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Face-to-face education continues to present benefits in terms of student motivation, even though in COVID-19 scenario, online education has been the model of choice. In addition to the traditional face-to-face style, the intensive face-to-face style remains, which allows greater flexibility for the student. The objective of this study was to compare both educational styles and build an organizational model to improve student satisfaction. Two-way general linear model (GLM) with educational styles and satisfaction as fixed factors and discriminant analysis was applied. The selection of the most discriminant variables was made applying the F of Snedecor, Wilks'-Lambda, and the 1-Tolerance. A discriminant model was built. The four variables with the highest discriminant power were problem-solving communication with students' representatives and shared knowledge and goals with lectures in the intensive style and frequent communication with administrative officers in the traditional style. In addition, it was found that greater face-to-face attendance did not imply greater coordination and that intensive style students show greater satisfaction. The appropriate duration of face-to-face education can contribute to the design of an innovative hybrid system in the future.

The knowledge of local culture is essential to establish competitive strategies in higher education. The objective of this research was to identify the organizational differences among three universities with different international contexts and satisfaction level. An approach was made regarding Relational Coordination (RC) attributes: accurate, frequent and problem-solving communication, shared knowledge, mutual respect and shared goals, by discriminant analysis method. A random sample of 300 students, 100 belonging to each university, was surveyed on the 23 RC variables in 2017-2018. First, the RC variables were evaluated by general linear model (GLM). The three universities--Arcada University of Applied Science (ARCADA) in Finland, University of Cordoba (UCO) in Spain and Agricultural Polytechnic of Manabi "MFL" (ESPAM) in Ecuador--and the two levels of student satisfaction--Low and High--were used as fixed factors. Second, a discriminant model was built with RC variables. A higher level of RC practices concerning to accurate, frequent and problem-solving communication achieved higher levels of satisfaction, regardless of the universities' socioeconomic context. RC differentiation among three universities showed that shared goals with lecturers and administrative officers and problem-solving communication among classmates were the variables with the highest discriminant power. Two clusters were obtained, where UCO was the most differentiated university. In conclusion, organizational practices made a difference among the three universities. Discriminant analysis can be adapted and extended to different universities to improve quality.

Digitalization is a transformative phenomenon catalyzing innovative paradigms and operational methodologies within the realm of business, with a pronounced impact on nascent enterprises, notably startups. The aim of this paper is to ascertain the influence of digitalization and the effects of the different sociodemographic variables, both internal and environmental, as key driving elements in the probability of a company's success and as indicators of business persistence and growth. Taking a representative sample of entrepreneurs from the Community of Madrid, Spain, a statistical structural equation model (SEM) is built. The results show the importance that the degree of adaptation of the startup to digitization acquires in persistence, the effort to generate inter-entrepreneurship within the company, the preparation of the promoting team, their work skills, good practices, and the influence of environmental variables. This study contributes to dispelling the great uncertainty that afflicts entrepreneurs and making them understand the importance of innovation, training, and continuous updating, expansion, and renewal of knowledge and especially the value of learning about applications of new technologies, the transformation of processes within a business model, and the correct adaptation to an environment that is constantly changing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: This study seeks to examine distinct effects of career and psychosocial mentoring on employee turnover intentions in a moderated mediation model. Specifically, the purpose is to examine the mediating role of attitude toward leaving in the relationship between career mentoring and turnover intentions, and the moderating/buffering effect of psychosocial mentoring on the abovementioned mediating process. Design/methodology/approach: Hypotheses have been tested deductively by using cross-sectional data from 352 bank employees. Analyses have been performed by applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings: The findings suggest that attitude toward leaving mediates the career mentoring-turnover intentions relationship, and psychosocial mentoring moderates this mediating effect. Research limitations/implications: This study integrates theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Eight Forces Framework of voluntary turnover, and extends organizational literature by unfolding how psychosocial mentoring buffers the mediating effect of attitude toward leaving on career mentoring-turnover intentions relationship. Study limitations are about cross-sectional nature of data and external validity of results. Practical Implications: This study's contribution to practice is that organizations providing career mentoring to their employees should consider also the provision of psychosocial mentoring to avoid employee turnover intentions. Originality/value: This study adds value to organizational literature by examining a previously untested buffering effect of psychosocial mentoring on the mediating process between career mentoring and turnover intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the relational coordination model has been applied to prove learners' and instructors' high levels of satisfaction in e-learning. According to the model, organizations can obtain better results in terms of satisfaction by providing shared knowledge, shared goals and mutual respect mechanisms, supported by a frequent, timely and problem-solving communication. Online courses learners and instructors from Spanish universities and private companies have been surveyed on these particular issues. By using structural equation model analysis, it is shown that high standards in terms of relational coordination amongst learners and instructors explain higher degrees of satisfaction. This research contributes to the literature by validating from an empirical point of view the effects of the use of the relational coordination model in e-learning. The results should be considered by universities and private companies when they evaluate the results of their actual e-learning systems and search for the improvement of quality.

