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International audience; Collecting rich qualitative data in business-to-business market context, where respondents are more reluctant towards investing time in academic research, may impose several barriers for researchers. In particular, challenges may emerge in collecting data and establishing its trustworthiness in Central Eastern European (CEE) countries, due to a distinct business context that has developed over several historical instances. The aim of this paper is to investigate and understand the methodological challenges of collecting rich qualitative data on business relationships and networking in CEE countries. The countries in focus are Russia, Croatia and Hungary. In order to achieve our aims, we critically reflect on personal experiences and consult the literature on conducting research in the aforementioned countries. The contribution of the paper lies in context-sensitive implications for methodological specifics and plausible solutions to overcome barriers to conducting qualitative research on business relationships and networks in CEE countries.

Веснік Віцебскага дзяржаўнага ўніверсітэта. - 2018. - № 4. - С. 73-78., Цель статьи – построить методически грамотную модель преподавания делового английского языка как фактора повышения конкурентоспособности белорусского бизнеса на международной арене, для улучшения преподавания делового и бизнес английского студентам экономических специальностей отечественных вузов. = The aim of the paper is to develop methodologically literate model of teaching Business English as a factor of increasing the competitiveness of Belarusian business in the international affairs and to improve Business English teaching strategies at Belarusian universities

We analyze how Hollywood films from 1928 to 2016 represented business within a broad historical and business context. We argue that the films actively contributed to audiences’ sensemaking processes and to how different groups perceived the role of business in society. We advance the idea that films provided cultural blueprints to be used by viewers for their own understanding, identification, and practices in relation to business in its historical context, particularly during periods of uncertainty, crisis, and instability when many films addressed deeper societal concerns about the role of business.

This chapter discusses the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as a framework for action in global textile supply chains. It provides a historical introduction to the UN Guiding Principles and explains their underlying rationale, motivation and fundamental principles. The UN Guiding Principles are then discussed in detail, including mechanisms of application and implementation in a business context. The chapter furthermore highlights National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights and reflects on their potential ability to facilitate the application of the UN Guiding Principles at the national level. Finally, Business Networks and Multi-stakeholder Initiatives are discussed, considering their potential impact on implementing Human Rights in the globalized economy.

Resumo Este estudo visa a identificar como mecanismos de controle externo e interno da governança corporativa, tipicamente considerados no setor empresarial privado, são aplicados ou transformados para o setor público nas empresas estatais. A partir de uma revisão do problema de agência e dos mecanismos propostos para sua mitigação no contexto empresarial, este estudo analisa a situação da governança das empresas estatais no Brasil e em Portugal, com vistas a comparar as soluções adotadas nos dois países e as necessidades de desenvolvimento. Além de compartilhar histórias e fundamentos culturais comuns, esses países são caracterizados como ambientes de pouca segurança aos investidores e fragilidade de instrumentos de solução de litígios, por estruturas de propriedade concentradas e por mercados de capitais ainda insuficientes para pressionar o comportamento das empresas, condições que fragilizam os mecanismos de mercado de controle externo e amplificam a influência das peculiaridades das questões internas de governança das estatais. As análises apontam significativas evoluções recentes nas práticas de governança das estatais, mas identificam desafios que ainda precisam ser direcionados.

Embora a literatura existente apelide o setor de consultoria de gestão como um setor extraordinário e um fenómeno único no contexto empresarial, na verdade, estas afirmações não vêm acompanhadas por um número de estudos académicos que realcem a importância do trabalho efetivo dos consultores de gestão. Para combater a falta de estudos nesta área emergente, este artigo visa construir um modelo que permita combinar, numa mesma estrutura, os papéis dos consultores de gestão, as variáveis a equacionar em cada um destes papéis e o tipo de consultoria implícita em cada uma destas análises. Os resultados da análise empírica sob a forma de entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionários aplicados a consultores de gestão e gestores de PME em Portugal demonstram que os papéis dos consultores não podem ser apenas definidos nas variáveis visibilidade organizacional e estatuto do consultor.

Purpose– This discussion paper focuses on a notion of information and communication technology (ICT) that is good, clean and fair that the authors call Slow Tech. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Slow Tech approach in order to explain how to create a suitable bridge between business ethics and computer ethics.Design/methodology/approach– The paper’s approach is discursive. It provides a viewpoint. Its arguments are based in an examination of literature relevant to both business ethics and computer ethics. Justification is produced for the use of Slow Tech approach. A number of potential future research and application issues still to be investigated are also provided.Findings– Slow Tech can be proposed, and used, as a bridging mechanism between companies’ strategies regarding computer ethics and business ethics. Three case studies illustrate the kind of challenges that companies have to tackle when trying to implement Slow Tech in concrete business context. Further study need to be undertaken to make progress on Slow Tech in applied, corporate settings.Practical implications– ICT companies need to look for innovative, new approaches to producing, selling and recycling their services and products. A Slow Tech approach can provide such insights.Social implications– Today’s challenges to the production and use of good, clean, and fair ICT, both conceptual and concrete, can act as incentives for action: they can further applied research or encourage social activism. Encouraging the study, and the application, of Slow Tech provides a first step in the potential improvement of a society in which information technology is totally embedded.Originality/value– The value of this paper in not only for academics and researchers, but also for practitioners: especially for personnel working in ICT companies and for those involved with designing, developing and applying codes of conduct at both European and globally.

