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The purpose of this research study is to assess the effect of a transformational leadership style and its sub-dimensions on the social entrepreneurial profile of university students at the University of Cuenca (Ecuador). Transformational leadership in times of crisis is increasingly important for developing social and innovative entrepreneurship. The present study is quantitative. A survey is applied to gather data from a representative sample of 856 students. An exploratory factor analysis is performed, followed by a multiple linear regression model. The results show that transformational leadership positively affects the social entrepreneurial profile of university students at the University of Cuenca. In conclusion, the university’s community and administrative body should work conjointly to continuously improve the curriculum and to promote research project initiatives on social entrepreneurship.

Agroecological organizational sustainability has taken on special importance to improve the resilience of agricultural systems and promote fairer and more sustainable food systems. In this context, this article includes a quantitative study of 131 agroecological associations in the province of Azuay, allowing us to analyze the incidence of three key variables in their organizational sustainability: age, number of members and geographic location. A quantitative methodology was adopted to determine the level of incidence of these variables in the environmental, social and economic dimensions of agroecological organizational sustainability. The results show a significant impact of the three variables on the sustainability of the organizations under study. In conclusion, the information obtained is useful for designing and implementing strategies that contribute to the creation of networks and alliances between associations, which could increase their impact and improve the promotion of sustainable agroecological and food practices in the region and the country.

The crises and economic, technological and social developments promote the formation of innovative and creative initiatives, which seek to reduce exclusions and social inequalities in the territories. Among these initiatives, cooperatives, the popular and solidarity economy and social entrepreneurship are identified, alternatives that share principles, practices and objectives aimed at the common good. In this context, this research aims to analyze the application of cooperative principles and the entrepreneurial intention of the people associated with the Jardín Azuayo Savings and Credit Cooperative. The data processing was carried out through the application of descriptive-explanatory-correlational quantitative techniques, based on the data obtained in the survey applied to a representative sample of 267 people. The results showed a «very high» level of perception of the application of cooperative principles, with the exception of the principle «economic participation among members». Regarding entrepreneurial intention, most of the associates have a «very high» level, observing that female members have a greater entrepreneurial intention than men. Finally, a positive and significant relationship is shown between the cooperative principles and the entrepreneurial intention of the members of the COAC Jardín Azuayo from Cuenca Canton, with the exception of the principle «economic participation among the members». In conclusion, cooperativism and social entrepreneurship, due to their collective and cooperative nature, drive development by promoting a social and solidarity economy, which has local roots, but has a global impact

entrepreneurship today has become a priority to promote the sustainability of countries. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Ecuador is the country with the highest level of entrepreneurship in Latin America. Specifically, social entrepreneurship has gained momentum as an alternative to satisfy needs that have not been addressed at the governmental level. In this context, the article analyzes the relationship and the significant differences between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the social entrepreneurial intention of the students of the University of Cuenca; using the variables gender and faculties as transversal treatment. To meet this objective we worked with a representative sample of 856 students, which was filtered, generating a robust sample of 543 students. The analysis of results used inferential statiscal techniques such as: ANOVA one way, Student´s t test and Pearson correlation, which show that there are no significant differences by sex in the students´ perception of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the social enterpreneurial intention. In addition, students consider that the entrepreneurial ecosystem differs among the twelve faculties, identifying the faculty of Dentistry and faculty of Arts with a suitable ecosystem compared to the perception that more intervention is required in the ecosystem of the faculty of Philosophy and faculty of Jurisprudence. Finally, the positive relationship between the two variables is an indicator that should be worked on in strategies to promote the social entrepreneurial culture at the university.