Purpose: Recent reports on Industry 4.0 reveal that a large part of Spanish companies have not yet made enough progress in the digitalization of processes and one of the most relevant challenges they face is training their employees to build a new culture that allows them to develop high-performance behaviors and take advantage of the potential of new technologies. This research seeks to identify the skills that could contribute to improving certain professional behaviors of employees who work mainly in the field of industrial engineering and that are considered necessary for the advancement of digitalization and Industry 4.0 processes. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, a Delphi study was carried out, collecting the opinions of 38 teaching and professional experts, through face-to-face meetings or by videoconference, and analysing their opinions using descriptive statistics and structural equation models. Findings: The results obtained show that the key skills for improving professional behaviours are teamwork, conduct, management, and problem-solving, which influence most of the behaviours analysed. Originality/value: In practice, these results allow companies to be guided in terms of employee training in relation to digitalization skills and assist their selection processes. Additionally, educational institutions can review their study plans, increasing the relevance of the skills that companies value the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual-purpose bovine production system (DP) is the most widespread small-scale model in Latin American tropics, where it constitutes a key tool in terms of food security. Most DPs are subsistence farms oriented to self-consumption, with a very low technology adoption rate. Hence, the main challenge is how to improve the technological level without compromising the system sustainability by applying land-sharing practices. Thus, through networks methodology, this paper analysed how farmers adopt reproductive technologies. The sample consisted of 383 very small farms of dual-purpose cattle. Seven reproduction technologies oriented to improve reproductive efficiency were evaluated: Breeding soundness evaluation in bulls, semen fertility evaluation, evaluation of female body condition, oestrus detection, pregnancy diagnosis, seasonal or continuous mating, and breeding policy. Social Network Analysis (SNA) allowed identifying adoption patterns, as the joint adoption of semen fertility evaluation, estrus detection, and pregnancy diagnosis, which were consider complementary technologies. Similarly, breeding soundness evaluation in bulls was found to be the most widely adopted technology. The results showed that these farmers presented a very low level of reproduction technology adoption rate and suggested that farmer’s affiliation with organizations such as the Livestock Groups for Technological Validation and Transfer (GGAVATT), and its network position had a significant impact on the level of technological adoption. In the first stage of adoption, this work highlighted the importance of centralized models from the GGAVATT to the farmers, related to the knowledge and absorption dynamic capabilities. In a later stage, decentralized models through technological leaders are a priority, related to integration and innovation dynamic capabilities.

Background: The sharing of practices that enable the flow and the distribution of tacit knowledge and other ways of proprietary knowledge are essential requisites for promoting an innovation system. Objectives: In this paper a diagnosis of the Spanish Science and Technology System is offered by using the normalized protocol for responsible partnering proposed by EIRMA. Methods/Approach: The triple helix model has been used to identify the agents that take part in the system. The grounded theory has also been applied to analyse interactions and interviews with seven key agents in the system. Results: The lack of common objectives among the main partners in the system is the most important weakness; the New Acts developed in the last three years is a strength that allows the different agents of the system to share objectives. The economic crisis is a threat for the performance of research within the university context and becomes at the same time an opportunity to establish closer relationships. Conclusions: Universities, firms and governments must synchronise their work to accomplish a common objective: produce high levels of innovation that aim to enhance the competitiveness of the system.