By introducing anthropological ritual theory, particularly the concept of liminality, this article contributes to a process-oriented view on intercultural negotiations and highlights the importance of bicultural or marginal individuals for their success. These individuals are understood as experts of the intercultural transition (ICT), which needs to be made for a successful negotiation process. Focusing on a specific Sino-German context, this study provides an example for how high bicultural identity integration (BII) facilitates the success of intercultural negotiations. The contribution of this study lies in contextualizing large theoretical concepts such as biculturality, cultural otherness, and marginality and in applying ritual theory to intercultural negotiations and the cultural ‘in-between’. It highlights the role and importance of liminal actors with a high BII for their success. These findings suggest that cross-cultural management research and practice should pay particular attention to marginal or bicultural individuals. Culture should be studied at its margins and as a process that evolves in specific intercultural micro-contexts.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test links from hotel general managers’ (GMs’) environmental commitment to hotel companies’ environmental management capabilities and then to hotel companies’ involvement in environmental practices. The secondary goal of this study is to identify the common, critical environmental management capabilities in the lodging business context. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 172 GMs, working for hotels affiliated with two state lodging associations located in the northwest region of the USA, participated in this study. GMs’ responses were gathered via an online survey. The structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Findings – The results show that GMs’ environmental commitment affects their firms’ involvement in environmental practices both directly (GMs’ commitment and firms’ involvement) and indirectly via firms’ environmental management capabilities (GMs’ commitment, firms’ capabilities and firms’ involvement). The five common, critical hotel environmental management capabilities are identified: employee training, communicating environmental initiatives to guests, knowledge and skills to implement environmental practices, capital to invest in environmental management and support from employees. Practical implications – The hotel industry-specific environmental management capabilities enhance hotel practitioners’ understanding of the critical components for the success of hotel environmental programs and assist GMs to effectively prepare and operate their hotels’ environmental initiatives. Originality/value – This study demonstrates the essential role of individual actors, specifically hotel GMs, in firms’ environmental involvement, and advances our understanding of hotel environmental management in hospitality literature.

Attempts have been made to identify the grand challenges (GC) in quite different disciplines including Computer Science. These major problems should be solved within one or two generations and the solution would have great societal and economic impact. GCs are to be distinguished from the improvement of methods where the basic problem has already been solved (“emerging fields”). Among other purposes, a common understanding of GCs within a community helps to focus efforts and resources and to create a climate of competition. With our study we try to gain an impression whether a certain consensus is within reach in Business and Information Systems Engineering (BISE; Wirtschaftsinformatik, WI) in the German speaking area. We used a multi-staged opinion survey among scientists and practitioners of WI and could establish an order of precedence concerning the most important GCs. At the top ranks the item “Control of systemic risks in global networks”, followed by “Humanlike Information Systems in business context”, “Determining the influences on the degree of automation und integration”, “Influence of WI on the solution of semantic data processing problems”, and “Overcoming of communication barriers in inter-company integration”. We discuss drawbacks of the GC concept as well as attempts to improve the method. One main problem is to distinguish the terms “grand challenges” (GC), “emerging fields” (EF), and “new research goals” (NR).

In the business context, there is a broad spectrum of practices that potentially harm others, yet might benefit the organization. We examined the influence of individual and situational differences in predicting (un)ethical behavior in these moral gray zones using an in-basket exercise that included covert moral issues in which managers could give unethical instructions to their followers. Results show that individual differences in moral disengagement directly predicted unethical behavior and functioned as a mediator of the relationship between authenticity and unethical behavior. Furthermore, effects differed in weak compared to strong situations. Study 2, replicated the results from Study 1, developed a direct test of the situational strength hypothesis, and showed that high versus low situation strength moderated the relation of moral disengagement to unethical behavior.

Change force in entrepreneurial strategic posture navigates an organization toward market forces, especially competitive force, through which opportunities for its sustainable growth can be identified. One purpose of this study is thus to investigate the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in cultivating competitive intelligence (CI). The study also seeks to establish the moderating role of organizational social capital (OSC) for the effect of EO on CI. Cross-sectional data from respondents from chemical companies in Vietnam business context were analyzed through hierarchical multiple regression. The study provided evidence on the predictive role of EO for CI. The two components of OSC – trust and goal congruence – were also found to play a moderating role for the EO–CI relationship.

