The circular path of social sustainability: An empirical analysis

The sustainable human resource management literature provides arguments linking the social sustainability dimensions of business and society, suggesting a circular or two-way relationship between them. The norm of reciprocity builds social sustainability by increasing trust and cooperation in any group of people and explains this complex relationship. In this study, we test the connection between society––poverty and inequality––and business––human resource investment strategy––using a large longitudinal data set with six time points. Findings showed that past poverty negatively contributes to a later human resource investment strategy and vice versa. This mutual relationship configures a positive feedback loop where environmental social sustainability and organizational social sustainability enhance each other. Results also show that a human resource investment strategy negatively affects income inequality, revealing that corporate decisions on social sustainability can affect social sustainability in society

The Symbiotic Bond of Income Equality and Organizational Equilibrium

The corporate sustainability literature postulates that companies are social entities that constantly interact with the society in which they are located. Although this idea is generally accepted, one persistent research gap in this field relates to testing this connection through quantitative empirical studies. In this study, we shed light on the bidirectional relationship between income inequality and organizational equilibrium (i.e., balance in the employment relationship). From data on 2525 companies covering a nine-year period and using longitudinal structural equation modeling, findings demonstrate that equity in the distribution of resources among people in a society positively influences equity in the distribution of resources between employer and employees, and vice versa. A symbiotic union of mutual benefit between society and business is, therefore, developed over time. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are presented

Empowerment in the Public Sector: Testing the Influence of Goal Orientation

Empowerment has emerged as an important new issue in the public sector organization setting in the wake of mainstream new public management (NPM). Nevertheless, few studies in this frame have combined structural (managerial) and psychological (individual) approaches in an integrative study of empowerment. There is also a need to examine the moderating variables involved in this relationship, as well as to extend research on work motivation in public management. This study explores the effect of structural empowerment on psychological empowerment, and it also draws on goal orientation (GO) theory to examine the moderating role of employees’ GO in this link. The model is tested on a sample of 521 Spanish local authority employees. The results do not confirm the direct link between structural and psychological empowerment, but show that learning GO has considerable moderating power in this relationship, and its interaction with structural empowerment affects employees’ psychological empowerment levels

Examining nonlinear relationships between quality management and financial performance

Purpose A thorough analysis of nonlinear relationships between quality management (QM) and organizational outcomes has largely been ignored in the current empirical QM literature, which can have profound theoretical and managerial implications. The existence of nonlinear relationships implies taking a contingent view in that QM practices are more effective depending on their level of implementation in an organization. The purpose of this paper is to focus on this possibility and undertake an in-depth study of the sparse nonlinear relationship suggested by the literature. Design/methodology/approach The authors introduce an empirical study carried out on a sample of 168 service firms belonging to sectors experienced in QM and, through polynomial regression analysis, identify the nature of the relationship between QM and financial performance (return on assets). Findings The results, by showing an S-shaped curve, support a nonlinear association between these two variables. The presence of this functional form provides a satisfactory solution to the growing debate among researchers who, from a linear perspective, defend the positive effects of QM on organizational outcomes, those who find no significant effect, and still others who claim that QM has a negative effect. Originality/value The results show that in organizations with a low level of QM implementation, managers should increase investment in QM, even though this increase will not be correspondingly beneficial in the same proportion. In contrast, in organizations with a high level of QM implementation, managers are advised to reflect on undertaking projects that represent an additional investment in QM, with the aim of finding their optimal level

