Individual creativity performance and the quality of interpersonal relationships

[EN] Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the exchanges that employees maintain with their immediate superior and with their work group influence the creativity that they manifest. Design/methodology/approach: A study was carried out among employees of a firm from the automotive sector. On the basis of previous works, the authors first built reliable multi‐item scales for each variable included in the model; then, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the causal effect of those exchanges upon creativity. Findings: The findings reveal that high‐quality exchanges between the employee and their work group and, to a lesser extent, their immediate superior, have a significant positive influence on their creative behavior. Practical implications: All this underlines the importance of the composition of work groups for achieving the team environment necessary for creative production. Originality/value: This paper provides new evidence about a still unexplored topic, trying to bridge the existing gap in the literature about the influence of leadership and group behavior on creativitySIMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovació

La percepción del entorno organizativo y la creatividad: análisis de las dimensiones del clima laboral que determinan el comportamiento creativo del empleado en la empresa

La creatividad se está convirtiendo en un fenómeno de especial interés para las organizaciones. Por ello, existe un interés creciente por comprender cuáles son los factores responsables del rendimiento creativo en los entornos laborales. A pesar de ello, todavía existen lagunas importantes en la literatura sobre como influye la existencia en la empresa de un clima que apoye a la innovación. Con el fin de aportar nueva evidencia empírica al respecto, el objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en analizar cómo influye en la creatividad de los empleados, la percepción que éstos tengan de que el clima existente en la organización apoya a la innovación. Para ello, utilizando el concepto de clima psicológico y adoptando una definición de creatividad en términos de producto, se realizó un estudio entre los empleados de una empresa del sector de la automoción. Tras someter la medida del clima a un análisis factorial por el método de componentes principales, que reveló la existencia de cinco dimensiones significativas, se realizó un análisis de regresión para ver la influencia de cada factor en la creatividad de los trabajadores. Los resultados logrados revelan la importancia que tiene esta variable en la explicación del rendimiento creativo. De esta forma se ha puesto de manifiesto que la empresa debe crear un entorno laboral favorable a la creatividad, mediante los mecanismos adecuados a tal efecto. Así, la provisión de recursos para la generación y el desarrollo de ideas, la existencia de una comunicación fluida en el seno de la empresa, la participación de todos los trabajadores en la toma de decisiones o la consideración del esfuerzo realizado parecen ser de especial relevancia para conseguir este propósit

Mobility of public researchers, scientific knowledge transfer, and the firm's innovation process

The present study provides evidence on the mobility effects of researchers from the public R&D system with regard to firm´s innovation process. This issue is particularly novel and important as these researchers contribute to the production and transfer of knowledge previously developed and accumulated in the public R&D system. The findings confirm that scientific knowledge which public researchers provide has a positive influence on both inputs and outputs of the firms’ innovation process. The fact that firms have access to additional knowledge which is complementary to that they already hold represents a spur for exploiting and applying this new knowledge. The firms in this study continually increased their in-house R&D investments. As a result of these investments firms create new knowledge of a unique and valuable type. The study draws two important conclusions geared to providing a greater efficiency in human resource management and to improve the design of technology policies

Fostering rural entrepreneurship: An ex-post analysis for Spanish municipalities

[EN] Entrepreneurs in rural areas contribute enormously to these territories, but they also face challenges not encountered by their urban counterparts. These problems include lack of basic infrastructure and fewer opportunities to exploit new technologies and engage in innovation projects. Research into the limitations experienced by rural entrepreneurs is scarce. The present study seeks to provide a better understanding of these problems through an ex-post analysis of an innovative policy designed to foster rural entrepreneurship. This policy adopts a “bottom-up” approach to promoting relationships among different parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Among the recipients of this policy, some also benefited from other programs aimed at promoting technological innovation, technology adoption and basic infrastructure improvements. To assess the influence of the policy we conducted a municipality (LAU-2) level analysis using unique data on some 12.6 million beneficiary projects. We employed a recently developed difference-in-difference method to estimate the causal effect of this bottom-up policy on local workers. We did not identify any spillover effects from the implementation of this policy. We found a positive impact which was effective for reducing unemployment in the treated areas. Unemployment levels also reduced significantly in municipalities that received funds for innovation and enhanced infrastructure; however, among the group that received help for technology adoption unemployment levels did not change. This points to the importance of basic infrastructure to enable innovation and increase technology adoption in rural areas. Also, the lower effects found for female workers - one of the most vulnerable groups within the ecosystem – suggest that the policy should be refined to avoid these unintended effects on rural inequality.S

