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Climate change is a collective action problem that requires urgent and profound transformations to decarbonize the economy and ensure a safe and just operating space for humanity. Transnational companies, which have a key role in ensuring planetary sustainability, have galvanized net-zero commitments in an attempt to recognize the need and opportunity that a low-carbon future brings. In this regard, carbon accounting arises as a common label motivating research on how corporate climate action, regulation, and governance can drive the transition to a low-carbon society. This thesis explores the role of accounting in translating the global goal of net-zero emissions at the corporate level. This objective is structured across three articles that unfold distinct yet interdependent issues that constitute new approaches to address the pressing issue of climate change. The first article draws on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework to identify and problematize the accounting technologies that participate in decarbonization. For this purpose, the paper reviews the technicalities surrounding the Science-based Target initiative, a voluntary initiative that provides the private sector with science-based guidance to reach net-zero emissions. The findings of this first study suggest that the present conceptualization of temporal and spatial boundaries, methods, and monitoring mechanisms are insufficient to mediate between climate urgency and corporate decision-making. With these insights, the second article investigates how science-based targets connect the global temperature limit with business operations through the specific lenses of evaluative infrastructures and the Institutional Analysis and Development framework. Continuing with the case of the Science-based Target initiative for the empirical setting, data collection relies on semi-structured interviews and archival documentation from ten large multinational companies that participate in the Science-based, El cambio climático es un problema de acción colectiva que requiere transformaciones urgentes y profundas para descarbonizar la economía y garantizar un espacio operativo seguro y justo para la humanidad. Las empresas transnacionales, que desempeñan un papel clave a la hora de garantizar la sostenibilidad planetaria, han impulsado compromisos de descarbonización en un intento de reconocer la necesidad y la oportunidad que trae un futuro con bajas emisiones de carbono. En este sentido, la contabilidad del carbono surge como una respuesta sobre cómo la acción climática, la regulación y la gobernanza corporativas pueden impulsar la transición hacia una sociedad baja en carbono. Esta tesis explora el papel de la contabilidad en la traducción del objetivo global de descarbonización al nivel corporativo. Este objetivo se estructura en tres artículos que desarrollan cuestiones distintas pero interdependientes que constituyen nuevos enfoques para abordar el gran desafío del cambio climático. El primer artículo utiliza el marco de Análisis y Desarrollo Institucional para identificar y problematizar las tecnologías contables que participan en la descarbonización. Para ello, en el documento se revisan los aspectos técnicos que rodean la Science-based Target initiative, una iniciativa voluntaria que proporciona al sector privado guías para alcanzar la descarbonización a través de objetivos de reducción de emisiones basados en ciencia. Los hallazgos de este primer estudio sugieren que la conceptualización actual de los límites temporales y espaciales, métodos de reducción de emisiones y mecanismos de monitoreo son insuficientes para mediar entre la urgencia climática y la toma de decisiones corporativas. Con estos resultados, el segundo artículo investiga cómo los objetivos basados en la ciencia conectan el límite de temperatura global con las actividades empresariales, utilizando una perspectiva basada en infraestructuras de evaluación y en el marco de Análisis y Desarrollo Ins

This article explores the determinants of the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with special attention to the impact of competencies and skills. The research was based on data from a representative sample of SMEs in Spain and used logistic regression econometric analysis. Additionally, the study applied an innovative AI technique, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), to balance the data set. The findings indicate that SMEs whose business owners / managers have university degrees or high levels of professional training, those with information technology (IT) experts among their staff, and those providing IT-related training for employees are all more likely to adopt AI. Furthermore, SMEs equipped with management skills in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and marketing analytics tools, and SMEs engaged in collaboration with universities and research centres, demonstrate a greater propensity to integrate AI into their operations. The implications of these findings are significant for both business management and public policy. From a managerial perspective, the results underscore the importance of investing in training programmes and initiatives aimed at upgrading the skill set of employees and managers to effectively use AI in business operations. On the policy front, the conclusions suggest an active role for public administrations in promoting the adoption of AI among SMEs by designing initiatives focused on improving key digital competencies.

Generative adversarial networks (GANs) have become a recent and rapidly developing research topic in machine learning. Since their inception in 2014, a significant number of variants have been proposed to address various topics across many fields, and they have particularly excelled not only in image and language processing but also in the medical and data science domains. In this paper, we aim to highlight the significance of and advancements that these GAN models can introduce in the field of Business Economics, where they have yet to be fully developed. To this end, a review of the literature of GANs is presented in general together with a more specific review in the field of Business Economics, for which only a few papers can be found. Furthermore, the most relevant papers are analysed in order to provide approaches for the opportunity to research GANs in the field of Business Economics.