El actual entorno competitivo de mercados involucra la aplicación estratégica del neuromarketing como ayuda al aumento del consumismo y prevalencia de marcas y productos. La estimulación sensorial se usa como técnica valiosa en el contexto empresarial, es decir marketing sensorial. Esta investigación propone realizar una evaluación de las prácticas de marketing auditivo a través de los estímulos sonoros en 52 establecimientos comerciales del Centro Comercial Unicentro, uno de los más destacados en la ciudad de Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia. El tamaño muestral comprende 30 establecimientos dedicados a textiles, 15 a comidas, 2 a diversión, 2 a libros y 3 a tecnología. Se recopiló la información mediante la aplicación de una matriz de captación sensorial auditiva destacando las características sonoras del centro comercial y de los establecimientos, además reacciones de los visitantes por estímulos sonoros y su ubicación. Los resultados evidencian el uso inadecuado de marketing auditivo por parte de un número representativo de establecimientos y la ausencia del mismo en otros, lo que refleja la necesidad de implementar estrategias auditivas eficaces que permitan la atracción de clientes y por lo tanto, la inducción de compra a través de su permanencia en los espacios comerciales. The current market competitive setting involves the strategic application of neuro-marketing as an aid to increase consumerism and prevalence of brands and products. Sensory stimulation is used as a valuable technique within the business context, that is, sensory marketing. This research sought to evaluate auditory marketing practices through sound stimuli in 52 commercial establishments in the Unicentro shopping mall, one of the most outstanding in the city of Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia. The sample size comprised 30 establishments dedicated to textiles, 15 to foods, 2 to entertainment, 2 to books, and 3 to technology. The information was gathered through the application an auditory sensory uptake matrix, highlighting the sound characteristics of the shopping center and the establishments, besides reactions from visitors to sound stimuli and their location. The results evidence inadequate use of auditory marketing by a representative number of establishments and its absence in others, which reflects the need to implement effective auditory strategies that permit attracting clients and, hence, induction of purchases through their permanence in the commercial spaces.

This paper analyses the behaviour of customers in a flower field, where payment is made into an honour box. There is a price indicated for the flowers. However, as no monitoring takes place and the farmer has never enforced formal law, people can decide how much they want to pay. If people were to make a narrow rational choice, they would simply take the unsupervised flowers without paying and the market would collapse. However, payments were and are in general high enough to make considerable profits. The business is flourishing. In the experiment, we left several different messages next to the cashbox to influence payments. Legal threats and moral appeals were studied in similar field settings with mixed results. We hypothesize that legal threats and moral appeals are less important than the context in which people make their decision. Once we indicated that the flower field belonged to a family, turnover and payment rate per customer increased substantially. We also observed a switch to fewer but more expensive flowers. However, no significant results were obtained for other treatments: consulting framing, moral appeal and legal threats. The results show that to understand the market success of a business, we have to investigate the expectations and opinions which people associate with the specific business context.

One of the strategic issues in human resource management (HRM) research is the recognition of HR professionals' roles, yet how effective HR professionals are performing these roles has seldom been studied. This article conducts a two-phase study to explore the role expectations, role effectiveness and discrepancies of HR professionals in the Chinese business context. In the first phase, six roles in three domains were determined using a qualitative method. In the second phase, hypotheses were proposed and tested empirically. The results highlight that the value of role effectiveness is significantly lower than that of role expectation. In terms of perceptive discrepancies between HR and non-HR individuals, significant differences exist on the expectations of the roles in the strategic domain (i.e. facilitator and supporter), and also on the effectiveness of the roles in all three domains, except for that of facilitator in the strategic domain. The results also indicate that the effectiveness of each diffe...

Predicting customer purchase behavior is an interesting and challenging task. In the e-commerce context, meeting this challenge requires confronting many problems not observed in the traditional business context. Recommender system technology has been widely adopted by e-commerce websites. However, a traditional recommendation algorithm cannot perform well the predictive task in this context. This study intends to build a predictive framework for customer purchase behavior in the e-commerce context. This framework, known as CustOmer purchase pREdiction modeL (COREL), may be understood as a two-stage process. First, associations among products are investigated and exploited to predicate customer's motivations, i.e., to build a candidate product collection. Next, customer preferences for product features are learned and subsequently used to identify the candidate products most likely to be purchased. This study investigates three categories of product features and develops methods to detect customer preferences for each of these three categories. When a product purchased by a particular consumer is submitted to COREL, the program can return the top n products most likely to be purchased by that customer in the future. Experiments conducted on a real dataset show that customer preference for particular product features plays a key role in decision-making and that COREL greatly outperforms the baseline methods.

