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Purpose: Within the framework of EU policies and measures to develop a just and fair green energy transition model. This paper aims to offer valuable insights into a paramount concern not so well debated in the literature, i.e. the spatial variation of energy poverty. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical analysis investigates the regional variation of energy poverty we draw on a sample of more than 300,000 Spanish households, extracted from the Spanish Household Budget Survey (HBS) for the period 2006–2022. To characterize the probability of a household finding itself in a situation of energy poverty the authors use a discrete choice univariate probit model. Findings: The results confirm that energy poverty is a phenomenon that is asymmetrically distributed across Spain, and mainly occurs in un-densely populated regions. In addition, the findings demonstrate that the incidence of energy poverty drivers is highly heterogeneous across regions. Research limitations/implications: The paper ends with some recommendations for policymakers suggesting that countries need to design an energy poverty policy for the households that jointly pursue both a correct identification of vulnerable groups and a match with the type of measure to the characteristics of each region. Originality/value: This study enhances previous research by considering the case of areas at a lower level of aggregation (i.e. on the NUTS two regions in Spain called autonomous communities) and offers the opportunity to tailor policies to those regions most in need. Furthermore, to provide a more realistic picture of the complex phenomenon of energy poverty, the authors use the information for the period 2006–2022 differentiating by economic micro-cycle. This timespan allows the authors to understand the dynamics of energy poverty in periods of economic crisis, including the effects of the 2008 crisis and the present global energy crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze factors based on organizational knowledge management (KM; transactional memory systems and knowledge-oriented leadership [K-OL]) that help firms to mitigate conflicts based on task management at work, with the aim to improve their innovation capabilities (IC). The knowledge-based view of the firm, conflict management theory and cognitive collective engagement theory have been used to build a model of relationships that connects the development of positive KM contexts and management of dysfunctional conflict with IC improvement. Design/methodology/approach: Data survey collected from inland hotel establishments in Spain is used to test seven hypotheses by means of structural equations modeling, applying the partial least squares technique. Direct, indirect and mediating relationships between variables are examined from the structural path model. Findings: The results confirm that, as expected, IC improve when K-OL and transactive memory systems (TMSs) are properly implemented by hotel establishments, which leads them to reduce negative effects of task management conflict (TMC). Significant direct effects are found between the key variables of the study and also a significant indirect effect between K-OL and IC through TMS reinforcement and the mitigation of TMC. Practical implications: This paper provides useful ideas for hotel managers about how to improve KM contexts in their establishments while avoiding TMC. Efforts devoted to creating those contexts by hotel establishments are shown to be effective to improve their IC and create competitive advantages. Originality/value: The analysis of IC improvement by studying TMC mitigation had not been researched to date by the KM literature. The consideration and testing of a model that integrates KM-related tools such as K-OL and TMS to avoid TMC in the hotel industry is the main contribution of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to find out if there is a relationship between access to climate change information and student activism. Design/methodology/approach: Exploratory study focused on the survey of 400 [n = 400] students from 10 universities in Spain from April to May 2022. A questionnaire with 19 questions was divided into blocks of knowledge, awareness, and action and bivariate analysis with a margin of error of ±5% and a confidence level of 95%. Findings: The greater the degree of information received, the greater the activism of university students, who tend to use digital media and social networks to get informed. However, they perceive that the university generates little information and a low number of activities related to climate change. Students demand that universities implement informal, formal, and service-learning environmental education strategies on sustainable consumption. Research limitations/implications: Given the results of previous studies showing the variable "type of degree" does not show differences at the beginning and end of studies, it has not been considered in this research. Nevertheless, it would be convenient to introduce it in future investigations to confirm if this may have an impact on informational habits. Practical implications: This paper urges universities to act as sources of environmental education, given the relationship between the information received and the pro-environmental attitudes of students. Social implications: The universities are powerful social actors that can shape public and political discourses for eco-social transition. Originality/value: This research adds the variable access to information in studies on pro-environmental attitudes. Furthermore, this research provides data about student perceptions of the university, government, industry, and NGO climate actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The authors' goal in this paper is to study if there are long-run effects on the wages of those workers who entered the labour market overeducated but who have, over time, been able to overcome this situation by obtaining a job for which they are correctly matched. Design/methodology/approach: This study universe is constituted by workers entering the labour market with a university degree between 2004 and 2012. The age range of these individuals is between 22 and 35 years old. With the data of the 8,359 selected individuals, the authors have constructed a balanced panel covering the period 2013–2017. This methodology is developed in two steps. First, the authors estimate a wage equation with the traditional variables and, second, the authors use the estimated coefficients of these variables to predict the wage paths of a representative individual in each group. Findings: The main result the authors obtain indicates that the wages of those who manage to overcome an initial situation of overeducation do converge but very slowly to the respective wages of those others that entered the labour market correctly matched from the beginning. The authors consider this result to point towards the existence of scarring effects in wages induced by an initial situation of overeducation. The authors also present evidence, beyond education, about the influence that the occupational characteristics that a worker has on wages. Research limitations/implications: The factors that can influence the catching-up of wages are multiple, and it is not feasible to test all of them empirically. Therefore, the wage convergence process the authors present may also be influenced by other variables for which the authors do not have information. Practical implications: This paper contributes to different branches of the labour market. First, the authors present new evidence within the literature dealing with the so-called scarring effects on wages related to the conditions entering the labour market. Secondly, this study's results provide a new argument that complements those developed so far that explain a reduction in the wage skill premium detected among young graduates in Spain. Finally, this paper contributes to advancing research about the effects that overeducation has on wages. Originality/value: The question the authors are attempting to answer in this paper can be formulated in the following terms: when a worker manages to overcome an initial situation of overeducation, what happens to his/her wage? Will it adjust quickly to the new working situation, or will we observe a slow convergence to the wages of workers with an employment history without overeducation situations? To the best of the authors' knowledge, this topic has not yet been studied. Researchers have mostly focused their attention on comparing the wages of overeducated workers with the wages of those who are correctly matched. In this case, the authors compare the wages of correctly matched workers, but with the difference that some were initially overeducated and others were not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether individuals' planning horizon influences their decision to save privately for their retirement. Design/methodology/approach: Focussing on Spain, this empirical research uses the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)[1]. Logit models are estimated considering variables related to demographic characteristics, economic situation, education and cognitive abilities and psychological and social factors. Findings: The results confirm that the planning horizon significantly influences the decision to save for retirement. Long-term planners are more likely to save for retirement than short-term planners. Originality/value: Although previous literature has identified the planning horizon as a relevant variable in the decision to save for retirement, few empirical studies have evaluated their impact. This paper shows that it is important to develop habits of financial planning in societies, especially in societies with a prominent orientation towards the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the dynamics of the Spanish public debt–gross domestic product ratio during the period 1850–2020. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a recent procedure to test for recurrent explosive behavior (Phillips et al., 2011; Phillips et al., 2015a, 2015b) to identify episodes of explosive public debt dynamics and also the episodes of fiscal adjustments over this long period. Findings: The identified episodes of explosive behavior of public debt coincided with fiscal stress events, whereas fiscal adjustments and changes in economic policies stabilized public finances after periods of explosive dynamics of public debt. Originality/value: The longer than usual span of the data should allow the authors to obtain some more robust results than in most of previous analyses of long-run sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: ISO 9001 is applied by hundreds of thousands of companies throughout the world. For this reason, its effect on company results has been extensively studied. However, the results of those studies are inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. More in-depth research, with a new approach, is therefore necessary. