Analyzing an absorptive capacity: unlearning context and information sistem capabilities as catalysts for innovativeness

ANALYZING AN ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: UNLEARNING CONTEXT AND INFORMATION SYSTEM CAPABILITIES AS CATALYSTS FOR INNOVATIVENESS GABRIEL CEPEDA-CARRIÓN JUAN GABRIEL CEGARRA-NAVARRO DANIEL JIMENEZ-JIMENEZ FUNDACIÓN DE LAS CAJAS DE AHORROS DOCUMENTO DE TRABAJO Nº 550/2010 De conformidad con la base quinta de la convocatoria del Programa de Estímulo a la Investigación, este trabajo ha sido sometido a evaluación externa anónima de especialistas cualificados a fin de contrastar su nivel técnico. ISSN: 1988-8767 La serie DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO incluye avances y resultados de investigaciones dentro de los programas de la Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros. Las opiniones son responsabilidad de los autores. 1 Analyzing an absorptive capacity: Unlearning context and Information System Capabilities as catalysts for innovativeness Gabriel Cepeda-Carrión* Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro** Daniel Jimenez-Jimenez*** Abstract: This study examines the impact of a company’s unlearning context and information system (IS) capabilities on the company’s ability to challenge of basic beliefs and to implement processes that are explicitly or tacitly helpful in the reception of new ideas (absorptive capacity). We also examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and the existence and enhancement of innovativeness. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 286 large Spanish companies. Our results show that absorptive capacity is an important dynamic determinant for developing a company’s innovativeness. Moreover, this relationship is best explained with two related constructs. Firstly, the company’s unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between potential absorptive capacity and realised absorptive capacity. Secondly, the results also shed light on a tangible means for managers to enhance their company’s innovativeness through IS capabilities. Key words: Unlearning context, information system capabilities, organizational innovativeness, absorptive capacity. JEL classification: M10, M15, M19. Corresponding author: Gabriel Cepeda-Carrión, Departamento de Administración de Empresas y Marketing. Universidad de Sevilla, Ramón y Cajal, 1. 41018 Sevilla (SPAIN). Email: gab[email protected] * Departamento de Administración de Empresas y Marketing. Universidad de Sevilla ** Facultad de Ciencias de la Empresa. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena *** Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Finanzas. Universidad de Murcia 2 1. Introduction The literature in the field of organizational learning reports that organizations that possess relevant prior knowledge are likely to have a better understanding of new technology that can generate new ideas and develop new products (Tsai, 2001). Many scholars have suggested that the ability to exploit external knowledge is a critical component of innovative capabilities (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). A company’s absorptive capacity is the enabling quality for converting knowledge into new products, services or processes to support innovation (Zahra and George, 2002; Newey and Zahra, 2009). In the present paper, we focus on the distinction between what Zahra and George (2002) refer to as ‘potential absorptive capacity’ and ‘realised absorptive capacity’. While the term potential absorptive capacity is used to refer to the capacity to acquire and assimilate knowledge, the concept of realised absorptive capacity includes transformation and exploitation capabilities. Although it seems intuitively clear that potential absorptive capacity provides support for realised absorptive capacity by supporting a broad range of potential responses (March, 1972), there is some ambiguity regarding the relationship between potential absorptive capacity and realised absorptive capacity (Zahra and George, 2002). Potential absorptive capacity and realised absorptive capacity are fundamentally different concepts that require very different strategies and structures and the resulting tensions between the two are difficult to reconcile (Newey and Zahra, 2009). While potential absorptive capacity requires change, flexibility and creativity, realised absorptive capacity requires order, control and stability. This means that potential absorptive capacity might also have a negative impact on realised absorptive capacity, which may well result in the under-utilization of relevant knowledge or the utilization of irrelevant knowledge, both of which are liable to lead to a degradation of innovation (Lyndon, 1989). In this paper, we propose an unlearning context to manage an appropriate balance between potential absorptive capacity and realised absorptive capacity. At its heart, the unlearning context, attempts to reorientate organizational values, norms and/or behaviours by changing cognitive structures (Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984), mental models (Day and Nedungadi, 1994), dominant logics (Bettis and Prahalad, 1995), and core assumptions which guide behaviour (Shaw and Perkins, 1991) to attain a competitive advantage. Thus, the contribution of that context is related to its ability to prepare the ground for innovation processes. As