The organizational design of nonprofits for people with disabilities

Utilizando información obtenida de los directivos de 105 pequeñas organizaciones sin fines de lucro españolas que, en el año 2007, se dedicaban a la prestación de servicios a personas con discapacidad, hemos analizado como el diseño organizativo –en concreto, los sistemas de recompensas extrínsecas e intrínsecas- influye sobre la delegación, la motivación y la transferencia de conocimiento a la hora de lograr el objetivo de la organización consistente en mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas que viven con una discapacidad. Los resultados muestran que, debido a la carencia de conocimiento técnico, los directivos de estas entidades no lucrativas (ENL) deben delegar derechos de decisión en empleados cualificados y utilizar en mayor medida recompensas intrínsecas y extrínsecas para motivar a los empleados a que transmitan conocimiento entre ellos eficientemente.We use data obtained from managers of 105 small nonprofit organizations (NPOs) providing services to people with disabilities in Spain in 2007 to examine how organizational design—particularly, extrinsic and intrinsic reward systems—impacts delegation, motivation, and knowledge transfer to achieve the NPO’s goal to improve the lives of persons living with disabilities. We find that, due to lack of technical knowledge, managers of these NPOs must delegate decision rights to qualified employees and that they successfully use a higher degree of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to motivate employees to transfer knowledge among themselves efficiently

Influence of online transparency on efficiency. Analysis of spanish NGDOs

This study examines (a) whether nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs) disseminate relevant information for their stakeholders through their web pages, information that after being reviewed and evaluated by external organizations such as the Spanish Coordinator of Development NGO or Lealtad Foundation, allowed these NGDOs to obtain a seal of transparency and (b) whether their level of transparency influences efficiency. To determine online transparency, web pages of seal-approved NGDOs were reviewed to assess the availability of relevant information. This paper uses data envelopment analysis to assess the efficiency using an input orientation. To determine the influence of online transparency on efficiency, an ordinary least squares regression was used. Results show that while increased transparency has a significant effect on efficiency, the level of information disclosure of NGDOs through their web pages has considerable room for improvement. Improved transparency leads to best practices and increased competition in obtaining financing and support from society. To improve transparency in the nonprofit sector, external organizations have created a series of seals to certify that an organization complies with the basic principles of transparency. In addition, new technologies make it easier for organizations to disseminate information quickly and economically. This article contributes to the literature regarding web use of NGDOs to disclose relevant information and analyzing the influence of online transparency on organizational efficiency

The project-based firm: a theoretical framework for building dynamic capabilities

Producción CientíficaThe problem of achieving individual project performance has been replaced by the problem of achieving organizational goals through project performance. Only project-based firms able to learn and build project capabilities can successfully compete in today’s dynamic environments. The purpose of this paper is to present a dynamic capability-based framework that sheds light on how project and organizational dynamic capabilities are built and how these dynamic capabilities allow project-based firms to perform in dynamic environments. Our theoretical framework unpacks the processes of building dynamic capabilities inside a project-based firm, discussing the routines and procedures that are useful to manage projects in unstable and dynamic environments and to build and reconfigure organizational capabilities from project-led knowledge.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación - (Proyecto ECO2016-78128-P

Evaluación del rendimiento y delegación de autoridad en las ONGD españolas

El funcionamiento interno de las organizaciones ha sido siempre un tema considerado de interés, pero muy poco tratado en la investigación. El objetivo del presente trabajo es valorar el equilibrio de dos decisiones clave en el diseño organizativo: la delegación de autoridad a los empleados y el establecimiento de medidas de valoración del rendimiento para controlar como utilizan esos empleados su discrecionalidad. Se plantea un modelo simultáneo para estas dos decisiones, considerando la delegación y las medidas de valoración del desempeño como variables endógenas. Los resultados del análisis empírico, llevado a cabo en las más importantes ONGD españolas, evidencian que las decisiones sobre delegación de derechos de decisión y medidas de evaluación del rendimiento son interdependientes.The internal structure of organizations has always been considered a relevant topic, but scarcely treated in the literature. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the balance of two key organizational design choices: delegation of authority and the implementation of performance measures to control how lower-level employees are using their discretion focusing on non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs). A simultaneous model is developed, considering these two choices as endogenous variables. The results of the empirical analysis, performed in the most prominent Spanish NGDOs, provide evidence that delegation of decision rights and performance measurement are interdependent

Una aproximación a la política de los costes de transacción a través del análisis institucional comparado. La regulación de medicamentos en dos ámbitos institucionales. La industria farmacéutica en España y Estados Unidos