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether ISO 9001-certified companies suffered the effects of the financial and economic crisis of 2007–2008 to a lesser degree than non-certified ones. Design/methodology/approach: A set of 179 companies certified by ISO 9001:2008 and 154 non-certified ones were analysed, as well as the accounting figures for net sales and operating income (EBIT: earnings before interest and taxes) from 2004 to 2012. Findings: Companies from the industry and services sectors showed different results. Certified industrial companies achieved better outcomes than their non-certified counterparts. However, the deviations in outcomes were not significant for services companies. Research limitations/implications: One limitation of this study is that companies' official results are not always their true results. Another limitation is that having to do with the criteria followed to suppress extreme cases, which is always subjective. Furthermore, the implications of the results could be of use for those managers who are responsible for implementing ISO 9001 and for deciding whether obtaining the ISO 9001 certification would be beneficial to their companies. Originality/value: This study constitutes a new approach for the assessment of the benefits of the ISO 9001 certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Open-access mega-journals (OAMJs), which apply a peer-review policy based solely on scientific soundness, elicit opposing views. Sceptical authors believe that OAMJs are simply an easy target to publish uninteresting papers that would not be accepted in more selective traditional journals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate any differences in scholars' considerations of OAMJs by analysing the productivity and impact of Spanish authors in Biology and Medicine who publish in PLOS ONE. Design/methodology/approach: Scopus was used to identify the most prolific Spanish authors in Biology and Medicine between 2013 and 2017 and to determine their publication patterns in PLOS ONE. Any differences in terms of citation impact between Spanish authors who publish frequently in PLOS ONE and the global Spanish output in Biology and Medicine were measured. Findings: Results show a moderate correlation between the total number of articles published by prolific authors in Biology and Medicine and the number of articles they publish in PLOS ONE. Authors who publish frequently in PLOS ONE tend to publish more frequently than average in Quartile 1 and Top 10 per cent impact journals and their articles are more frequently cited than average too, suggesting that they do not submit to PLOS ONE for the purpose of gaining easier publication in a high-impact journal. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to one country, one OAMJ and one discipline and does not investigate whether authors select PLOS ONE for what they might regard as their lower quality research. Originality/value: Very few studies have empirically addressed the implications of the soundness-based peer-review policy applied by OAMJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current "Anthropocene" epoch has witnessed an imbalanced global change, but it is an opportunity to design a better and sustainable future. Sustainability criteria need to be fully implemented in political institutions, companies and universities. Moreover, sustainable pedagogies must accompany the process in terms of students' professional competences to overcome crisis situations. This paper aims to evaluate geography degrees in Spain to corroborate whether students and teachers consider that students are prepared to address the challenges of global change. Design/methodology/approach: The research is focused on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), a clear and easily identifiable framework for society that reflects the principles of the UN 2030 Agenda. A statistically validated questionnaire answered by 319 respondents has been used. Data analysis with descriptive and inferential techniques was performed. Findings: The results show that geography degrees do not meet the needs of students, for whom career opportunities will be related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; there are significant gaps between the perception of teachers and students; some geographical topics are undervalued; SDGs are more present in optional subjects; and there is a need to "sustain" the curriculum, following this highly valued framework. Originality/value: Geography educative programs had scarcely been empirically evaluated to check a sustainability framework implementation. This research provides innovative and unprecedented self-assessment results from higher education agents, in an empirical and statistically validated way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the extent of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) through websites and social media in Spanish local government (SLG) and analyze the factors that explain their disclosure. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies content analysis and regression techniques. The ICD is analyzed for Spanish municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and provincial capitals over a period from January 2018 to February 2020. Findings: Findings emphasize that the quantity of disclosed information on intellectual capital (IC) is in the low level, particularly with regard to human capital (HC). Furthermore, the results show that the information provided via social media mainly concerns the relational capital (RC). On the other hand, results obtained indicate that larger municipalities, with lower financial autonomy and whose citizens have a high income level use the online media (both websites and social media) more actively to disclose information about IC. Finally, municipalities led by women and with high level of citizens' education exert a positive influence in the ICD only on websites. Practical implications: This paper makes a number of key contributions to the existing body of knowledge, focusing on ICD, a neglected area in the public sector accounting literature. It explores and identifies the supply-side and demand-side determinants of information affecting the ICD in local governments. The results of this research could be useful for policymakers, regulators and governments' managers to improve the online information addressing ICD issues. Originality/value: This paper adopts an innovative perspective by investigating the use of alternative tools for ICD in local government context (websites and social media). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that focuses on investigating the determinants of online ICD in local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper studied organizational culture in two different countries during the COVID-19 lockdown, a stressful social and labor context that obliged entire working populations to telecommute from home. We considered how people have coped with this new scenario, bearing in mind that one of the most relevant aspects of organizational culture and climate is the face-to-face interactions that take place in offices. With telework, that important physical relationship disappears and, since body language has its own grammar, work-related messages logically become open to misunderstanding between leaders and subordinates, as well as among peers. Design/methodology/approach: An anonymous questionnaire (in Spanish and Russian) was distributed through the LinkedIn social media platform. The study intended to capture responses from white-collar professionals with managerial profiles, including those occupying high and medium-level positions, consultants, section directors, and project managers across different industries in both the countries. We collected 142 responses from Spain and 115 from Kazakhstan, with a total of 257 valid responses. Principal component's analysis (PCA), to obtain factorial axis was applied. We then performed a factor analysis of those principal components using Coheris Analytics SPAD 9.1. Findings: The first finding herein points to the fact that the same experience had different consequences in these two different places, which can be traced back to national-cultural values. Spain and Kazakhstan share some common values and, at the same time, are culturally opposite. People fear uncertainty and one of the best ways to avoid this feeling is to provide them with technical and emotional support to manage a situation. During the COVID-19 lockdown, professionals from both countries expected their bosses to be assertive, driven, attentive and encouraging. And it seems they got just that. Secondly, a robust structure is mandatory for feeling secure: workers reported devoting more hours to telecommuting at home and even felt that their jobs were invading their personal lives, but they handled it because they knew to whom they should report. Procedures, rules, and methods were clear enough to avoid uncertainty. They even invented new rituals, patterns and practices that helped to reinforce their sense of belonging to the team. On top of this, in their responses, they noted that leaders acted consistently, even admirably, during lockdown and, for this reason, they gained their subordinates' respect. Research limitations/implications: Responses from female participants more than doubled those from males in this sample. Women are assumed to prefer flexible working conditions so that they can better take care of children and/or elderly or dependent persons, but this could just be a long-standing bias. On the other hand, the incorporation of women into professional life has feminized work environments, translating into more concern for workers' personal circumstances and more awareness of the human relationships therein. Thus, independent of the country studied, gender is another factor to consider for future research. Practical implications: This article proposes further exploratory study of how organizational contexts are affected by unexpected, informal and even radical changes, as well as of organizations' ability to manage said changes by looking to their cultural values. Originality/value: Facing a common enemy— the coronavirus— seems to have made workers more positive and less prone to complaining. Workers have been resolute and have tried their best not only in their individual work, but also with their co-workers and teams. The data suggests that, even when analyzing two diverse countries in terms of their cultural historical, and sociological contexts, companies' reactions impacted their employees somewhat similarly and engendered similar responses. At the same time, the reactions of Spanish and Kazakhstani professionals vary on certain aspects, and, surprisingly, converge in terms of avoiding uncertainty, which suggests a conservative reaction in both countries. This study concludes that structure (clarity of procedures, norms, patterns) and leaders' recognition of their employees' efforts to overcome uncertainty were of utmost importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to visualize the inter-university and international collaboration networks generated by Spanish universities based on the co-authorship of scientific articles. Design/methodology/approach - The approach takes the form of formulation