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El crecimiento imparable de nuevas tecnologías ha modificado sustancialmente la vida cotidiana, social y laboral de las nuevas y no tan nuevas generaciones. Actualmente desde el punto de vista del mundo digital conviven seis generaciones atendiendo a criterios de cómo se relacionan con las actuales tecnologías, cómo comunican, trabajan, compran, usan estas tecnologías y el factor edad incluyendo desde los llamados “veteranos o la generación silenciosa” hasta “lo millennial” y “generaciones z y alfa” los llamados nativos digitales. De allí la emergencia de establecer un marco conceptual de competencias digitales en el mundo laboral incluyente y diversificado por necesidades propias de cada agrupación social, labores ejercidas, amén de otros factores. El factor edad ha creado una brecha digital generacional distinguiendo entre llamados “veteranos o la generación silenciosa” hasta “lo millennial” y “generaciones z y alfa” los llamados nativos digitales. Pero la otra brecha digital aún más acentuada que la generacional se establece entre las poblaciones más vulnerables. No en vano en los últimos años la emergencia de establecer un marco conceptual de competencias digitales en el mundo laboral con connotaciones incluyentes y diversificados es responder a las necesidades propias de cada agrupación social y labores ejercidas, amén de otros factores. El enfoque de la descripción de las competencias digitales desarrollado en el trabajo se basa en una revisión de la literatura e investigación pertinente para definir los instrumentos de marco conceptual y aplicado que sean capaces también de medir y conjugar las competencias con las habilidades que deben de poseer las personas tales cómo se relacionan con ciertos tipos de participación y cómo éstas podrían impactar sobre aspectos específicos del trabajo además de la vida cotidiana, especialmente en los colectivos vulnerables.

The characteristics of the EU and Italian food market, dominated by evolving regulations, rise of new emerging countries, globalisation, advances in ICT and technology sector, increase of retailers’ bargaining power, and changes in consumer patterns, affect especially SMEs, which are forced to develop successful strategies in order to survive on the market. Thus, it is useful to understand the potential sources of competitive advantage for SMEs. Following the theoretical model of Resource-based View, we analysed the effect of SME capabilities on performance, by identifying the significant ones playing a leading role to reach a competitive advantage. In particular, four capabilities have been selected, according to literature: innovation, marketing, network, and acquiring information. The analysis is carried out in 67 food SMEs located in Lombardy, a Northern Italian region, by applying a Structural Equation Model. The results revealed that marketing, network and innovation capabilities positively affect the performance. In particular, process innovation should be exploited in SMEs to act incremental innovations. Moreover, adopting appropriate pricing policies and operating a right consumer targeting help SMEs in perform well, also if they spend time in acquiring information about the market and the other agents of the supply chain. Strong vertical relationships, besides facilitating the information flow, allow SMEs to control each stage of the chain and to monitor the quality level of products., Proceedings in Food System Dynamics, Proceedings in System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks 2012

[EN] This paper examines relationships among competitive advantages and managerial results of the food-processing industry (IAA) in Aragon (Spain). Astructural equations model has been proposed based of an extensive literature review including both theoretical and empirical contributions. A sample of 194 food-processing industries and 19 indicators was selected to infer the competitive managerial advantages. Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique has been used to test the structural relationships. Innovation activities, introduction of new products and relationships with suppliers are the most important activities, among others, confirming four of the seven proposed hypotheses., [ES] Este trabajo investiga la relación entre las ventajas competitivas y resultados empresariales en el marco de la industria agroalimentaria (IAA) en Aragón (España). Se propone un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales cuyas relaciones se construyen teniendo en cuenta la literatura existente sobre el tema tanto en su vertiente teórica como empírica. Sobre una muestra de 194 empresas agroalimentarias aragonesas y un total de 19 indicadores, seleccionados para inferir las ventajas competitivas empresariales, se ha utilizado la técnica de Partial Least Squares (PLS) para contrastar las relaciones estructurales. La importancia de las actividades de innovación, introducción de nuevos productos y relaciones con los proveedores sobresalen sobre otros tipos de actividades y confirman cuatro de las siete hipótesis enunciadas.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar y describir los perfiles profesionales del formador de formación continua en España. Con este propósito se ha elaborado un cuestionario estructurado que se ha aplicado de forma presencial a una muestra de 606 formadores a nivel nacional. El cuestionario ha proporcionado información sobre aspectos como el estatus socio-laboral del formador, el grado de profesionalización y la importancia de las competencias profesionales de los formadores. La información recabada ha sido analizada mediante métodos multivariantes para determinar los perfiles profesionales dominantes. El análisis cuantitativo incluye el Análisis de Componentes Principales Categóricos (CATPCA) para analizar las competencias y capacidades del formador y el análisis Cluster en Dos Fases para obtener los perfiles. De los resultados obtenidos se han deducido cuatro perfiles profesionales dominantes siendo las variables ocupacionales, experiencia profesional y de las capacidades las que mayor discrepancia provocan entre los cuatro perfiles hallados.

