Competitiveness and Sustainability in tourist firms and destinations

Tourism is a major activity in the global economy, not only in terms of its economic impact but also its social and environmental implications. The management practices and processes adopted by tourist companies and destinations are very heterogeneous and have variable impacts on the triple-bottom-line sustainability (people, profit, planet) of the ecosystem. However, there is still only limited available knowledge about the value of different practices for promoting both sustainable development and greater competitiveness. This Special Issue includes papers that present new ideas, theories, advancements, experiences, evidence or methodologies that support the convergence of economic, social and environmental competitiveness, the factors that help ensure their alignment, and the obstacles to complementarity between sustainability, responsibility and competitiveness in the tourism industry

On how to measure managerial and organizational capabilities

This paper specifies how to construct and validate an instrument based on multi-item scales for the cataloguing and measurement of managerial and organizational capabilities on the basis of management perceptions. The construction and reduction of the scales have been reinforced by the Delphi and retesting techniques. The use of this methodology was illustrated in a sample of Spanish industrial firms. The paper enhances the value of the instruments for a resource-based view with regard to the faithful and rigorous measurement of its key concept, distinctive competences. The scales created provide consistent empirical evidence to remove doubts surrounding managerial self-evaluation, including those arising from problems of self-esteem and reinforcement effects. In addition, the paper provides empirical evidence to support the predictive ability of distinctive competences on current and long-term performance variability

New challenges in competitiveness: knowledge development and coopetition

The main aim of this paper is to suggest how collaboration with competitors -coopetition - established for the joint creation of knowledge, could be a new opportunity that managers must evaluate as a strategic option. The literature on strategic alliances and knowledge creation is considered, together with the specific trend of alliances with competitors. Then, the process continues with the discussion of circumstances and characteristics in which coopetition could be a superior option, making it possible to develop new knowledge. Our research shows that in the case of coopetition, the two sides of the behaviour -competitive and cooperative- provide greater incentives to improve knowledge development. As this is a theoretical paper, deeper analysis is required to prove whether the advantages of strategic alliances with competitors over other alternatives are superior forms of organizing the process of knowledge creation in high-technology industries. With regard to practical implications, managers must consider the option of this kind of inter-organizational agreement with competitors as an alternative and an opportunity for integrating knowledge faster than they would in isolation. The originality of this paper lies in showing that the objective of coopetition must be the joint creation of new knowledge by partners, and in differentiating this type of cooperation from another in which the aim is to absorb knowledge from one of the partners. We present this kind of coopetition as a new strategic option that managers must evaluate, and this is the first attempt to discuss and differentiate the two types of alliances in a coopetition environment. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es sugerir cómo la colaboración con competidores, conocida con el término coopetición, establecida para la creación conjunta de conocimiento, puede suponer una nueva oportunidad que los directivos deben evaluar como una opción estratégica. Para el desarrollo del trabajo se tiene en cuenta la literatura relacionada con la creación de conocimiento y con alianzas estratégicas, junto con las especificidades de las alianzas con competidores. El trabajo continúa con la discusión de las circunstancias y características en las que la coopetición puede ser una opción superior, haciendo posible el desarrollo de nuevo conocimiento. Nuestra investigación muestra que en el caso de la cooperación con competidores, las dos características de esta relación ¿ competitiva y cooperativa -, proveen mayores incentivos para mejorar el desarrollo de conocimiento. Al tratarse de un trabajo teórico, en futuras investigaciones se debería realizar un análisis más profundo para contrastar si las ventajas de las alianzas estratégicas con competidores son superiores efectivamente a otras formas de organizar el proceso de creación de conocimiento en industrias de alta tecnología. Con respecto a las implicaciones prácticas, los directivos deberían considerar esta opción de acuerdos inter-empresariales con los competidores como una alternativa y una oportunidad para integrar conocimiento más rápido que el desarrollo de manera aislada por una sola empresa. La originalidad de este trabajo residen en mostrar que el objetivo de la coopetición puede ser la creación conjunta de conocimiento por los socios, y en diferenciar este tipo de cooperación de otros en el que el objetivo es únicamente absorber conocimiento de los socios. Presentamos esta opción de coopetición como una nueva opción estratégica que los directivos deben evaluar, y esto supone el primer intento en diferenciar estos dos tipos de alianzas en un entorno de coopetición.Coopetición, creación de conocimiento, alianzas estratégicas Coopetition, knowledge creation, strategic alliances,

A bibliometric analysis of the literature on non-financial information reporting : review of the research and network visualization