Managers’ ability to build global organizations and synergies is imperative, which in turn necessitates effective and appropriate intercultural communication skills. Literature to date primarily focuses on countries whose financial/corporate interdependence is of utmost importance. Not surprisingly then, the body of literature indicates that existing research addressing ICC within a Greek business context is inexistent. Consequently, this study is a preliminary attempt to start redressing this balance and hence, this proposed research aims to contribute to a poorly existing knowledge base by reporting on an enquiry undertaken to quantitatively determine middle managers’ ICC in Greece by measuring intercultural sensitivity -a determining factor of ICC. Quantitative data was obtained using the ISS from a body of fifty-five Greek middle-level managers. The results indicated that overall these managers have a high level of ICC; however no significant statistical correlations were found between the demographic variables explored and intercultural sensitivity. This paper concludes with some practical implications and recommendations for further research.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how the achievements of the behavioural approach to competences may enhance the study of translation competence. The first section sets out the basic premises of the behavioural approach to studying competences in the workplace from its US origins in the field of work psychology to its present application in human resources management. The second section describes four translation studies which fall within the behavioural approach to studying competences: a competence model proposal for identifying good translators; two surveys carried out with the aim to draw up competence repertoires according to professional profiles of translators and interpreters; and a study of translator competence in a business context. The article concludes with a discussion on the minor impact of behavioural studies in Translation Studies; proposes that behavioural studies should be developed further marking out possible lines of research; underlines the complementary nature of behaviour...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how “Lean” principles from the manufacturing world can be adapted to create a best-in-class recruiting function and demonstrate the causal connection between the “value-added” recruiting activity and positive business results. Design/methodology/approach – This concept paper is based on practitioner experience in leveraging Lean Six Sigma tools in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the talent acquisition process. Findings – Talent acquisition today is an activity fraught with risks – Did we hire the right person, the right skills the right fit? – and has the maximum impact on an organization bottom line. It is more than just posting a requisition and making an offer, but a series of sourcing activities, branding efforts, assessment processes and on-boarding activities and more – all designed to help an organization answer these key questions and find talent relevant to its business context. Appraising some of the evolving best practices in talent acquisition within the larger ambit of talent management issues facing organizations at large underscores the need for a new way of thinking about talent management. Originality/value – Being more innovative in sourcing and recruiting can give organizations a sustainable competitive advantage with visible impact on the bottom line.

The paper addresses the occurrence of improvisation and intuition within dynamic business environments from an emergence theory perspective. As argued, the dynamics of the so-called red queen principle forces competition towards the verge of the manageable, making improvised and intuitive action and decision-making not a shortcoming but a necessity in a successful business context. Particularly, the paper discusses how we may interpret the highly rationalistic acts and outcomes of planning and plans in such chaotic and uncertain contexts. We draw upon a longitudinal study of large industrial project deliveries incorporating more than 25 such deliveries.

Maintaining a long term relationship with customers is a challenge for organizations (Gummesson 2008; Oliver 1999). A key objective for organizations seeking to build customer loyalty may be to create superior customer experience. Scholars have called for varied views on customer experience (e.g., Verhoef et al. 2009). Amongst the relevant studies of interpersonal relationships in the disciplines of marketing and psychology, it is noteworthy that scholars have specifically called for a study of love. The contribution of love remains to be explored in the business context. Compared with love, the concept of trust is well recognized for its significance to a long term business. In most studies of interpersonal relationships across the disciplines of marketing and psychology, trust appears to be the critical factor in engaging customers in a relationship (e.g., Johnson and Grayson 2000; Rempel et al. 1985). The likely interaction between love and trust foreshadowed in prior studies (e.g., Fehr 1993) suggests the need of studying both factors of love and trust simultaneously. Yet, to the authors’ knowledge, the relative contribution of love and trust to loyalty has never been examined in the context of commercial relationships. Therefore, this study aims to examine these two constructs, love and trust, in providing an insigh er loyalty in the business context.

The implementation of eco-design within any existing business requires change. Change is required because eco-design involves the introduction and integration of new design criteria within an existing product development system. To support meaningful change, it is important to understand the current situation, or business context. The first eco-design case study presented in this paper, illustrates a failure to recognize the importance of understanding the business context. Through a retrospective analysis of this case study, a company characterization process (CCP) has been developed. The CCP is presented in this paper, and a further case study is provided to help exemplify its application. The CCP has been developed using an action research methodology to support the development of effective and efficient eco-design projects, through a three-step process that characterizes business features for eco-design activity planning. The tool has been developed for use in any company in the early stages of eco-de...

The purpose of this article is to explore the Knowledge Management Maturity Model (KMMM) in big companies that are pioneers in the implementation of KM practices in Medellin, Colombia. The KMMM integrates the Funcionalist and Interpretivist perspectives on knowledge management and consists of four key areas: Organization and People, Processes, Technology, and Interpretation. Cluster analysis helped establishing the ranges of the five maturity levels: Initial, Awareness, Defined, Managed, and Optimized. The results showed that only two companies overcame the “Defined” level, and the best performance was achieved in the Technology key area. In conclusion, the companies have difficulties at going further the implementation of basic KM initiatives and achieving a higher level of maturity associated with the articulation of KM practices with business processes and a higher degree of appropriation and usage by individuals. This may occur because of the preponderance of the Functionalist approach in the business context and the low level of penetration and integration with the Interpretivist perspective of KM.