In the context of progressive rise of the competition among firms, due to the increasing globalisation, it is interesting to understand the potential sources of competitive advantage in order to set up a successful strategy. The theory of Resource-based View used in this framework examines the connection among internal resources and strategic choices, and how the latter affect firm performance. The firm strategy is determined by available resources and capabilities which are deployed to obtain a good performance. Therefore, strategic choices act in between resources and performance. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the relationship between strategic choices and performance achieved by food SMEs, based on a set of distinctive resources. This approach is assessed in food SMEs located in Italy, by applying a Structural Equation Model. The results of the empirical analysis showed that, in the food sector, strategic choices based on innovation, product positioning, and chain relationship development have positive effects on performance, but only if distinctive resources and capabilities are considered. Innovation plays a capital role because of its direct as well as indirect effects.

The lifelong learning is a crucial element in the modernization of European education and training systems. The most important actors in the development process of the lifelong learning are the trainers, whose professional characteristics need new competences and skills in the current labour market. The main objective of this paper is to establish an importance ranking of the new competences, capabilities and skills that the lifelong learning Spanish trainers must possess nowadays. A wide study of secondary sources has allowed the design of a questionnaire that organizes the trainer-s skills and competences. The e-Delphi method is used for realizing a creative, individual and anonymous evaluation by experts on the importance ranking that presents the criteria, sub-criteria and indicators of the e-Delphi questionnaire. Twenty Spanish experts in the lifelong learning have participated in two rounds of the e- DELPHI method. In the first round, the analysis of the experts- evaluation has allowed to establish the ranking of the most importance criteria, sub-criteria and indicators and to eliminate the least valued. The minimum level necessary to reach the consensus among experts has been achieved in the second round.

Este trabajo investiga la relación entre las ventajas competitivas y resultados empresariales en el marco de la industria agroalimentaria (IAA) en Aragón (España). Se propone un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales cuyas relaciones se construyen teniendo en cuenta la literatura existente sobre el tema tanto en su vertiente teórica como empírica. Sobre una muestra de 194 empresas agroalimentarias aragonesas y un total de 19 indicadores, seleccionados para inferir las ventajas competitivas empresariales, se ha utilizado la técnica de Partial Least Squares (PLS) para contrastar las relaciones estructurales. La importancia de las actividades de innovación, introducción de nuevos productos y relaciones con los proveedores sobresalen sobre otros tipos de actividades y confirman cuatro de las siete hipótesis enunciadas.

The objective of this work is to analyse the relative importance of three groups of competitive advantage factors on firms’ results of the Spanish agro-food industry. Competitive advantage factors correspond to three aspects: agro-food firms internal sources called, in this study, Potential Resources (RP); agro-food firms relationships with other firms, which are called Specific Firms Relationships (RE); and, the market and industry characteristics plus the industrial localisation, which are included in the so called Market Structure and Industry Location (EMI). Seven hypotheses have been formulated to asses direct and indirect relationships between RP, RE, EMI and economic Results (R) specifying causality directions between explicative indicators for each competitive factor. The seven hypotheses have been combined in a hypothetical model with structural equations defining firms’ competitiveness. A sample of 294 firms has been used and 17 variables related to competitive advantages have been selected. Indicators related to Potential Resources refer to technological levels, development of new products as well as promotion and advertising activities. Agro-food firms’ relationships are taken into account introducing variables accounting for relationships with suppliers, distributors and other firms. The Market Structure and Industry are taken into account considering the concentration degree of the food distribution firms, entry of new firms into the market and product prices, among others. Results have been measured with indicators measuring investment over sales, added value and export intensity. Results indicate that Potential Resources and the Specific Firms Relationships explain better the variability of the Results with a strong relationship between those two groups of variables. Altogether this analysis supports 4 out of the 7 proposed hypotheses. The most important variables influencing results are product and process innovations as well as relationships with suppliers.