Search results for " innovation."
showing 10 items of 1463 documents
Exploring working conditions as determinants of job satisfaction: an empirical test among Catalonia service workers
2011
Job satisfaction is particularly important in the service industries since it involves direct contact with customers and thus has a direct influence on company performance. This paper analyses the impact of 10 working conditions on job satisfaction by means of structural equation modeling in a representative stratified random sample of 1553 service sector employees in Catalonia, Spain. Significant effects in social aspects (recognition of a job well done and social support) were found, followed by psychological loads (emotional demands and job insecurity) and by task contents (development and meaning, and predictability). These variables explained 50% of the variance in job satisfaction.
The impact of COVID-19 on alternative and local food systems and the potential for the sustainability transition: Insights from 13 countries
2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major stress test for the agri-food system. While most research has analysed the impact of the pandemic on mainstream food systems, this article examines how alternative and local food systems (ALFS) in 13 countries responded in the first months of the crisis. Using primary and secondary data and combining the Multi-Level Perspective with social innovation approaches, we highlight the innovations and adaptations that emerged in ALFS, and how these changes have created or supported the sustainability transition in production and consumption systems. In particular, we show how the combination of social and technological innovation, greater citizen involvement,…
Cooperation and innovation in Italian agribusiness between theoretical analysis and empirical evidence
2022
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all economic sectors. The agri-food sector has also suffered very clear effects, especially in those production contexts char-acterized by corporate atomization, lack of cooperation, and innovation. An agrifood system, characterized by low levels of innovation and dependence on foreign countries for many raw materials and foodstuffs, must necessarily recover margins of competitiveness if it is to reverse course. This study analyses the current production scenario of the Italian agri-food industry and suggests strategies to recover margins of competitiveness. The study reveals a weak agricultural sector, while the food industry and distribution are highly c…
Teaching and learning business ethics in a multicultural group
2017
Building on a constructivist learning theory and a case teaching method, this article suggests a mixed learning approach for teaching business ethics in a multicultural group. The purpose is to present the objectives and implementation of the mixed learning approach in a case course with a multicultural group. Based on the students' feedback, we also analyse and discuss the effects of the mixed learning approach on students' learning experiences. The article contributes to the growing stream of literature on business ethics teaching in higher education by presenting an approach that allows teachers and students to join in constructive knowledge creation in a multicultural group. In so doing…
Innovation in services through learning in a joint venture
2011
Innovation determines a firm's competitiveness and survival and a joint venture is a fast and effective way to acquire the missing knowledge that partners require to innovate, but ‘knowing how to cooperate’ can be a determining factor in achieving the successful transfer of knowledge. Employing a sample of 81 service-sector firms and using a structural equation modeling methodology, we found a positive and direct impact between the cooperative learning process and partners' commitment to innovation.
Affordances of telecollaboration tools for English for Specific Purposes online learning
2016
This paper explores students' perceptions of the affordances of different telecollaboration tools used in an innovation project for English for Specific Purposes online learning carried out between the University of Valencia (Spain) and Wofford College (South Carolina, United States) during the school year 2015-2016. Different tools for synchronous and asynchronous communication were used. The asynchronous tools included a discussion forum, a wiki, social networking websites and Google forms; while the tools used for synchronous communication were text, voice and video chat, videoconferencing tools and Google Drive. All the tools were accessible through the online platform used in the proje…
Scripting as a pedagogical method to guide collaborative writing : university students' reflections
2020
A collaboration script is a set of instructions used to improve collaborative learning among students in technology-enhanced environments. Previously, university students’ perspective has been under-represented in the study on collaboration scripts. In this article, we focus on understanding students’ experiences in a scripted collaborative writing task, especially from the perspective of following the script. The study was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 91) taking a master-level educational science course at one university each in Finland and Belgium. Divided into 25 groups, each with three to five members, the students worked on collaborative writing tasks. During their share…
Economía social y dinámica innovadora en los sistemas territoriales de producción y de innovación. Especial referencia a los sistemas agroalimentarios
2008
Las cooperativas desarrollan su actividad económica de acuerdo con unos principios que pueden alimentar el crecimiento de una trama de relaciones socio-económicas (capital relacional) y socio-políticas (capital social) propicias, a su vez, para generar la confianza que requiere la cooperación entre empresas y entre éstas y el sistema científico-tecnológico. Así se podría facilitar la creación de la proximidad organizada (relacional) necesaria para dotar de fluidez a las relaciones entre actores distintos dentro de los sistemas territoriales de producción y de innovación. Pero la presencia de una amplia red de cooperativas también podría definir ciertas inercias y factores de bloqueo. Este a…
Co-creation with Companies: A Means to Enhance Societal Impact of University Researchers?
2019
AbstractIn this chapter, we explore co-creation as a form of societal interaction of science. We approach co-creation as a goal-oriented form of dynamic interaction aiming at mutual benefit of all parties. As such, we exclude technology transfer and other linear societal interaction forms that follow a closed-model innovation format. We argue that focusing solely on tapping the needs of researchers and ‘pure’ science would lead to ignoring the broader context in which researchers work. An excessive focus on meeting the needs of external stakeholders could jeopardize the preconditions of science. Hence, this chapter explores how researcher-company co-creation can be nurtured in a heavily ins…
Digital knowledge sharing and creative performance: Work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic
2021
Abstract The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing requirements have led to major disruptions in the world of work. The outcomes of the enforced and large-scale work from home (WFH) practices are currently largely unexplored. This study aims to address this gap in the research by investigating the external and internal digital knowledge sharing (DKS) and creative performance (CP) of employees under these extraordinary circumstances. The social capital theory was utilized as the theoretical lens for examining the associations of DKS and CP with demographic, individual, and organizational factors. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among knowledge…