El capital social como enfoque teórico en Dirección Estratégica

[EN] The objective of this research paper is to investigate, from a theoretical point of view, the strategic relevance of social capital. In recent years, academic literature in this field has witnessed remarkable growth, recognizing social capital as a key element for companies, due to its contribution to the creation of competitive advantages. However, it might be said that its development is still emerging, given the number of discrepancies among researchers regarding its definition, measurement, and its positive or negative impact on other variables. For this reason, a set of empirical studies that show the social capital effect on diverse types of organizational results have been reviewed, taking as a reference the definition and dimensions proposed by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998). Additionally, different theoretical links between social capital and four related Strategic Management approaches are presented, such as the Intellectual Capital-Based View, the Knowledge-Based View, the Resource-Based View and the Dynamic Resource-Based View. A main conclusion drawn from this review is that social capital, being a knowledge-based resource, enables access to both internal and external resources and thus a firm’s competitive advantage and, consequently, its value creation can be generated from the combination of both areas. Going in depth and clarifying this strategic linkage are thus a challenge to address in future studies.[ES] El principal objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar la relevancia estratégica del capital social organizacional desde un punto de vista teórico. En los últimos años, la literatura académica relacionada con este concepto ha experimentado un notable crecimiento, reconociendo que el capital social es un elemento fundamental para que las empresas generen ventajas competitivas. Sin embargo, se podría afirmar que su desarrollo es todavía incipiente al existir multitud de discrepaciancias entre los investigadores acerca de su conceptuación, la medición de sus dimensiones o los efectos positivos o negativos que podría tener sobre otras variables. Por este motivo, tomando como referencia la definición y dimensiones propuestas por Nahapiet y Ghoshal (1998), se ha realizado una revisión de las investigaciones que, de manera empírica, han estudiado las relaciones entre el capital social y distintos tipos de resultados organizacionales. Igualmente, se exponen diferentes nexos teóricos encontrados entre el capital social y los principales enfoques en Dirección Estratégica como son Enfoque Basado en el Capital Intelectual, el Enfoque Basado en el Conocimiento, el Enfoque Basado en los Recursos y el Enfoque Basado en las Capacidades dinámicas. Se concluye que el capital social, como recurso basado en el conocimiento, podría permitir el acceso a otros recursos internos o externos, y que la creación de valor y la generación de ventajas competitivas de una empresa puede provenir de la combinación de ambos ámbitos. Así, futuros estudios deben encaminarse hacia la profundización y clarificación de este nexo estratégico

Integracija društveno odgovornog poslovanja u strategiju tehnološki intenzivnih poduzeća: poslovni slučaj

This paper presents a new perspective which calls for an integration of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the company strategy as a source of competitive advantages. The research question we pose is how a company can successfully carry out this integration of CSR into its strategic management, for which a model that includes three stages – introduction, implementation and generalization of CSR – is presented. Based on an exploratory case study within a Spanish technology-intensive firm (Indra), we show the way this company has developed and implemented an explicit plan for the integration of ethical values and CSR initiatives into its corporate and business strategies. Although this company has established its own methodology in order to develop and implement CSR plans, it fits in essence to our three-stage model of CSR integration. In general, our analyses show a beneficial impact of the development and implementation of CSR plan for this technology-intensive company. In particular, it seems that the CSR plan enables companies to improve its’ internal and external (competitive) context through a better exploration and exploitation of knowledge, its stable relationships with stakeholders and the development and improvement of intangible resources such as reputation or social capital. It is also shown that there are important factors to consider in order this process can successfully carried out, such as organizational culture, human resource practices or knowledge management systems. Future research will need to engage in largerscale confirmatory as well as longitudinal studies of the impact of CSR implementation for company performance.U radu je predstavljena nova perspektiva koja integraciju etičkog i društveno odgovornog poslovanja u strategiju poduzeća smatra izvorom konkurentskih prednosti. Postavljeno je istraživačko pitanje koje nastoji utvrditi na koji način poduzeće može uspješno provesti integraciju društveno-odgovornog poslovanja u strateški menadžment i u tu svrhu predstavljen je model koji uključuje tri faze: uvod, implementaciju i generalizaciju društveno-odgovornog poslovanja. Na temelju eksplorativne analize slučaja procesa strateškog oblikovanja unutar tehnološko intenzivnog poduzeća u Španjolskoj (Indra), prikazan je eksplicitan plan integracije etičkih vrijednosti i inicijativa društveno odgovornog poslovanja u njegovu korporativnu i pripadajuće poslovne strategije. Iako je ovo poduzeće uspostavilo svoju metodologiju za provođenje i razvoj planova društveno odgovornog poslovanja, ono se u biti uklapa u naš model integracije u tri faze. Općenito, provedene analize prikazuju pozitivan utjecaj razvoja i implementacije plana društveno odgovornog poslovanja na promatrano tehnološko intenzivno poduzeće. Posebice, čini se kako plan društveno odgovornog poslovanja, kroz bolje istraživanje i iskorištavanje znanja te kroz postojanje stabilnih odnosa s interesno-utjecajnim skupinama, omogućava poduzećima unaprjeđenje njihovog unutarnjeg i vanjskog (konkurentskog) okruženja. Kako bi se to potvrdilo, u budućnosti su potrebna opsežnija konfirmativna, ali i longitudinalna istraživanja utjecaja implementacije društveno odgovornog poslovanja na uspješnost poduzeća

