization of profitabilities generates opposing inflationary and devaluatory pressures. The resulting inflation-devaluation cycle feeds income redistribution, GDP fluctuation, real exchange rate instability, and high levels of uncertainty.     

Productivity and Producer Welfare in the Presence of Production Risk

Production risk is an inherent characteristic of agriculture and changes in production risk will affect the welfare of risk‐averse producers. Using standard concepts from the literature on uncertainty, we introduce a welfare measure which comprises total factor productivity (TFP), production risk and farmer risk preferences, and which reflects the impact on producer welfare of changes in production technology. An empirical application is carried out using data from a sample of Spanish dairy farms which shows how the positive impact of increases in TFP on welfare can be offset by increases in the risk premium (‘cost of risk’) to the point where welfare may decrease.     

Economic and Environmental Benefits of Eliminating Log Export Bans – The Case of Costa Rica

An increasing number of tropical timber‐producing nations have enacted bans on export of logs arguing that this will reduce deforestation, expand downstream wood processing and improve the scale efficiency of domestic processing, create jobs and retain more value‐added nationally. The theoretical literature is clear that trade restrictions are generally welfare reducing (except in special cases such as when there is a potential for an optimal export tax). At best, a log export ban is a second‐best policy tool for reducing deforestation and addressing the associated environmental externalities. In overall terms, the suggestion that log export bans can achieve the objectives expected of them is dubious. However, very little quantitative evidence exists to demonstrate this claim and the paper attempts to address this gap by looking at the economic and environmental impacts of eliminating a log export ban in Costa Rica. The authors argue that eliminating the export ban is Pareto improving and could generate economic gains as high as $14 million per annum with the possibility of relatively modest environmental benefits.     

Postmodern Values and Leisure in Young Spanish University Students: An Exploratory Study

This article reports exploratory research about tendencies toward postmaterialism in university students. This paper used the theoretical framework proposed by Inglehart regarding three categories of leisure: postmaterialist, materialist and common. Students from a Spanish university (N = 1036) completed questionnaires that evaluated their materialist-postmaterialist values, how often they practiced the activities included in each category of leisure and the motivational factors involved in them. The results revealed that university students showed a tendency toward postmaterialism. Further, relationships were found between materialist-postmaterialist values and categories of leisure. This study results suggested that the tendency toward postmaterialist values may be a factor in structuring the leisure patterns of young Spanish university students.