Assessing the links between organisational cultures and unlearning capability:evidence from the Spanish automotive components industry

Within the current business environment, knowledge management, organisational learning and unlearning mechanisms are becoming critical factors in the process of reaching lasting competitive advantages. Our research model employs the competing values framework (Cameron and Quinn, 1999) to empirically assess the influence of the firm's own cultural typology on organisational unlearning. Our hypotheses are tested using a sample of 145 firms drawn from the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector. The relationships between the constructs are assessed through the use of partial least squares (PLS) path-modelling, a variance-based structural equation modelling technique. The outcomes reveal that certain types of culture exert a higher influence on unlearning than others. This suggests in turn that some cultural typologies are better positioned to face the current turbulent situation than others

Green innovation, indeed a cornerstone in linking market requests and business performance

Many studies uphold market orientation as a key factor in creating and sustaining a firm’s competitive advantage. This research aims to explore this topic further by including within the model the concept of green innovation. In particular, this paper empirically tests the mediating role of green innovation performance in the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance. This study relies on a sample of 145 firms belonging to the Spanish automotive components manufacturing sector. The results obtained by applying Partial Least Squares (PLS) path-modelling, a variance-based structural equations modelling technique, reveal that market orientation exerts a direct impact on organizational performance. Subsequently, we observe how the green innovation performance construct partially mediates the market orientation-organizational performance link. The paper brings some theoretical conclusions and implications for research and practice

Análisis del empleo femenino en el sector turístico. Un estudio de caso en zona rural

A pesar de la crisis de los últimos años, durante las últimas décadas se ha producido un incremento notable del número de mujeres que han accedido al mercado laboral en España. No obstante, el empleo femenino es un fenómeno socioeconómico complejo y variado, existiendo diferencias significativas entre las distintas regiones que integran el territorio español. Entre todas destaca Andalucía como una de las más particulares. Este trabajo profundiza en la importancia y en el análisis de las características de las trabajadoras en actividades vinculadas al turismo rural en Andalucía, particularmente en la provincia de Córdoba. Se presenta un análisis estadístico descriptivo, un modelo logit y tablas de contingencia para definir el perfil sociolaboral de la trabajadora de la provincia de Córdoba en turismo rural y que destaca los factores que influyen de forma más determinante en la demanda y la oferta de empleo femenino

Análisis del mercado laboral femenino en Andalucía : un estudio de caso en el sector sanitario

Aunque desde la década de1960 se observa uncrecimiento constante en la incorporación de la mujer al mercado de trabajo,no en todos los sectores la participación femenina está equiparada a la del varón, siendo el sector de los servicios el que engloba a la mayor parte de la población femenina empleada. En este trabajo se ha pretendido dar una visión del mercado de trabajo femenino en Andalucía haciendo especial referencia al sector sanitario, uno de los que tienen un mayor índice de feminización. Para ello, se ha tomado como muestra al personal sanitario y no sanitario de un hospital regional donde se han evaluado, a través de estadística descriptiva y bivariante, las principales variables que pueden influir en la evolución de este sector. Las conclusiones obtenidas muestran un avance de la mujer en puestos de más responsabilidad, especialmente médicos, en correspondencia con su elevada formación académica. Sin embargo, los salarios medios siguen siendo inferiores a los de sus compañeros varones, debido a que todavía no llegan a ocupar el mismo porcentaje que ellos en los puestos directivos. Aun así, desde la perspectiva del empleo femenino, se vislumbra un futuro favorable para la sanidad andaluza y española,la cual tendrá“nombre de mujer”

Soil Contaminated with Hazardous Waste Materials at Rio Tinto Mine (Spain) Is a Persistent Secondary Source of Acid and Heavy Metals to the Environment