Narcís Monturiol (1819-1885), pioneer of submarine navigation

Narcís Monturiol (1819–1885) va tenir un paper destacat en la història de la navegació submarina. Persona de fortes conviccions, va lluitar per la democràcia en una època de canvis i convulsions dins la societat espanyola. Republicà i socialista utòpic va propagar a Catalunya les idees comunistes d'Étienne Cabet. Va organitzar els cabetians entorn del setmanari La Fraternidad (1847–1848) i va esdevenir el dirigent del grup icarià de Barcelona. Perseguit i refugiat diverses vegades a Cadaqués, va concebre el seu projecte d'una nau submarina, l'Ictineu o vaixell-peix. Tractat amb recel per les autoritats va poder aconseguir molts suports particulars. Organitzà un equip de tècnics i va dirigir el procés de construcció dels Ictineus. Després d'un primer prototip que va ser avarat a les aigües de Barcelona el 1859, va realitzar millores en un segon Ictineu, avarat el 1864. Monturiol va perfeccionar-lo i, fins i tot, el 1867, va introduir-hi una màquina de vapor. Les dificultats econòmiques van conduir a la fallida del projecte. Autodidacte, Monturiol va rebre, però, el suport de l'elit científica barcelonina. El seu Ensayo sobre el arte de navegar por debajo del agua és el primer tractat de síntesi sobre la navegació submarina i una aportació notable a la historiografia de la ciència i de la tècnica.Narcís Monturiol (1819–1885) played an essential role in the history of submarine navigation. He was a person of strong convictions and fought for democracy at a time of changes and political convulsions in the Spanish society. Utopian republican and socialist, he spread the Communist ideas of Étienne Cabet in Catalonia, organizing the Cabetians around the weekly, La Fraternidad (1847–1848). He also became the leader of the Icarian community in Barcelona. Frequently persecuted because of his political beliefs, he was often forced to seek refuge in Cadaqués, and it was there that he conceived his project of a submarine vessel, the Ictineu. Although treated with mistrust by the authorities, he was able to secure sufficient financial and technical support to carry out the project. Together with a team of technicians, he constructed the first Ictineu, which was launched in the waters of Barcelona in 1859, Subsequent improvements led to a second Ictineu, launched in 1864 and fitted in 1867 with a steam engine. However, economic difficulties led to eventual failure. As an autodidact, Monturiol received the support of Barcelona’s scientific elite and continued inventing until his death. His work, Ensayo sobre el arte de navegar por debajo del agua (Essay on the Art of Navigating Under Water), was a pioneering, monumental work about submarine navigation and a remarkable contribution to the historiography of science and technology

The effects of isolation and natural park coverage for landrace in situ conservation : an approach from the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

Human isolation in mountain areas has an extra cost for the people living there, because they occasionally have to face harsh environmental conditions. Such adaptation to the environment can be faced in several ways, and in situ landrace conservation is a proposed strategy that concerns food acquisition and maintenance. However, human isolation could also be affected as a result of residing inside a protected area. In this paper, we assess the correlation between the in situ landraces conserved by farmers and the location of the farms inside or outside of a protected area (Montseny Mountains Biosphere Reserve and Natural Park). The variables of isolation, calculated as the time needed to reach the nearest market and the effect of altitude, were also considered. We interviewed 28 farmers, 12 inside and 16 outside of the protected area, and identified a total of 69 landraces. Those farms located inside the boundaries of the Natural Park retained more landraces than those located outside. There was also a positive and significant correlation between the landraces cultivated and the degree of isolation. The effect of altitude did not appear to be a relevant variable. Finally, a total of 38 landraces were located only on farms inside the Natural Park, 13 were found outside and 18 were cropped in both territories

