Critical factors for innovative work behaviour in Latin American firms: test of an exploratory model

The aim of this study is to examine how transformational and transactional leaders, boost the employees? innovative work behaviour, directly or through work engagement, organizational climate for innovation and absorptive capacity in Latin American firms. A non-random sample of 1429 employees was used who had been working at least one year in the current company. The sample, composed of workers from different industries, was collected in postgraduate programs of business schools from seven Latin American countries. A multi-group structural equation model was built with the involved variables, which adopted two different conditions: i.e., unconstrained and constrained questionnaire measurement weights. According to the results, leadership by itself is insufficient to promote employees innovative work behaviour. Transformational and transactional leadership exert effect on this behaviour only through absorptive capacity and work engagement respectively. Likewise, absorptive capacity and employee work engagement show direct effects on innovative work behaviour. Additionally, organizational climate for innovation shows a significant moderating effect on the all relationships included in the model. Despite the cultural differences, the two-condition model yielded the same effect in each country, which indicates the validity of a general model of innovative work behaviour for the whole region supporting the common identity of this region. As a conclusion, leadership practices are needed to encourage innovative work behaviour within the Latin American organizational context, however some individual (engagement) and organizational (absorptive capacity) conditions are also needed to ensure this effect. Implications for human resources management are discussed

A Comparison of Depression and Anxiety among University Students in Nine Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The mental health of young adults, particularly students, is at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this studywas to examine differences inmental health between university students in nine countries during the pandemic. The study encompassed 2349 university students (69% female) from Colombia, the Czech Republic (Czechia), Germany, Israel, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Participants underwent the following tests: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Exposure to COVID-19 (EC-19), Perceived Impact of Coronavirus (PIC) on students’ well-being, PhysicalActivity (PA), andGeneral Self-ReportedHealth (GSRH). The one-wayANOVAshowed significant differences between countries. The highest depression and anxiety risk occurred in Turkey, the lowest depression in the Czech Republic and the lowest anxiety in Germany. The 2 independence test showed that EC-19, PIC, and GSRHwere associatedwith anxiety and depression inmost of the countries, whereas PA was associated in less than half of the countries. Logistic regression showed distinct risk factors for each country. Gender and EC-19 were the most frequent predictors of depression and anxiety across the countries. The role of gender and PA for depression and anxiety is not universal and depends on cross-cultural differences. Students’mental health should be addressed froma cross-cultural perspective

Internacionalización y prácticas en emprendimiento

El video presenta una mirada internacional de la experiencia de Yonni Angel Cuero Acosta, profesor de la Leipzig University (Alemania) en torno a la generación de negocios y la puesta en marcha de proyectos de emprendimiento

Challenge-based learning: Universidad del Rosario builds business solutions with NAOS Colombia

El aprendizaje basado en retos se ha aplicado como estrategia pedagógica en la Escuela de Administración de la Universidad del Rosario. En esta experiencia en particular se tomó la decisión de implementar dicha forma de aprendizaje a nivel de pregrado y posgrado, simultáneamente, lo que permitió brindar un análisis mucho más completo a las necesidades de la empresa NAOS de Colombia. En este sentido, junto con la empresa facilitadora de la experiencia, y en cabeza de su gerente general Stephane Vachaud, se diseñó un plan de trabajo en el que el gerente, los estudiantes y los profesores discutieron los problemas que la empresa estaba enfrentando. A finales del segundo semestre del año 2019, los estudiantes brindaron sus contribuciones a NAOS de Colombia en temas relacionados con el marketing y con la internacionalización de la compañía en el contexto del mercado de la dermocosmética en Colombia. Esta experiencia permitió centrar todo el proceso de enseñanza en el estudiante y hacer de la estrategia de Aprendizaje Basado en Retos (abr), una estrategia exitosa de generación de nuevo conocimiento y una experiencia enriquecedora para los estudiantes.Challenge-based learning has been applied as a pedagogical strategy at the Universidad del Rosario School of Management. In this particular experience, the decision was made to implement this form of learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels simultaneously, which allowed providing a much more complete analysis of the needs of the NAOS company in Colombia. In this sense, together with the company facilitating the experience, and headed by its general manager Stephane Vachaud, a work plan was designed in which the manager, students and teachers discussed the problems that the company was facing. At the end of the second semester of 2019, the students made their contributions to NAOS of Colombia in topics related to marketing and the internationalization of the company in the context of the dermo-cosmetic market in Colombia. This experience allowed to focus the entire teaching process on the student and make the Challenge Based Learning strategy (Apr) a successful strategy for generating new knowledge and an enriching experience for students

