Do employee-owned firms produce more positive employee behavioural outcomes? If not why not? A British-Spanish comparative analysis

Whether ‘employee ownership’ takes the form of worker cooperatives, co-ownership or simply employee share ownership plans, there are normally high expectations that a range of positive outcomes will result. Yet many empirically-based studies tend to find a much more complex picture. An influential segment of that empirical literature has posited the need for a number of mutually-reinforcing workforce management components to be in place alongside co-ownership. Drawing on detailed case research in two large and successful co-owned retailers in Spain and Britain this paper examines the role of these wider elements supporting employee ownership. We find that employee ownership can be linked to higher productivity and lower employee turnover, while at the same time being linked to higher absenteeism and mixed effects on attitudes. Expectations held by managers and employees are higher; these expectations are not always fully met. The role of managers was also found to be crucial

Coopetition and innovation. Lessons from worker cooperatives in the Spanish machine tool industry

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing[EN] Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how the implementation of the inter-cooperation principle among Spanish machine-tool cooperatives helps them to coopete–collaborate with competitors, in their innovation and internationalization processes and achieve collaborative advantages. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multi-case approach based on interviews with 15 CEOs and research and development (R&D) managers, representing 14 Spanish machine tool firms and institutions. Eight of these organizations are worker-cooperatives.. Findings – Worker -cooperatives achieve advantages on innovation and internationalization via inter-cooperation (shared R&D units, joint sales offices, joint after-sale services, knowledge exchange and relocation of key R&D technicians and managers). Several mutual bonds and ties among cooperatives help to overcome the risk of opportunistic behaviour and knowledge leakage associated to coopetition. The obtained results give some clues explaining to what extent and under which conditions coopetitive strategies of cooperatives are transferable to other types of ownership arrangements across sectors. Practical implications – Firms seeking cooperation with competitors in their R&D and internationalization processes can learn from the coopetitive arrangements analyzed in the paper. Social implications – Findings can be valuable for sectoral associations and public bodies trying to promote coopetition and alliances between competitors as a means to benefit from collaborative advantages. Originality/value – Focusing on an “ideal type” of co-operation -cooperative organisationsand having access to primary sources, the paper shows to what extent (and how) strong coopetitive structures and processes foster innovation and internationalization

Adimen gaitasun handiko ikasleen emozioak eta gaitasun soziala

[EUS] Adimen gaitasun handiko haurrak identifikatzea eta hauen ezaugarri eta beharretara egokitutako hezkuntza pertsonalizatua ematea ezinbestekoa da. Hala, badaude hezkuntza arloan aplika daitezkeen zenbait metodo, hala ere, gehienak alderdi akademikoari erantzuna ematera bideratuta daude. Alabaina, sarritan, arrazoi ezberdinengatik, ikasle hauek beharrizan emozionalak erakusten dituzte eta oso gutxitan erreparatzen diogu alderdi horri. Horregatik, lan honen helburua, adimen gaitasun handiko ikasleen alderdi emozionala nola garatu daitekeen erakustea da, horretarako, kasu erreal batean oinarrituta, proposamen didaktiko bat planteatzen delarik.[ES] Es imprescindible identificar a los niños y niñas que presentan altas capacidades intelectuales y darles una respuesta educativa personalizada acorde con sus características y necesidades. Así, existen diversos métodos que se pueden aplicar en el ámbito educativo, sin embargo, la mayoría están dirigidos a dar respuesta a la parte académica. No obstante, a menudo, por diversas razones, estos alumnos y alumnas presentan necesidades emocionales y pocas veces tenemos en cuenta esta parte. Por ello, la finalidad de este trabajo es enseñar cómo se puede desarrollar el componente emocional del alumnado con altas capacidades, basándose en un caso real, y planteando para ello una propuesta didáctica.[EN] It is essential to identify children who have high intellectual capacities and give them a personalized educational response according to their characteristics and needs. Thus, there are several methods that can be applied in the educational field, even so, most of them are aimed at responding to the academic part. However, often, due to different reasons, these students present emotional needs and we rarely consider this part. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to show how to develop the emotional component of the students with high skills, based on a real case, and creating a didactic proposal

