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Given the obvious social and economic differences in Latin America, this paper establishes that the purpose of the company is not only economic gain, but also the service and social development of the community in which they are immersed. Faced with this dilemma between service and profit, more ethical than strategic, the paper offers a number of examples where companies achieve better results in the long term establishing the emphasis on service. Finally the paper shows the case of Grupo La Norteñita, which has developed members of one of the poorest indigenous communities in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to design integrated product-service offerings and implement servitization processes, manufacturers need practical and tangible methodologies. Service design has been suggested as a way to facilitate such processes. This paper assesses the results gathered from an experiment of the implementation of service design in six Basque manufacturers already undergoing servitization processes. Data was collected by means of participatory observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that service design allows manufacturers to go beyond product-oriented mindsets and to design integrated product-service value propositions through focusing on the experience offered to customers. Moreover, it concludes that service design can be applied without needing to fully transition towards services as a core offer. Nonetheless, manufacturers participating in this experiment highlighted the need to consider business competencies in service design in order to properly assess and manage all the change elements inherent to servitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the staffing policies of some leading consulting firms in Spain are analyzed to identify the factors that characterize them, as well as similarities and differences among them. The case study method is used for this analysis, and three case studies are considered: Accenture, IBM and Company Z. The results suggest that the professional partnership model and the managed professional business model are still relevant but are insufficient in explaining the various policies. Five factors are identified in addition to major trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a growing number of social enterprises in Spain. Like any other organization, they must be managed efficiently. However, few studies have analyzed the direction of this type of business and, to a lesser extent, how they manage their human resources. This paper focuses on how Spanish social enterprises manage their human resources by using a case study methodology. The results confirm that social companies do follow human resources practices but, due to the strong social component that moves and attracts workers to contribute to their missions, these practices differ from those made by non social enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the escape of talent from social companies by applying ethical and social responsible human resources practices, and by managing volunteers in accordance with their social characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies dynamic capabilities approach to the study of family businesses. We introduce the term ‘dynamic familiness' to show the capability of family firms to create, extend, or modify their unique bundle of resources coming from the interaction between the family, the individuals and the firm. Our aim is to give empirical evidence about the process of generation and reconfiguration of the resources in the family firm. This process will allow the firm to evolutionary adapt and survive through the generations. To achieve this objective, we conduct a case study in Grupo Yllera, a representative firm of Spanish family firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the level of consciousness that Spanish organizations have on their value system. The Executive Committee, as representatives of the organization, should get the values of their workers were coincident with the values of their organization or at least not incompatible between them. For that reason it's necessary that the organization uses strategies, which allow it to join the values of its members and its own values to get Shared Values. Through the investigation, it is observed a strong coherence between organizational and member's values, so it's checked the existence of Shared Values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the whole role of both board of directors and ownership structure on the effectiveness of executive compensation design in Spanish listed firms. Using a principal-principal agency framework and based on panel data methodology analysis in the period 2004-2011, results show that high level of ownership concentration influence negatively in the executive compensation alignment, having an adverse effect on minority shareholders' interests. Moreover, evidences show that type of controlling shareholder determines supervisory board effectiveness, which only exert an effective monitoring over executive compensation - increasing variable pay and diminishing fixed salary-, when majority shareholder has not linked to management of the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing how financial managers assess capital budgeting allocations is a relevant issue beyond the mere desire to know what others do and how they do it. In this paper, we report some of the findings from a survey conducted in 2011 among 140 financial managers of Spanish companies. The main conclusion from the study is the existing divorce between theory and practice in investment project valuation. However, when analyzing this split in depth using certain essential value sources, such as future growth opportunities, the divorce might emerge as more apparent than real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main proposal of the paper is to analyze the human resources management practices adopted by some Spanish SMEs in order to promote and develop corporate entrepreneurship. A case study method is used to explore the corporate entrepreneurship activities developed by three SMEs. The main results show the importance of establishing good relationships among companys' members, creating an appropriate working environment. Also, the relevance of promoting risk attitudes and the participation of employees in corporate entrepreneurship activities is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows Spanish companies' position on work-life balance, considering two industries: food & drinks and information technology. The