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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of supply chain integration in different contexts. More specifically, it aims to show that supply chain integration is only effective in buyer-supplier relationships characterised by high supply complexity. Design/methodology/approach – A survey-based research design is developed to measure different dimensions or aspects of supply chain integration and supply complexity. Data were collected among manufacturers in The Netherlands and Spain. Findings – This research shows that supply chain integration increases performance if supply complexity is high, while a very limited or no influence of supply chain integration can be detected in case of low supply complexity. The results also show that in high supply complexity environments the use of structured communication means to achieve supply chain integration has a negative effect on cost performance. Research limitations/implications – The limited sample size prohibits estimating and testing of more comprehensive models of the relationship between supply chain integration and performance. Specifically, the authors were not able to further investigate how different supply chain integration dimensions are inter-related and mutually reinforce one another to improve performance. Practical implications – The main managerial lesson is that, in contrast to what has been written in many books and other popular publications, high levels of supply chain integration are only necessary in environments characterised by high supply complexity. Originality/value – This study helps to better understand context in supply chain management research. Specifically, it investigates the moderating effect of supply complexity on the integration-performance relationship, a topic suggested by Bozarth et al. as a line for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of RILCE. Revista de Filología Hispánica is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reports a research project based on case-studies related to bullying practices in Spanish high schools. Our objective was to identify different cultural patterns having influence on the emergence of violent behaviors in centers located in economically deprived areas. 'Lack of motivation', 'laziness', 'disruptions', and so on, are key terms and expressions that acquire different meanings depending on who uses them. We found two major groups of teachers: those who blame students for what they regard as students' failure, and those who believe that a different teaching approach should be employed with those students. Two different concepts of punishment- in the case of bullying incidents- were also clear: punitive or preventive. In the end, we concluded that exclusive concentration on curricular contents could turn high schools in part of the violence problem. As a contrast, identifying social and cultural problems could be part of the solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merit order of renewable generation has produced an increasing, relevant number of zero values in Spanish electricity spot prices since 2010, in contrast with the rest of markets which rarely present zero values. This letter shows that existing methodologies for normalizing the price distribution fail to yield a proper normalization. This letter proposes a new algorithm based on Nataf transformation which addresses this issue and ensures a correct normalization. Numerical results validate the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theorists in autobiographical memory (AM) studies generally agree that AMs serve three kinds of broad functions: self-related, social, and directive functions. Although these kinds of functions are probably universal, gender and country variations are expected. The study investigates perceived use of AMs in everyday life. Male and female Danish and Spanish college students were asked to carry a diary and report a sample of naturally occurring instances of AMs. Participants were asked to assess their memories in terms of perceived functions. Results showed some country differences that were consistent with the characterization of Danish and Spanish samples in terms of individualism–collectivism. Some gender differences were also found. These differences, in contrast to our expectations, were limited to the Danes. To interpret it, two main lines of reasoning were proposed. The first was concerned with changes in gender ideology in Spain in the last decades. According to the second, these analyses may lead us to expand the number of broad categories as well as the variety of specific uses of AMs in everyday activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the emergence of conflict and collaboration in the implementation of forest conservation policies in Soria, Spain. We draw insights from discursive institutionalism and use a comparative case study approach to analyse and compare a situation of social conflict over the Natural Park declaration in the Sierra de Urbión, and a civil society led collaborative process to develop management plans for the 'Sierra de Cabrejas' in Soria. The implementation of the EU Habitats Directive generated different outcomes in these two cases, which unfolded in the context of the same nature conservation legislation and national and provincial administrative structures but differed in terms of types of forests involved, property rights arrangements and forest use histories. We critically examine the influence of the institutional context and dominant discourses on the emergence of outcomes: conflict emerged where local institutions and discourses were threatened by the EU directive, while collaboration was possible where local institutions and counter-discourses were weak. We find that the institutional context plays an important part in determining local discourses in the implementation of forest conservation policies. Yet local counter-discourses have limited influence in the implementation and policy processes in the face of contestation by the discourses of regional civil servants conservation activists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decision to migrate is normally based on expectations of improving one's actual living conditions and therefore, one's well-being. However, these expectations are not usually met in receiving contexts that relegate newcomers to lower power positions. From a liberating community psychology approach, this study aims to develop a predictive model of the well-being of Moroccan migrants living in southern Spain. Data were collected from a survey sample of 633 migrants (the average age was 31.9 years and 51.8 % were women) from 20 territorial units of Andalusia. Through a process of multilevel regression analysis, this study reveals that the well-being of the Moroccan community is closely determined by the following: (a) the level of social justice in the receiving context (openness to diversity of receiving communities, cultural sensitivity of community services, and residential integration); and (b) the individual strengths of the population (use of active coping strategies, satisfaction with the receiving context, and temporal stability in the new environment). These results empirically support the impact that different ecological levels of analysis have on well-being. Major theoretical contributions of the model and useful suggestions for improving migrant well-being are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Petroleum - Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Philology Series is the property of Petroleum - Gas University of Ploiesti and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyses the evolution in large firms' strategy and structure in a new spatial and temporal context (Spain 1993-2003). The central question of this work is to determine whether transformations undergone in this country have led Spanish companies' strategies and structures to converge with those of other European countries, following the predictions of 'universalistic' theories of strategy and organization; or whether cultural/institutional effects have remained strong, following a path-dependence/cultural-lag type logic. The Spanish experience is particularly significant for theory in general because its late development and very distinctive institutional origins allow us to test theories applied before in a new country and more recent time period. Our findings show that a changing context (e.g. liberalization) has led Spanish firms to converge with those of other European economies in the pattern of strategy and structure (increasing levels of diversification and divisionalization). Thus, the findings of this study in a new context are consistent with universalistic predictions that strategies and structures will evolve towards a common model of corporate development, as Chandler postulated initially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]