269 p., El agotamiento y la degradación de los recursos naturales, consecuencia de su uso insostenible por paite de una población creciente que demanda un mayor consumo y nivel de vida, ha conducido a la asimilación del concepto de desarrollo sostenible como paradigma en el que basar las políticas europeas presentes y futuras (a modo de ejemplo, el Pacto Verde Europeo, la Estrategia Española de Bioeconomía, la Estrategia de Economía Circular 2030 del País Vasco, el Basque Green Deal, etc.). En 2015, la mayoría de los países del mundo adoptaron la Agenda de Desarrollo Sostenible con sus conocidos 17 Objetivos, siendo reflejo de la necesidad imperiosa de generar un cambio profundo y justo en los sistemas de producción y consumo, pasando de un modelo lineal de «producción-consumo-desecho» a otro basado en conceptos de reutilización, recirculación, reciclaje y empleo de recursos naturales renovables. Esta transición cobra aún más urgencia por el hecho de que el cambio climático que padecemos agrava la pérdida de biodiversidad y el deterioro de los recursos naturales, y dificulta el reto asociado a la producción y el consumo sostenible. En este contexto, la bioeconomía circular y, en particular, la bioeconomía forestal circular están llamadas a desempeñar un papel fundamental en el nuevo modelo de producción y consumo sostenible. Uno de los aspectos en los que se fundamenta la bioeconomía forestal circular es el hecho de que en los países desarrollados, en general, la producción forestal no compite por terrenos que se puedan dedicar a la producción de alimentos y, además, genera cantidades notables de biomasa como materia prima en la que se apoyan las cadenas de valor centradas en la generación de productos bio-basados. Dado que la generalización de los principios de la bioeconomía circular es relativamente reciente, se hace preciso abordar el análisis del concepto, sus implicaciones y sus conexiones con otros conceptos relacionados como la economía circular o la economía verde.

Achieving adequate integration and success at school in the post-compulsory stages involving situations where there is a risk of social exclusion is a real identity challenge for adolescents. In this research, we used a convenience sampling and selected two high schools located in Areas in Need of Social Transformation in Seville (southern Spain). We studied the learner identity of all their students in the first and second grade of secondary postcompulsory education (N=70). These students present a trajectory of resilience, as they remained in the education system despite facing many difculties. In this exploratory research, their identity as learners was analysed through an interview applied in a focus group format (N=12), where their supports, strengths and psycho-social obstacles that facilitate/hinder their stay in the education system in the post-compulsory stage were also identifed. Results show that adolescents have a good attitude towards academic training, based on the conviction that, in the future, they will be able to achieve a higher quality of life and a rapid insertion in skilled jobs. The image students have of themselves combines a negative perception of their lack of work habits, the difculty of self-regulation and the little effort made, with a more positive view of their agency in the process, highlighting their intellectual and academic capacity and their efort when they set out to do so. Family, teachers and peers play a role in the resilience and identity construction of the adolescents, through protecting them, developing positive perceptions and expectations, stimulating control and effort and attributing successes and failures to students. Programmes based on the participation of the target group are essential for the design and improvement of psychosocial intervention programmes in these contexts.

Bans on the cosmetic use of pesticides in urban green spaces (UGS) is part of the toolbox to reduce pesticide use. While most technical barriers have been lifted, the acceptability of the global changes induced by pesticide-free UGS management is questioned. Public administrators in charge of UGSs have their own preferences and poorly informed opinions on citizens’ ones. A Discrete Choice Experiment approach was adopted to investigate the discrepancy between the preferences of French citizens and public administrators in charge of technical and budget decisions, in 2017, when the pesticide ban was enforced. Results indicate that the most important differences are in the willingness to improve the working conditions of the maintenance teams, the interest in more natural UGSs and the relevance of communication on the pesticide ban. By challenging some of the opinions of UGS administrators with regard to citizens’ preferences, our results remove some of the barriers to a successful transition toward pesticide-free UGSs.

The digital transformation (DT) of companies implies the emergence of new business models based on the widespread use of digital technologies. Digital transformation is necessary to improve efficiency, productivity, and market access in a context of increasing competition. In the case of the agri-food sector, DT is also required to address the challenges of food safety, food waste, and sustainability. This research aims to build a theoretical framework and a methodology to assess the global level of DT and its dimensions and factors that influence it in a specific type of agri-food company, namely agri-food cooperatives. These prominent social economy entities follow cooperative principles and play a significant role in rural development, especially in the most backward regions. An empirical analysis has been conducted to validate the methodology and meet the objectives. To this end, a Global Index of DT was built, and data was obtained from a survey of agri-food cooperatives in Andalusia, a southern Spanish region with a long-standing tradition of agri-food cooperatives, which also presents a low per- capita income in the European context. Empirical results effectively reveal that the proposed theoretical framework and methodology expediate the assessment of the global level of DT of agri-food cooperatives and the relevance of certain influential critical factors. In this way, relevant information for cooperatives and policy- makers can be collected to facilitate the implementation of DT.