Aplicación de las técnicas de programación lineal para minimizar costes

La idea de este proyecto surge de la necesidad de las empresas para mejorar su gestión económica. El reducir costes es un problema muy presente en las empresas y por ello, el proyecto se centra en la construcción de una herramienta para optimizar los costes de producción usando técnicas de programación lineal. El problema consiste en conocer cuál es el volumen que ha de producir una fábrica de pintura, cumpliendo una serie de restricciones, para afrontar los mínimos costes.The idea of this Project arises from the increasing need among enterprises to improve economic management. Reducing costs is a problema that is very present in manufacturing companies and with this aim, the project is focused in the construction of an optimal tool in order to optimise the manufacturing costs using linear programming. The problem lies in knowing the volume that has to be produce in a paint factory, fulfilling some restrictions, in order to face the mínimum costs.Projektu hau, enpresek beraien gestio ekonomikoa hobetu dezaten asmoz, sortu da. Gaur egun, enpresa asko, kostuak txikitzeko arazoarekin topatzen da, hortaz projektu honen ardatza, produkzio kostuak optimizatzeko tresna baten eraiketa da, programazio linealaz baliatuz. Ariketa, zenbait murrizketa bete ta gero, zenbatekoa izan behar den margo fabrika baten produkzioan datza, koste minimoak lortzea helburua izanik

Simone de Beauvoir. Bigarren Sexua eta eragina XX. mendeko Bigarren Bolada Feministan

Simone de Beauvoir XX. mendeko idazle, filosofa eta feminista frantziarra, aztertu beharreko ezinbesteko figuratzat jo izan da XX. eta XXI. mendeko Feminismoaren Historian. Hortaz, honekin Beauvoir eta bere Bigarren Sexuaren inguruan hausnartu nahi da, 70. hamarkadako Bigarren Bolada Feminista testuinguruan kokatuz, hobeto ulertzera heltzeko; horretarako hartan izandako eragin posiblearen inguruan lantzera bideratuko da lan hau, adierazitakoek emakumearen askapenean izandako garrantzia historiko-soziala aztertuz. Hau burutzeko, Feminismoaren Historia bi atal nagusitan banatuko da: alde batetik XIX-XX. mendeak eta hartan eskuratutako berdintasun politikoa, eta bestalde 70. hamarkadako neo-feminismoa, mugimenduaren garapen eta korronte desberdinak (Berdintasuneko Feminismoa, Erradikala…), eta honetan lortutako berdintasun soziala. Batetik besterako itzulian, eskubideen zabalpenean eta sexuen eta hauen harremanen arteko berdintasuna eskuratzeko bidean feministek egin izan duten borroka aztertu nahi da, Beauvoirren ideia berritzaileak bien arteko giltzarritzat hartu eta mugimenduan eragindako inspirazioarekin lotuz. Tartean, influentzia honetan, Betty Friedan edo Kate Millet bezalako figurak eta haien ekarpenak aztertuz. Bilakaeren testuinguru honetan kokatuko da Beauvoirren pentsamenduak 70. hamarkadan zehar jasandako erradikalizazioa, emakumeak dagokion autonomia birkonkistatzeari dagokionez. Aldaketa hau ulertzen ere ahaleginduko da lana. Gainera, XX. mende hasierako emakumeen hezkuntza-motaz ere jardungo da, mendearen bigarren erdialdearekin kontrastea ezartzeko. Hala, Simoneren bizitza-motaz eta hark jasandako bilakaera konstanteaz ere hitz egingo da. Ideia berritzaileok lanaren ardatz oinarrizkoena den “no se nace mujer, se llega a serlo” esaldiarekin laburtzen ditu: generoaren eraikuntza sozio-kulturala; hau da, emakumearen opresioaren arazoa detektatu ez ezik, gizonak hura mantentzera baliatutako bideak agerian utzi (amatasuna edo ezkontza tradizionalaren tranpa…) eta hartatik irteteko bide desberdinak baliatzen ditu, borroka-bide desberdinei ere bide irekiz. Hala, hauek azaldu eta influentzia 70. hamarkadako feminismoaren testuinguruan kokatu nahiko da. Kontuan hartu behar izango da baita, Beauvoirrek emakumeen opresioa filosofia existentzialaren ikuspuntutik landu izan zuela, eta hori dela eta ezinbestekotzat jotzen dut lanaren zati bat ere kontzeptuaren inguruko azalpen txiki bat ematera bideratzea