This research studies microcredit as an enhancer of local development by analyzing its impact on the living conditions of the members of the Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Riobamba Ltda. The analysis is based on a survey applied to a sample of 548 people, who were selected according to area of residence, urban versus rural, and gender. The purpose of the survey was to determine how respondents perceive the impact of microcredit on their living conditions. A quantitative descriptiveexplanatory and correlational descriptive-explanatory technique was used to process the information collected. The results showed that most of the urban members believe that microcredit allowed them to improve their personal, family, microenterprise and community living conditions, while most of the rural members perceive better impact at the microenterprise level. In addition, it is evident that there is a proportion of members for whom the microcredit has meant a deterioration in their personal, family, microenterprise and community living conditions, with this perception being greater in urban areas. The differences in the mean scores of the perception of the impact of microcredit at the personal, family, microenterprise and community levels by zones are statistically significant. In conclusion, microcredit as a financial alternative is an ideal instrument to improve the living conditions of the members and their families of COAC Riobamba, which translates into better living conditions at the community level

Uno de los principales desafíos de la construcción de la sostenibilidad organizacional implica el conocer, aceptar y transformar las vulnerabilidades a las que son susceptibles las organizaciones, generando capacidades para que se mantengan y adapten en el tiempo mediante la interacción de condiciones ambientales, económicas y sociales que sostengan y den sentido a la vida.Motivo por el que presente trabajo investigativo centra su objetivo en analizar la sostenibilidad de organizaciones agroecológicas que apoyan al fomento de la Economía Popular y Solidaria en la provincia del Azuay-Ecuador. En base a elementos teóricos, metodológicos y empíricos se propone los modelos para medir las variables de constructo sostenibilidad organizacional agroecológica y componentes organizacionales, teniendo como herramienta de aporte para el levantamiento de información al cuestionario Multifactorial de Sostenibilidad Organizacional Agroecológica (MSOA) aplicado a una muestra de representantes de organizaciones que se perciben como agroecológicas. Mediante el procesamiento de datos de carácter descriptivo se explicó la situación del tejido social agroecológico, en seguida se conformaron las escalas de medida fiables y válidas de las variables de constructo para describir la sostenibilidad organizacional del sector, con las sub-dimensiones de la variable independiente componentes organizacionales se identificaron los factores organizacionales críticos y de fortalecimiento que explican la variable dependiente sostenibilidad organizacional agroecológica y, finalmente se presenta el modelo explicativo para estimar su sostenibilidad..., One of the main challenges in organizational sustainability are knowing, accepting and transforming vulnerabilities that organizations face. The purpose is to build up organizational capacities to increase their resilience and adaptability through time, at the same time that environmental, economic and social conditions, fundamental for life sustain, are enhanced.This dissertation examines organizational sustainability in agroecological organizations linked to the so called Popular and Solidary Economy in the province of Azuay, in Ecuador. Based on a theoretical and empirical research, we propose a model to measure “construct variables” like agroecological organizational sustainability and organizational components. The tool created to do this was the Multifactorial Questionnaire on Organizational Sustainability in Agroecology (MSOA), which was applied to a meaningful sample of representatives of self-perceived agroecological organizations. By means of processing descriptive data we explained the current conditions of the agroecological social fabric; then, scales of the “construct variables” were created in order to describe the organizational sustainability of the sector; additionally, with the subdimensions of the independent variable, we identified critical organizational factors as well as strength ones that explain the dependent variable (agroecological organizational sustainability); finally, we show our explicative model to measure sustainability...

is aims at analyzing the role of the subjective norm and the university ecosystem, and its influence on the entrepreneurial intention of students in different careers of the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at the University of Cuenca. is research work is part of the international project entitled "Potential for Social entrepreneurship in Latin America" of the universities that are part of the Accreditation Council for Business schools and Programs (ACBSP). e methodology employed in this study is quantitative and the analysis techniques include: a survey, a bibliographic review as well as multiple regression, statistical mediation, and descriptive statistics. e results indicate that an adequate university ecosystem motivates and reinforces the intention to carry out social entrepreneurships. In addition, the family, friends, and teachers approval is vital for the university student to undertake a social project.

Several studies in Latin America show that the participation of women in management positions is still scarce despite the existence of a legal framework that guarantees their participation in equal opportunities. In the province of Azuay in Ecuador exists is limited information about this topic, specifically in associative agricultural production organizations. For this reason, the present article aims to analyze the influence and explanatory capacity of the sociodemographic variable sex in the socio labor occupation of people employed in agricultural organizations. The research was carried out from a quantitative approach and the Multifactorial Agroecological Sustainability Organizational Questionnaire (MSOA), applied to its representatives, was used. The results showed that men work in positions of presidency and administration, while women do it in treasury, secretarial and accounting positions; confirming the proposed hypothesis.