Work-life balance in Spanish Firms: Still on the to-do list

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perception of institutional pressures on employers to improve work-life balance, and to classify organizations according to those perceptions. Using survey data from 146 Spanish private firms in two different industries, the cluster analysis clearly shows the existence of three different groups of companies according to their perception of coercive, mimetic and normative pressures, and the different characteristics of the groups. The diffusion of work-life practices should have begun in Spain, but there is still a long way to go over.Work-life balance, Institutional pressures, Cluster analysis

¿Por qué es necesario un sistema de conciliación de la vida profesional y personal fuerte?

[EN] Purpose. This paper describes the concept of “strength of the work-life balance system” as a new and more advanced form of involvement in work-life issues, which lead to a stronger relationship with positive outcomes such as performance, commitment or satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach. From a theoretical point of view, and following Bowen and Ostroff (2004; 2016)’s framework of strength, all the features of a strong work-life balance system are described. We define the characteristics that allow the work-life balance system to create strong situations in which clear messages are sent to employees about what appropriate behavior is. Findings. Offering specific practices or specific types of support is not enough; a strong work-life balance system must also be in place. The strength of the system, which refers to the process, allows the firm to convey a consistent message about the content of the practices. Employees’ motivation, attitudes and behaviors towards work-life balance are highly dependent on how they interpret the signals from employers about the work-life balance system designed but also implemented. Practical implications. Future research and practitioners should pay more attention not only to design work life practices, but also to the implementation process in order not to fail in gaining all the positive outcomes related to work life balance, for employers and employees. Originality/value. This paper is the first step in the exploration of the importance of the implementation process of a work-life balance system, for a better contribution to organization positive outcomes.[ES] Objetivo. Este trabajo describe el concepto de fortaleza del sistema de conciliación de la vida profesional y personal como una nueva y más avanzada forma de implicación de las empresas en temas de conciliación, lo que conduciría a una mayor relación con resultados positivos como resultados, compromiso o satisfacción. Diseño/metodología/enfoque. Desde un punto de vista teórico, y siguiendo el marco de fortaleza de los sistemas propuesto por Bowen y Ostroff (2004; 2016), se describen todas las características de un sistema de conciliación de la vida profesional y personal fuerte. Resultados. La oferta de prácticas específicas no es suficiente, se requiere un sistema de conciliación fuerte. La fortaleza del sistema, que se refiere al proceso, permite a la empresa enviar un mensaje consistente sobre el contenido de las prácticas. La motivación, actitudes y comportamientos de los empleados hacia la conciliación dependen en gran medida de cómo interpretan las señales que reciben de la empresa, según se haya implementado el sistema de conciliación. Implicaciones prácticas. Tanto profesionales como futuras investigaciones deben prestar más atención al proceso de implementación y no solo al diseño de prácticas de conciliación, para no perder todos los posibles resultados positivos derivados de la conciliación tanto para empleados como para empresas. Originalidad/valor. Este trabajo supone un primer paso para una mayor comprensión de la importancia del proceso de implementación de un sistema de conciliación de la vida profesional y personal, y para una mayor contribución a resultados positivos

Presiones institucionales para la adopción y uso de medidas de conciliación de la vida profesional y personal. Papel moderador de la presencia de mujeres en la organización.

Este trabajo pretende explorar las presiones institucionales que reciben las empresas para favorecer la conciliación de la vida profesional y personal de sus trabajadores, y su efecto sobre la adopción de medidas y su uso real por parte de los empleados. La presencia de trabajadoras y directivas en la organización se analizan como moderadoras de la relación entre presiones coercitivas, miméticas y normativas y la adopción y uso de las medidas de conciliación. Los resultados revelan que la presión normativa particular que la empresa percibe influye significativamente tanto sobre la adopción como en el uso de medidas de conciliación. Si bien la proporción de trabajadoras no resulta significativa, la presencia de directivas modera la relación entre la presión mimética y el nivel de adopción, y entre la presión coercitiva y la presión mimética y el uso efectivo de medidas de conciliación.Conciliación de la vida profesional y personal; Presiones institucionales; Género

Debate sobre el modelo organizativo académico. Del modelo gremial al modelo colaborativo

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Anticipation of work-life conflict in higher education