Jantunen (2005) points out, in order to sustain innovativeness in a dynamic environment, the company must have the ability to renew its knowledge base. In consequence, companies should create an internal context where the newly generated knowledge can be valued and combined with existing knowledge in order to develop new products, services or processes. Therefore, the new, valuable knowledge for the firm can contribute to sustaining organizational innovativeness in the following years. However, knowledge can have a relatively short half-life because of ‘employee’ turnover and the passage of time (Gold, Malhotra and Segars, 2001). It is crucial to count on a information 3 system (IS) capability to allow the company to store and recover the new knowledge for sustaining organizational innovativeness when necessary. IS capability is particularly important in this era of restructuring and reliance on temporary or contract workers. It is essential that important knowledge be recodified or recorded in databases, information systems, operating procedures and white papers (Gold et al., 2001). Consequently, IS capabilities positively enhance the ability of companies to innovate, which is a crucial strategic goal. All these dimensions are discussed in detail in the following section. The third section investigates the development of alternative models to explore how these dimensions contribute to innovation. Details of the survey, which was used to collect appropriate data with which to test the models is presented in the next section, whilst the results of testing the models are presented in the fifth section. This is followed by the discussion of those results. 2. Linking potential absorptive capacity with realised absorptive capacity though unlearning Nowadays, knowledge is considered to be a valuable resource for the survival of organizations. A consolidated theory of organizational learning has underlined the advantages of the creation of new knowledge in organizations. However, new knowledge frequently generates internal problems when it contradicts current knowledge, behaviours or organizational routines. In this context, the presence of an internal environment that fosters the replacement of old knowledge could be essential for organizations that wish to create new products or services that require new points of view and ideas. Unlearning can be understood as a context where employees can change their habits and routines and forget old knowledge, and substitute new habits and knowledge, as part of a major process or which might be described as learning. In recent organizational learning literature, the term unlearning has been analyzed in two related streams (i.e. individual forgetting and organizational un/relearning). Regarding individual forgetting, it is often stated that forgetting takes place at an individual level, since organizations themselves cannot forget (e.g. Imai, Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1985; De Holan and Philps, 2004; Cegarra and Sánchez, 2008). Most authors refer to forgetting as challenging for individuals because of the loss of prior ways of seeing reality – the loss of fundamental assumptions – which until now had brought certainty and security (Akgün, Byrne, Lynn and Keskin, 2007). This process may be facilitated by ‘awareness’ in the individual that there is a new way, along with the desire to ‘relinquish old ideas’ (Becker, 2005). With regards to organizational un/relearning, drawing upon a reading of Sinkula (2002) and Akgün et al. (2003), Akgün et al. (2007) propose that organizational unlearning, in essence, is operationalized as changes of routines in the organization. Therefore, unlearning at the organizational level is viewed as memory elimination in general and as changing beliefs, norms, values, procedures, and routines in particular (Nonaka, Toyoma and Byosiere, 2001). A sudden change in those routines forces individuals to reconsider their old basic attitudes toward customers, competitors and suppliers (Sinkula, 2002). In this study we have considered that 4 forgetting takes place at the individual level, and what happens at the organizational level is a relearning process as a consequence of the individual forgetting. As Cegarra and Sanchez (2008) point out, relearning is an adaptation process where the new information structures have to replace old structures, while individual unlearning is the art of forgetting. The discussion above provides an illustration that the distinction between learning and unlearning processes is not so clear (Tsang and Zabra, 2008). As shown in Figure 1, this division is more pedagogic than structural. On the one hand, the processes are neither independent nor autonomous, but are constantly interacting. People are able to create new knowledge by both processes, and some researchers even go further and argue that unlearning flourishes within communities of learning and communities of practice (e.g. Mitchell and Sackney, 2000; Wenger, 1998). From this perspective, unlearning can be understood as a necessary sub-process for learning, but not all types of learning. Sometimes employees acquire new knowledge that complements existing knowledge. In our opinion, unlearning is based on the premise that prior knowledge exists about a topic, idea, or concept and what we already know (explicitly and tacitly) and what we are trying to assimilate, interact and