Contingency factors and entrepreneurship: influence in business activity

"This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJEBR-07-2018-0477/full/html. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited"[EN] Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of the survival of Spanish companies. Design/methodology/approach Two approaches are used and they are complementary. The first approach analyses the determinants of survival probability. For this purpose, a binary choice model is built and estimated using a sample of companies from the main economic sectors taken from the SABI database. Likewise, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition is applied to quantify the difference between companies with employees and without employees and the proportion of this difference that owes to observed factors or unobserved factors. Finally, the second approach is a survival analysis carried out through the Cox proportional hazard model that identifies the determinants of the duration of business activity. Findings The results of the empirical analysis show that companies without employees present less favourable conditions for survival at all stages of their evolution than companies with employees. Originality/value The contribution of this study to the empirical literature consists in analysing the difference between companies with and without employees. Due to the structure of Spanish companies, this aspect and the determinants of such difference are essential for policymakers to increase the survival for companies.Cabrer-Borrás, B.; Rico Belda, P.; Botella-Carrubi, D. (2019). Contingency factors and entrepreneurship: influence in business activity. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research. 25(8):1685-1702. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-07-2018-04771685170225

Influence of human resource information systems and technology on firm performance: a qualitative comparative analysis

The application of information systems and technologies is a very important challenge for all areas of the company, causing changes in their work processes. Today, the literature has not reached a consensus on the impact that the digitisation of the human resources area has on the results of the company. Therefore, the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) has been used in a study with a sample of 42 technology companies from the Valencian Community to identify the conditions that affect the firm performance as an outcome. Two traditional contingent factors (company ownership and the CEO's educational background) are considered, as is the use of information systems and technology for Human Resource Management (HRM). The fsQCA reveals that investment in tools for human resource optimisation and obsolete device replacement positively affect firm performance. Absence of profit growth is linked to a lack of investment in human resource optimisation technology. The distribution of capital amongst different owners, regardless of the technology's current or former availability also hampers firm performance

Civic crowdfunding: a new opportunity for local governments

In civic crowdfunding, local communities are asked to financially contribute to projects aimed at the regeneration of an area. Usually a local government acts as a co-funder. This paper employs a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to discover which conditions are combined and may result in the collection of a significant amount of funds. Five conditions were selected: the nature of project, the number of backers, the number of rewards, the percentage of backers that did not require a reward and the percentage of rewards not required during the fundraising campaign. The study used a sample of 40 Italian successful civic crowdfunding rounds sponsored and match-funded by a local government. The nature of the projects and the presence of rewards seem to emerge as critical influencing factors. These findings open up further investigations on the attitudes of civic backers towards rewards and on the charitable nature of civic fundraising

Quality management as a driver of innovation in the service industry

[EN] This study identifies the combination of factors that lead to quality management reinforcing innovation capability as an organization's strength. The results from 133 Spanish service organizations show that competitive strategy, manager's motivation to adopt quality management, and customer orientation are the key factors that explain the presence of innovation capability as a firm's strength. As some pioneering research points out, the impact of quality management on innovation depends mainly on managers' interpretation of this management philosophy. When quality management focuses on discovering new customer needs and even new markets, it contributes to strengthen the organization's innovation capability.González-Cruz, TF.; Roig-Tierno, N.; Botella-Carrubi, D. (2018). Quality management as a driver of innovation in the service industry. Service Business. 12(3):505-524. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-017-0360-750552412

Innovation in tennis An overview of research

[EN] During the last decades the tennis ecosystem has been immersed in a gradual process of globalisation, professionalisation and commercialisation in an attempt to effectively respond to the increasing challenges of a rapidly evolving environment. This process has seen a number of innovations being applied in the sport. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some of these practices as covered by both researchers and practitioners. It is concluded that research has mainly focused on technological innovations of tennis products created to increase the experience of the players. It is suggested that further studies should investigate service, policy and administrative innovations in the game.Crespo-Celda, M.; Botella-Carrubi, D.; Jabaloyes Vivas, JM. (2021). Innovation in tennis An overview of research. ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review. 29(83):1-3. https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i83.5313298

Coaches' perceptions of innovation programs of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation

[EN] This research studied the coaches' perceptions of the innovation programs of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) during 2016-2020. The RFET is one of the most relevant national federations in Spain both in terms of results at the highest levels of the game as well as in terms of participation and grassroots tennis. Coaches are considered relevant stakeholders of any sport federation due to their role in delivering the sport. A 29-item questionnaire adapted to tennis was completed by 132 certified coaches RFET members which had different years of experience and coached players of various skill levels. Results showed significant differences between the coaches with more than 20 years of experience as they perceived more rivalry between regional federations in the access to grants and more international competitiveness at high-level tennis as compared to their less experienced colleagues. Coaches also considered that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively affected the innovation strategy and capability of the organization. They identified a grassroots initiative and a coach education project as the two most valued innovative programs implemented by the RFET in the period. These last findings coincide with those from previous research and highlight the relevance of providing coaches with clear player development guidelines and opportunities for continuous professional development through education. It can be concluded that federation leaders should consider the coaches' perceptions on their innovation programs. This will assist them to better provide initiatives that will satisfy their needs and improve the effectiveness of their federations.Crespo-Celda, M.; Botella-Carrubi, D.; Jabaloyes Vivas, JM. (2021). Coaches' perceptions of innovation programs of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 16(6):1293-1304. https://doi.org/10.1177/174795412110355561293130416