based on a bibliometric analysis of Spanish university production from 2000 to 2004 as contained in Web of Science databases, applying social network visualization techniques. The co-authorship data used were extracted with the total counting method from a database containing 100,710 papers. Findings - Spanish inter-university collaboration patterns appear to be influenced by both geographic proximity and administrative and political affiliation. Inter-regional co-authorship encompasses regional sub-networks whose spatial scope conforms rather closely with Spanish geopolitical divisions. Papers involving international collaboration are written primarily with European Union and North and Latin American researchers. Greater visibility is attained with international co-authorship than with any other type of collaboration studied. Research limitations/implications - Impact was measured in terms of journals rather than each individual paper. The co-authorship data were taken from the Web of Knowledge and were not compared with data from other databases. Practical implications - The data obtained in the paper may provide guidance for public policy makers seeking to enhance and intensify the internationalization of scientific production in Spanish universities. Originality/value - The Spanish university system is in the midst of profound structural change. This is the first paper to describe Spanish university collaboration networks using social network visualization techniques, covering an area not previously addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse how constitutional law and corporate income tax (CIT) law, in the Iberian Peninsula, addresses the tax justice principle of generality. Also, it has as an intention to understand the dimension of tax exemptions predicted in the CIT law of both countries. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses several data sources from Spain and Portugal, between them constitutions laws, CIT laws, general tax laws and some constitutional court cases. Furthermore, it uses the content analysis method to identify the level of exemptions and tax benefits present in the CIT law. Findings: The results show that constitutional laws reserve a section to regulate tax issues, that it can present major or minor development. The Spanish article 31 explains the tax system and the Portuguese articles of 103 and 104 explain not only the tax system but also gives instructions about how must occur income, property and consumption taxation. Both jurisdictions, do not refer expressly to the generality principle, nevertheless, it has an implicit presence in the Supreme law and the same happen in the CIT law. They predict that all legal entities, public and private ones, have to contribute to financing the public expenditure. Furthermore, the respect to generality principle implies that tax income exemptions have to be justified, otherwise it can configure a break of the researched fundamental. In researched cases, the Spanish CIT have present more tax exemptions than Portugal, which can lead to consider a relation between the level of corporate contribution to income tax revenues collection and the tax exemptions predicted in the CIT law. Originality/value: It allows understanding the difference between tax jurisdictions in the tax principles domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyses the strategies designed by Franco´s dictatorship to address the "problem" of children with physical disabilities, focusing on the relevance given to vocational training. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws mainly on official documents, reports from international organisations, and Spanish experts' papers. Findings: Francoism turned labour into one of the key pillars of its national project and included vocational training in the different stages of school life. From the mid-1950s, vocational training also became a key factor for the dictatorship's strategy towards disability. Following the recommendations issued by international agencies, Francoism began to adopt different measures towards the rehabilitation of children with disabilities. One of them was the creation, in 1959, of a special unit for adolescents within the National Institute for the Rehabilitation of Invalids. In addition to medical treatment, this unit provided children with education and vocational training. Originality/value: The value of this paper lies in the fact that the topic it analyses has been little studied. Until now no attention has been given to the special unit for adolescents, despite it being a very interesting example of the medical model of disability and its contradictions. During their stay at the unit children were promised greater autonomy and independence, but their lives also became medicalised and they were forced to collaborate with experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the key antecedents and consequences of bank reputation and whether their relative importance varies across countries.Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 900 bank customers, representative of the national populations in the UK (500) and Spain (400), two of the countries in which the weight of the financial system on the gross domestic product is much bigger than that of other European countries. The research hypotheses were tested by conducting a multi-group analysis with covariance-based structural equation modelling.Findings In contrast with previous studies, it was discovered that the most important cognitive antecedent of banks’ reputation is reliability/financial strength. This study reinforces the prominence of satisfaction as a key emotional aspect of reputation. Differences between the UK and Spain were found in the impact of employer branding and corporate social responsibility. The positive effect of bank reputation on consumer behaviour (loyalty and word of mouth) and the existence of cross-country differences as regards loyalty were also confirmed.Originality/value This is a systematic cross-country analysis of corporate reputation which includes not only cognitive antecedents but also emotional determinants that have been repeatedly ignored. This paper sheds light on whether the antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation vary across countries. The choice of the banking sector provides a unique opportunity to observe the determinants and outcomes of corporate reputation following an unstable time in the banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to identify determinants influencing hotel room design now and in the future to offer hotel owners, hotel investors, architects and other partners involved in hotel planning, a framework regarding hotel room design 2030. Based both on theoretical foundations and empirical findings, guidelines for an innovative future hotel room design are evolved and represented by a triangular model. Design/methodology/approach: A detailed analysis of basic and topic-related hotel management literature as well as of promising best practices of leading international hotel companies is supplemented by the evaluation of 27 expert interviews with hoteliers of varying hotel conceptions in Germany, Austria and Spain. Findings: The paper presents qualitative as well as quantitative results of the applied methodology and leads to the emergence of a triangular model for an innovative future hotel room design approach. Research limitations/implications: Safety and security aspects (both physical and virtual) as well as sustainability as a limiting factor have not been further discussed within the model construction so far. Practical implications: The theoretical findings and the emergent framework may be customized to the determining factors and specific needs of individual hotels, hotel consortia or hotel chains to meet the needs of hotel room design 2030. Originality/value: This research paper offers guidelines beyond design aspects by considering target group priorities, technological innovation and economical aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it aims to analyze the individual influence of different knowledge management practises (KMP) on firm performance. Second, it aims to analyze the mediating role of organizational learning (OL) between each KMP and performance. Design/methodology/approach: A telephone-survey was applied in 2018 to the managers of 400 Spanish firms. The data retrieved was analyzed by using multiple regression analysis. Findings: Knowledge generation (KG) and knowledge flow (KF) promote firm performance, while there is not a direct association between knowledge storage and performance. OL mediates the relationship between KG and performance, as well as between KF and performance. Research limitations/implications: First, this research confirms that not all the KMP have a direct effect on firm performance, thus, future research would need to differentiate between different KMP. Second, this paper is pioneering in providing empirical evidence that OL mediates the KMP – performance relationship. Third, the empirical study was performed in a context non-researched yet by the literature considering KMP individually: Spain. Practical implications: First, besides the results managers should focus their efforts in practises related to KG and application. Second, OL mediating suggests that managers should invest in managerial commitment to promote a shared culture, shared vision, open-mind to new ideas and a lot of dialogue. Originality/value: This is the first study that investigates how KMP contribute to firm performance by incorporating the mediating impact of OL. The results will help organizations to identify the KMP improving the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how activists of the Spanish protest movement 15M conceptualize organizational practices in relation to the movement’s goals.Design/methodology/approach In order to theoretically understand social movement organizations (SMO), the concept of partial organization is placed within the context of the politics of prefiguration. Empirically, the paper is based on field research conducted in Spain in three consecutive years (2014-2016) that included 82 qualitative interviews and participant observation.Findings Activists consider the organizational practices as crucial means to achieve social change. They conceptualize SMO in a meaningful and systematic way as partial organizations, specifically, by aiming at open membership and non-hierarchical structures. As they do this to enact the movement’s goals prefiguratively in their daily organizational practices, the limits and restrictions of the practices of self-organization are widely accepted.Research limitations/implications The research focused on studying the relatively young and often very successful organizations of the Spanish movement. It remains open to what extent the prefigurative practices will survive organizational life cycles.Practical implications By contributing to a deeper understanding of the underlying philosophy of SMO, this paper is useful for social movement activists and scholars.Originality/value This is one of the first papers, which analyzes the organizations of the Spanish protest movement with respect