Mineralogical analysis and laboratory-based leaching tests coupled with speciation modeling were undertaken to quantify the potential for short-term acid generation and the release of trace elements from soils heavily contaminated with mine waste at Rio Tinto. Three different waste materials were considered as case studies: roasted pyrite, copper slags, and leached sulfide ores. The results showed elevated values of net acid generation (up to 663 mmol H+/kg), the major pools being potential sulfidic acidity and acidity retained in jarosite. Remarkable contents of As and toxic heavy metals were found especially in the slag-contaminated soil. Copper, Zn, and Pb were the most abundant metals in the acid leach solutions resulting from mine soil-water interaction, with peak values of 55.6 mg L−1, 2.77 mg L−1, and 2.62 mg L−1, respectively. Despite the high total contents of trace elements occurring in soil, the mobile fraction was limited to maximum release values of 12.60% for Cd and 10.27% for Cu, according to the test leaching. Speciation calculations indicated that free metal ions (M2+) and sulfate species (MSO40) accounted for most of the dissolved load. Acid soil drainage is a secondary source of acid and heavy metals in the mine site and, therefore, an effective land reclamation program should ensure that acidity and metal mobility are reduced to environmentally sustainable levels.This research was supported by the Regional Government of Andalusia (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund Andalusia 2014–2020 through Project P-18-TP-3503, in collaboration with DSM Soluciones Medioambientales

Fiabilidad en la detección de las superficies selladas empleando datos del programa Copernicus

Durante los últimos 50 años se han producido cambios significativos en las cubiertas y usos del suelo, principalmente aquellos catalogados como artificiales. Este proceso, y su generalización a escala global, afectan de forma directa a las funciones básicas del suelo, acrecentando otros problemas como pueden ser la pérdida de biodiversidad, contaminación, degradación edáfica, inundaciones, o los efectos del cambio climático. En el área de estudio (Mazarrón, Región de Murcia) el problema anterior resulta ejemplar: el binomio desarrollo urbano asociado al turismo de sol y playa y la agricultura intensiva (bajo invernaderos) alteran de forma drástica la naturaleza del suelo. El objetivo es establecer un modelo de clasificación supervisada que distinga, con un error asumible, las distintas clases establecidas, destacando sobre todas ellas las que supongan superficies sellantes y, además, realizar una comparación con la información del último Corine Land Cover disponible (2018). Para ello, se seleccionaron imágenes del satélite Sentinel 2A y se ejecutó una clasificación de máxima verosimilitud. Para validar los resultados, se elaboró una matriz de confusión en la que se obtuvo una precisión general del 89 %. Finalmente, se observó una subestimación significativa, por parte del Corine Land Cover, del 75 % de las superficies selladas debido a su resolución

Wastewater treatment using microalgae: how realistic a contribution might it be to significant urban wastewater treatment?

Microalgae have been proposed as an option for wastewater treatment since the 1960’s but still this technology has not been expanded to an industrial scale. In this paper, the major factors limiting the performance of these systems are analysed. The composition of the wastewater is highly relevant, and especially the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals and emerging compounds. Biological and engineering aspects are also critical and have to be improved to at least approximate the performance of conventional systems, not just in terms of capacity and efficiency but also in terms of robustness. Finally, the harvesting of the biomass and its processing into valuable products poses a challenge; yet at the same time, an opportunity exists to increase economic profitability. Land requirement is a major bottleneck that can be ameliorated by improving the system’s photosynthetic efficiency. Land requirement has a significant impact on the economic balance but the profits from the biomass produced can enhance these systems’ reliability, especially in small cities

Las rutas gastronómicas como oportunidad de generar rentas adicionales en el sector agrario: análisis de la ruta del jamón ibérico en la provincia de Córdoba

En la última década se observa un crecimiento en la oferta turista, especialmente la desarrollada en las zonas rurales. Entre las nuevas modalidades de turismo destaca el gastronómico, siendo las rutas gastronómicas itinerarios donde convergen entorno a un producto alimenticio distintos agentes y factores que hacen que se desarrolle una economía adicional capaz de generar rentas complementarias a los habitantes de la zona rural, cuya principal renta es la obtenida por la producción proceso o elaboración de productos agrícolas.En esta investigación se analiza la situación de la actividad turística relacionada con la ruta del jamón Ibérico en denominación de Origen Valle de los Pedroches de la provincia de Córdoba, con el fin de conocer el perfil del consumidor de este producto y la oferta complementaria de la zona, lo que permitirá diseñar herramientas para la promoción y comercialización del turismo del jamón en esta región. Al ser este producto gastronómico típico de la Península Ibérica no es tan conocido ni ha sido tan estudiado como el oleoturismo o enoturismo tanto a nivel nacional e internacional. Por tanto el objetivo de esta investigación es dar a conocer esta ruta gastronómica y analizar su repercusión económica en la zona donde se desarrolla.The last decade shows a growth in tourism, especially in rural areas. A new way to growing trend of tourism highlights: the culinary or gastronomic tourism. The difference with other forms of tourism is the existence of gastronomic routes associated with indigenous foods. This, together with various actors and local factors contribute to the development of a rural economy that generates additional income to the main income, obtained by the production and processing of agricultural products. This study examines the tourism related gastronomic route of the Iberian ham belonging to the designation of origin “Valle de los Pedroches” in the province of Córdoba (Andalusia, Spain), in order to approximate the profile of the consumer of this product and explain the complementary services in the geographical area. We believe that this will help design tools that support the promotion and tourism development of Iberian ham in this region. This gourmet product is typical of the Spain and is not as well known or as studied as the oleotourism or wine tourism, both nationally and internationally. Therefore, the objective of this research is to show the peculiarities of this gastronomic route and analyze their economic impact on the area where it grows