Innovation and adaptation of renewable energy technologies significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and increase energy efficiency. Understanding the convergence patterns in renewable energy innovation will enable policymakers to design policies to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. This paper applies the convergence algorithm proposed by Philips and Sul to assess the convergence in renewable energy innovation for 90 countries covering the period between 1993 and 2018. This paper also examines the determinants/factors driving the convergence clubs of the countries using Probit and Logit regression. The convergence analyses suggest that there is no global convergence in renewable energy innovation. Findings highlight two convergence clubs: i) a club comprising more innovative countries and ii) another club that includes less innovative countries. We find that countries with higher income per capita, CO2 emissions per capita, research and development (R&D) investment, better environmental regulations and stronger institutional settings are more likely to be part of the innovative club. Countries should increase their R&D investment and environmental regulations and improve their institutional quality to increase their likelihood of belonging to a more innovative club. Furthermore, less innovative countries could promote policies to transfer renewable energy technologies from innovative countries

This article analyses the influence of gender stereotypes in entrepreneur-ship by jointly studying the effect of gender-role orientation (GRO) and sex (women vs. men) on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) and actions of individuals. Entrepreneurship is associated with the typical male stereo-type in most societies, leading to a lower rate of women entrepreneurs. Our model builds on social role theory (SRT) to identify how descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotypes exert this influence. It integrates SRT and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to analyse the differential effect of sex and GRO on entrepreneurial motivations, intentions, and new venture creation behaviours. We test our model on a sample of highly educated adults in Spain using a longitudinal research design. Our results indicate that descriptive gender stereotypes influence individuals’ entre-preneurial motivations and intentions depending on their GRO. Androgynous people (women and men alike) exhibit the most favourable perceptions regarding entrepreneurship, and, through them, a higher EI (compared to masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated GRO individuals). In turn, prescriptive gender stereotypes affect individuals’ actual venture creation depending on their biological sex. Men are significantly more likely to act on their EIs and launch their venture than are women.

Numerous studies on the use of laminates manufactured with ultra-thin composite laminates have shown the existence of a significant delay in the appearance of damage, a phenomenon known as the Scale Effect. To study the effect that layer thickness may have on the damage mechanisms that appear at higher values of the load, this work analyses whether the use of ultra-thin laminates exhibits a better behaviour in the instants prior to failure and laminate rupture. For this purpose, different laminates have been manufactured with ultrathin thickness material formed by the same number of laminae oriented at 0 and 90 degrees, but with different stacking sequences, distributing the laminae such that the thicknesses of the resulting layers are different. The laminates have been subjected to uniaxial tension up to values close to the ultimate load in order to observe and compare the different damage morphologies that appear in the 90 and 0 degrees layers, using optical microscopy techniques for the observation of the damage. On the other hand, the loads for which the failure of the selected laminates happens have also been compared. The results obtained from this study show different behaviour of the laminates depending on the thickness of their 0 and 90 degrees layers in the moments prior to failure and at the instant when failure occurs.

This paper focuses on the roots of the responsible behavior, more precisely, about the relationship between social welfare preferences and responsible behavior. This r elationship is complex and interconnected, reflecting the intricate interplay between personal values, societal norms, and ethical considerations.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has become an important topicin the literature on the effects of growth on the environment, albeit surrounded bysome controversy and nuance. Although this hypothesis has been analyzed in the lit-erature in multiple ways and using different variables, there is still a gap in the consid-eration of global value chains (GVCs), which delve into the international division ofproduction. This is particularly important in the intermediate stages of production, asthey include tasks with a greater environmental impact. This research aims to analyzethe environmental effects of economic growth and foreign trade linked to GVCs in asample of 12 countries of East and Southeast Asia, given their strong insertion inGVCs. Based on the EKC, variables such as GDP per capita, environmental impact,and renewable energy consumption are incorporated. As a novelty, the research alsoincludes GVCs participation and position indexes, and different measures of CO2emissions. Our results confirm the existence of a nonlinear relationship between eco-nomic activity and its environmental effects, although with important nuancesdepending on the mode of insertion of each country in GVCs. In this sense, althoughall the selected countries increased their total emissions, substantial disparities areobserved depending on the perspective considered (producer, consumer, andexports). Ultimately, it is concluded that, for an effective reduction of the environ-mental impact in these countries, it is essential to design policy measures, targetingnew technologies, consumption and production patterns, and attracting green foreigndirect investment