Thanks to relatively good economic situation in the past years, Poland has become an attractive place for international investments. Companies with foreign capital also bring expatriates who often start learning Polish language. The profile of these students is significantly different from those who learn the language in academic or school context. Businessmen want to combine every day language learning with work related elements, thus their needs, motivations and problems are different than other language learners. Often, specific profile of those students is not taken into account by their teachers or textbook authors. Due to the nature of teaching / learning process in business context, it is necessary to redefine the relation between teacher and learner and to indicate new roles for both of them. Ze względu na stosunkowo dobrą sytuację ekonomiczną w ostatnich latach, Polska stała się atrakcyjnym miejscem międzynarodowych inwestycji. Zagraniczne firmy razem z kapitałem przywożą do naszego kraju także pracowników, którzy często rozpoczynają w naszym kraju naukę języka polskiego. Profil tych studentów różni się znacznie od profilu innych uczących się, np. szkolnych lub akademickich. Biznesmeni chcą łączyć naukę języka ogólnego z elementami zawodowymi, dlatego mają odmienne motywacje, potrzeby czy problemy niż uczący się języka ogólnego. Często odmienny profil tych osób nie jest uwzględniany ani przez prowadzących kursy języka polskiego jako obcego (jpjo), ani autorów podręczników. Ze względu na specyfikę procesu nauczania/uczenia się języka w kontekście biznesowym konieczne jest zredefiniowanie relacji nauczyciel/uczący się, a także wskazanie nowych ról, w które wchodzą.

This chapter seeks to analyse the responses to the global financial crisis in the related fields of financial and white collar crime through the lens offered by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff’s well-known aphorism of ‘this time is different’ and Ulrich Beck’s classic study of risk. The chapter seeks to explore the rich and diverse perspectives that have been opened in the academic and policy literatures by ideas which underpin Reinhart and Rogoff’s analysis, and in particular to argue for the adoption of a long timeframe historical approach in order to illuminate the central role of risk and the complex societal and regulatory responses to risk in criminal regulatory responses to financial impropriety in the business context.

How can a marine company best combine people, process and technology to optimize its Product Innovation system for advanced, complex products produced at low volumes? This paper discusses the possibility of using the Lean concept to improve the company's product development system. The operational context of the case company is analyzed up against the framework of Morgan and Liker's 13 Lean Product Development (LPD) principles. Our hypothesis is that although the business context of the case company is radically different from Toyota, several principles and practices will still be applicable once ‘contextualized’. A workshop was held with a multidisciplinary product team to assess the practices of the company relative to LPD. The team evaluated current company practices and desired future practices. The results are summarized and discussed herein. It is concluded that the original LPD principles have a varying degree of applicability to the context of the case company.

According to an estimate, in the year 1820, the difference in per capita income between the richest and the poorest country was no more than 3:1. However, with the industrial revolution, some countries experienced a significant shift in their economic growth and the gap in per capita income between the countries started to widen up. This process resulted in increasing global inequality as some countries progressed rapidly, while others remained behind and could not catch-up with the developed world. Nevertheless, with the increase in productivity given the rapid advances in technology, the developing countries have started to catch-up and most of them are growing faster than their developed counterparts. The process of catching up by the individual countries implies a reduction in the gap in productivity and per capita income with the developed world and collectively if all the countries start to catch-up it is referred to as convergence. The phenomenon of convergence has received much attention in the literature on economic development and the potential causes of convergence have intrigued several debates. The neoclassical growth theory provides the theoretical construct to explain this process of convergence and the role of capital, labour and technology is argued to be fundamental. In this regard, the basic premise of this research is that although technology is an important determinant for economic convergence, it cannot be implemented without the entrepreneurs in the economy. The role of entrepreneurial activity is considered to be significant in economic growth, but it has not been explored in the models of economic convergence. Utilising the GEM data on total entrepreneurial activity this PhD thesis addresses this gap and building on the economic development and entrepreneurial literature it explores the role of entrepreneurial activity in economic convergence under varying business contexts. More importantly, it tries to ascertain what type of entrepreneurial activity assists the catching up countries to progress and reduce their gap in productivity and income with the developed world. As the first step in this research, a systematic review of the literature was conducted resulting in a theoretical framework which uncovered the gaps in the existing knowledge. This informed the respective research questions and provided the design for the empirical research that followed. The first empirical paper showed that the impact of entrepreneurial activity in catching up economies, is only significant in the presence of a feedback loop, i.e. as improved entrepreneurial activity from one year feeds into another, helping the catching up countries to grow faster and reduce the gap in productivity and income with the higher incumbent economies. The second empirical paper showed that in the presence of a feedback loop it is only the opportunity entrepreneurial activity that has a significant impact in reducing the GDP gap, while necessity entrepreneurial activity is insignificant. In a world which is characterised by resource constraints, the biggest public policy issue is effective utilisation of resources. To this end, this research has great insights for public policymakers who are interested in formulating policies for impactful entrepreneurship which can expedite the process of economic development. It shows the importance of entrepreneurial activity in economic catch-up, provides insights into entrepreneurial motivation and at the same time emphasise the value of a feedback loop. PhD in Leadership and Management