Challenge-based learning: Universidad del Rosario builds business solutions with NAOS Colombia

El aprendizaje basado en retos se ha aplicado como estrategia pedagógica en la Escuela de Administración de la Universidad del Rosario. En esta experiencia en particular se tomó la decisión de implementar dicha forma de aprendizaje a nivel de pregrado y posgrado, simultáneamente, lo que permitió brindar un análisis mucho más completo a las necesidades de la empresa NAOS de Colombia. En este sentido, junto con la empresa facilitadora de la experiencia, y en cabeza de su gerente general Stephane Vachaud, se diseñó un plan de trabajo en el que el gerente, los estudiantes y los profesores discutieron los problemas que la empresa estaba enfrentando. A finales del segundo semestre del año 2019, los estudiantes brindaron sus contribuciones a NAOS de Colombia en temas relacionados con el marketing y con la internacionalización de la compañía en el contexto del mercado de la dermocosmética en Colombia. Esta experiencia permitió centrar todo el proceso de enseñanza en el estudiante y hacer de la estrategia de Aprendizaje Basado en Retos (abr), una estrategia exitosa de generación de nuevo conocimiento y una experiencia enriquecedora para los estudiantes.Challenge-based learning has been applied as a pedagogical strategy at the Universidad del Rosario School of Management. In this particular experience, the decision was made to implement this form of learning at the undergraduate and graduate levels simultaneously, which allowed providing a much more complete analysis of the needs of the NAOS company in Colombia. In this sense, together with the company facilitating the experience, and headed by its general manager Stephane Vachaud, a work plan was designed in which the manager, students and teachers discussed the problems that the company was facing. At the end of the second semester of 2019, the students made their contributions to NAOS of Colombia in topics related to marketing and the internationalization of the company in the context of the dermo-cosmetic market in Colombia. This experience allowed to focus the entire teaching process on the student and make the Challenge Based Learning strategy (Apr) a successful strategy for generating new knowledge and an enriching experience for students

Liderazgo y comportamiento laboral innovador de los empleados: prueba de un modelo de mediación y moderación

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between Transformational (TFL)/ Transactional (TSL) leadership and employees’ Innovative Work Behavior (IWB), through a mediation and moderation model. The proposed model postulates that Organizational Climate for Innovation (OCI) and Organizational Absorptive Capacity (OAC) exert a mediating role whereas Employees´ Work Engagement (EWE) has a moderating effect in such relationship. A total of 267 Colombian workers from different kind of companies completed a reliable battery of questionnaires. The sample was collected through the MBA programs from two recognized universities located in Bogotá, Colombia. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the proposed model. According to the results, there is a direct and positive relationship between TFL and IWB as was expected. However, contrary to what had been hypothesized, TSL demonstrated to exert the same positive linkage. OCI and OAC showed its mediator effect in the relationship between TFL/TSL and IWB, nevertheless, this effect was less strong than when the relationship between theses variables was direct. On the contrary, EWE does not exert a moderator effect in this relationship as it was posited, but shows a significant and direct relationship with IWB. This research allows assert that leadership influences IWB, either directly or mediated by organizational variables. These results contribute to extent the literature in a scarcely studied field, by testing an empirical model