to both empirical and theoretical aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the association between drug consumption and unemployment. This paper also studies the differential association between these variables in both the preand current-crisis periods. The results are compared in an attempt to verify that the population of users is more vulnerable in terms of how likely they are to get and hold down a job in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach - Matching methods and microdata from the Survey on Alcohol and Drugs in Spain, EDADES are used. The use of these methods on the estimates carried out prove to be particularly effective in reducing treatment-selection bias. The authors' interest is also to analyse the differential association between the interest variables in both the pre- and current-crisis periods. For this purpose, the authors also use the differences-in-differences (DID) estimation method between the two periods to check if the impact of drug use on unemployment depends on the economic context. The estimations are compared in an attempt to verify that the population of users is less likely to attain and hold down a job in the labour market than non-drug users. Findings - The results obtained in the current study are consistent with the hypothesis that drug use decreases an individual's capacity and availability when he or she is trying to enter the labour market. In both 2007 and 2013, drug users were more likely to be unemployed, regardless of the type of drug. Differences in the probability of being unemployed intensify during an economic crisis. In light of these results, it is possible to conclude that the negative effect of drug consumption on an individual's employability is increased during periods of economic recession. Research limitations/implications - The study presented here has some limitations. Firstly, crosssectional data were used to examine the causal relationship between consumption and employment. In this sense, the results are susceptible to bias. The unavailability of longitudinal data on the same individual made it impossible for the researchers to consider periods of abstinence, the duration of periods of consumption and how this consumption affected an individual's productivity and his or her working situation. Another limitation is that certain relevant unemployment variables may have been omitted. Among the variables that affect an individual's labour participation is the existence of sources of income as an alternative to market salaries. With state subsidies, income from illegal activities and money sent by family or friends, an individual may decide not to work. This problem could be mitigated if omitted variables operate in a similar way throughout both of the periods examined. Social implications - Given the results obtained in this paper, the authors believe that public policy conclusions should be mainly concerned with the importance of implementing proactive employment policies, along with family support programmes and a greater role for primary care among the people with the highest risks of exclusion. Health treatment should go jointly with measures that make it easier for individuals to enter the workforce. These steps would only be possible with an improved level of education and more complete professional profiles, to increase motivation when individuals seek employment. Originality/value - This study could make various contributions to the existing body of evidence. In the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to document the effect of the economic crisis on the employability of the drug-using population in contrast with the general population. Moreover, a methodology is presented that provides an alternative to those used in earlier studies, in terms of reducing treatment-selection bias. At the same time, the use of a DID estimation method between pre- and current-crisis periods allow us to check if the impact of drugs consumption on unemployment depends on the economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants that affect international capital flows (ICF) toward the Spanish real estate market over the period 1995 first quarter to 2017 fourth quarter. Design/methodology/approach: VECM methodology is used to analyze time series and panel methods using pooled EGLS regression. Findings: VECM parameter results for construction and real estate activities sectors, quickly suggesting a stable performance of capital flows toward Spanish real estate sector that the short-term fluctuation of foreign investment results contributes to the long-term equilibrium relatively soon. By applying the Monetary theory of Johnson, the model identifies a relevant role of M3 explaining capital flows to real estate, together with the lagged variables of construction and real estate activities capital flows, Spanish real interest rate and Spain's economic growth rate; they are the significant determinants on capital movement to Spanish real estate sector. Interestingly, Spanish housing prices as an exogenous variable, directly, significantly and negatively affect real estate capital flows in all cases as a way to capture the assets price bubble. Practical implications: Findings highlight reasons affecting capital flows to real estate and construction activities to Spanish sectors which allow capital Funds to take into account those drivers in their investment decisions. Originality/value: This paper is the first attempt to analyze the determinants of ICF to Spanish real estate market; it has a significant meaning for both Spanish economy and international investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and quality of online intellectual capital (IC) disclosure released via websites and social media in relation to university stakeholders' information needs in Spanish public universities. In addition, this paper examines whether there are differences in the online IC disclosure according to the type of university. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies content analysis and a survey. The content analysis was used to analyse the websites and social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) of all Spanish public universities in the year 2019, whereas the survey was submitted to all members of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities. Findings: The findings indicate that university stakeholders attach great importance to online disclosure of specific information about IC. However, the findings emphasise that Spanish universities' website and social media content are still in their infancy. Specifically, this study found that the quality of disclosed information on IC in public universities' websites is of low level, particularly with regard to the disclosure of relational capital. The study found that the information provided by Spanish public universities via social media mainly concerns the structural and relational capital. Likewise, the results of this paper evidence that the larger and more internationally focused universities reveal more online information on IC. Practical implications: The results of the research may be beneficial for managers of higher education institutions as a basis for developing adequate strategies addressing IC disclosure through the websites. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher-quality information on financial relations, students' satisfaction, quality standard, work-related knowledge/know-how and collaboration between universities and other organisations such as firms, local government and society as a whole. Originality/value: This study explores two innovative tools to provide IC disclosure in the higher education institutions context, namely, websites and social media, whereas previous studies focused on traditional tools as annual report. Likewise, this study considers the quality of this information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of changes in employment regulation in Spain on individual labour market trajectories. It is well known that the Spanish labour market has been strongly hit by the 2007 recession. Furthermore, after 2010 and in the benchmark of “austerity”, several reforms were implemented to further flexibilise employment regulation. At the same time, public sector budgets suffered severe cutbacks, that impacted working conditions and prospects of public sector workers. These reforms were implemented by different governments and substantially changed previous existing patterns of employment. This paper explains how these reforms have reinforced previous existing trends towards greater flexibility and weaker employment protection and how they lead to a shift in the position of work in society.Design/methodology/approach The emerging patterns that these changes provoked are illustrated thorough data from narrative biographies of workers affected by a job loss or a downgrading of working conditions. The workers of the sample had relatively stable positions and careers and were affected by changes that substantially modified their paths.Findings The paper shows how reforms have expanded work and employment insecurities and have broken career paths. It demonstrates how the reforms have weakened the position of work and organised labour in society and how, when institutional supports are jeopardised, the capacity to plan and act is harassed by the traditional social inequalities.Originality/value The paper enhances the knowledge about the impact of institutional changes by analysing their effects in individual working lives by means of narrative biographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that the university context may partially determine the growth of university spin-offs (USOs), with a cross-national analysis and using an “interactionist” approach.Design/methodology/approach Two samples of USOs, from Spain and Italy (531 and 952 firms, respectively), were examined over the 2005-2013 period. Multilevel modelling was applied to empirically test the hypotheses.Findings The results confirmed that the university context is a critical and effective element for explaining USOs’ growth. The university context affected USOs’ growth only for the Spanish firms, while for the Italian spin-offs the evidence does not report a significant determining influence of the university context. This finding may be interpreted as the localization externalities, determined by the Spanish universities, have a more effective impact at firm level compared with those generated by the Italian universities.Research limitations/implications The paper provides evidence that the university context has a significant role in supporting USOs’ growth in Spain, but not in Italy. This finding, together with the fact that the Italian USOs showed lower growth rates over the period of analysis, may suggest that greater involvement by the Italian parent universities is needed to foster USOs’ growth. The main point to be underlined to decision makers is that policies aimed at fostering USOs need the active involvement of the parent university in the whole growth process of the nascent firm, rather than just in the USO creation process.Originality/value A multilevel approach provides both methodological