Purpose: This paper aims to further the understanding about the relationship between work–life conflict and possible barriers to career progression due to the perception of anticipated work–life conflict, considering the unbounded nature of academic work through features such as its intensity, flexibility and perception of organizational support. / Design/methodology/approach: The model was tested using survey data from academics in a public university in the south of Spain. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. / Findings: The results reveal that current work–life conflict, job intensity and perception of support have a direct effect on the anticipation of work–life conflict in the event of progression in academic careers. The flexibility that academics enjoy is not sufficient to prevent the expected conflict. Academics' age is relevant, but gender or having childcare responsibilities have no significant effect of the anticipation of conflict. / Research limitations/implications: This study addresses the gap in the literature on anticipated work–life conflict, expanding the focus to nonfamily commitments in unbounded jobs such as academic posts. The authors are not aware of any other study that focuses on the anticipation of work–life conflict in the case of career advancement among current employees with professional experience or accurate knowledge of what job they will be doing instead of students. Work–life balance should not be restricted to women with caring responsibilities, as conflict is no longer only related to gender roles. / Originality/value: This paper not only explores existing work–life conflict but also empirically analyzes anticipated work–life conflict in unbounded careers such as academia. It represents a significant contribution in an underresearched field and may lead to future research in other settings

Mapeo de la investigación en la gestión internacional de los recursos humanos

Despite the interest in International Human Resource Management (IHRM) in recent years, several issues still need to be addressed to provide clarity and conceptual understanding. This article aims to offer a systematic review of the literature on IHRM, highlighting the main themes and trends observed in this field. The study offers a critical evaluation, deepening the comprehension of IHRM, and identifying the most promising future lines of research. A scientific mapping analysis based on co-word networks of the literature was developed, using the SciMAT bibliometric tool. Three steps were followed: first, research themes were detected; second, the research themes and thematic networks were visualised; and third, the contributions made by the research topics were measured by performance analysis. One thousand seven hundred and seven published documents between 1974 and 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science. In the last period (2015-2020) the driving themes are cross-cultural adjustment, multinationals, global careers and cross-cultural management. Job satisfaction is a specialised issue, while China is a transversal issue. Global talent management, women in the international context and diversity are emerging themes. This analysis will help inform researchers, professionals and public administrations about the importance of IHRM.A pesar del interés en la Gestión Internacional de los Recursos Humanos en los últimos años, aún deben abordarse varios problemas para proporcionar claridad y comprensión conceptual. Este artículo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una revisión sistemática de la literatura de la Gestión Internacional de los Recursos Humanos, destacando los principales temas y tendencias observados en este campo. El estudio ofrece una evaluación crítica, profundizando la comprensión de lo que es la Gestión Internacional de los Recursos Humanos, e identificando las líneas de investigación futuras más prometedoras. Se desarrolló un análisis de mapeo científico basado en redes de co-palabras de la literatura, utilizando la herramienta bibliométrica SciMAT. Se siguieron tres pasos: primero, se detectaron temas de investigación; segundo, se visualizaron los temas de investigación y las redes temáticas; y tercero, se midieron mediante análisis de rendimiento las contribuciones hechas por los temas de investigación. Mil setecientos siete documentos publicados entre 1974 y 2020 fueron recuperados de la Web of Science. En el último periodo (2015-2020) los temas motores son el ajuste intercultural, las multinacionales, las carreras globales y la gestión intercultural. La satisfacción de los trabajadores es un tema especializado, mientras que China es un tema transversal. La gestión global del talento, las mujeres en el contexto internacional y la diversidad son temas emergentes. Este análisis ayudará a informar a los investigadores, profesionales y administraciones públicas sobre la importancia de la Gestión Internacional de los Recursos Humanos

Are ambidextrous intellectual capital and HRM needed for an ambidextrous learning?

Organizational learning has become increasingly important for strategic renewal. Ambidextrous organizations are specially succesfull in current environment, where firms require efficiency and adaptation to changes. Organizational ambidexterity is still in the process of developing into a new research paradigm in organizational research. In this study, we discuss arguments about the ambidextrous character, we identify the intellectual capital characteristics that better support learning types, the HRM practices adequate for the components of intellectual capital, and if the organizational intellectual capital plays any mediating role in the relationship between HRM practices and organizational learning.Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Marketin

