Are small and medium enterprises defining their business models to reach a symbolic or substantive environmental legitimacy?

Involvement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is critical to the decarbonization of economies; however, legitimacy theory, climate change strategies, and the business model (BM) literature have not addressed this issue in depth. This research analyses whether SMEs define their environmental BMs to achieve substantive legitimacy by reducing their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We analyze the relationships among environmental value proposition, creation, and capture using partial least-squares structural equation modeling with the data for 695 SMEs. The results show that SMEs’ environmental value proposition takes into account symbolic and substantive environmental legitimacy. This broad definition of the value proposition drives SMEs to undertake environmental value creation initiatives, but these initiatives are not very effective in reducing CO2 emissions. These results indicate that SMEs seek symbolic legitimacy more than substantive legitimacy, which has important implications for managers and policymakers who want SMEs to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-106677GB-I0

Are all lean principles equally eco-friendly? A panel data study

We address the individual environmental impact of three pillars of Lean Manufacturing, Just-in-Time, Jidoka and Respect for People (RfP), from a shop-floor perspective. Moving away from the cross-industry and cross-country approach which has dominated the economic literature on emissions and climate change, we test our hypotheses at plant level with 9-year panel data (5672 observations) from two official sources. In this way, we aim to highlight the role of manufacturing plants, which are one of the main causes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This new approach also makes it possible to evaluate the different lean principles separately and to propose specific initiatives that may be really useful, going beyond the usual “one-size-fits-all” recommendations that characterize previous research. Our results show that the final environmental impact depends not only on the leanness level achieved by each plant, but also on each lean pillar in question: while Jidoka and RfP positively affect environmental performance, we find a major trade-off between JIT initiatives and the green goals.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2016-76625-

Las empresas gallegas en el mercado mundial del granito: características y factores de competitividad

Texto dispoñible en galego e españolO obxectivo deste traballo é analiza-las características das empresas galegas exportadoras de granito e determinar aqueles factores que apoian a posición preeminente daquelas no mercado internacional do granito, mercado no que compiten con empresas de procedencia tan heteroxénea como Italia, punto de referencia básico do sector, e, entre outras, de China e da India, países emerxentes cunha enorme potencialidade competidora futuraThe goal of the present work is to analyze the characteristics of the Galician granite exporters in order to identify those factors that give them their pre-eminent position in the international market. In such market the origin of the different competitors is highly heterogeneous. It is interesting to highlight Italy as the point of reference in the sector and China and India because of its potential capacity in the near futureEl objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las características de las empresas gallegas exportadoras de granito y determinar aquellos factores que apoyan la posición preeminente de aquéllas en el mercado internacional del granito, mercado en el que compiten con empresas de procedencia tan heterogénea como Italia, punto de referencia básico del sector, y, entre otras, de China y de la India, países emergentes con una enorme potencialidad competidora futuraS

Balancing offshoring and agility in the apparel industry: lessons from Benetton and Inditex

Based on a case study from the apparel industry, the paper addresses how the organizational innovations adopted by Benetton and Inditex allowed them to balance lower production costs in developing countries with an adequate response time to frequent preference changes and increasing demands for customisation. Findings confirm the fragility of multinationals whose offshoring strategy has not considered the costs of coordinating suppliers in far-off locations and suggest organisational improvements that make production costs, variety and time to market goals compatible. Our research thus provides a view of the conditions and processes that can overcome in increasingly volatile environments the misalignment between demand changes and the limited reactivity of industrial infrastructures. Furthermore the innovation strategy of textile companies has created generalizable lessons for other sectors in which demand uncertainty is high, life cycles short, and customers are, to some extent, prepared to pay for “speed to market”

El proceso de internacionalización de las empresas gallegas: el papel de los organismos públicos

Texto dispoñible en galego e españolNas últimas décadas producíronse na escena económica internacional unha serie de acontecementos que levan implícita a idea da internacionalización, entre estes podemos destaca-lo rápido crecemento do comercio internacional e o investimento estranxeiro e o forte impulso adquirido polos acordos de cooperación internacional e os procesos de integración económica. As empresas deben ser conscientes dos efectos que van producir sobre a súa actividade todo este conxunto de tendencias, comprendendo que a competitividade nunha economía aberta, como a actual, é unha variable fundamental para garanti-lo éxito empresarial. Pero estes procesos de internacionalización non só condicionan a conducta das empresas senón tamén a dos gobernos, que se viron obrigados a abandona-las políticas intervencionistas en favor doutras que permitan unha competitividade sen fronteirasFactors like the fast grow of the international comerce and foreing investments, the development of international cooperation agreements or the processes of economic integration of the countries that have been occurring during the lasts decades, bring us to the need of talking about internacionalization. Companies must be concious about the effects of these factors over their activity, understanding the need for an open economy to achieve competitiviness. Besides the influence of internacionalization over the companies its also imporant to point out the effects over the government, which have had to leave behind those control politics in order to achieve a “non-frontier” competitivinessEn las últimas décadas se han producido en la escena económica internacional una serie de acontecimientos que llevan implícita la idea de la internacionalización, entre los cuales podemos destacar el rápido crecimiento del comercio internacional y la inversión extranjera y el fuerte impulso adquirido por los acuerdos de cooperación internacional y los procesos de integración económica. Las empresas deben ser conscientes de los efectos que van a producir sobre su actividad todo este conjunto de tendencias, comprendiendo que la competitividad en una economía abierta, como la actual, es una variable fundamental para garantizar el éxito empresarial. Pero estos procesos de internacionalización no sólo condicionan la conducta de las empresas sino también la de los gobiernos, que se han visto obligados a abandonar las políticas intervencionistas en favor de otras que permitan una competitividad sin fronterasS

