Organizational Culture, Individual Differences and the Participation System in Cooperativism of Associated Workers in Andalusia, Spain

From a psychosocial perspective, we have attempted to identify the characteristics of the democratic systems of a sample of 36 Andalusian cooperatives of associated workers. In this study it has become evident that those who participate the least in the governments of their organizations are the workers and those with less education. Thus, there is a high degree of association between participation in the governing of the cooperative and the development within it of an appropriate organizational culture. The results of this study have allowed us to empirically deconstruct the concept of cooperative democracy, and this process may have an effect on the improvement of human resource administration in this type of organization.     

Introverts abroad? Long-term visitors' adaptations to the multicultural tourism context of Costa Blanca,Spain

Many people from North-Western Europe have quite long stays in Mediterranean Spain, partly related to phenomena such as ‘wintering’, seasonal movements and sabbatical holidays, for the most part dwelling in their own houses or apartments. This paper explores intercultural relations of long-term visitors and it raises some questions on differentiation and dedifferentiation in the consolidated holidaymaking context of Costa Blanca (Alicante, Spain). The paper includes visitors' assessments of certain central aspects of their (temporary) life in Spain, based on an exit survey. It is revealed that long-term visitors have far more varied and wide-ranging adjustments to their new and/or temporary surroundings than is usually assumed in news media and in some previous scholarly works. The study also demonstrates that generalised views depicting long-term visitors as secluded and living predominantly in compatriot enclaves are too simple, especially in long-established holiday destination areas. A considerable proportion of long-term visitors make an effort to relate to the language, culture, and social conditions of the host society. It is argued that a more nuanced and complex analysis is needed in order to describe the varied life situations of sojourners and other long-term visitors in Mediterranean Spain.     

Editors’ note

Portuguese Economic Journal -     

Systemic Cooperative Actions among Competitors: the Case of a Furniture Cluster in Brazil

The purpose of this article is to describe cooperation practices observed in competitors companies in a furniture cluster in Brazil. The literature refers to it as coopetition. The research method was the multiple case study. The main research technique was the semi-structured interviews with practitioners of the cluster. The study created a theoretical framework for cooperative practices in industrial clusters formed by four types of practices: logistics, marketing and sales, formation of the workforce, and innovation and technology. The study investigates these four types of cooperation in five large companies that compete in the same market, the anchor companies of the cluster. The only entirely complied type of collaboration is the formation of the workforce of the cluster. In the other practices, cooperation involving competitors is lower than reported in the literature. The main reason for this low cooperation is excessive rivalry and mutual distrust in the cluster, and competition by differentiation, which partially prevent the gain of scale provided by cooperative actions.     

On firm-level,industry-level,and aggregate employment fluctuations

Employment fluctuations are examined, at different levels of aggregation, in a model with firm-specific hiring decisions due to search frictions and sticky pricing. The results indicate that firm-level employment dispersion rises with higher price stickiness and higher demand elasticity, whereas it falls with more convexity of search costs and with a higher labor supply elasticity. Industry-level employment is more volatile and less procyclical than aggregate employment, and a larger industry size reduces volatility and raises co-movement with output. The calibrated model is able to match the volatility, autocorrelation and cyclical correlation of US industry-level employment when incorporating firm-specific technology shocks.     

Globalization and trade union strategy: industrial restructuring and human resource management in the international civil aviation industry

For trade unions, the central problematic of globalization is the growing disparity between the mobility of capital and labour. The ability of capital to operate on a trans-national basis is widely perceived to have precipitated a process of cost cutting as international companies seek to cut workers' remuneration and other conditions of employment. However, systematic empirical evidence on the impact of globalization on human resource management is hard to find, as is any assessment of the differential impact of globalization on different occupational groups or the response of trade unions to any deterioration in their members' terms and conditions of employment. Focusing on the international civil aviation industry, we examine the effects of globalization on human resource management and the national and international strategies developed by organized labour in response. Although the evidence suggests that there is indeed a concerted effort by major airlines to cut costs, trade unions have been able to retard the pace of change and effectively defend the interests of some occupational groups. Moreover, the future course of globalization will be contested through new international strategies and repertoires of collective action developed by the trade union movement.     

THE DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND EXPENDITURE IN PORTUGAL: 1980 AND 1990

From 1980 to 1990 Portugal experienced a generalized liberalization of economic activity, due in large part to its 1986 integration in the European Union. This paper studies the changes in the Portuguese distribution of household income and expenditure during this period, using micro-data on household budgets and applying recent developments in statistical inference for Lorenz curves. We find a significant increase in six measures of welfare and an unambiguous decrease in the inequality of the respective distributions. Different explanations for the findings of decreased inequality are discussed.     

An analysis of the construct “involvement” in consumer behaviour

The aim of this paper is to analyse the construct involvement. Specifically, the present work extends the sphere of study of the construct involvement at brand level, applying it to Denominations of Origin (D.O.s). Hence, after an overview of the concept, it suggests a cognitive approach to the measurement of involvement. It proposes as indicators the number of values associated with this designation, the centrality of these values and the intensity of the association. In this delimitation of the concept, a model is presented that is set within the framework of an analysis of the decision-making process adopted by consumers when purchasing wine. This postulates that temporary involvement with a D.O. has explanatory power, as does the direct effect of the regular outcomes of a permanent involvement with such a designation on the process in question. In addition, a correlation is proposed between the state of temporary involvement with a D.O. and the continuing consequences of a permanent involvement with this designation.