and theoretical contributions to the study of USOs’ growth, which was adopted as an “interactionist” approach is recommended by literature. In addition, a cross-national approach allows for exploration of the actual effect of the university on the growth of USOs, taking into account international differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to shed new light on the multinationality-performance debate by examining the performance of standardizing versus customizing firms from Spain. Design/methodology/approach – The reasons for variations in performance of exporting firms build on the industrial organization and resource-based views of strategy, which are shown to be linked to the integration (standardization) versus responsiveness (customization) framework of international business. The paper also incorporates the Uppsala model and the home region nature of international business activity. It develops hypotheses for both standardizing and customizing paths of international expansion for exporting firms. The paper uses the Survey on Business Strategies which has the support of the Ministry of Industry of Spain. This databank collects data of a representative sample of the Spanish manufacturing sector. The paper uses fixed-effects regression models for the period 2000-2008. Findings – The paper provides evidence on how firms with a strategy of product standardization follow an M curve-fourth degree polynomial relationship between the degree of internationalization (DOI) and performance. In contrast, product customization firms are observed to follow an inverted M curve relationship. Furthermore, by using both models, an appropriate level of internationalization can be suggested. Originality/value – The paper provides theoretical and empirical support for the different relationships of standardizing and customizing firms when expanding abroad. This paper is one of the first to find empirical support for an M curve relationship between the DOI and performance, and certainly is the first one testing and corroborating an inverted M curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to know the views of university stakeholders concerning intellectual capital (IC) reporting; second, to examine the quality of voluntary IC disclosure by public Spanish universities on their websites; and third, to analyze some of the potential factors affecting this kind of disclosure. Design/methodology/approach: The paper applies a content analysis and a survey. The content analysis was used to analyze the websites of 50 public Spanish universities in the year 2016, while the survey was submitted to all members of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities. Also, a regression analysis (ordinary least square model) is conducted to relate the disclosure index to its determinants. Findings: The results of this study show that human capital was the most disclosed category with relational capital being the least frequently disclosed. However, the quality of structural capital disclosures was higher than relational and human capital. Moreover, the results show that size and university's internationality affect IC disclosure in Spanish public universities. Practical implications: This paper stimulates the debate between universities and policy-makers concerning the benefits related to IC reporting as a tool for addressing different stakeholders' needs. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher quality information on financial relations, students' satisfaction, quality standard, work-related knowledge/know-how and collaboration between universities and other organizations such as firms, local government and society as a whole. Originality/value: This research brings new expertise regarding IC disclosure in higher education and to reveal some of the possible determinants to improve this disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the similarities and differences relating to sustainability initiatives between health-care organizations. The aim is to provide a framework of factors and their determinants to enable a profiling of organizational sustainability initiatives. Design/methodology/approach: Based on an inductive approach, judgmental sampling was applied to select relevant health-care organizations. Informants were identified according to their knowledge of their organizations' sustainability initiatives. Findings: Several factors and their determinants for characterizing differences and similarities were found. The results also reveal that organizational sustainability initiatives are either value-driven or business-driven. Research limitations/implications: The reported framework of factors and their determinants serves the purpose of profiling organizational sustainability initiatives. Opportunities for further research are provided. Practical implications: This paper provides managerial guidance for characterizing the differences and similarities with respect to organizational sustainability initiatives in relation to other organizations. Originality/value: This study establishes a framework for characterizing organizational sustainability initiatives. It also contributes to reveal whether organizational sustainability initiatives are value – or business-driven and considers intrinsic-oriented differences and extrinsic-oriented similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to analyse the link between human capital depreciation and the educational level of Spanish salaried workers. Design/methodology/approach – Wage equations are estimated by sector and occupation, following the empirical framework proposed by Neuman and Weiss. Data in this study refer to the Spanish labour market, using two cross-sectional employee-firm matched data. Findings – The estimates provided in this paper suggest that human capital depreciation rates are not homogeneous for the whole sample; in contrast, they vary across educational levels, being greater as the workers' school attainment increases. Research limitations/implications – The main restriction of the paper is the limited availability of quality longitudinal data to estimate human capital depreciation. Practical implications – Knowledge acquired by workers may quickly become obsolete in a context of technological change. Thus, the paper's main findings support the need for ongoing training programs to update workers' skills to changing market requirements. Originality/value – The added value of this paper is two-fold. On the one hand, returns to education and human capital depreciation for the Spanish labour force are estimated using a pseudo-panel created from two cross-sectional data bases. On the other hand, earnings equations are estimated by sector and occupation in order to calculate human capital depreciation rates; this procedure allows the authors to take into account the worker's occupation and their level of education as well as technological differences associated with their job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study how variables such as the region's overall image, the perceived quality of its financial entities, and consumer ethnocentrism affect the intention to choose regional banks. Special attention is paid to the moderating role played by familiarity. Design/methodology/approach: A structural equation model was used with a survey of 427 bank customers. Findings: The results show direct and indirect effects of regional image, perceived quality of regional banks and consumer ethnocentrism on the intention to choose regional banks. The moderating effect of familiarity is not confirmed. Practical implications: The financial crisis experienced in southern European countries has forced them to carry out a restructuring of the banking sector based on mergers that provide greater solvency and stability. In Spain, this has meant small regional banks merging with each other to form larger national banks. This involves a loss of their regional identity and a change in their positioning to date. It is interesting to understand the value to customers of the regional attribute when choosing a bank and the possible consequences of merging with other banks. Originality/value: Globalisation has made origin an attractive attribute that can be used to differentiate products. However, there are still gaps in this field, especially in relation to region-of-origin (ROO) and the influence of certain moderating variables on this effect. This paper sheds some light on the study of the ROO effect in the financial sector, a field that is still relatively unexplored in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to analyse immigrant-native wage differentials in Spain. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper exploits the Earnings Structure Survey 2006, which is the first nationally representative sample of both foreign and Spanish employees. Using the Machado-Mata econometric procedure, wage differentials between locals and foreigners are decomposed into the gap related to characteristics and the one due to different returns on endowments (i.e. discrimination). Findings -- The paper finds that, in absolute terms, the latter component grows across the wage distribution, reflecting the existence of a kind of glass ceiling, consistent with the evidence of over-education found in previous research. Originality/value -- The paper for the first time explores earnings differentials between immigrant and Spanish workers using a nationally representative database. In addition, standard errors are computed in order to determine if the gaps are statistically significant, a task not addressed by previous works. Finally, the work is relevant as Spain has become a host country only a few years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to verify empirically how some Spanish firms present their social information with regard to labor practices, human rights, society, and product responsibility and how by means of this social information the firms reveal their ethical behavior. Design/methodology/approach — The study of the social information reflected in the sustainability report was carried out by the content analysis method. This analysis technique is based on detecting the presence or absence of information, covering a number of different subjects areas. To accomplish the study, certain companies belonging to different sectors of activity were chosen and all the companies belong to the IBEX-35, which comprises the main Spanish companies on the Stock Market. Findings — In light of the results obtained it can be considered that the firms analyzed through the social information they present do manifest and make known their ethical behavior, behavior considered as the good, correct and just actions of firms that seek to improve the quality of life of their workers, as well as their social conditions, in areas that are important for the workers such as employment, health and safety, training and education, non-discrimination, disciplinary practices, freedom of association, society, etc. Research limitations/implications — This work should also be extended to more companies, both nationally and internationally and not just be limited to the largest companies. There is still much to be done to