Un modelo sobre las relaciones entre Responsabilidad Social Corporativa, capital social e innovación de la empresa

This paper addresses a model of relationships among certain organizational variables, such us Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices, social capital and innovation. This model tries to offer an explanation based on knowledge and stakeholder theories of the generation of competitive advantages that a firm can obtain by exploiting the knowledge which is obtained from the relationships with its stakeholders. In addition, the role of the knowledge-oriented culture for the firm is analyzed and introduced into the model, being considered as a moderating variable in the relationship between CSR practices and social capital.En este artículo se desarrolla un modelo de relaciones entre variables organizativas entre las que se incluyen las prácticas de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC), la innovación y el capital social de la empresa. En particular, se pretende aportar una explicación justificada en la teoría basada en el conocimiento y la teoría de stakeholders de la generación de ventajas competitivas que una empresa puede alcanzar mediante la explotación del conocimiento obtenido de sus relaciones éticas con sus grupos de interés. Adicionalmente, el papel desempeñado por una cultura orientada hacia el conocimiento en la empresa es analizado e introducido en el modelo, considerándose como una variable moderadora en la relación entre la RSC y el capital social

El liderazgo orientado al conocimiento y su relación con los sistemas de memoria transactiva en la organización

The aim of this paper is the analysis of leadership in transactive memory systems in organisations and the importance of both concepts for the development of innovation capabilities. A transactive memory system consists of collective memories of work teams in a company, which are integrated by the dimensions of tasks specialization among team members, mutual confidence and tasks coordination. The development of such tasks both at team and organizational levels would not be possible without a leadership style promoting and facilitating its development over time. This paper suggests that the so-called «knowledge-oriented leadership», which combines features of both transformational and transactional leadership styles, is able to propel the development of the most effective transactive memory system for an organisation. In this regard, a series of theoretical propositions are established, based on the interrelations between such a kind of leadership, the development of a transactive memory at an organizational level and the development of innovation capabilities, with the final aim of achieving competitive advantages for the firm.El propósito de este artículo es el análisis del liderazgo en los sistemas de memoria transactiva y la importancia de ambos conceptos para el desarrollo de capacidades de innovación en la empresa. Un sistema de memoria transactiva organizacional está formado por las memorias desarrolladas en los equipos de trabajo de una empresa, integrados por las dimensiones de especialización de las tareas de los miembros de un equipo de trabajo, confianza mutua y coordinación de tareas. El desarrollo de estas dimensiones tanto a nivel de equipo como organizativo no sería posible sin un estilo de liderazgo que fomente y facilite su desarrollo a lo largo del tiempo. En este trabajo se propone que el denominado «liderazgo orientado al conocimiento», que combina propiedades del liderazgo transformacional y transaccional, es capaz de impulsar el desarrollo de una memoria transactiva más efectiva para la organización. En este artículo se establecen una serie de proposiciones teóricas basadas en las interrelaciones que se pueden llegar a dar entre este tipo de liderazgo, el desarrollo de una memoria transactiva a nivel organizacional y el desarrollo de capacidades de innovación con el fin de generar ventajas competitivas para la empresa

Desarrollo de una torre mixta de 100 metros de altura para un aerogenerador de 2MW de potencia

La tendencia del mercado eólico mundial es incrementar la potencia de los equipos de generación a través de la captación de mayores y más estables velocidades de viento, mayores diámetros de rotor y consecuentemente torres de mayor altura. El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar los fundamentos de diseño de una variante de construcción mixta de torres de cien metros de altura, la innovación de un sistema de fundación anular y el impacto económico que podría significar la implementación del conjunto. En primer término se describen los criterios de optimización del sistema de fundación y posteriormente el análisis estructural del tramo de torre en hormigón, realizado bajo lineamientos de normativa internacional y con la asistencia del método de elementos finitos. Por último se exponen en contraste los costos estimados de la alternativa propuesta y de una opción existente íntegramente realizada en hormigón.The global wind market trend is to increase the equipment power generation through the uptake of higher and more stable wind speeds, larger rotor diameters and consequently taller towers. The aim of this paper is to present the basics of design of a mixed tower variant of hundred meters high, the innovation of a ring foundation system and the economic impact that the implementation of the whole set could mean. First are described the optimization criteria of the foundation system and subsequently the structural analysis of the concrete tower part, performed under the guidelines of international standards and with the assistance of finite element method. Finally it is presented the estimated costs of the proposed alternative in contrast with an existing entirely concrete made option.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Relación entre el Dinamismo Percibido, la Postura Tecnológica y los Resultados de Innovación