Este artículo presenta un análisis bibliométrico de la literatura sobre informes no financieros (INF). El crecimiento exponencial durante la última década (el 90% de los artículos sobre este tema de investigación fueron publicados en los últimos 10 años) indica la relevancia del mismo. No obstante, se sabe poco sobre la estructura y extensión de la investigación en este campo académico. El propósito de este artículo es brindar un estado del arte actualizado y estructurado sobre el tema. Analizamos los artículos, autores, revistas, países y organizaciones más relevantes. El análisis incluye un total de 3113 artículos, recopilados de la Colección principal de Web of Science (WoS) desde 1970, cuando se publicaron los dos primeros artículos sobre el tema, hasta 2019. Se utiliza el programa VOSviewer para mostrar gráficamente los datos. Identificamos y describimos un total de seis líneas de investigación en la literatura: los determinantes, la esencia, los informes, el informe integrado, el medio ambiente, y las consecuencias. Se analizan estas líneas de investigación y se sugieren ideas para futuras investigaciones. También se comentan las implicaciones de las importantes redes de colaboración encontradas dentro de países árabes, europeos y asiáticos. Este estudio es de gran interés ya que proporciona a los investigadores un mapa de este tema académico, mejorando la comprensión y conexión de los aspectos estudiados. También les permite posicionar sus estudios e identificar nuevas corrientes de investigación. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of articles on the topic of non-financial information (NFI) reporting. The exponential growth over the last decade (90% of the articles were published in the last 10 years) indicates the relevance of the topic, but little is known about the structure and extent of research in this academic field. The purpose of this article is to provide a structured and up-to-date picture of the state of the art on the topic. We analyse the most relevant articles, authors, journals, countries and organizations. The analysis includes 3113 articles, collected from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection from 1970 when the first two articles on the topic were published to 2019. The software VOSviewer was used to graphically display the data. We identified and described a total of six research lines in the literature: determinants, essence, reports, integrated reporting, environment, and consequences of reporting. These research lines are analysed and gaps for future research are identified. We also comment on the implications of the strong collaboration networks found within Arab, European and Asian countries. This study is of great interest because it provides researchers with a map of the field, improving their understanding of the interconnection between aspects within the topic. It also enables researchers to better position their studies and to identify new streams of research

Determinantes de la competitividad basados en el conocimiento : evidencias extraídas de una plataforma de inteligencia aplicada al sector turístico español

Este artículo analiza la situación competitiva de la empresa turística española en cuanto a las capacidades tecnológicas e informacionales de que dispone para impulsar una competitividad basada en el conocimiento. Tras el diagnóstico, se presentan los resultados de una investigación colaborativa orientada a desarrollar una nueva plataforma TIC. Las evidencias empíricas extraídas de cuatro casos piloto de implantación de esta plataforma de inteligencia competitiva avalan con rotundidad el potencial de creación de valor y de mejora de la competitividad esperable de soluciones de esta naturaleza

The Complementary effect of internal learning capacity and absorptive capacity on performance: the mediating role of innovation capacity

Organisations are finding it increasingly more difficult to keep abreast with the pace of change. The continuous rise in the number of business opportunities and the increase in global competition require firms to combine internal and external learning processes to renew and reconfigure existing capabilities and knowledge to enable them to meet environmental demands and to innovate. This study aims to unravel the complex linkage between internal learning capacity and absorptive capacity and at exploring the joint effect of both knowledge generation processes on innovation capacity. This study also proposes innovation capacity as an antecedent of business performance. Using data from 952 industrial Spanish firms and the technique of structural equation modelling, we provide evidence on the joint effect of internal learning capacity and absorptive capacity on innovation capacity. We also show that innovation capacity acts as a catalyst for the effect of learning capacities on business performanc

Business models in Spanish industry : a taxonomy-based efficacy analysis

The present study provides a conceptualization of the business model construct from which a multi-dimensional evaluation tool is developed that provides the basis for drawing up a taxonomy and analysing its comparative efficacy. The empirical data was obtained from a sampling of 159 Spanish business organisations. The cluster analysis revealed the existence of four business models that were designated as"multidivisional","integrated","hybrid" and"network". The results also indicate that the adoption of a certain business model is not enough to attain superior performance, highlighting the need to consider other contingent factors

Family firm heterogeneity and tax aggressiveness: A quasi-experimental analysis of the impact of different family generations

This paper analyses tax aggressiveness in family firm generations. Moreover, taking into account the heterogeneity in family firms, we check whether the successive generations in control show different tax avoidance behaviour. The empirical evidence, based on the quasi-experiment of the 2012 Spanish thin capitalization rule, reveals that there is a positive relationship between tax aggressiveness and successive generations. Moreover, the founder and second generations follow a similar conservative tax avoidance approach, whereas the third and fourth generations are found to be more tax aggressive

Measuring Innovation in tourism fron the schumpeterian and the dynamic-capabilities perspectives

This paper offers a diagnosis of the"state of the issue" regarding the measurement of innovation in the tourism industry at the company level, and some recommendations for overcoming identified problems. The study addresses two central issues: how existing secondary databases of innovative activity define the boundaries of the tourism industry, and the degree to which these databases reflect the particular characteristics of this economic activity. It is concluded that these analyses present serious biases and anomalies hindering the understanding of the situation at the micro level and complicating the issue of international comparability, and the analyses do not capture the internal heterogeneity of innovative behavior of tourism companies from specific, intra-sectoral activities. The problems concern inappropriate indicators and the need for survey methods to complement the development of innovation scoreboards in secondary sources. The study concludes by detailing a set of proposals that should be considered in the context of a scoreboard to provide a comprehensive view of a tourism firm"s technological and organizational innovations, as well as its innovative capabilities, combining Schumpeterian theory and the dynamic-capabilities-based approach, and also making cross-national comparisons feasible

Technological strategic alliances and performance : the mediating effect of knowledge-based competencies

This study provides an empirical evidence of the relationship that exists between participation in technological strategic alliances and business performance by considering the knowledge-based distinctive competencies that the alliance is capable of generating as a mediating variable. The generation of knowledge in technological strategic alliances explains the contradictory results in the literature about the direct effect of strategic alliances on economic performance. The study uses a sample of Spanish industrial firms. The results findings prove that the relationship between technological strategic alliances, and performance is mediated by the generation of knowledge-based distinctive competencies; and that the contribution of the participation in alliances to the growth of the firm"s knowledge stock depends on its creation of innovation competencies. R&D managers should enhance the development of this kind of competencies in order to achieve superior performance