Solidarity based economy： The success of work integration social firms in Spain

The work insertion social firms have grown in the last decade in Spain. The aim of this work is to help unemployees and workers with several problems （being in prison, drugs...） to start in ＂normalized＂ companies as workers. The aim of the paper is to analyze the success of work insertion social firms defined by social and commercial dimensions. Using a sample of 49 companies in Spain, the authors have developed an explanatory model in which the doubt about the success of these companies is explained. This paper seeks to analyze the main problems of the poor financial situation of companies that are based on social help. The work integration social enterprises could be a new entrepreneurship form that helps improving work skills of workers to be able to obtain a ＂normalized job＂.     

Are Ethical Banks Different? A Comparative Analysis Using the Radical Affinity Index

This article studies the differences between traditional financial intermediaries (commercial banks, savings banks and cooperative banks) and ethical banks based on property rights, in which the owner decides the ideology, principles, standards and objectives of the organisation. In ethical banking, affinity centres on positive social and ethical values. The article consequently focuses on an index proposed both to differentiate ethical banks from other types of banks, and also to pinpoint the differences between the various ethical banks themselves. This is the Radical Affinity Index (RAI), which groups banks together in terms of their stance on ethical commitment, concentrating on ethical ideology and principles (information transparency, placement of assets, guarantees and participation) and using a sample of 114 European banks. The evidence shows that transparency of information and placement of assets are factors that differentiate ethical banks from other financial intermediaries. Guarantees and participation are characteristics specific to ethical banks; these variables, however, do not offer clear evidence to our analysis.     

Learning before the storm: Modeling multiple stakeholder activities in support of crisis management,a practical case

The severe consequences of a Critical Infrastructure (CI) crisis demand continued research directed toward proactive and reactive management strategies. Despite the best efforts of governments and communities, the diversity of stakeholders, conflicting demands for resources, and a lack of trust among organizations create complexities that limit the effectiveness of the response. This paper identifies four specific problems that appear to reoccur when CIs are challenged: heterogeneity, multiple and inconsistent boundaries, resilience building and knowledge transfer and sharing. A combination of collaborative modeling and software simulation methodologies is proposed in order to identify the interrelationships among diverse stakeholders when managing the preparation for and reaction to a CI crisis. This approach allows experts to work together and share experiences through the modeling process which can lead them to a better understanding of how other organizations work and integrate different perspectives. In addition, simulation models enable domain experts to understand the consequences of certain policies in the short and long terms, thus improving the crisis managers' knowledge for future crisis situations. This paper presents a practical case of a hypothetical crisis in the CI sector and the approach used in order to deal with the four problems identified above.     

The influence of information communications technology (ICT) on cash management and financial department performance: An explanatory model

We delineated the extent to which various facets of information communications technology (ICT) are used and are perceived as useful by treasury managers, focusing on three indicators of financial department performance: cost savings, improvements in the quality of the information, and enhancements in the use of scenario simulations for decision making. Specifically, we examined the relationship between ICT use in cash management functions within financial departments, perceptions of the importance of cash management to treasury managers, and their perceptions of the usefulness of ICT to financial department performance. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Ethics of Trade Credit: Understanding Good Payment Practice in the Supply Chain

In spite of its commercial importance and signs of clear concern in public policy arenas, trade credit has not been subjected to systematic, extended analysis in the business ethics literature, even where suppliers as a stakeholder group have been considered. This paper makes the case for serious consideration of the ethics of trade credit and explores the issues surrounding slow payment of debts. It discusses trade debt as a kind of promise, but—noting that not all promises are good ones—goes on to develop an analysis of the ethics of trade credit grounded in an understanding of its fundamental purpose. Making a distinction between “operating” trade credit and “financial” trade credit, the paper provides an account of the maximum period for which it is appropriate for one company to delay payment to another from which it has purchased goods or services. The concern of commentators and policy makers that companies should not take too long to pay their debts is affirmed, but the understanding of what timely payment means is significantly finessed, with one conclusion being that, if debts have not already been settled according to acceptable standard terms of trade, cash should pass quickly back along the supply chain once the customer in the final product market has paid. The analysis has implications not only for companies that take credit but also for external parties that seek to rate companies or set regulations according to speed of payment—an approach that is shown to be misleadingly simplistic, albeit well intentioned. A corresponding important responsibility for suppliers, not to extend excessive credit (and thus act as a quasi-bank), also follows from the analysis developed. Having provided a novel analysis of an important business problem, the paper then discusses some of the related practical issues and makes suggestions for further research.     

Theoretical perspectives on intellectual capital: A backward look and a proposal for going forward

In recent years the intellectual capital literature has exhibited relatively few new theoretical contributions, in contrast to the flurry of such work in the period 1996-2003. The purpose of the present paper is to revisit a number of the major theoretical contributions to the intellectual capital field in order to identify where any renewal of theoretical endeavour might be targeted. The greater part of the existing theoretical corpus is found to have a normative quality, something particularly evident in policy-oriented contributions on accounting for intellectual capital. The continued absence of a critical perspective on intellectual capital is identified to be a worrying lacuna, and thereby a potentially valuable space for a further round of theoretical activity.     

Managing negative emotions from entrepreneurial project failure: When and how does supportive leadership help employees?

Drawing on Affective Events Theory and a sample of 112 matched manager-employee dyads involved in failed corporate entrepreneurial projects, we develop and test a model of when and how managerial leadership can foster high employee performance in their subsequent endeavors. Through path analysis modeling, we show that perceptions of supportive managerial leadership behaviors can limit the detrimental effects of recalled negative emotions from prior project failures on employee job satisfaction, and through job satisfaction, on employee performance. However, the benefits of supportive managerial leadership behaviors dissipate with more time since the project has failed.