Si bien es cierto que los temas de calidad e innovación han sido ampliamente tratados desde diferentes perspectivas, el estudio de la relación entre ambos conceptos ha sido escaso. Este trabajo aborda dicha relación analizando los vínculos entre los conceptos más amplios de Gestión de la Calidad Total (GCT) y Capacidad de Innovación Empresarial (CIE). En concreto, se argumenta que la GCT puede favorecer el desarrollo de la CIE. Un estudio empírico de 102 empresas pertenecientes a los sectores de maquinaria e instrumentos de medida, análisis y control revela que, en efecto, ambos conceptos son compatibles y permite identificar qué dimensiones de la GCT tienen mayor poder determinante en la generación de una CIE.
Los cambios producidos en el entorno en los últimos años han implicado que la innovación y la Gestión de la Calidad Total (GCT) se conviertan en dos alternativas de las empresas para hacer frente a la competitividad. La relevancia de ambos conceptos en el contexto actual nos ha conducido en el presente trabajo a estudiar, tanto de manera teórica como empírica, como las organizaciones pueden implantar programas de GCT como modelo de futuro para adaptarse al entorno a través de la innovación y del ajuste de su contexto interno. Con este fin hecho operativo el concepto de gap de innovación, tanto técnica como administrativa, para medir el grado de adecuación entre la innovación que requiere el entorno y la que realiza la empresa. Posteriormente a través de una muestra de 207 empresas españolas hemos contrastado una serie de hipótesis que apoyan la causalidad entre un mayor gap de innovación y la GCT.
Entrepreneurship Policy: Theory and Practice is the first book to fully analyze the construction of entrepreneurship policy, a rapidly-evolving area of policy about which little is known. From a study and assessment of the practices of governments in thirteen countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific, this book fully describes the policy area and shares new tools and methods for better understanding and explaining the why and how of an entrepreneurship policy approach. Unlike other research in the field of entrepreneurship where implications from research findings are used to suggest what policy actions should be taken to increase the level of entrepreneurship in an economy, this study is based on what entrepreneurship policy actions are being taken. This is a unique book in the field which points to the way forward both for policymakers and for the research community in terms of thinking about entrepreneurship policy and the complex issues surrounding its development.
Productive development policies (PDPs) are notoriously hard. They involve a daunting level of technical detail, require public-private collaboration, are in constant danger of capture, and demand time consistency hard to achieve in a politically volatile region. Nevertheless, the potential of PDPs to revitalize the regionâs economic performance and spur productivity growth cannot be ignored. This book takes an in-depth look at 17 cases involving productive development agencies from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay, identifying key features of institutional design and agency-level practices that make success more likely in this difficult policy arena. Careful study of these experiences might help successful productive development policies gain currency across the region. The cases in this book should not be seen as the exceptions that prove the rule of lackluster PDP performance, but rather as examples that demonstrate the rule can be broken.
Benchmarking has become a key tool in the water industry to promote and achieve performance targets for utilities. The use of this tool for performance improvement through systematic search and adaptation of leading practices, has expanded globally during the past decade. Many ongoing projects worldwide aim to address different needs and objectives, in varying contexts, with outstanding results and impact. Benchmarking Water Services provides valuable information to everyone interested in benchmarking in the water industry. The text is aimed at utilities considering joining a benchmarking project, experienced practitioners in charge of organizing a benchmarking exercise, consultants, regulators and researchers. The document is presented with a clear practice oriented approach and can be used as a how-to-benchmark guide presented from different perspectives (participants, organizers, supervising bodies). Readers will gain practical insight on real life benchmarking practices and will benefit from the experiences gained in some of the leading benchmarking projects of the water industry (including the IWA-WSAA benchmarking efforts, the European Benchmarking Co-operation and the several benchmarking projects carried out in Austria and Central Europe). The manual also presents the new IWA Benchmarking Framework, which aims to harmonize the terms used to describe benchmarking and performance indicators practices in the water industry, guaranteeing a more fluent and efficient communication. This Manual of Best Practice is edited by the IWA Specialist Group on Benchmarking and Performance Assessment, and co-published by AWWA and IWA Publishing. Praise for Benchmarking Water Services: "The continual trend of conceptual to specifics throughout the book provides for an educational experience each time the book is either casually perused or carefully studied." "The authors (Cabrera, Haskins and Fritiz) diligently pursue the focus of improvement." "Benchmarking Water Services is an in depth and practical ‘must have’ guide for any utility currently engaged in or planning to develop a benchmarking process" - Gregory M. Baird (2012) Benchmarking: An International Journal 19:2. More information about the book can be found on the Water Wiki in an article written by the author: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/TheNewIWABenchmarkingFramework A Spanish language version of this book is available as a free eBook: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/eBookTitlesfromIWAPublishingFreetoDownload-Volume2#HBenchmarkingParaServiciosdeAgua
This book provides a set of principles for fostering innovation in people (workers and consumers), in firms and in government, taking an in-depth look at the scope of innovation and how it is changing, as well as where and how it is occurring.
The Critical Path to Corporate Renewal is a practical and effective agenda for revitalizing the corporation. Through an in depth analysis of six companies that have undergone fundamental changes, the authors describe what works and what doesn't in corporate renewal. Describes the many common errors companies make in getting started. The human sources of competitive advantage--coordination, commitment, and competence--cannot be enhanced through programs. Successful corporate renewal occurs only when plants, divisions, and departments involve employees. That must be done through a carefully designed series of steps--the critical path--led by unit general managers. Companies that have followed this strategy have flatter and less hierarchical organizations, employees who take initiative to reduce costs and improve quality, and enhanced teamwork at all levels.
Fidelity, Hallmark, Michelin, and Wal-Mart are renowned industry powerhouses with long leadership track records. Yet these celebrated companies are united by another factor not generally equated with competitive success: They are all family-controlled businesses. While many view the hallmarks of family businesses—stable strategies, clan cultures, and unencumbered family ownership—as weaknesses, Danny Miller and Isabelle Le Breton-Miller argue that it is these very characteristics that create formidable competitive advantages for many such firms. Managing for the Long Run draws from a worldwide study of enduring, family-run organizations—including Cargill, Timken, L.L. Bean, The New York Times, and IKEA—to reveal their unconventional success strategies and how these strategies can be adopted and applied in any organization. Miller and Le Breton-Miller show how four driving passions of family-run firms—command, continuity, community, and connection—give rise to a set of practices that defy modern management thinking yet ensure a company’s long term competitive advantage. Outlining how these practices can enhance strategic efforts from operations to brand leadership to innovation, this book shows what every company must do to manage for the long run.
This book presents original research articles addressing various aspects of economics, management and optimization. The topics discussed include economics, finance, marketing, resource allocation strategies, fuzzy logic, and network-based techniques for the analysis of economics, management and mathematical optimization. Combining the input of contributing professors and researchers from various Spanish, Italian and Latin American universities, the book will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners, as well as members of the general public interested in the world of Economics and Management.