offer of work-life benefits is not very extended, and its use by workers is still lower. The positive and negative consequences of the benefits and the existence of institutional pressures on employers to achieve work-life balance are also considered. The sector the organization is in is relevant, and IT companies are more involved with work-life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the advantages of emerging market multinationals. It analyzes the internationalization process of 12 Brazilian multinational firms within a historical context and identifies the comparative advantages and disadvantages. It highlights that what distinguishes the internationalization of Brazilian firms —and that characterize their way of doing things— is their management model use, which is based on a unique combination of organizational competencies and management style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses collaboration with suppliers in the process of new product development. It contains a description of the benefits and challenges this collaboration poses and shows the experience of Spanish industry regarding such practice. From this experience, one may conclude that collaborating with suppliers in the development of new products leads to shorter and more efficient innovative processes and to better products, but one can also observe that Spanish firms are still in the learning stage. As a result, lessons learned are presented as a guide to managers in improving collaboration with suppliers in the innovation process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a detailed examination of a successful business model innovation that allowed the Kiluva Group, a dietary products company from Spain, to survive a severe crisis and subsequently become a high-growth company. In spite of operating in a mature market with an undifferentiated product, it outperformed all the competitors and achieved a CAGR in revenues of nearly 40% over 10 years. From a dynamic perspective, we focus on the role of trial-and-error learning that made this business model innovation possible. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Traditional closed business models have recently shown their limitations. In this paper, we explore the role of key resources and how they can be aggregated into open business models. We first examine how the nature of key resources influences the development of these models. We pay particular attention to whether the resources are rivalrous or non-rivalrous, and whether they are excludable or not. We outlined the two faces of open business models, considering the buy side and the sell side of how resources are accessed and leveraged respectively in such models. We examined one organization in more detail, the El Bulli restaurant, to provide an in depth illustration of both sides of that firm's business model and show its adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of mergers and acquisitions and cooperative agreements within the European Union increased during the last century. Nevertheless, the new century seems to show a change in the trends. Therefore, the objective of this work is to analyse the characteristics and evolution of these growth operations in recent years (2000-2007). The different data presented in the paper have shown a growing economic integration process through cooperative strategies such as mergers, acquisitions and alliances. Spanish firms have actively taken part in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship marketing is based on the establishment and maintenance of continuous relations between buyer and seller as a source of mutual benefits. In this context, the customer's perception of benefits and monetary and non-monetary sacrifices derived from his relationship with the retailer is crucial for the existence of an ongoing and successful relationship. However, such a perception may vary greatly depending on the type of service provided. In this paper we analyze customers assessment on the benefits and costs of their relations with four types of distributors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information Systems Outsourcing is a growing phenomenon in many businesses nowadays, which has been characterised, in general, with an insufficient level of detail and analysis. For this reason the main aim of this piece of work is to deepen into every aspects which define the outsourcing contract. We will do this by showing the results of a survey carried out in the biggest Spanish firms, and we will suggest the future which is glimpsed in relation with outsourcing in the firms subjected to study. In the paper also it is presented a longitudinal analysis, which shows the evolution in the last years of many variables which define the outsourcing relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies are constantly trying to build long term, intense and meaningful relationships with their customers. Traditionally, the relationship marketing has analyzed how companies increase consumers' loyalty, while recently marketing literature is analyzing how relationships based on identification constitute an additional step which implies that consumers enthusiastically promote the company, given that for those consumers their link with the company is so important that explain part of their identity. Using premises derived from the theories of social identity, branding and reference groups, in this paper we analyze the concept of consumer-company identification as an ideal link of the company with its customers, studying the bases and key elements that support this relationship, and providing orientation to its implementation in the company. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, social and institutional interests in environmental protection, have provoked firms to include environmental issues within their orientation and strategy. This paper identifies and analyses different profiles of firms' environmental behaviour belonging to the industrial sector in order to identify which of them are more active in terms of environmental issues. Results show that, within this sector, there are different groups of companies depending on the degree of implementation of the "Corporate Environmentalism" and its antecedents. Moreover, this groups are different in terms of their size, activity sector and the attitude expressed towards the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