Corporate sustainability: The pivotal role of corporate scientists and gender diversity

[EN] At a time when sustainable practices are becoming increasingly important in many economies, we need a thorough understanding of the determinants of corporate sustainability. Research on the influence of human resources in this context focuses mainly on executive roles such as CEO and board member. This emphasis tends to deny the potential contribution made by other employees to fostering corporate sustainability. This is the setting for our study of the part played by corporate scientists. Their rigorous academic training and specialized research expertise endows corporate scientists with distinct attributes which could encourage more sustainable business activities. We show that the role of the corporate scientist goes beyond enhancement of the firm’s inventive capacity and find a causal effect of scientist presence on companies’ prioritization of environmental objectives. We also find that the presence of women scientists has a particularly pronounced effect. Our results have implications for policy and recruitment strategies in terms of their emphasis on sustainability and gender inclusivity.S

Relaciones sociales y creatividad en la empresa: la importancia de la calidad de las interacciones del empleado con su entorno más cercano

pp. 1-16La creatividad se está convirtiendo en un fenómeno de especial importancia para las organizaciones. Por ello, existe un interés creciente por comprender cuáles son los factores responsables del rendimiento creativo en los entornos laborales. A pesar de ello, todavía existen lagunas importantes en la literatura sobre la influencia del liderazgo y del comportamiento de los grupos en la creatividad. Con el fin de aportar nueva evidencia empírica al respecto, el objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en analizar cómo influyen las relaciones de intercambio que mantiene el empleado con su superior inmediato y con su grupo de trabajo en la creatividad que pone de manifiesto.S

Desempeño laboral

[ES] Medir la forma en la que las personas, mediante su trabajo, contribuyen al logro de los objetivos empresariales ha sido considerado, en el ámbito de la dirección de empresas en general, y de la gestión de los recursos humanos en particular, uno de los factores más relevantes para evaluar el éxito de las organizaciones. Con esta finalidad, las empresas pueden adoptar criterios como la productividad laboral o el desempeño laboral. En este contexto, se analizan los factores y medidas del rendimiento laboral de las personas asalariadas en relación con el desempeño de tareas, el entorno organizacional, social y psicológico del lugar en el que trabajan y se revisa el comportamiento laboral contraproducente. Para finalizar se realiza un diagnóstico cuantitativo del rendimiento laboral individual en España

Uniportal robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: resection of the first rib

A 39-year-old female patient presented with venous and neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, manifesting in positional pain and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the right upper extremity, accompanied by vascular redistribution. Her medical history was significant for surgical intervention for palmar hyperhidrosis (via a thoracoscopic approach) 15 years ago and second DVT in the right upper extremity in 2010, for which she received only limited anticoagulant treatment. She re-presented with symptoms suggestive of another DVT in the same region, meriting further investigation and management

El bienestar laboral

ES] Partiendo del bienestar laboral como catalizador del desempeño individual, se define según la literatura qué es el bienestar laboral y se analizan las dimensiones y los factores que influyen en el bienestar laboral (dimensión sobre la satisfacción laboral, dimensión sobre el respeto organizativo por las personas empleadas, dimensión sobre la relación entre personas empleadas y superiores y dimensión relacionada con la intrusión de la vida laboral en la vida privada y los riesgos psicosociales, especialmente los efectos del trabajo sobre la salud mental y la vida personal de las personas trabajadoras. Se concluye el capítulo con un diagnóstico cuantitativo del bienestar laboral en España