The concept of sustainability in economic development emerged in the Brundtland Report in 1987. In 2015, the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development became a major global milestone. Local governments, due to their proximity to citizens, play a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in Spain, the disclosure of sustainability information is voluntary and influenced by socioeconomic and political factors. This study analyses data from 102 municipalities between 2016 and 2021. The results show a growing commitment to the SDGs, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, with larger municipalities, female mayors and left-wing governments showing higher SDG disclosure. This research advances our understanding of local government sustainability eefforts and their determinants.

EE12 includes 6 chapters relating Education, Investment, Production and several indicators of Quality of Life (Quality of Government, Freedom, Air Pollution, Peace, Political Stability and Life Satisfaction: 1) Education, World Development and Quality of Life, 2001-2023. 2) Econometric Models of OECD countries, 2001-2023 on macroeconometrics of supply and demand for the explanation of real Gross Domestic Product, Employment and real Wages, Industrial development, Exports and Imports. 3) Development studies of Latin America, 2001-2023. 4) Development studies of Europe and Eurasia, 2001-2023. 5) Development studies of Africa, 2001-2023. 6) Development studies of Asia and Oceania, 2001-2023

Chapter 1 of book EE12 presents several studies: 1) economic studies of the period 2014-2017 on the impact of Manufacturing on development of 132 countries; 2) economic studies of year 2020 on World Food, Poverty and CO2 Emissions; 3) econometric models of years 2021 to 2023, relating indicators of quality of life and development in 164 countries; 4) other international comparisons of quality of life

Environmental degradation and resource overuse can affect business operations. Sustainable development is therefore a global economic priority. Food companies must develop strategies to ensure food security and seek business models to provide economic, social, and environmental benefits. This paper presents the combinations of water and waste management practices (water efficiency targets, water consumption ratio, water intensity ratio, waste recycling ratio, and waste intensity ratio) that lead to an overvaluation of food companies in the stock market (Tobin's Q > 1). These combinations of practices were identified using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) of a global sample of 61 listed companies from the food production sector. No necessary conditions were found for the outcome of a Tobin's Q >1. In contrast, the sufficiency analysis revealed five sufficient configurations for overvaluation. The presence of significant recycling and waste reuse performance and the absence of a strong intensity of water withdrawal and waste production are key conditions to achieve the presence of the outcome. The findings provide useful insights for managers, who can focus their business strategies on sustainable and efficient water and waste management to support high financial performance. The findings can also help investors in their decision making.

Disruptive innovations caused by FinTech (i.e., technology-assisted customized fnancial services) have brought digital peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to the fore. In this chal lenging environment and based on theories about customer behavior in response to technological innovations, this paper identifes the drivers of consumer adoption of mobile P2P payments and develops a machine learning model to predict the use of this thriving payment option. To do so, we use a unique data set with information from 701 participants (observations) who completed a questionnaire about the adop tion of Bizum, a leading mobile P2P platform worldwide. The respondent profle was the average Spanish citizen within the framework of European culture and lifestyle. We document (in this order of priority) the usefulness of mobile P2P payments, infu ence of peers and other social groups such as friends, family, and colleagues on indi vidual behavior (that is, subjective norms), perceived trust, and enjoyment of the user experience within the digital context and how those attributes better classify (poten tial) users of mobile P2P payments. We also fnd that nonparametric approaches based on machine learning algorithms outperform traditional parametric methods. Finally, our results show that feature selection based on random forest, such as the Boruta procedure, as a preprocessing technique substantially increases prediction perfor mance while reducing noise, redundancy of the resulting model, and computational costs. The main limitation of this research is that it only has a place within the socio cultural and institutional framework of the Spanish population. It is therefore desirable to replicate this study by surveying people from other countries to analyze the efects of the institutional environment on the adoption of mobile P2P payments

Recogida de datos sobre uso de la tierra, aprovechamiento de la misma, número de contratos por sectores y PIB por sectores de actividad en la Comarca del Vega del Guadalquivir.

