Tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) y crecimiento de la empresa

Este trabajo presenta y valida, mediante un estudio cuantitativo y cualitativo, una tipología de usos y posibles ventajas estratégicas asociados a las inversiones en TIC, entendidas como plataformas de crecimiento. Nuestros resultados muestran que las empresas pueden realizar hasta tres usos o aplicaciones estratégicas de las TIC: 1) mejorar la eficiencia interna de la empresa; 2) mejorar la atención a los clientes actuales; y 3) definir nuevos mercados y nuevas oportunidades de negocio. En el trabajo se argumenta, además, que tales usos no son sustitutivos, sino complementarios

The export development process of the Spanish manufacturing SMEs participating in an export consortium: A case study

In spite of the recent efforts made by the Spanish governmental institutions to promote hem, there are just a few export consortia really successful in Spain as compared to those being projected that never reach their formal constitution or simply fail to survive. Also, there are very few national studies in this specific area. This research is focused on the analysis of the existing phases in the export development process of several Spanish industrial SMEs participating in a specific export consortium as well as on the factors influencing the selection and performance of this institutional, collaborative arrangement to be understood as a potentially more successful way to penetrate foreign markets.Export consortium, business partners, export development process, Spanish case study.

¿Son las nuevas empresas internacionales más eficientes que las domésticas en un periodo de crisis?

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo determinar si las nuevas empresas internacionales, establecidas en un período de crisis, son más eficientes que las nuevas empresas domésticas creadas en ese mismo período. Con esta finalidad, se aplica el Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA) y regresiones por cuantiles para más de 12.000 nuevas empresas españolas de diferentes industrias, creadas entre 2008 y 2010. Los resultados más relevantes sugieren que las empresas de temprana internacionalización tienen mejores niveles de eficiencia en comparación con las nuevas empresas domésticas en este período

Determinantes de la elección del socio tecnológico : especialidades sectoriales y de tamaño

El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en explorar las especificidades en los determinantes de la elección del socio tecnológico cuando se tiene en cuenta el tamaño de la empresa así como el sector al que pertenece. Concretamente, se analiza la selección de tres tipos de socios: clientes, proveedores y organismos de investigación (universidades y centros tecnológicos). La estimación se ha llevado a cabo a partir de datos longitudinales de la Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales (1997-2002) y utilizando un probit multivariante. Explorando en diversas submuestras sectoriales y de tamaño, los resultados arrojan nueva luz sobre la heterogeneidad de los factores que determinan la elección de cada tipo de socio tecnológico.The purpose of this paper is to explore the special features on the determinants of partner selection taking into account firm size and sectoral characteristics. Particularly we analyze the selection among three partners: clients, suppliers and research organizations (universities and technological institutes). The estimation technique has been a multivariate probit and it has been run with longitudinal data of the «Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales» (1997-2002). Exploring on several subsamples, according to firm size and sectoral characteristics, our results shed new light about the heterogeneity of the factors that determine the choice of each type of technological partner

Collaboration strategies and technological innovation : a contractual perspective of the relationship between firms and techonological centers

In this paper, a theoretical framework for analyzing the selection of governance structures for implementing collaboration agreements between firms and Technological Centers is presented and empirically discussed. This framework includes Transaction Costs and Property Rights' theoretical assumptions, though complemented with several proposals coming from the Transactional Value Theory. This last theory is used for adding some dynamism in the governance structure selection. As empirical evidence of this theoretical explanation, we analyse four real experiences of collaboration between firms and one Technological Center. These experiences are aimed to represent the typology of relationships which Technological Centers usually face. Among others, a key interesting result is obtained: R&D collaboration activities do not need to always be organized through hierarchical solutions. In those cases where future expected benefits and/or reputation issues could play an important role, the traditional more static theories could not fully explain the selected governance structure for managing the R&D relationship. As a consequence, these results justify further research about the adequacy of the theoretical framework presented in this paper in other contexts, for example, R&D collaborations between firms and/or between Universities or Public Research Centers and firms

The Phenomenon of international new ventures, global start-ups, and born-globals : what do we know after a decade (1993-2002) of exhaustive scientific inquiry?