cross contaminate in non-linear and unpredictable ways. For example, while learning to use a new machine requires only new knowledge, what happens when an individual has been using a similar machine for some years and the company acquires a new one? The new machine may have the feeder on the left while the employee usually works on the right. In these circumstances, it would be a mistake to assume that whatever he/she knows is perfect; he/she may need to unlearn some habits and mindsets or he/she may need to take on other routines. Considering this, we argue that unlearning could be a necessary task in the acquisition of new knowledge that is not compatible with current knowledge in innovative organizations. These organizations are constantly seeking for ways to improve their methods and ideas in order to improve the lot of their customers. That is why these companies need a context where the oldest knowledge can be replaced (Rebernik and Sirec, 2007). As Sinkula et al. (1997) noted, as workers relearn they also unlearn and new knowledge replaces old, forgotten routines. Therefore, as workers continue, familiarity and confidence are gained with the new machine, old ways of doing things recede, prior expectations fade, discomfort is reduced, and forgetting takes place. 5 Figure 1: The interaction between learning and unlearning processes When attempting to explain the unlearning process, the ‘unlearning context’ and its different sub-dimensions are frequently cited as antecedents to the elimination of old logic at the individual level and the creation of room for new approaches at the organizational level. Chell (1993), for instance, used two models (i.e. acceptance of reality and adjustment) to explain the process through which individuals progress during change. French and Delahaye (1996) suggest a model of individual change involving four phases of security, anxiety, discovery and integration, in a cyclical and ongoing process of change adoption. Within this model, it is assumed that at various stages within the process, individuals are able to show a level of selfawareness, and will also experience a level of anxiety during the change process, “caused by the loss of old familiar patterns and processes”. Lewin’s (1951) model of change involves three steps: a) unfreezing, which is suspending the current structure and involves disconfirmation of expectations, learning anxiety, and provision of psychological safety, b) transition, which is changing the mental structure and involves cognitive restructuring, semantic redefinition, and new standards of judgment; and c) refreezing, which is adapting the new mental structure and involves the creation of supportive social norms and making change congruent with personality. In the present paper, we have followed the suggestion of Cegarra and Sanchez (2008) that the unlearning context should be measured on three sub-dimensions, which clearly relate to Lewin’s three steps: (a) The examination of lens fitting, which refers to an interruption of the employees’ habitual, comfortable state of being, and the creation of a framework that enables individuals in an organization to have access to new perceptions. (b) The framework for changing the individual habits, which refers to the challenge of inhibiting wrong habits when an individual has not only understood the new idea, but is motivated to make the change, and (c) The framework for consolidating emergent understandings, which refers to the organizational processes that can free employees up to apply their talents by implementing new 6 mental models based on adaptation to new knowledge structures. The unlearning arguments outlined above seem to contradict absorptive capacity theory. In fact, absorptive capacity is the principle that assimilating new knowledge requires prior knowledge (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). Similarly, absorptive capacity can be conceptualised as a set of organizational abilities to manage knowledge, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends. Kim (1998) understands absorptive capacity as skills relating to the ability to learn and solve problems that enable a firm to assimilate knowledge and create new knowledge. A possible explanation of the difference between these two views of the role of prior knowledge may relate to the advantages and disadvantages of this knowledge in innovative organizations. As noted above, unlearning plays a crucial role when newly acquired knowledge is incompatible with previous organizational knowledge. Innovative organizations, which frequently develop new products and services, have to confront extremely dynamic environments, strong competition and rapid advances in technology, and these require the intensive use and updating of knowledge (Day, 1994; Slater and Narver, 1995; Baker and Sinkula, 1999; Sinkula, 1994; Tippins and Sohi, 2003). A possible solution to this apparent dichotomy between unlearning and absorptive capacity may be found in an analysis of different absorptive capacity sub-dimensions. Zahra and George (2002) have suggested four dimensions of absorptive capacity, each playing different but complementary roles in explaining how absorptive capacity can influence innovation performance. The first two dimensions (i.e. acquisition and assimilation) are in effect what Zahra and George (2002) label potential absorptive capacity (PACAP) and the other