El interés de la obra reside en el tratamiento de la regulación como un proceso múltiple, dinámico y en constante evolución, en la presentación de un modelo ecléctico de regulación y en las conclusiones que se extraen del contraste empírico del mismo para las transacciones farmacéuticas. El modelo permite explicar las formas regulatorias alternativas a las que son sometidas la transacciones. Los resultados obtenidos y las conclusiones extraídas de la aplicación del modelo en la industria farmacéutica, constituyen, sin duda una contribución significativa en la justificación de las distintas formas de regular la comercialización y consumo de medicamentos, lo que supone un importante paso en la comprensión de la cada vez mayor intervención a la que se ven sometidas las actividades en esta industria y del difícil proceso de harmonización regulatoria emprendido por las autoridades farmacéuticas internacionalesDepartamento de Organización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de Mercado

The role of knowledge resources in managing project complexity

In this paper we consider the nature of project complexity and draw on current literature to make the argument that we do not yet understand fully which resources managers draw on and how they then respond to the range of complexities they face. We consider the role of knowledge resources underpinning complexity responses, and ask the research question "What is the role of knowledge resources in managing project complexity?" We then summarise the empirical work we have undertaken to date in investigating this. Looking at the aerospace industry, we find a range of responses to different forms of complexity, drawing on important human, social and organizational capital

Los procesos de spin-off en las empresas españolas

El concepto de spin-off expresa la creación de nuevas iniciativas empresariales bajo el amparo de corporaciones u organizaciones ya existentes, que acaban adquiriendo, por iniciativa de una persona de la organización, independencia y viabilidad propias en términos de estructura jurídica, técnica y comercial. Las razones que subyacen al desarrollo de esta estrategia permanecen, hasta cierto punto, ocultas en la valoración positiva con que los inversores suelen acoger este tipo de estrategia. Nuestro trabajo trata de desvelar las causas que explican los procesos de segregación empresarial en España utilizando una muestra de casi 3.500 empresas durante el período 1992-2002. En consonancia con la literatura empírica existente, nuestros resultados identifican tres factores motivadores de las estrategias de spin-off: el deseo de focalización de las empresas para desprenderse de aquellas actividades que no le permitan seguir creciendo eficientemente en su núcleo de actividades, la comercialización de las inversiones realizadas en I+D+i y el establecimiento de un esquema más claro de incentivos a la dirección

Criminal Justice Chronicle

From 1986-1992, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy published the Chronicle, a newspaper featuring information about the agency, training news, awards, and employee news

How public funding affects complexity in R&D projects. An analysis of team project perceptions

Producción CientíficaIn this paper, we apply a case study approach to advance current understanding of what effects public co-funding of R&D projects have on project team members’ perceived complexity. We chose an R&D project carried out by an industrial SME in northern Spain. The chosen research strategy was a qualitative approach, and sixteen employees participated in the project. We held in-depth semi-structured interviews at the beginning and end of the co-funded part of the project. NVivo data analysis software was used for qualitative data analysis. Results showed a substantial increase in perceived complexity. We observed that this was due to unresolved tension between the requirements of the project’s co-financing entity and normal SME working procedures. New working procedures needed to be developed in order to comply with the co-financing entity’s requirements. However, overall perceived complexity significantly decreased once the co-financed part of the project was completed.Junta de Castilla y León y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (grant VA180P20

AGN in the CALIFA survey: X-ray detection of nuclear sources

A complete demographic of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is essential to understand the evolution of the Universe. Optical surveys estimate the population of AGN in the local Universe to be of $\sim$ 4%. However, these results could be biased towards bright sources, not affected by the host galaxy attenuation. An alternative method for detecting these objects is through the X-ray emission. In this work, we aim to complement the AGN population of the optical CALIFA survey (941 sources), by using X-ray data from Chandra, which provides the best spatial resolution to date, essential to isolate the nuclear emission from the host galaxy. We study a total of 138 sources with available data. We find 34 new bonafide AGN and 23 AGN candidates, which could increase the AGN population to 7-10\% among the CALIFA survey. X-rays are particularly useful for low-luminosity AGN since they are excluded by the criterion of large equivalent width of the $H\alpha$ emission line when applied to optical selections. Indeed, placing such a restrictive criteria might cause a loss of up to 70% of AGN sources. X-ray detected sources are preferentially located in the right side of the [$OIII$]/$H\beta$ versus [$NII$]/$H\alpha$ diagram, suggesting that this diagram might be the most reliable at classifying AGN sources. Our results support the idea that multi-wavelength studies are the best way to obtain a complete AGN population.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, 5 pages of supplementary online material available. Accepted for publication in MNRA