In this paper, 27 studies from the last decade which deal more or less explicitly with the International New Venture, global start-up or born-global phenomenon are first identified, and then fully examined and critically assessed as a basis for obtaining an adequate view of the state-of-the-art of this increasingly important research avenue in the field of International Entrepreneurship (IE). The methodology used for this synthetic review allow us to analyze a number of recent, purposefully-chosen studies that are systematically compared along the following criteria: 1) main objective and type of research; 2) theoretical framework/s of reference, 3) methodological issues, and 4) main findings and/or conclusions. As a result of this literature review, a critical assessment follows in which the most relevant benefits and contributions as well as potential drawbacks, limitations or major discrepancies in the research activities conducted so far are discussed. Finally, some suggestions and implications are provided in the form of future research directions

Assesing advertising efficiency : does the internet play a role?

This research focuses on a major concern for marketers addressing the claims of inefficiency of the spending on advertising. We examine whether the Internet can help increase overall advertising efficiency. Using a sample from the Spanish automobile industry, we combine a nonparametric method - Data Envelopment Analysis - with recent important insights from statistics and econometrics studies, and we find that online advertising improves the efficiency levels and this effect is more pronounced in the long-term temporal framework

The influence of country and brand image on the evaluation of foreign products the moderating role of the nationality of the consumer

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la relación bidireccional o no recursiva entre la imagen del país and la evaluación del producto. Nuestro objetivo es contribuir al debate sobre la dirección causal entre estos conceptos que existe en la literatura. Además, se confirma el papel mediador de la imagen de marca and su contribución a la relación entre la imagen del país del país and la evaluación del producto. Con el fin de contrastar las hipótesis propuestas, los datos de tres grupos de consumidores se compilan mediante una encuesta en un hipermercado simulado. Los resultados confirman la relación no recursiva entre la imagen del país and la evaluación del producto, sin embargo, ni el papel mediador de la imagen de marca es el mismo para ambas direcciones de la relación antes mencionada ni para los diferentes grupos de consumidores en cuestiónThe purpose of this research is to analyze the bidirectional or non-recursive relation between the image of the country and the evaluation of the product. Our aim is contributing to the debate about the causal direction between these concepts that exists in the literature. Additionally, the mediating role of brand image and its contribution to the relation between the country image of the country and the evaluation of the product is confirmed. To contrast the proposed hypotheses, data of three groups of consumers is compiled by means of a survey in a simulated hypermarket. Results confirm the non-recursive relation between the image of the country and the evaluation of the product, however neither the mediating role of brand image is the same for both directions of the relation nor for the different groups of consumers in question

Identification of barriers to co-create on-line : the perspectives of customers and companies

Purpose: Value co-creation is an important topic of interest in marketing domain for the past decade. Co-creation via the internet has received a particular attention in the literature (O'Hern and Rindfleisch, 2010). Although there have been substantive number of studies of what motivates customers to participate in value co-creation in the internet-based platforms, there is a lack of research of what the deterrents are that may prevent customers from contributing their ideas online. This research was undertaken to define the deterrents from the customers and companies' point of view. Furthermore, the difference, if exists, between the users' and marketing professionals' ranking of the inhibitors to co-creation online is also studied. Design/methodology/approach: This exploratory qualitative research is based on 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with customers and 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with marketing specialists from different companies. Spearman's rank correlation is applied to explore the relationship between the internet users' and marketers' responses. Findings: There are nine constraining factors. The results show that although there is a repetition of the mentioned constraining factors indicated by the both groups of the interviewees, the ranking of the barriers is distinctive. Research Implications: New conceptual information is received on what restrains customers from co-creation from both customers' and companies' point of view. Practical Implications: This paper explains the potential problems to be confronted when launching a co-creation project in the internet-based platforms and offers managers a preliminary guide to comprehension of the users' deterrents rating. Originality: The paper that defines deterrents to co-creation online

The Impact of the Content of the Label on the Buying Intention of a Wine Consumer

This paper aims to analyze the influence of the content of the label of wine bottles on the purchase intention of wine. The sample was 114 individuals (51, 32% women and 48, 67% men) inside simulated Supermarket at Javeriana University of the city of Cali (Colombia). They were viewed for 2 min in front of a grocery shelving with 100 wines. The study uses eye tracking to estimate the behavior related to wine attributes included on the label of wine bottles, specifically the denomination of origin, nutritional information, and health warnings. The authors use the hierarchical model methodology, which generates a pattern of relationships among variables. Among the results, it is possible to determine a consistent model for purchase intention, where the mentioned components of the label that are related to wine attributes and their interactions constitute important factors in the possibility of influencing a purchase intention. However, when executing a group division of the audience attending to the experience in wine consumption, it is evident that based on their experience, consumers read the labels’ information differently, causing certain effects in their buying intention