Felipe Arrese Beitiaren poesia eta euskaldunen nazio identitatea

El poema "Ama euskeriari azken agurrak" de Felipe Arrese Beitia es clave en la construcción de la identidad nacional de los vascos de finales del siglo XIX. En el presente trabajo se estudia el ama euskeria (madre euskera) del poema como representación del volksgeist o genio del pueblo.Felipe Arrese Beitia's poem "Ama euskeraren azken agurrak" (The Farewell of Mother Basque language) is a key work in the building of the nationalidentity of Basque people at the end of the 19th century. In this paper the amaeuskara (Mother Basque language) in Arrese's poem is examined as the representation of the Volksgeist or folk spirit of Basque people.Le poème "Ama euskeriari azken agurrak" de Felipe Arrese Beitia est un élément clé dans la construction de l'identité nationale des basques de la fin du XIXème siècle. On étudie dans ce travail la ama euskeria (mère euskera) du poème comme représentation du volksgeist ou génie du peuple.Felipe Arrese Beitia's poem "Ama euskeraren azken agurrak" (The Farewell of Mother Basque language) is a key work in the building of the national identity of Basque people at the end of the 19th century. In this paper the ama euskara (Mother Basque language) in Arrese's poem is examined as the representation of the Volksgeist or folk spirit of Basque people

Using SVD Analysis of Combined Altimetry and Ocean Color Satellite Data for Assessing Basin Scale Physical-Biological Coupling in the Mediterranean Sea

Capítulo publicado en: Fatoyinbo, Temilola (ed.). Remote Sensing of Biomass - Principles and Applications. [S.l.]: InTech, 2012Peer Reviewe

Intercooperation, flexicurity and their impacton workers: The case of Fagor Electrodomésticos

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in the journal Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics.Mondragon cooperatives have used flexible employment, training and labour protection policies to deal with economic crises since the 1970s. These policies were also used in 2013 to alleviate the social consequences of the demise of their biggest industrial cooperative, Fagor Electrodomésticos. This article aims to analyse – through 40 interviews with different stakeholders – the advantages and limitations of wage, working time and functional flexibility policies by framing them under the flexicurity concept. In contrast with previous research on Mondragon cooperatives, this study has found a strong worker-owner resistance to flexicurity policies, mainly before the firm’s bankruptcy. The study has also found the main reasons for worker resistance and for some successful Mondragon cooperatives’ reluctance to offer permanent relocations to redundant Fagor Electrodomésticos’ members. This research will help cooperatives to maintain and improve their flexicurity policies and their resilience. Some findings can be extrapolated to the growing number of firms that aim to implement flexicurity policies without harming their workers’ social welfare.This article is a result of a research funded by the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (GIU-19/035) and Fundación Emilio Soldevilla para la Investigación y el Desarrollo en Economía de la Empresa (FESIDE)

Does training policy help to attract, retain and develop valuable human resources? Analysis from the Mondragon case

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in the journal:Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory and Labor-Managed Firms. Volumen. 12Purpose - The aim of this article is to ascertain the degree to which a training policy developed through corporate training centers is recognized as a source of competitive advantage for attracting, developing and retaining valuable staff. Design/methodology/approach – The fieldwork is based on a survey of Human Resource managers from 66 cooperatives of the Spanish Mondragon cooperative group. Findings – The empirical test carried out confirms that Mondragon's training policy, backed up by its corporate training centers, is perceived by HR managers as a tool that provides advantages to attract, develop and retain valuable human resources. The results also suggest that those advantages are more moderate than has been cited in classic literature on Mondragon. Practical implications – The results of this study can be helpful for the growing number of companies choosing to create and reinforce corporate training centers. The link between training policy and the perceived ability to attract and retain valuable employees showed in this case, can also be helpful for other companies that, as Mondragon, face limitations in wage policy. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on the educational fabric of Mondragon adding updated empirical evidence and incorporating the point of view of HR managers of the group's cooperatives. With respect to the contribution of this paper to the literature on training policy, the paper's findings, in particular those regarding the effect of training on worker attraction and retention, add empirical evidence to the few studies on the subject