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Banks are the backbone of the financial sector and catalysts in the economic development of any country. Current changes in their global business ecosystem make knowledge of about the fund-supplying and fund-demanding parties of the society a key resource for the fulfillment of banks’ investment and saving functions. This paper addresses the relationship between the performance and a learning culture that is supported by knowledge processes within the organization. Given the relevance of this subject for organizations from most knowledge-intensive domains, this research has focused on the Spanish banking sector. Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 215 employees from 142 individual branches from a major banking institution in Spain is studied. The results of the data analysis show that in addition to maximizing on what is already known about the customer base, employees’ learning about the potential new stakeholders and also about the internal strategies, tools, and techniques is directly related to the bank's performance, which, in turn, influences the economic recovery and socio-economic development. Results support that an active pursuit of learning within the context of the organization is required for banks to remain competitive in the dynamic, global business ecosystem, where international, national, and local banking sectors operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish City Halls are making a great effort to develop citizen-targeted online services in an attempt to enhance their effectiveness and reduce expenses. Hence, citizens' engagement is essential for the adoption of e-Government services. In this research, an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is developed to test citizen engagement towards online e-Government services from a sample of 307 citizens who used the benefits adviser tool within a Spanish City Hall. To achieve this goal, a structuring equation model is developed and tested to confirm the explanatory power of citizen satisfaction on citizen engagement. The results obtained suggest that the core constructs of TAM (perceived usefulness, ease of use and attitude) significantly affect users' citizen engagement. This study also reveals a general support for citizen satisfaction as a determinant of citizen engagement in e-Government services. The implications of the findings are discussed and useful insights are provided on what policy to follow to establish the appropriate conditions to build citizens' engagement intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background With the passing of time, knowledge like other resources can become obsolete. Thus, people in a healthcare system need to update their knowledge in order to keep pace with the ongoing changes in their operational environment. Information technology continually provides a great amount of new knowledge which can lead to healthcare professionals becoming overloaded with knowledge. This overloading can be alleviated by a process of unlearning which enables the professional to retain just the relevant and critical knowledge required to improve the quality of service provided by them. Objective This paper shows some of the tools and methods that Hospital-in-the-Home Units (HHUs) have used to update the physician–patient knowledge and the technology knowledge of the HHUs' personnel. Design A survey study was carried out in the HHU in Spanish health system in 2010. Setting Fifty-five doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 HHUs. Interventions None. Results Three hypotheses are presented and supported, which suggest that technology and physician–patient knowledge is related to the unlearning context and the unlearning context impacts positively on the quality of health services provided. Conclusion The key benefits of the unlearning context for the quality of service provided in HHUs are clear: it enables them to identify and replace poor practices and also avoids the reinvention of the wheel (e.g.: by minimizing unnecessary work caused by the use of poor methods) and it reduces costs through better productivity and efficiency (improving services to patients). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Spanish healthcare system has undergone important changes, particularly with respect to the development of new hospital services. Today, more than ever, the factors that define the nature and structured of the Spanish healthcare environment (e.g. demand, costs, system deregulation) are undergoing rapid change thus obliging hospital administrators to develop and implement flexible and adaptive strategies in order to survive in an increasingly challenging environment facing hospital management. This work examines how the existence of some learning practices is linked to knowledge transfer and how this component is linked to relational capital. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 54 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 Hospital-in-the-Home Units. In an applied sense, the findings provide homecare practitioners with identifiable factors, which enable two learning models (conceptual and operational) and address the relevant issues by changing strategies at both the individual and organisational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Today, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs must take a more strategic perspective that is evidenced by the need to scan the enterprise to discover how they might improve customer relations as well as promote improved entrepreneurial actions. The paper aims to focus on this issue. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the impact of the existence of an "open-minded context" in an organisation at time (T) on actions that concern the challenging of entrepreneurial actions at time (T+1). It also examines the relationship between explorative and exploitation processes and customer relations. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of data obtained from 107 SMEs from the Spanish telecommunications industry, using partial least squares (PLS). Findings – The results indicate that the effects of an "open-minded context" at time (T) on customer relations at time (T+1) are mediated through the existence of explorative and exploitation knowledge processes at time (T+1). Research limitations/implications – Practices which may be based on explicit knowledge or on tacit knowledge in the form of processes and routines need to be challenged prior to the adoption of new knowledge by the organisation. In such situations, it will be necessary to modify or even delete some knowledge in order to ensure that employees have access to the up-to-date explorative and exploitative knowledge processes necessary to maintain or enhance customer relations. Practical implications – In situations where organisations and their members face rapidly changing environments it is necessary to challenge the entrepreneurial actions which have been derived from the founding entrepreneurs. Originality/value – The paper examines how the nature and existence of an open-mindedness context is linked to the nature and existence of knowledge exploration and exploitation processes enacted by the workforce of an organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the information technologies provide organizational members with explicit concepts, such as writing instruction manuals, the 'organizational memory' provides individuals with tacit knowledge, such as systematic sets, routines and shared visions. This means that individuals within an organization learn by using both the organizational memory and the information technologies. They interact to reduce organizational information needs contributing to improve organizational innovativeness. However, the utilization of the organization memory or the technology infrastructure does not guarantee that appropriate information is used in appropriate circumstances or that information is appropriately updated. In other words, previous memories reflect a world that is only partially understood and assimilated, which might lead individuals to doing the wrong things right or the right things wrong. This paper examines the relative importance and significance of the existence of unlearning to the presence and nature of 'organizational memory and technology'. We further examine the effect of the existence of organizational memory and information technology on conditions that promote organizational innovativeness. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 291 large Spanish companies. Our analysis found that if the organization considers the establishment of an unlearning culture as a prior step in the utilization of organization memory or the technology infrastructure through organizational innovativeness, then organization memory and technology have a positive influence on the conditions that stimulate organizational innovativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although corporate social responsibility is a potential driver of a company's organizational performance, previous studies on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and performance have provided conflicting results mainly by two reasons. On the one hand, non-financial outcomes of corporate social responsibility (i.e. corporate reputation, increased employee motivation and customer satisfaction) have been ignored. On the other hand, the potential mediating effect of innovation in the corporate social responsibility–performance relationship has not been taken into account. This study fills in an important gap by analyzing the impact of corporate social responsibility practices on a measure of organizational performance encompassing both financial and non-financial indicators, and by studying the potential mediating role of innovation in the corporate social responsibility–performance relationship. By using the structural equation modelling approach for a sample of 133 Eco-Responsible Spanish companies (mostly, small and medium-sized firms), results provide evidence of positive and significant direct effects of corporate social responsibility on both innovation and organizational performance across all groups of companies (i.e. manufacturing vs non-manufacturing, proactive vs non-proactive, smaller vs larger and younger vs older firms). Results also find a mediation role of innovation for the case of manufacturing companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to enhance their effectiveness, public health institutions are making a great effort to develop online health care services targeted to all citizens. The initial acceptance of these services by patients is important but their success depends on its continued use, that is, on patients' electronic loyalty (eLoyalty). In this research, an integrated model combining the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Seddon's Model is developed to test online health care services success from a sample of 256 healthcare end users. The results obtained suggest that quality perception dimensions (i.e. information quality and system quality) are antecedents of perceptual dimensions of individual benefits (i.e., perceived usefulness and satisfaction) and of organizational impact dimensions (i.e. eLoyalty). In other words, by promoting the idea that citizens can become more aware of health care services success and respond to them, they will benefit themselves and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the passing of time, knowledge like other resources can become obsolete. Thus, people in a healthcare system need to update their knowledge in order to keep pace with the ongoing changes in their operational environment. Information technology continually provides a great amount of new knowledge which can lead to healthcare professionals becoming overloaded with knowledge. This overloading can be alleviated by a process of unlearning which enables the professional to retain just the relevant and critical knowledge required to improve the quality of service provided by them.Objective: This paper shows some of the tools and methods that Hospital-in-the-Home Units (HHUs) have used to update the physician-patient knowledge and the technology knowledge of the HHUs' personnel.Design: A survey study was carried out in the HHU in Spanish health system in 2010.Setting: Fifty-five doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 HHUs.Interventions: None.Results: Three hypotheses are presented and supported, which suggest that technology and physician-patient knowledge is related to the unlearning context and the unlearning context impacts positively on the quality of health services provided.Conclusion: The key benefits of the unlearning context for the quality of service provided in HHUs are clear: it enables them to identify and replace poor practices and also avoids the reinvention of the wheel (e.g.: by minimizing unnecessary work caused by the use of poor methods) and it reduces costs through better productivity and efficiency (improving services to patients). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]