In this chapter, the author puts forward neo-Socratic dialogue (NSD) as didactic method to communicate fundamental ethical questions about sustainable development in business training and enterprises. Furthermore, she gives an overview on this method and its application to teaching the ethics of sustainable development. In addition to describing the conceptional background to the NSD, the author presents a case study of an NSD conducted with an interdisciplinary group of students at the University of Vienna, Austria. The students' comments on the NSD were very positive. The students greatly appreciated the process of thinking carefully through each statement in detail. In principle, there are two ways of linking NSD to a business context, depending on the participants' corporate working experience. Under the conditions, the NSD can be useful instrument to carry out ethical reflections on the concept of sustainability in business context. The NSD was also presented as method for working on the ethical implications of sustainable development with philosophical laypeople.

It is challenging in Security information and Platforms of Communication by Visible Light (VLC), solutions are made to manage the right Security problems. Several solutions have been developed and evolved constantly to meet complex and ever-changing business needs in the world. In the business context, people who are responsible for a project or an organization undergo professional and emotional stress. This research project has developed a new model which can help decision makers evaluating these alternative methods in relation to articulating different types of Security problems, formulating Security criteria, and simulating expectations of adopting the chosen method for Platforms of Communication by Visible Light (VLC).

Todos os dias, um grande volume de informação é descarregado sobre as organizações sem que exista um plano de gestão deste recurso, prejudicando os processos de trabalho, que exigem do funcionário competência efetiva frente ao uso dessas informações. Assim, essa pesquisa tem por objetivos inter-relacionar a gestão da informação e a competência em informação como processos que possam subsidiar as práticas de trabalho das organizações inseridas no contexto empresarial. O problema de pesquisa se define: como a gestão da informação e a competência em informação podem contribuir para as organizações inseridas no contexto empresarial? Por que a gestão da informação necessita da competência em informação e vice-versa? Para tanto, utilizou-se como metodologia uma pesquisa do tipo bibliográfica e de natureza qualitativa, onde foi realizado um levantamento de materiais relevantes sobre os conceitos em questão. Os resultados demonstraram que se torna relevante unir esses campos da ciência da informação (gestão da informação e competência em informação) e inseri-los no ambiente organizacional, a fim de otimizar os processos diários relacionados às práticas de trabalho e às tomadas de decisões. Essa inter-relação pode ser apontada como um planejamento estratégico para o alcance da vantagem competitiva e êxito no mercado., Every day, a large volume of information is downloaded onto organizations without a management plan for this resource, damaging the work processes, which require the employee to have effective competence against the use of this information. Thus, this research aims to interrelate the information management and information literacy as processes that can subsidize the work practices of the organizations inserted in the business context. The research problem is defined: how can information management and information literacy contribute to organizations within the business context? Why does information management require Information Competence and vice versa? For this, a research of the bibliographic type and qualitative nature was used as methodology, where a survey of relevant materials on the concepts in question was carried out. The results showed that it is relevant to unite these fields of information science (information management and information literacy) and insert them into the organizational environment, in order to optimize the daily processes related to work practices and decision making. This interrelationship can be identified as strategic planning for the achievement of competitive advantage and success in the market., Dossier: Gestión de la información: dilemas y perspectiva, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación

Machine learning enables computers to learn from large amounts of data without specific programming. Besides its commercial application, companies are starting to recognize machine learning importance and possibilities in order to transform their data assets into business value. This study explores integration of machine learning into business core processes, while enabling predictive analytics that can increase business values and provide competitive advantage. It proposes machine learning algorithm based on regression analysis for a business solution in large enterprise company in Macedonia, while predicting real-value outcome from a given array of business inputs. The results show that most of the machine learning predictive values for the desired process output deviated from 0 to 15% of actual employees' decision. Hence, it verifies the appropriateness of the chosen approach, with predictive accuracy that can be meaningful in practice. As a machine learning case study in business context, it contains valuable information that can help companies understand the significance of machine learning for enterprise computing. It also points out some potential pitfalls of machine learning misuse.

Background: Initial analyses of the impact of physical attractiveness in a business context have supported the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention. However, in circumstances characterised by negative emotions, duress and stress, very little is known about how human beings respond at the subconscious level to the attractiveness of frontline service providers. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess whether consumers who complain to a frontline service provider about a service failure respond differently at the subconscious level when the service provider involved in the service encounter is attractive compared with one who is less attractive. Method: Forty respondents were exposed to a video clip of a service failure and service recovery situation. While viewing the hypothetical scenario, two neuro-physiological measurements were used to collect data at the subconscious level, namely galvanic skin response (GSR) and electroencephalography (EEG). Results: The results suggest that, at the subconscious level, customers respond differently to the service recovery efforts depending on the attractiveness of the frontline service provider who attempts to rectify the service failure. Conclusion: The results seem to suggest that the physical attractiveness of a frontline service provider moderates (or softens) the negative emotions that a complaining customer might experience during a service failure and complaint situation – consistent with the ‘what is beautiful is good’ contention.