Context as a provider of key resources for succession: a case study of sustainable family firms

Although succession is the single most important issue in family-owned businesses (FOBs), there is scarce comprehensive and integrative analysis of the context (i.e., the social, organizational, and normative setting) where succession events occur. Research usually focuses on the success or failure of succession processes, instead of the risks faced by FOBs during succession. The succession process takes time and multiple actors are involved. Therefore, succession is influenced by uncertainty and unforeseen events. This study addresses the aforementioned gap in the literature by investigating how context can reduce the risk of failure in succession. Based on organizational change theory and the resource-based view, this study considers family and business circumstances where interactions between actors take place and succession occurs. Since the research goal is deeply embedded in context, this paper presents a comparative case study of three Spanish FOBs that have experienced different kinds of organizational change in relation to management succession. The main conclusion is that risk of succession failure depends not only on detailed process design and planning, but also on a well-developed firm and family context that provides sufficient familiness resources to cope with unexpected events and address conflicts

The role of entrepreneurial skills as a vehicle for business growth: a study in Spanish start-ups

This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here https://riunet.upv.es. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.[EN] Purpose Business growth is one of the most studied areas over the years. However, with the current uncertainty and entrepreneurial dynamism it becomes relevant to consider new variables such as entrepreneurial skills and competencies that influence its development. Accordingly, this research refers to the impact that the individual's skills have on the entrepreneurial environment. For this purpose, a survey has been developed of employees of different organizations considering the variables of high degree of proactivity in the employees' attitude, entrepreneurial training, innovation, previous experience or risk aversion. Design/methodology/approach The research has been conducted through fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and the result shows the differences between the combination of variables for business growth through the consideration of sales growth and profit. Findings The results of this research provide new insights that allow the development and boosting of business growth. Originality/value The main contribution of this work is to pay attention to the human team of startups and show the role that this has in their growth.Botella-Carrubi, D.; Ribeiro-Navarrete, S.; Ulrich, K.; Blanco González-Tejero, C. (2022). The role of entrepreneurial skills as a vehicle for business growth: a study in Spanish start-ups. Management Decision. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-02-2022-016113

Supervisor leadership style, employee regulatory focus, and leadership performance: A perspectivism approach

[EN] Drawing on regulatory focus theory, this research proposes that transformational leadership performance depends on followers' circumstances. The analysis of 125 people from two Spanish service firms reveals that, apart from transformational leadership, the presence of academic education, intrinsic job satisfaction and high customer contact, and the absence of family responsibilities, are core conditions for the presence of high leadership performance. The first contribution of this study is the direct inference of follower's regulatory focus from the observation of individuals' circumstances. The second contribution is that leaders should consider followers' circumstances to adopt a suitable leadership style while they enhance followers' regulatory focus.The authors acknowledge the Chair of Business & Humanism of the University of Valencia-Generalitat Valenciana and its private sponsors Caixa Popular and Seidor for the financial support to this research.González-Cruz, TF.; Botella-Carrubi, D.; Martínez-Fuentes, CM. (2019). Supervisor leadership style, employee regulatory focus, and leadership performance: A perspectivism approach. Journal of Business Research. 101:660-667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.06566066710

Media or Information Literacy as variables for citizen participation in Public Decision-Making? A Bibliometric Overview

[EN] Internet has become a new way of communication leading the transformation of the use of conventional communication though digital platforms, bringing a new paradigm in human interaction (Saputra et al., 2020) but having Internet access does not mean that citizens are using Internet effectively and successfully, at least for participating in public decision-making. The disruption of information and technology development without creating a media and information literacy as part of the digital education, create a phenomenon that is worrying for the sustainability of society. In critical areas for society such as entrepreneurship, this phenomenon is critical and highly determining. This paper analyses the Media and Information literacy applied to citizen participation theoretical framework through a quantitative Bibliometric Overview of the most important studies in the field. The main objective is to present a general overview of the selected research areas, determining which of both areas is more explored from the point of view of how these literacies are used to reach citizen participation in public decisions, with a clear link to business decisions linked to entrepreneurship.Guerola-Navarro, V.; Stratu-Strelet, D.; Botella-Carrubi, D.; Gil Gómez, H. (2023). Media or Information Literacy as variables for citizen participation in Public Decision-Making? A Bibliometric Overview. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship. 2(1):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stae.2022.1000301112