This study investigates whether the inclusion of war veterans and disabled people in supplier diversity programs grants firms with reputational gains. With preliminary evidence collected in the content analysis of supplier diversity programs and diverse groups considered by S&P500’s top 100 companies, we conducted a duofactorial scenario-based experiment with a multi-stakeholder approach, exploring the reactions of the general public, customers, investors, and potential suppliers to these initiatives. In particular, we analyse whether their views on companies’ benevolence and competence (trust) are affected. We also investigate the potential impacts on these stakeholders’ overall attitude towards firms, as the construct represents a proxy of corporate reputation. The empirical results show that including these groups does not impact the way companies are perceived, suggesting that the communication of supplier diversity programs is not always efficient in creating positive images (e.g., greenwashing, social washing). We discuss these outcomes in the context of stakeholder theory and in the debate contrasting the strategic and moral incentives for adopting supplier diversity programs.

This document performs a systematic review of the literature and bibliometrics on the orientation of digital transformation (DT) in the organizational and management processes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the 2015–2022 period. For this analysis, the bibliometrix and biblioshiny software packages have been used to perform the data extraction and quantitative analysis of the research articles, obtained from the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. 311 articles related to DT in SMEs were identified as the most represen- tative publications of the subject to be analyzed. The results show that there is a clear orientation of DT to modify organizational processes in SMEs so that they are more agile and are thus able to respond to the sudden changes that originate in the markets. The elements that delimit DT in this study are the digital technologies to imple- ment, the strategies to follow and the digital capabilities. Finally, the main limitations, problems and gaps in the research are presented.

Customer feedback on online platforms is an unstructured database of growing importance for organizations, which, together with the rise of Natural Language Processing algorithms, is increasingly present when making decisions. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis is carried out with the intention of understanding the prevailing state of research about the adoption of sentiment analysis methods in organizations when making decisions. It is also a goal to comprehend which business sectors, and areas within the company, they are most applied, and to identify what future challenges that in this area may arise, as well as the main topics, authors, articles, countries, and universities most influential in the scientific literature. To this end, a total of 101 articles have been gathered from the Scopus and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science (WoS) databases, of which 85 were selected for analysis using the Bibliometrix tool. This study highlights the growing popularity of sentiment analysis methods combined with Multicriteria Decision Making and predictive algorithms. Twitter and Amazon are commonly used data sources, with applications across multiple sectors (supply chain, financial, etc.). Sentiment analysis enhances decision-making and promotes customer-centric approaches

Research to date has shown that a company can accumulate slack resources for a variety of reasons. But how do managers use this excess of resources in a general economic crisis? This study aims to ascertain how companies apply these resources when faced with a financial crisis and economic meltdown, in order to provide answers to the underexplored questions regarding the ways in which firms consume their slack resources. Through the analysis of a sample of 449 Spanish industrial companies during the 2006-2017 period, and the application of Latent Growth Modelling, the evolution of the different slack and performance indicators is observed for the identification of disparate behaviour between companies with high and low initial endowments of slack resources. The results also show that each type of slack serves a different purpose and, therefore, their consumption or use shows clear divergences., Las investigaciones realizadas hasta la fecha han demostrado que una empresa puede acumular un exceso de recursos por diversas razones. Pero, ¿cómo utilizan los directivos este exceso de recursos en una crisis económica generalizada? Este estudio pretende averiguar cómo aplican las empresas estos recursos cuando se enfrentan a una crisis financiera y a un colapso económico, con el fin de dar respuesta a las cuestiones poco exploradas sobre las formas en que las empresas consumen sus recursos holgados. Mediante el análisis de una muestra de 449 empresas industriales españolas durante el periodo 2006-2017, y la aplicación de la Modelización Latente del Crecimiento, se observa la evolución de los distintos indicadores de holgura y rendimiento para la identificación de comportamientos dispares entre empresas con altas y bajas dotaciones iniciales de recursos de holgura. Los resultados también muestran que cada tipo de holgura sirve a un propósito diferente y, por tanto, su consumo o utilización muestra claras divergencias.

Digital-analog quantum computing is a computational paradigm which employs an analog Hamiltonian resource together with single-qubit gates to reach universality. Here, we design a new scheme which employs an arbitrary two-body source Hamiltonian, extending the experimental applicability of this computational paradigm to most quantum platforms. We show that the simulation of an arbitrary two-body target Hamiltonian of n qubits requires O(n2) analog blocks with guaranteed positive times, providing a polynomial advantage compared to the previous scheme. Additionally, we propose a classical strategy which combines a Bayesian optimization with a gradient descent method, improving the performance by ∼55% for small systems measured in the Frobenius norm.

Cut-off date: 31.1.2024

Fecha de cierre de datos: 31.1.2024

Fecha de cierre de datos: 31.1.2024

Fecha de cierre de datos: 31.1.2024

Fecha de cierre de datos: 31.1.2024

Cut-off date: 31.1.2024

Cut-off date: 31.1.2024

Fecha de cierre de datos: 31.1.2024