Big data analytics is the hottest new technology which helps turn hidden insights in big data into business value to support a better decision-making. However, current big data analytics has many challenges to do it since there is a big gap between big data analytics and business. This is mainly because lack of business context around the data, lack of expertise to connect the dots, and implicit business objectives. In this paper, we present IRIS - a big data analytics framework for aligning with business in a goal-oriented approach. It is composed of ontology for a business context model, analytics methods for connecting big data with business, an action process for collaborative work and an assistant tool utilizing Spark. In this framework, problems of the current process and solutions for the future process are hypothesized in an explicit business context model and validated them by using diverse analytics methods implemented on top of Spark libraries. Also, a goal-oriented approach enables to explore and select alternatives among potential problems and solutions. A business process for clearance pricing decision is used to show how big data analytics can be turned into business value by using our framework which align big data to business goals, as well as for an initial understanding of the applicability of IRIS.

São inegáveis as alterações a que a sociedade tem sido sujeita, sobretudo nos últimos anos. Estamos constantemente a ser bombardeados com novas informações veiculadas através das tecnologias digitais. A teoria defendida há instantes começa imediatamente a ser posta em causa devido ao impacto das transformações introduzidas na nossa sociedade por uma nova geração de tecnologia informática social - Web 2.0. Estas mudanças permitem que as pessoas partilhem informação, colaborem em projetos e construam comunidades virtuais sem que, para tal, encontrem qualquer tipo de limite, seja temporal ou espacial. O contexto empresarial não está alheio a estes impactos e alterações. O presente trabalho de projeto pretende demonstrar os resultados da investigação levada a cabo sobre o eLearning em contexto empresarial numa Grande Empresa Nacional (GEN), denominada ao longo deste trabalho de projeto de Inov@r, pois por questões éticas o seu nome não pode ser divulgado. Foram exibidos, para tal, referenciais e fundamentos sobre o tema com base no estudo de caso desenvolvido até à atualidade e que tiveram por base o conceito e o âmbito da Supervisão Pedagógica e do Modelo Pedagógico Virtual da Universidade Aberta que apresenta um modelo de eLearning consolidado com caraterísticas de fácil integração e adaptação ao eLearning tradicional utilizado neste contexto empresarial específico. O principal objetivo deste trabalho de projeto passa por destacar as caraterísticas, a estrutura e a forma de aplicação do eLearning colaborativo e cooperativo passíveis de serem utilizados em contexto empresarial. Acredita-se, portanto, que a partir das propostas apresentadas, estão criadas as condições para que, no contexto empresarial, a formação contínua online seja cada vez mais uma realidade utilizando um modelo de eLearning colaborativo, cooperativo e interativo, capaz de motivar e facilitar a adaptação do indivíduo num mercado de trabalho que se sente mais exigente. Tendo por base a investigação previamente realizada pela equipa de investigadores da Universidade Aberta, pretendeu-se (re)desenhar a estrutura didático-pedagógica do curso de formação contínua “Atendimento ao Cliente” ministrado na empresa de acordo com os pressupostos do Modelo Pedagógico Virtual desta mesma universidade. Os resultados apurados permitiram perceber que é fundamental intervir em toda a estrutura pedagógica vigente de forma a dar mais autonomia ao eFormando, sem descurar a presença do eFormador e do eSupervisor. O grande desafio está em conseguir efetuar as alterações necessárias sem que isso intervenha na missão, nos objetivos e nos valores da empresa garantindo, assim, o sucesso e a competitividade da mesma. Our society has been subjected to changes, especially in recent years, which are undeniable. We are constantly being bombarded with new information guided by modern technologies. Because of the impact of transformations that are introduced in our society by a new generation of socially informed technology, recent theories are on trial. These changes allow people to share information, collaborate in projects and build up virtual communities within which they do not find any type of limits, neither in time nor in space. Business contexts are not immune to these types of impact and changes. With our current project we intend to show the results of the investigation conducted via eLearning within a business context inside a home big company, denominated throughout this work project as Inov@r. References and arguments are based on the case study developed till now on the concept and scope of Pedagogical Supervision and on the Virtual Pedagogical Model of the Open University, which presents a consolidated eLearning model with features that are easy to integrate in and adapt by traditional eLearning features used within this specific business context. This project’s principal aim is to highlight characteristics, structure and applicative form of collaborative and cooperative eLearning that can be used within a business context. Therefore, we believe that conditions have been set, so that within a business context online learning will always be a reality via a model of collaborative, interactive eLearning capable to motivate and facilitate the individual’s adaptation to a global increasingly demanding job market. Based on previously research carried out by the researcher team from the Open University, our intention is to (re)design the didactic-pedagogical structure of the "Customer Service" course, taught by the company, according to the assumptions of the Virtual Pedagogical Model of this same University. The results allowed us to realize that it is fundamental to intervene in all pedagogical structures used by the company in order to give more autonomy to the Student, without neglecting neither the Teacher nor the eSupervisor. The greatest challenge is to be able to make the necessary changes without interfering with the company's mission, objectives and values, thus guaranteeing its success and competitiveness.