Encontrar un equilibrio entre la búsqueda de beneficios y el equilibrio entre la vida personal y laboral: el desafío de los emprendedores dentro de sus pymes

uthors aim to develop a framework about how this new ventures that are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can achieve an effective balance between the profits and the personal life of the firms’ personnel. Around the world, there is a massive loss of jobs due to the industrial and technological revolution. This revolution contents the common understanding of the entrepreneurship phenomenon, what creates an urgent matter to generate the optimal foundations to be a better entrepreneur that enables not only to make profit and maximizing the shareholders’ wealth (as economic theory instructs managers), but also to take into consideration the human being and the resources available in the planet. To find this balance is not easy; nevertheless, it is fundamental to search for developing suitable innovative models that promote this balance. In this context, the main research question of this chapter is: Which elements can be taken into consideration to propose a conceptual framework and methodology for SMEs with the objective to assess the balance between profit and personal life? According to the proposed model, the balance between the worker's personal life and the firm's profits can be achieved through tangible and intangible resources, the latter being the main source of sustainability for SMEs

Clima organizacional para la innovación: un estudio en Vietnam

This paper is devoted to studying the organizational climate for innovation (OCI) within the context of Vietnam. In this regard, we started by reviewing the organizational capabilities which can have a greater influence in the OCI within the firm. As result of this review, we establish absorptive capacity (AC) as a primer capability in terms of enhancing innovation within companies. In this work, we test the relationship between OCI and AC. By doing so, we applied a survey to managers within Vietnamese companies. Our sample is composed of 48 Vietnamese employees (83% with manager position). The data analysis used the regression analysis as a technique to test the significance of the relationships between AC and OCI dimensions. The main finding in this research is that in order to foster innovation the most important factor is the support that companies can generate for the innovation. It means that the availability of resources or the supply of financing advantages are not as fundamental factors as the climate of the company to foster innovation. This study contributes to the extant AC literature by empirically testing the AC relationship with organizational climate

Analizar el papel de las condiciones marco que influyen en el proceso de identificación de oportunidades empresariales internacionales

Objective:The objective of this paper is to determine and analyse the framework conditions that influence the entrepreneurial opportunity identification and action in the international market context. Research Design & Methods: Scholars from the International Business and International Entrepreneurship (IE) research fields agree that the process of internationalisation is triggered by opportunity identification. The extant literature is reviewed by assessing the framework conditions that domestic and international markets offer for entrepreneurial actions. An analytical juxtaposition of the influential factors is conducted in the light of various stages of the opportunity identification process by examining ? at each stage ? possible effects of domestic and international market context. Findings:This paper brings into the IE discussion a conceptual matrix of various elements and factors ? external conditions – which influence the creation of nexus by entrepreneurs to the markets. Implications & Recommendations:The conceptual matrix offers new insights for theoretical development and arguments for designing empirical research in terms of external conditions. It is expected to provoke more theoretical and practical questions from scholars within the IE field. Contribution & Value Added:The originality of this work lies in proposing a comprehensive framework to understand how context interacts with the entrepreneurial opportunity identification process

Analizar el papel de las condiciones marco que influyen en el proceso de identificación de oportunidades empresariales internacionales

Objective:The objective of this paper is to determine and analyse the framework conditions that influence the entrepreneurial opportunity identification and action in the international market context. Research Design & Methods: Scholars from the International Business and International Entrepreneurship (IE) research fields agree that the process of internationalisation is triggered by opportunity identification. The extant literature is reviewed by assessing the framework conditions that domestic and international markets offer for entrepreneurial actions. An analytical juxtaposition of the influential factors is conducted in the light of various stages of the opportunity identification process by examining ? at each stage ? possible effects of domestic and international market context. Findings:This paper brings into the IE discussion a conceptual matrix of various elements and factors ? external conditions – which influence the creation of nexus by entrepreneurs to the markets. Implications & Recommendations:The conceptual matrix offers new insights for theoretical development and arguments for designing empirical research in terms of external conditions. It is expected to provoke more theoretical and practical questions from scholars within the IE field. Contribution & Value Added:The originality of this work lies in proposing a comprehensive framework to understand how context interacts with the entrepreneurial opportunity identification process