Turismo gastronómico y D.O.P.: Una relación simbiótica en Andalucía

Durante la primera década del siglo XXI los intereses de los turistas han cambiado y se han vuelto más sofisticados. Un nuevo tipo de turismo personalizado ha nacido y se ha consolidado. En esta nueva modalidad de turismo el cliente participa en la organización del mismo. La modalidad emergente de la actividad turística que ofrece mayor diversidad de opciones es el turismo rural (turismo gastronómico, deportivo, cinegético, etc.). Estas opciones, desarrolladas en áreas rurales, permiten a los visitantes entre otras cuestiones estar en contacto con la naturaleza y, al mismo tiempo, disfrutar el patrimonio cultural y conocer las costumbres arraigadas en la vida cotidiana de los habitantes de estas zonas geográficas. Este trabajo presenta un análisis de la relación entre los productos alimenticios asociados a denominaciones de origen e indicaciones geográficas protegidas (D.O.P. e I.G.P.) y la potencialidad del turismo gastronómico. Para ello, se revisan las ventajas e inconvenientes que aporta el desarrollo de este tipo de turismo en Andalucía mediante un análisis DAFO.During the first decade of the century the interests of tourists have changed and become more sophisticated. A new type of personalized tourism was born and has been consolidated. In this new kind of tourism the client is involved in organizing it. The emerging form of tourism that offers greater range of options is rural tourism (gastronomic tourism, sporting, hunting, etc.). These options, developed in rural areas, allowing visitors among other issues get in touch with nature and at the same time enjoy the cultural heritage and know the customs rooted in the everyday life of the inhabitants of these geographic areas. This paper presents an analysis of the relationship between food products associated with designations of origin and protected geographical indications (PDO and PGI) and the potential of culinary tourism. To do this, we review the advantages and disadvantages provided by the development of this type of tourism in Andalusia through a SWOT analysis

Utilization of secondary-treated wastewater for the production of freshwater microalgae

In this work we studied the potential use of secondary-treated wastewater as nutrient source in the production of freshwater microalgae strains. Experiments were performed indoors in semicontinuous mode, at 0.3 day-1, simulating outdoor conditions. We demonstrated that all the tested strains can be produced by using only secondary-treated wastewater as the nutrient source. The utilization of secondary-treated wastewater imposes nutrient-limiting conditions, with maximal biomass productivity dropping to 0.5 g·l-1·day-1and modifies the biochemical composition of the biomass by increasing the amount of lipids and carbohydrates while reducing the biomass protein content. We measured fatty acids content and productivity of up to 25%d.wt. and 110 mg·l-1·day-1, respectively. We demonstrated that all the tested strains were capable of completely removing the nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the secondary-treated wastewater, and while the use of this effluent reduced the cells’ photosynthetic efficiency, the nitrogen and phosphorus coefficient yield increased. Muriellopsis sp. and S. subpicatus were selected as the most promising strains for outdoor production using secondary-treated wastewater as the culture medium; this was not only because of their high productivity but also their photosynthetic efficiency, of up to 2.5%, along with nutrient coefficient yields of up to 96 gbiomass·gN-1 and 166 gbiomass·gP-1. Coupling microalgae production processes to tertiary treatment in wastewater treatment plants makes it possible to recover nutrients contained in the water and to produce valuable biomass, especially where nutrient removal is required prior to wastewater discharge