cover the possible gaps in social reporting. Originality/value — This paper examines the social information of companies belonging to different sectors of activity and how by means of this social information the firms reveal their ethical behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose--The aim of this paper is to analyze the behavioral and affective loyalty of retailer customers in order to establish the role played by loyalty programs in the development of these variables. Design/methodology/approach--Research data were taken from a survey carried out on 750 customers from a Spanish supermarket chain. Several ANOVAs are employed to compare the two loyalty dimensions among participants and non participants in loyalty programs. Findings--The results show that participants in loyalty programs are more behavioral and affectively loyal than non participants. Nevertheless, most customers do not change purchase behavior after joining a loyalty program. The strategy is therefore to retain loyal customers and to achieve the reinforcement of affective bonds linking the customer to the retailer. Practical implications--Companies should focus their efforts on developing a reward plan as adapted as possible to concrete needs of each participant in the program to achieve true loyalty. Originality/value--The main contribution of this paper is the completion of an exhaustive analysis of customer loyalty. On the one hand, it is a pioneer in the study of the influence of loyalty programs on affective loyalty and, on the other hand, it confirms results from other researches on behavioral loyalty of program participants. In addition, this is one of the few papers developed in this field using the survey as a source of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While the born global (BG) phenomenon has been well established in the literature, studies on accelerated internationalization of firms in the service sector have been scarce, particularly for the specific case of knowledge-intensive services (KIS). The purpose of this paper is to explore which competitive characteristics differentiate KIS BGs from other KIS firms in the context of a peripheral region. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical focus of this study comprehends primary survey data from 250 Spanish KIS firms (Andalusia) that have been internationalized and analyzed through ordinal and ordinary least squares regressions. The authors address the "born-global effect" on five features of interest, namely, entry mode, technological capabilities, qualification of staff, external resources and quality of services. Findings: Results suggest that KIS BGs in Andalusia perceive exports as a more relevant form of internationalization than its non-BG peers. Also, KIS BGs in Andalusia present higher levels of technological intensity. Differences in terms of staff qualification, access to extramural R&D resources and the quality of services could not be identified. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this research concerns its cross-sectional character, thus hindering the evaluation of developmental trajectories taking place in the cohort under scrutiny. Such an approach would allow a better comprehension of the competitiveness dynamics in internationalized KIS firms. Also, because this assessment is geographically restricted to Andalusia, Spain, the authors recommend caution in establishing direct comparisons and appropriation of results for other regional/national contexts. Practical implications: Recommendations for public policy include establishing the necessary infrastructures to encourage the technological development of KIS companies and provide support – through export promotion agencies, for instance – for early approximation with foreign markets. Taking into account the contributions of KIS firms for the development of a peripheral economy, this involves the need to establish instruments that provide strategic information to internationalize, as well as lines of funding for these companies. Originality/value: Empirical evidence on KIS BGs is needed to fully grasp its differences to other internationalized service firms. The analysis within this specific domain represents an advance in the literature on this subject. Also, the context of peripheral regions – considering their economic differences to core areas – has been understudied. The elaboration and application of the survey have allowed the authors to have access to primary in-depth data and, therefore, to build a better understanding of KIS BGs in Andalusia, Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This study aims to analyze the main factors that might determine the extent to which Spanish organizational management educators use environmental stand-alone subjects to equip students with alternative views of business. To give a more qualitative study, this paper also provides a more detailed curriculum analysis from a double point of view: first, the authors analyze the environmental integration in curricula by means of the presence of environmental embedded subjects. On the other hand, the authors analyze the main environmental topics covered by curriculum of Spanish universities. Design/methodology/approach -- A Web content analysis and non-parametric mean comparison statistics of the curricula of undergraduate degrees at all universities in Spain was conducted. Findings -- One of the main conclusions of this paper is that public universities in Spain are more likely to require an environmental course than private universities. Other factors, such as size, political orientation or chairs/research institutes are not statistically explanatory of environmental education. Another important finding is that environmental training in management courses offered by Spanish universities is still relatively underdeveloped. Comparatively, the authors found that the most common method of teaching environmental issues in Spain is by means of embedded subjects (horizontal integration) in comparison with stand-alone subjects (vertical integration) as a response of the necessity of providing a systemic and holistic approach toward environmental aspects. From this perspective, the main topics covered in curriculum are environmental management, sustainable tourism, environmental economy or environmental impact. Originality/value -- There is a lack of empirical research focuses on analyzing determinant factors to environmental education in management undergraduate curricula of Spanish universities. Indeed, most of previous studies provide a descriptive review of environmental courses in management education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Spanish real estate investment trusts (REITs) emerged as an important and rapidly expanding property investment vehicle, against the backdrop of improving Spain macro-economic fundamentals and commercial property market. This sees Spanish REITs being the 3rd largest REIT market in Europe, offering access to important Iberian and European property assets, with the added benefits of transparency, governance and liquidity. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance, risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification benefits of Spanish REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio over August 2014–February 2018.Design/methodology/approach Using monthly total returns, the risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification potential of Spanish REITs over August 2014–February 2018 are assessed. Asset allocation diagrams are used to assess the role of Spanish REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio.Findings Spanish REITs delivered strong risk-adjusted returns compared to stocks over August 2014–February 2018, but with limited portfolio diversification benefits. Compared to bonds, Spanish REITs offered competitive risk-adjusted returns and excellent diversification benefits. Importantly, this sees Spanish REITs as strongly contributing to the Spanish mixed-asset portfolio across the portfolio risk spectrum.Practical implications The 2012 Spanish REIT regulatory changes have been pivotal in providing a supportive environment for Spanish REITs’ growth. Spanish REITs are now a significant market in a European context. The results highlight the major role of Spanish REITs in a Spanish mixed-asset portfolio. The strong risk-adjusted performance of Spanish REITs compared to stocks sees Spanish REITs contributing to the mixed-asset portfolio across the portfolio risk spectrum. This is particularly important, as an increasing number of investors have utilised Spanish REITs to obtain their property exposure in a liquid format in recent years.Originality/value This paper is the first published empirical research analysis of the risk-adjusted performance of Spanish REITs, and the role of Spanish REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio. This research enables empirically validated, more informed and practical property investment decision-making regarding the strategic role of Spanish REITs in a portfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a model for recognition and measurement of intellectual capital (IC) in Spanish universities. Design/methodology/approach - In this study the authors developed a questionnaire which was sent to members of the social councils of Spanish public universities in order to identify which intangible elements university stakeholders demand most. The study results served as a basis to develop a model of IC measurement for Spanish universities. Findings -The results of the empirical study are used to identify which intangible elements need to be measured and to define a battery of indicators. Practical implications - This paper aims to provide a set of IC indicators to help universities on the path to presenting useful information to their stakeholders, contributing to a greater transparency, accountability and comparability in the higher education sector. Originality/value - Although the scientific and professional literature has provided numerous proposals for measuring and reporting a firm's IC, further research is still needed since there are few empirically supported models for the measurement and reporting of IC in universities. This need is especially relevant when considering empirical supported IC models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aims of this paper are to identify and classify the knowledge resources that shape intellectual capital (IC) within the marketing function, to develop and validate a related scale and to demonstrate the scale's applicability in an empirical context. Design/methodology/approach: A literature-based approach was adopted to identify and classify knowledge assets in the field of marketing. The new scale's content was then tested in a number of companies with different profiles. A subsequent survey of a representative sample of 346 Spanish firms sought to validate the scale and to assess those companies' marketing-related IC. Findings: The literature search provided the basis for a marketing-related IC architecture comprising three main categories, nine subcategories and eighty items whose validity was tested and confirmed. The survey