El doble rol de la inversión en recursos humanos en la desigualdad social

The role of human resource management in achieving sustainable development is an issue that still remains unrecognized. The purpose of this research is to advance in this business-society link, focusing on the impact of human resource (HR) investment on social inequality. Based on the sustainability theoretical framework, it is proposed that HR investment and organizational equilibrium of companies reduce social inequality. Organizational equilibrium represents equity between the interests of employees and employers, defined by the fit between HR investment and labor productivity. Consequently, HR investment plays a dual role, acting as a component of organizational equilibrium and as a precedent for social inequality. Results from the longitudinal analysis of a large sample of 2,051 Spanish companies over a five-year period (2012-2016) confirm that the greater the organizational equilibrium, the lower the social inequality. This result is verified when the direct effect and the indirect effect, via HR investment, of the organizational equilibrium on social inequality are considered together. An equitable social exchange relationship between employees and employers characterizes corporate sustainability and improves the sustainable development of society by limiting its level of social inequality.Este trabajo ha obtenido el Premio Estudios Financieros 2020 en la modalidad de Recursos Humanos. Una cuestión clave pendiente de resolución es reconocer cuál es el papel de la gestión de los recursos humanos (RR. HH.) en el logro de un desarrollo sostenible. El propósito de esta investigación es avanzar en este vínculo empresa-sociedad, centrando la atención en la repercusión de la inversión en RR. HH. sobre la desigualdad social. Basándose en la literatura sobre sostenibilidad, se propone que la inversión en RR. HH. y el equilibrio organizativo de las empresas reducen la desigualdad social. El equilibrio organizativo representa la equidad entre los intereses de personas empleadas y empresa, definiéndose en función del ajuste entre inversión en RR. HH. y productividad laboral. Por consiguiente, la inversión en RR. HH. presenta un doble papel al actuar como componente del equilibrio organizativo y como antecedente de la desigualdad social. A partir del análisis longitudinal de una amplia muestra de 2.051 empresas españolas durante un periodo de 5 años (2012-2016), los resultados corroboran que cuanto mayor sea el equilibrio organizativo, menor será la desigualdad social. Esta influencia se constata cuando se considera conjuntamente el efecto directo y el efecto indirecto, vía inversión en RR. HH., del equilibrio organizativo sobre la desigualdad social. Una relación de intercambio social equitativa entre personas empleadas y empresa caracteriza la sostenibilidad corporativa y mejora el desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad al limitar su nivel de desigualdad social

¿Obtienen mejores resultados las empresas en una sociedad empobrecida? Evidencia empírica en España

From the position of the strategic human resource management, this study argues and empirically demonstrates that the degree of human poverty in a region has a negative impact on the employment productivity of the firms located within it. This harmful effect is seen both directly and indirectly through firms’ lower commitment to their employees. These are the findings from a longitudinal analysis undertaken during a six-year period (2006-2011), based on data from 2,192 industrial companies located in all 17 Spanish autonomous communities. At the same time, the study explores how the two components of human poverty (economic poverty and poverty of human capital) respectively influence each one of the three components (remuneration, job security and training) of the organization's commitment to its employees, and their subsequent effect on firm performance. Results show that poverty of human capital is notably the attribute with the greatest influence on labour productivity. The results of this study will help managers, social agents and public institutions to rigorously evaluate the impact that poverty in a society has on business competitiveness.Este trabajo ha obtenido un Accésit del Premio Estudios Financieros 2016 en la modalidad de Recursos Humanos. Desde la dirección estratégica de los recursos humanos, esta investigación argumenta y demuestra empíricamente que el grado de pobreza humana existente en una región impacta de forma negativa en la productividad laboral de las empresas localizadas en ese territorio. Este efecto pernicioso aparece tanto de forma directa como indirecta, vía un menor compromiso de las empresas con los empleados. Estos resultados se derivan de un análisis longitudinal realizado durante un periodo de seis años (2006-2011), usando los datos de 2.192 empresas industriales distribuidas entre las 17 comunidades autónomas españolas. Complementariamente, se examina cómo los dos componentes que configuran la pobreza humana (pobreza económica y pobreza de capital humano) influyen respectivamente sobre cada uno de los tres componentes (remuneración, seguridad laboral y formación) que conforman el compromiso organizativo con los empleados, así como su posterior efecto sobre los resultados empresariales. A este respecto, la pobreza de capital humano sobresale como el atributo con una mayor influencia en la productividad laboral. Los resultados de este estudio ayudan a directivos, agentes sociales e instituciones públicas a valorar de forma rigurosa el alcance de la pobreza de una sociedad en la competitividad empresarial