Antioxidant properties of polyphenol-rich cocoa products industrially processed

Fermentation and roasting are the main causes of polyphenol degradation during the process for obtaining cocoa products. In the present study, a process for obtaining polyphenol-rich cocoa products on an industrial scale is described. The process avoids the fermentation and roasting steps and includes a step for the inactivation of the enzyme Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), which helps preserve the polyphenol content present in the raw cocoa bean. In addition, our study evaluates the antioxidant capacity and characterizes the flavonoid profile of the polyphenol-rich cocoa products obtained from the natural polyphenolrich cocoa cake. Using different protocols, we have obtained three cocoa extracts with high polyphenol content, namely extracts A (167 mg/g), B (374 mg/g) and C (787 mg/g). The scavenging capacity of the extracts was measured as their ability to bleach the stable radicals DPPH and ABTS + while their antioxidant effect was evaluated with the FRAP assay. The results for A, B and C in the DPPH test expressed as Trolox equivalent (lmol)/mg dry weight of extract were 0.2, 1.4 and 3.0, respectively; in the ABTS test the results were 1.0, 4.7 and 9.8. The antioxidant capacity expressed as ascorbic acid equivalent (lmol)/mg dry weight of each product were 17.2, 76.1 and 207.7, respectively. The scavenging properties of cocoa powder against the superoxide anion, H2O2, HClO, and peroxynitrite were also determined. The IC50 (lg/mL) values in the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase test were 77.5, 12.3 and 10.3, for A, B and C, respectively, while as an HOCl scavenger the IC50 (lg/mL) values were 225.4, 73.2 and 21.5. As a peroxynitrite anion scavenger, only extract C had a relevant effect, with IC50 (lg/mL) values of 76.1 or 110.0 in the absence or presence of bicarbonate. None of the extracts tested showed activity in the hydrogen peroxide test, but B and C significantly increased the deoxyribose degradation in the absence of ascorbate. Likewise, none of the extracts inhibited the ferrous or copper chelating activity at 100 lg/mL, but they inhibited the lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma through non-enzymatic generation systems, with extract C giving the best IC50 (lg/mL) values: 17.4 and 8.1 against lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma, respectively. In conclusion, if the extractive protocol is well characterized, defined and optimized, cocoa could constitute a source of polyphenols for enriching foods, nutraceuticals and alimentary supplements.Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (FCM

Antioxidant properties of polyphenol-rich cocoa products industrially processed

Fermentation and roasting are the main causes of polyphenol degradation during the process for obtaining cocoa products. In the present study, a process for obtaining polyphenol-rich cocoa products on an industrial scale is described. The process avoids the fermentation and roasting steps and includes a step for the inactivation of the enzyme Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), which helps preserve the polyphenol content present in the raw cocoa bean. In addition, our study evaluates the antioxidant capacity and characterizes the flavonoid profile of the polyphenol-rich cocoa products obtained from the natural polyphenolrich cocoa cake. Using different protocols, we have obtained three cocoa extracts with high polyphenol content, namely extracts A (167 mg/g), B (374 mg/g) and C (787 mg/g). The scavenging capacity of the extracts was measured as their ability to bleach the stable radicals DPPH and ABTS + while their antioxidant effect was evaluated with the FRAP assay. The results for A, B and C in the DPPH test expressed as Trolox equivalent (lmol)/mg dry weight of extract were 0.2, 1.4 and 3.0, respectively; in the ABTS test the results were 1.0, 4.7 and 9.8. The antioxidant capacity expressed as ascorbic acid equivalent (lmol)/mg dry weight of each product were 17.2, 76.1 and 207.7, respectively. The scavenging properties of cocoa powder against the superoxide anion, H2O2, HClO, and peroxynitrite were also determined. The IC50 (lg/mL) values in the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase test were 77.5, 12.3 and 10.3, for A, B and C, respectively, while as an HOCl scavenger the IC50 (lg/mL) values were 225.4, 73.2 and 21.5. As a peroxynitrite anion scavenger, only extract C had a relevant effect, with IC50 (lg/mL) values of 76.1 or 110.0 in the absence or presence of bicarbonate. None of the extracts tested showed activity in the hydrogen peroxide test, but B and C significantly increased the deoxyribose degradation in the absence of ascorbate. Likewise, none of the extracts inhibited the ferrous or copper chelating activity at 100 lg/mL, but they inhibited the lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma through non-enzymatic generation systems, with extract C giving the best IC50 (lg/mL) values: 17.4 and 8.1 against lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates and human plasma, respectively. In conclusion, if the extractive protocol is well characterized, defined and optimized, cocoa could constitute a source of polyphenols for enriching foods, nutraceuticals and alimentary supplements.Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (FCM