FMCG market segmentation is very interesting for the company, since this kind of goods have special features in terms of price strategies, price promotions, mass advertising or brand strategies. This paper develops a segmentation approach using panel data in order to identify market segments and describe them through both price and sales promotions sensitivity, and consumer loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Collaboration between firms and universities is a phenomenon of increasing importance for the creation and transfer of innovations and that is necessary for the economic development of the countries. In practice, several obstacles arise that make more difficult the management of this kind of relationships. To know and to identify them is critical in order to improve the success of the cooperation process. In this paper the problems that arise in the cooperative relationships firm-university in Spain are analysed and some measures for make lesser the negative effects of these problems are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the degree of integration of the "Corporate Environmentalism" strategy and the main forerunners for the firms to adopt this concept, within the Consumer Goods Industry. With this purpose, first, the main antecedents of this concept are studied in order to analyze the importance granted by the companies to the environmental issues they face is studied and, the way this concern is reflected in the adoption of corporate and marketing actions is researched. Results show that the degree of adoption of this strategy is not very high, highlighting management commitment as the main forerunner of the integration of environmental issues within the company. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The achievement of competitiveness advantages by companies is something vital for their survival and success. With this paper we try to know which factors explain the competitive success of SMEs, using a sample of 1.201 Spanish enterprises that develop their activity in the industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper approaches the multidimensionality of the implementation of environmental practices in the business context. After a review of the different practices adopted in the environmental transformation of firms, empirical evidence of their implementation is provided over three Spanish industrial sectors. In particular, four implementation dimensions are identified: planning and organization, product design, internal production processes, and logistic processes. Based on the level reached on each of these dimensions, we identify different profiles or strategies of environmental proactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to show the environmental situation of Spanish certified productive centres, as well as the effects it produces on certain indicators of business competitiveness and, especially, manufacturing performance indicators. Spanish certified productive centres do not seem to have gone beyond, in general, that threshold of strategic orientation (especially in manufacturing strategy) of environmental actions, perhaps because the facilities are older. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this paper is to define some of the factors that determine the environmental strategy of firms, dedicating special attention to the factors that pressure towards environmental adaptation and to the barriers that impede this adaptation. The importance of these determinants is appraised by a group of experts on environmental management, who conclude that pressure fundamentally comes from the customers and the legislation, and the most important barriers are the cost of this adaptation and the priority of other matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces the notion of competition in business models, presents the concept of virtuous cycle, and illustrates how a well-crafted business model generates superior long-run returns. Looking at strategy formulation from the point of view of business models offers new insights on fundamental strategy issues such as the threats to sustainability of competitive advantage and the [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper highlights the importance of the availability of intangible resources within the firm in order to start its international expansion. However, intangible resources are not only the cause of the firm's internationalization but also they may be a consequence of this international process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper analyzes the institutional framework of Spanish firms using a new World Bank database: Doing Business 2004. Despite some defects, this annual report will become an essential tool for comparing institutions across countries and measuring the effects of policy reforms. After comparing Spanish institutions with those of neighboring countries, we conclude that, in general, our institutions perform worse than those of European Union and OECD countries. This underperformance is much worse in the labor market, where our rules are comparatively very rigid. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although the growing interest and the attention being paid to micro enterprises by public administration, there is a lack of empirical research on this topic in Spain. In this paper the main characteristics of this group of enterprises in Spain are examined and compared to several European Union (EU) countries, using different sources of data. Results indicate that the high proportion of micro enterprises in industries such as construction, trade, hotels and restaurants, and transports seems to derive from a lack of alternative employment opportunities. Results also show the educational level of owner-managers of micro enterprises is lower than in other EU countries and even lower than that of the unemployed of the above mentioned sectors. Finally, implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for further research are made. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Internet is a powerful medium for reaching and servicing customers around the world. Firms, however, have learned that cross-national differences in infrastructure, regulation, language, buyer demographics and behavior, payment methods, and currencies pose formidable challenges to the simple global model of international operations. This paper examines not only the opportunities for global integration but also the needs for local responsiveness, showing how firms operating across borders can use the Internet effectively as a marketing tool. A variety of examples-books, music, wines, and industrial components as well as information and financial services-are used to illustrate the potential and the pitfalls of Internet-based selling across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]