Una de las principales elecciones estratégicas de la empresa es su postura tecnológica, entendida como su propensión innovadora y el momento de introducción de cambios tecnológicos en el mercado. Este trabajo, centrado en el sector de las energías renovables en España, plantea que en entornos en los que el dinamismo percibido por los directivos es alto y la apreciación del cambio mayor, las empresas tienen una mayor tendencia hacia el liderazgo tecnológico (entrada pionera) en detrimento de posturas más conservadoras o de seguimiento tecnológico (entrada tardía). Los resultados del análisis, que se ha llevado a cabo mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales basado en la técnica de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS), muestran que, efectivamente, el dinamismo percibido está positivamente relacionado con el liderazgo tecnológico, y que esta relación provoca un fuerte efecto sobre los resultados de innovación en términos de generación de nuevas tecnologías tanto en productos como en procesos

Sustained Cytotoxic Response of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Unvaccinated Individuals Admitted to the ICU Due to Critical COVID-19 Is Essential to Avoid a Fatal Outcome

The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of the cytotoxic activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) on the outcome of unvaccinated individuals with critical COVID-19 admitted to the ICU. Blood samples from 23 individuals were collected upon admission and then every 2 weeks for 13 weeks until death (Exitus group) (n = 13) or discharge (Survival group) (n = 10). We did not find significant differences between groups in sociodemographic, clinical, or biochemical data that may influence the fatal outcome. However, direct cellular cytotoxicity of PBMCs from individuals of the Exitus group against pseudotyped SARS-CoV-2-infected Vero E6 cells was significantly reduced upon admission (−2.69-fold; p = 0.0234) and after 4 weeks at the ICU (−5.58-fold; p = 0.0290), in comparison with individuals who survived, and it did not improve during hospitalization. In vitro treatment with IL-15 of these cells did not restore an effective cytotoxicity at any time point until the fatal outcome, and an increased expression of immune exhaustion markers was observed in NKT, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells. However, IL-15 treatment of PBMCs from individuals of the Survival group significantly increased cytotoxicity at Week 4 (6.18-fold; p = 0.0303). Consequently, immunomodulatory treatments that may overcome immune exhaustion and induce sustained, efficient cytotoxic activity could be essential for survival during hospitalization due to critical COVID-19.This work was supported by the Coordinated Research Activities at the National Center of Microbiology (CNM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III) (COV20_00679) to promote an integrated response against SARS-CoV-2 in Spain (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) that is coordinated by Dr Inmaculada Casas (WHO National Influenza Center of the CNM); a generous donation provided by Chiesi España, S.A.U. (Barcelona, Spain); the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-110275RB-I00). The work of Guiomar Casado is financed by CIBERINFEC, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way to make Europe”. The work of Montserrat Torres is supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20_00679). The work of Fernando Ramos Martín is financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-110275RB-I00). The work of Mario Manzanares is supported by a pre-doctoral grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII-PFIS FI20CIII/00021). The work of Lorena Vigón is supported by a pre-doctoral grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS PI16CIII/00034-ISCIII-FEDER). The work of Sara Rodríguez-Mora is financed by NIH grant R01AI143567.N

Factores que influyen en el uso del hábitat por el venado cola blanca (odocoileus virginianus couesi) en la Sierra del Laurel, Aguascalientes, México