The main purpose of this guide is to summarize the basic business etiquettes in Kurdish business context in Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. This guide is regarded as the first comprehensive guide for the Kurdish business protocol, and it will have the significant effect on the contract between the Kurdish business and the multinational companies especially after the region recognized as a leader in natural resources opportunities and entrepreneurial development.

Meetings in a business context are organized for a wide range of purposes and with varying contexts. Minutes of Meeting, are a good tool for capturing the formal discussions, but fail to capture finer details. Recognizing this limitation, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) decided to use an innovative visual note-taking approach to capture a client visit. The objective was to have a single graphic encapsulate the events across all days of the visit, to ensure a good client recall and create a lasting impact.

In this article, we do not seek to engage directly with ongoing discussions regarding the potential merits, and conversely the risks, of seeking to conclude a Business and Human Rights (BHR) treaty at all. Instead, our aim is to promote a greater focus, in the context of the BHR treaty debate, on regulatory effectiveness. That is, we believe that proposals for a BHR treaty should be assessed in terms of their likely efficacy, relative to other available forms of regulatory intervention, in advancing effective enjoyment of human rights in the business context. Whereas many contributions to the BHR treaty debate so far have explicitly or implicitly advocated one or other treaty model they have side-stepped the difficult question of how practically effective these models might be in influencing the conduct of duty bearers.

That was the pivotal question we asked entrepreneurship researchers in a recent workshop about the future of entrepreneurship (research). Interestingly, it seemed to be a difficult question as many participants realized that their attempts to explain context fell short. Some examples were “silicon valley context,” “social context,” “business context,” and also “age and experience of the entrepreneur” or, more to the theme of this book: “context influences how we see the world” and “context is something internal.”

This chapter explores competencies of business owners in Iran and Italy. It presents the findings of an exploratory analysis of the entrepreneurial competencies that qualify and motivate business owners to successfully manage their businesses and overcome the challenges and complexities of leading a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) in the business environment of Iran as a developing country and Italy as a developed nation. The participants were 143 SME owners; 83 from Iran and 60 from Italy. The findings demonstrated differences between entrepreneurial competencies of SME owners in the business context of the two countries. More specifically, SME owners in Iran had higher orientation toward learning and were more independent while their Italian counterparts had higher insight into the market and ability to persuade. The findings are discussed in light of their implications for research and practice in both countries.

Companies have started to publish social and environmental reports, in addition to their financial reports. Disclosing non-financial information takes the form of sustainability reports due to some pressures from the environment. The reasons of why organizations publish sustainability reports and benefits that can be obtained with such disclosures can be explained from institutional theory, legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory perspectives. This chapter aims to broaden the understanding about sustainability reporting. Thus, after a quick introduction with the meaning and scope of sustainability and organizational sustainability, theoretical framework for sustainability reporting practices and related studies from different organizational contexts are examined. Besides, sustainability in the Turkish business context is shortly addressed.

Connecting ideas at the top to user stories at the bottom helps everyone see the big and connected picture of the work.

While the concept of Responsible Innovation is increasingly common among researchers and policy makers, it is still unknown what it means in a business context. This study aims to identify which aspects of Responsible Innovation are conceptually similar and dissimilar from social- and sustainable innovation. Our conceptual analysis is based on literature reviews of responsible-, social-, and sustainable innovation. The insights obtained are used for conceptualising Responsible Innovation in a business context. The main conclusion is that Responsible Innovation differs from social- and sustainable innovation as it: (1) also considers possible detrimental implications of innovation, (2) includes a mechanism for responding to uncertainties associated with innovation and (3) achieves a democratic governance of the innovation. However, achieving the latter will not be realistic in a business context. The results of this study are relevant for researchers, managers and policy makers who are interested in responsible innovation in the business context.

This study investigates the effects of the use of social media in inbound open innovation on capabilities for absorptive capacity of companies. Seven explorative case studies were conducted in an R&D and business context of two large global high-tech companies. The results suggest that if the necessary conditions are met, social media usage increases the transparent, moderational and multi-directional interactions that in turn influence four capabilities for absorptive capacity: connectedness, socialization tactics, cross-functionality and receptivity, a hitherto overlooked capability. Hence, we observe that social media are boundary-spanning tools that can be used to build and increase companies' absorptive capacity.