revealed that marketing-specific human capital (HC) is the most developed knowledge resource in Spanish firms, followed by marketing-specific relational capital (RC), while marketing-specific structural capital (SC) is the least developed. Significant differences were also found among companies with different profiles (B2C vs B2B, high-tech vs low-tech and manufacturing vs services). Originality/value: This study makes a valuable contribution to the IC literature as one of the first to deploy the general IC framework in a specific functional area (here: marketing and sales) for more meaningful and in-depth assessment of firm-specific knowledge resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Spain departed from the Southern European tradition of residual long-term care services with the 2006 reform. The paper aims to present the main traits of the reform and its implementation, explores the reasons that may explain why the reform happened and to which extent and why it fell short of expectations. Design/methodology/approach: The article draws on available literature on the reform and on administrative data to present a complex and nuanced view of the reform process and its limits. Findings: The reform was actually a measure to enhance and rationalize a preexisting process of social care services development, rather than the creation of a completely new care system. A rapid increase in female labor market participation since the 1990s and the looming demands of a late baby-boom and the subsequent fertility crash appear to be two key factors that explain both the previous development and its bolstering by the reform. The budgetary constraints of the Great Recession and governance problems, linked to a complex and sometimes dysfunctional multilevel governance arrangement, help to understand why the reform bogged down. Nevertheless, the overall balance is more nuanced, and significantly more services are provided 12 years after the reform. Originality/value: While many assessments of the reform have been negative, putting it into a larger context of social care development, the 2006 Dependency Act has contributed to a significant increase in expenditure and coverage. The impact of budgetary restrictions has been important, but other factors, such as governance arrangements, may explain more of the problems of the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution and characteristics of health education in schools in Spain during the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1975). Design/methodology/approach – The analysis of two kinds of sources has been performed. First, the reports from international organizations on health education in schools published in the 1950s and 1960s. Second, journals, books and official documents published by public health and education organizations in Franco’s Spain. Findings – Health education in schools evolved in three stages under Franco’s dictatorship. In the first stage (1939-1953), Spanish schools maintained an outdated “school health” approach in the teaching programmes. In the second stage (1953-1965), the agreements with the USA in 1953 ended Spanish isolation, and the regime sought to follow the recommendations of international organizations. Efforts were made to “import” the WHO/UNESCO version of health education in schools but it failed to materialize. A programme that sought to enhance citizen participation and to acknowledge their idiosyncrasies was unlikely to prosper in a dictatorship. However, the less threatening food and nutrition education programme, encouraged by the FAO/UNICEF, did succeed. In the last stage (1965-1975), the Spanish education system entered a period of modernization in which the contents and methods of health education in schools were reformed in order to introduce the less conflictive aspects of the international recommendations. Originality/value – The paper highlights the tensions between the aspirations to follow international programmes and the recommendations on health education in schools and the difficulties of implementing such schemes under a dictatorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and companies’ CSR reputation (CSRR).Design/methodology/approach The paper implements two regression models to test how reporting to stakeholders influences the CSRR of 84 companies included in the Spanish “MercoEmpresas Responsables” reputation index.Findings The results demonstrate that greater global reporting intensity to stakeholders does not necessarily mean a better CSRR. Contrarily, the reporting-reputation link depends on the intensity of reporting to specific stakeholders such as investors, regulators and the media. The findings are explained largely by the institutional, political and business characteristics of Spain after the Great Recession of 2007-2008.Research limitations/implications The evidence reported in this paper confirms stakeholder theory as an adequate framework to understand corporate reporting to stakeholders and its relationship with CSRR. The findings suggest that stakeholder salience (i.e. power, legitimacy and urgency) is a key concept for understanding the reporting-reputation link better in future research.Practical implications In the light of the findings, companies willing to use reporting to stakeholders as a tool to improve CSRR should establish regular mechanisms for monitoring stakeholder power, legitimacy and urgency, provide complete information to investors in their CSR reports and minimize the amount of detail provided to regulators and the media in their CSR reports.Originality/value There is still little empirical evidence concerning how the information to stakeholders contained in CSR reports influences the processes by which CSRR is built or destroyed. This paper contributes to the previous literature by describing how the global intensity of reporting to stakeholders and the intensity of reporting to different stakeholder groups relate to CSRR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to identify which variables of training policy have a significant and positive impact on organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach – A targeted literature review was conducted to identify and collate a comprehensive range of human resource management and training conceptualisations/investigations. This was the basis for the approach to contrast hypotheses. The paper used a sample of Spanish companies and the method of analysis was regression. Findings – The results obtained in this paper do suggest that the training policy positively correlates with organisational performance, both using objective result measures (productivity and financial performance) and in the subjective measure of perceived financial performance and in intermediate result measures. Research limitations/implications – The study was confined to the analysis of a single Spanish region, and specifically referred to its hotel industry, which means that the results obtained must be situated within that specific context examined. To this must be added that the data were collected from a single source (CEOs) and, of course, it would have been more appropriate to use data from multiple sources. Originality/value – From an academic point-of-view, the research initiative presented here is placed within the new line of development for research into training and performance that tries to overcome the restrictions faced in other publications, trying to go one step further in the search for more specific connections between human resources and performance. From a practical viewpoint, this research work could help hotel entrepreneurs in two ways: first, by providing evidence that the resources allocated by hotel firms to the training of their staff have a positive impact on their profit levels; and second, by showing which variables should be considered to achieve this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study seeks to analyse the links between strategies, structures and processes in the case of the largest Spanish town halls, using the Miles and Snow's models about organisational strategies, and asking the following questions: "What is the situation of municipal services' outsourcing in the largest Spanish town halls?"; "Do Spanish town halls follow the strategies suggested in Miles and Snow's model?"; and "Is there a relationship between the strategic position adopted by town halls and their stance on outsourcing?". Design/methodology/approach – In order to achieve these aims a questionnaire was administered to the human resource managers in the town halls of the largest Spanish cities. Findings – The paper finds that outsourcing is a complement, which seeks to improve the services delivered, and local institutions do not resort to it due to a lack of internal resources but as a way to complement their own capabilities. Originality/value – The paper has identified three distinct strategic profiles in the town halls interviewed which coincide with the profiles that Miles and Snow call prospective, defensive and reactive strategies. It reveals that town halls which outsource to a greater extent are the ones which identify more with the prospective or reactive strategy, whereas those which outsource less are closer to the defensive strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure the effect that knowing the Catalan language has on individuals' comparative advantage to perform certain jobs in Catalonia (Spain), where Catalan and Spanish coexist. Design/methodology/approach – Using census data for 1991 and 1996, and for individuals born in Spain, the paper first estimates a Probit model for individuals' level of Catalan proficiency in order to correct for the possible endogeneity of Catalan knowledge, as it may be jointly determined with occupational selection or be a reflection of unobserved human capital or innate ability. Then, it estimates a bivariate Probit model for the probability of choosing a given occupation conditional on a given Catalan proficiency level. Findings – The paper finds that advanced proficiency in Catalan reinforces selection into being employed, being an entrepreneur, and into white-collar occupations and communication-intensive jobs. Being able to read and speak Catalan increases selection into white collar occupations by between 11 and 16 percentage points, while writing Catalan increases by 4 to 7 percentage points the probability of engaging in services, and government and educational activities. Practical implications – Because census data are cross-sectional panel effects on language selection cannot be analyzed. Nevertheless, the paper's results suggest that investing in learning the local language, at the firm and the government level, improves job matching and assimilation of workers to multilingual economies. The authors suggest a cost-benefit analysis to assess the effectiveness of language policies for further research. Originality/value – The results contribute to the scarce literature on the economic value of a language, i.e. on how much language knowledge as a form of human capital reinforces individuals' comparative advantage to perform certain tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the production function nexus between higher education practice and the development of innovation-related competencies by university graduates in Spain. The research hypothesis is the presence of statistically significant relationships between the development of innovational competencies and the modes of teaching and learning used in higher education practice. Design/methodology/approach – The relationships are modeled through a set of stochastic frontier and variance component equations with the development of each competency as the dependent variable. The main explanatory variables capture the prevalence of diverse teaching/learning modes and the behavior of graduates during their studies. Controls for individual and study programs are also included. Data comes from the European graduate survey REFLEX and includes about 5,500 records. Findings – Estimates show evidence of significant marginal effects of the teaching and learning modes and the development of specific competencies by graduates. Proactive methods in general, and problem-based learning in particular, appear as the most effective classroom practices to develop the competencies required to innovate in the workplace. Research limitations/implications – To guide the implementation of reforms in higher education, more must be learned about possible trade-offs between the diverse types of resources involved and the outcomes obtained. Resources should be examined in terms of their relative costs and the results interpreted with regard to their value to individuals and society. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to explore quantitatively the influence of higher education practice on the development of the capabilities required to innovate in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the structure of knowledge networks and the geographical patterns of knowledge networking in mature industrial clusters. To such end, it is assumed that proximity is not really what matters in innovation, but rather the embeddedness of firms into localised networks, enhancing collective learning and knowledge diffusion. Design/methodology/approach – The research is contextualized in the footwear industry and applies the microeconomics of innovation (grounded in the resource based view and social capital approach) and industrial clusters/districts as theoretical frameworks. Methodologically, the paper adopts an exploratory perspective and employs a qualitative approach to conduct a cross-case analysis of the Leon-Guanajuato cluster (Mexico) and the Vinalopo cluster (Spain). Findings – Firstly, this paper endorses recent research trends suggesting that knowledge is unevenly and selectively distributed among clustered firms. Secondly, it evidences how internal resources determine a firm's access to valuable repositories of knowledge. Thirdly, key knowledge players are usually involved in extra-clusters networking, indicating that mere reliance on localized knowledge may result in declining trajectories. Research limitations/implications – Because the case study approach and qualitative methodologies are used, readers are advised not to generalize the findings. The research on the subject matter is offered as a means to substantiate or refute the latest research premises, and provide evidence on the selected clusters. Originality/value – This paper shows how knowledge networks differ depending on geographical specific characteristics and the resources of the main players. Managers-owners should be conscious that being close to one another is not enough. It should be combined with both solid internal resources and access to repositories of knowledge outside the cluster. Policy makers should prepare customized public programs based on the particular structure of each cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Consistent with the diffusion of innovation (DOI) model and resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop a research model for measuring enterprise resource planning (ERP) post-adoption and its consequence on small and medium enterprise (SME) performance. Design/methodology/approach – The model links six determinants based on DOI to explain "ERP use" and three on RBV to explain the "ERP value", on which nine hypotheses are postulated. Testing was conducted through structural equation modelling, utilizing data from 558 web-surveyed firms in Portugal and Spain. Findings – Full sample analysis finds that competitive pressure, training, best-practices, compatibility, and efficiency are important antecedents of "ERP use". Together with usage, collaboration and analytics capabilities contribute to "ERP value". Cross-country analysis reveals that complexity is an important inhibitor for "ERP use" in Portuguese firms whereas it is a facilitator for Spanish firms. In addition, while for Portuguese firms, compatibility and efficiency are significant, they are not for Spanish firms. For "ERP value", while use and collaboration are more important for Portuguese firms, analytics is more important for Spanish. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides insight into how SMEs use and value ERP; however, the authors cannot speak empirically on the issue of whether value is sustained, or on maturity stages, or on the impact of different industries. Originality/value – The paper describes the first empirical research study on Iberian SMEs, thus adding a cross-country dimension to the innovation diffusion literature. Unlike the typical focus on ERP adoption found in the literature, this paper focuses on post-adoption stages, linking usage with value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of different dimensions of supply chain integration on performance, while considering both the interconnections between these supply chain integration dimensions and the effect of context. Specifically, the authors investigate the relationship between two enablers (communication infrastructure and cooperative behaviour) and two practices (planning information and joint improvement), and the moderating effect of supply complexity on their relationship with performance. Design/methodology/approach – A survey among 145 Dutch and Spanish manufacturers is used to gather data on the buyer-supplier relationship. Both the sample and two subsamples – for high and low supply complexity – are analysed using SmartPLS. Findings – The paper finds that two dimensions – communication infrastructure and cooperative behaviour – enable the two collaborative practices: joint improvement and planning information. All mentioned supply chain integration dimensions, except joint improvement are related to performance, but specifically if the supply complexity is high. Among these dimensions the effect of cooperative behaviour is relatively high. Originality/value – This paper adds to our understanding of how contingencies influence the supply chain. It is the first paper that investigates the moderating effect of the complexity of the process of delivery (supply complexity) on the effectiveness of supply chain integration practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse the responsible offer of mainstream retailers. By focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) labelled grocery goods, it aims to study whether consumers are able to make an ethical shopping basket, to create an inventory of CSR labels, and to evaluate the quality of the information conveyed through CSR labels. Design/methodology/approach – Structured observation (audit) was used. Using a template to homogenise data collection, information was recorded for 15 products in eight mainstream retailers in two countries (UK and Spain). Data of 874 products were obtained (548 different brands). Findings – Differences are found across product categories, retailers, type of brands and countries. Private brands are taking the lead in the creation of responsible assortments as well as in the quality of the information provided to consumers. Research limitations/implications – Given the exploratory nature of this paper, a research agenda is built suggesting future avenues of work to further understand the configuration and outcomes of the responsible assortment. Originality/value – This paper fills a gap in the literature, since the issue of responsible assortment has received limited attention, despite its importance as a key pillar of the corporate social responsibility strategy of retailers. It examines comprehensively the size and share of CSR-labelled grocery goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to evaluate the importance of the factors reported in the literature as enablers of Continuous Improvement (CI) programmes and to determine the perception of managers of different companies in the Basque Country and Navarre (Spain) regarding the relevance of these factors to their improvement programmes. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 15 elements have been considered to be key issues for the sustainability of CI programmes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 companies in order to assess how the companies value the factors and how the factors are applied and measured. Findings – The findings regarding the application and evaluation of such factors have revealed that companies are focused on the agents associated with the achievement of results. Other factors, such as management commitment or the promotion of team working, are highly scored and applied, but few companies evaluate them or take actions to improve their application. Originality/value – This paper analyzes the application of some factors considered to be enablers or key factors for the sustainability of continuous improvement systems. Furthermore, it examines the mechanisms or indicators which are used by some companies to measure the application of those factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to present the opinions of teaching staff at Spanish universities regarding the relative importance of a number of quality factors, and perceived levels of development of those factors in the context of their work. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes an empirical approach, with the opinions of teaching staff being collected via questionnaires and by telematic means. Findings – Lecturers surveyed are particularly pessimistic in regard to the conditions in which students enter university, and probably do not share the priorities that education policy authorities and university management bodies proclaim in their discourses and policies. Research limitations/implications – This research may be supplemented with the use of more qualitative methods and extended to other geographical and cultural contexts. Practical implications – The opinions of teaching staff comprise useful information for the design of education policies and quality management systems applicable to Spanish universities. Originality/value – No studies have to date been conducted in Spain to identify the opinions of university teaching staff in regard to determinants of quality. Taken as a whole, the paper enables a diagnostic analysis to be made of university education quality conditions in Spain from the viewpoint of teaching staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]