The role of SMEs’ Green business models in the transition to a low-carbon economy: differences in their design and degree of adoption stemming from business size

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Green Business Models (BMs) established by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can incorporate product and process decarbonization in their components (value proposition, creation and capture) and to what extent this incorporation is affected by SME size. We use a database comprising 1,161 observations of SMEs, 466 in 2014 and 695 in 2016. The results show that SMEs’ value propositions give an intermediate valuation to both legally required and voluntary reduction of environmental impact, irrespective of SME size and the year analyzed. Regarding value creation, SMEs adopt practically no environmental practices, and there are significant differences according to size, with more difficulties than advantages stemming from small size. The study also shows that such environmental practices are not effective in reducing carbon. This diagnosis indicates that SMEs need help from the administration if they are to play a key role in the process of transformation toward a low-carbon economy. Legislative actions involving harsher environmental protection measures might help shape value propositions that place greater importance on reducing environmental impact, whereas training actions on available environmental techniques, promotion of research on how to adapt such techniques to SMEs and the development of specific practices for SMEs might enhance environmental value creation and capture in their BMs.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2016-76625-

Brand umbrella and made in the international competitiveness of granite.

Spain, like Italy, the traditional leader of granite sector, has seen how China, India or Brazil have risen several positions on global production and export rankings. In a globalized context, it's necessary a good differentiation from international competitors, much more when this is a generic product that offers suitable prices and quality. One way to identify and differentiate it, is providing value by creating a brand. In this paper we study the utility of a strategy based on made in for Galicia, major production location for the industry in Spain; an alternative that seems attractive to enterprises, but whose implementation requires strong collaboration between firms and public and private institutions.Granite; brand; made in; internacionalization

Is the hotel industry really committed to the environment? Answering using the business models framework

This paper conceptualizes Environmental Business Models in the hotel industry as the result of a balanced emphasis on several initiatives regarding value proposition, value creation and value capture. It tests how this framework affects 120 Spanish hotel chains by assessing their sustainability reports and websites. The results show that Environmental Business Models are still poorly developed and present uneven progress in their components. This may be a sign that managers are currently using a partial perspective for environmental management with a focus on value creation initiatives that mainly have a marketing or a cost impact.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. 10.13039/501100011033Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Ventajas del uso de las TICs en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje desde la óptica de los docentes universitarios españoles

Las TICs juegan un papel decisivo en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de las universidades europeas a la hora de alcanzar los retos planteados en el proyecto de convergencia de los diferentes sistemas nacionales (Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior –EEES-) referidos a la innovación en las formas de generación y transmisión del conocimiento y a la apuesta por una formación continuada a lo largo de toda la vida. Así las cosas, este trabajo presenta un estudio sobre la valoración que los docentes de las universidades españolas hacen sobre las ventajas que el uso de las TICs reportan a dicho proceso. La información acopiada mediante encuesta personalizada por correo electrónico pone de manifiesto que las principales ventajas son la ruptura de las barreras espacio-temporales, la posibilidad que ofrecen de interacción con la información y lo útil que resultan como herramienta de apoyo al aprendizaje. Por el contrario, la ventaja menos valorada ha sido el ahorro de tiempo que el profesor podría dedicar a otras tareas.  Abstract ICT are an important tool of the process of teaching-learning proposed by European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) in order to reach the challenges related to innovation on forms of generation and transmission of knowledge, and continued training along whole life. So, in this paper we analyze the advantages of ICT at the university education by spanish professors. The information gathered by means of personalized survey by e-mail reveals that the main advantages are breaking up barrier of spread and time, interaction with the information and proving tool of support to the learning. On contrary, saving time to other tasks is the minor considered aspect

How can firms’ basic research turn into product innovation? The role of absorptive capacity and industry appropriability

We explain why companies seeking superior product innovation should invest in basic research. Our arguments highlight the role of absorptive capacity and examine how industry appropriability influences these relations. Based on a rich dataset of 8416 firms, we argue that basic research in firms increases their knowledge stock and flows, therefore improving their capacity to identify, assimilate, and exploit external knowledge, which allows them to enhance their product innovation performance. We also verify that strong appropriability regimes not only reduce the effect of basic research on absorptive capacity, but also affect the relation between absorptive capacity and product innovation in two ways. In businesses with a high absorptive capacity, strong appropriability regimes exert a negative influence by reducing product innovation; however, businesses with a low absorptive capacity see their level of product innovation increase. This evidence not only throws into question the attitude of many managers toward basic research; it also calls for open reflection on both the net effect of appropriability on innovative performance and the stages of the innovation process to which public resources should be allocated.Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional | Ref. GRC2014/021Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2013-45706-