Habitat use by the Coues white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) was documented during the dry season of 2006, in the Sierra del Laurel, Aguascalientes, Mexico. Based on logistic regression analyses, the objective of this study was to determine which floristic-structural and topographical features influence the probability of habitat use by the Coues deer. Vegetation, slope, altitude and distance to water were significant (p < 0.01) in the probability of habitat use. The thresholds for slope, altitude and distance were estimated for a high probability of use p (y³0.5) and varied due to vegetation type. Sites on subtropical vegetation with 50 trees of Ipomoea murucoides Roem. & Schult by hectare and 350 shrubs of Eysenhardtia polystachya Ortega Sarg., and mean height of the shrub layer over the 2.0 meters, had a probability of use greater than 50 percent. However this vegetation type is scarce and threatened by agricultural development in the Sierra del Laurel. The results of this research clearly point out the need to promote management and conservation strategies of this type of vegetation since it is the preferred habitat of the Coues deer, which in turn should be considered as an asset by the state holders and an option to derive additional income from hunting fees and other economic activities pertaining to a multiple use of the land.Durante la época seca de 2006 se registró el aprovechamiento del hábitat por el venado cola blanca (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) en la Sierra del Laurel de Aguascalientes. El objetivo de este estudiofue analizar, a través de regresión logística, algunos atributos biofísicos del hábitat que influyen en la probabilidad de que algunos sitios sean utilizados, en mayor o menor proporción, por el venado. El tipo de vegetación, la pendiente, la altitud y la distancia al agua influyeron de manera significativa (p<0.01) en la probabilidad de aprovechamiento del hábitat por el venado. Los umbrales de estas últimas tres variables se determinaron para una probabilidad de aprovechamiento alta p (y³0.5) y variaron en función del tipo de vegetación. En términos generales, las mayores probabilidades de aprovechamiento se obtuvieron en el matorral subtropical. Para una probabilidad de aprovechamiento alta, este tipo de vegetación tuvo una densidad de 50 árboles de Ipomoea murucoides Roem & Schult y 350 arbustos de Eysenhardtia polystachya Ortega Sarg. por hectárea; así como una altura promedio del estrato arbustivode 2.0 m. En virtud de que el matorral subtropical constituye el hábitat más escaso y amenazado por actividades agrícolas y ganaderas en la Sierra del Laurel, y con base en las evidencias aportadas por este estudio, es necesario promover acciones entre los dueños de la tierra para realizar una mejor gestión de este tipo de vegetación, que es de gran importancia para el venado en la región

Temporal resolution of protein–protein interactions in the live-cell plasma membrane

We have recently devised a method to quantify interactions between a membrane protein (“bait”) and a fluorophore-labeled protein (“prey”) directly in the live-cell plasma membrane (Schwarzenbacher et al. Nature Methods 5:1053–1060 2008). The idea is to seed cells on surfaces containing micro-patterned antibodies against the exoplasmic domain of the bait, and monitor the co-patterning of the fluorescent prey via fluorescence microscopy. Here, we characterized the time course of bait and prey micropattern formation upon seeding the cells onto the micro-biochip. Patterns were formed immediately after contact of the cells with the surface. Cells were able to migrate over the chip surface without affecting the micropattern contrast, which remained constant over hours. On single cells, bait contrast may be subject to fluctuations, indicating that the bait can be released from and recaptured on the micropatterns. We conclude that interaction studies can be performed at any time-point ranging from 5 min to several hours post seeding. Monitoring interactions with time opens up the possibility for new assays, which are briefly sketched in the discussion section

El efecto del papel mediador de la reputación corporativa en la relación entre la RSC y los resultados económicos

ABSTRACT In the last few years, the strategic consideration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining relevance, due to the potential benefits that firms can obtain from its implementation in a number of industries. However, the existing research trying to show a causal relationship between CSR and business performance, is still inconclusive. This paper, which focuses on the renewable energy industry in Spain, tries to overcome limitations of previous research by offering a new measure of CSR and adding (good) corporate reputation as a mediating variable in that relationship. The results of the analysis, carried out through a structural equation model by applying the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique, show that corporate reputation has a full mediating effect in the relationship between CSR and business performance, which it has important managerial implications on CSR management from a strategic viewpoint.En los últimos años, la consideración estratégica de la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) está creciendo en importancia, debido a los beneficios potenciales que su implantación ofrece a la empresa en múltiples sectores de actividad. Pero en general, la investigación sobre la existencia de una relación causal entre la RSC y los resultados económicos es aún inconcluyente. Este trabajo, centrado en el sector de las energías renovables en España, trata de superar las limitaciones existentes en trabajos previos aportando una nueva escala de medida para la RSC e incorporando la reputación corporativa como una variable mediadora en dicha relación. Los resultados del análisis, que se ha llevado a cabo mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales aplicando la técnica de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS), muestran que la reputación corporativa ejerce un efecto de mediación total en la relación entre la RSC y los resultados económicos, lo que tiene importantes implicaciones directivas sobre la gestión de la RSC en la empresa desde una perspectiva estratégica.  ABSTRACTIn the last few years, the strategic consideration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is gaining relevance, due to the potential benefits that firms can obtain from its implementation in a number of industries. However, the existing research trying to show a causal relationship between CSR and business performance, is still inconclusive. This paper, which focuses on the renewable energy industry in Spain, tries to overcome limitations of previous research by offering a new measure of CSR and adding (good) corporate reputation as a mediating variable in that relationship. The results of the analysis, carried out through a structural equation model by applying the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique, show that corporate reputation has a full mediating effect in the relationship between CSR and business performance, which it has important managerial implications on CSR management from a strategic viewpoint. &nbsp