two dimensions (i.e. transformation and exploitation) constitute realised absorptive capacity (RACAP). Whereas PACAP implies personal internal processes such as reflection, intuition and interpretation, RACAP reflects the efficiency of leveraging externally absorbed knowledge. In other words, PACAP is considered a promising component in understanding and assimilating a new methodology (Purvis, Sambamurthy and Zmud, 2001). When members of an organization have significant specialist experience and expertise, it is easier for them to make use of new knowledge about this specialism (Balogun and Jenkins, 2003). Therefore, PACAP includes mental shortcuts about people, places, and things (stereotypes); how the world is and what is possible and not possible (mental models); and grooves and patterns of thinking about how things should be seen and what outcomes are likely (mindsets). In contrast with this, RACAP incorporates the combination of existing and newly acquired knowledge into operations. Although, most studies in the area of absorptive capacity emphasise that RACAP is driven by PACAP (e.g. Zahra and George, 2002; Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), the existing literature has paid little attention to how RACAP is created and developed in the company. The few studies that have included organizational characteristics (e.g. Lane and Lubatkin, 1998; Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000) call for further research on the learning capacities of organizational units, organizational mechanisms to reduce the gap between what we are able to do (PACAP) and what we finally put into practice (RACAP). This gap can be seen when individuals are confronted with a substantial difference between what they see or hear and how they believe 7 the world to be (Purvis et al., 2001). The negative impacts of flawed mental models (in terms of emotional states of confusion, helplessness, and intense anxiety) on decision-making have been discussed by several authors (Toft and Reynolds, 1994; Reason, 1997; Chapman and Ferfolja, 2001). In this framework, what individuals have already learnt to absorb (PACAP) may be extremely difficult to unpack and undo, as a wide variety of factors, such as fear of the unknown, mental shortcuts, lack of awareness or organizational structures that channel information through managerial pathways, contribute to the resistance individuals offer to attempts to alter what they do and how they do it. As Tripsas and Gavetti (2000) highlight, experience significantly influences managerial cognition, which eventually determines a firm’s ability to manage knowledge. Thus, a firm’s PACAP is a path-dependent capability that is influenced by its prior knowledge and the past experiences of its members that are internalized as routines (Balogun and Jenkins, 2003). These routines represent a mix of structure and agency and discussions of the traps of routinization tend to overemphasize structural rigidity and ignore the capacity of organizational members to ‘think outside the box’ of their cognitive myopia (Howard-Grenville, 2005), which in turn causes RACAP and innovation to be undervalued (Lyndon, 1989). In order to develop RACAP, the ideas set out above could mean that companies, in order to innovate, have to eliminate old logics and routines that have not only become outdated (Barr, Stimpert and A., 1992), but also continue to surface unexpectedly and hinder the transformation of PACAP into RACAP. Therefore, although a learning process may promote acquisition, diffusion, transformation and exploitation of knowledge, and contribute to both potential and realized absorptive capacity, an unlearning context is necessary for the proper use of newly acquired knowledge, in order that it should be applied, and not rejected or ignored. The unlearning context is not only a mechanism for forgetting old knowledge, but is also the way companies are able to develop and make room for new knowledge (e.g. Huber, 1991; Bogenrieder, 2002; Nystrom and Starbuck, 1984; Day and Nedungadi, 1994; Bettis and Prahalad, 1995). In the examination of lens fitting and the framework for changing the individual habits, all the old logics and mental shortcuts are identified and reshaped with new understandings. The framework for consolidating emergent understandings may take relearning into the organization more generally, breaking barriers of group inertia and peer group pressure to build new critical norms and a critical mass capable of exerting force on the whole system to change its prescribed routines. As a consequence, an unlearning context, especially for innovative activities, plays a mediating role between new knowledge and previous, obsolete knowledge. Reduction of competition between the old and the new knowledge is helpful for employees who have used the old knowledge in the past for the current operations. Through a reflective process, organizations can renew knowledge and generate organizational routines and behaviours that ensure a competitive advantage. This consideration allows us to frame the first hypothesis of the present work: Hypothesis 1: The impact of potential absorptive capacity on realised absorptive capacity is positively mediated through the unlearning context. 14 Table 1: Factor Loadings of reflective constructs INNOVATIVENESS TRANSFORM EXPLOITATION IS CAPAC. ADQUISITION ASSIMILATION UNDERSTANDINGS LENS INDIV. HABITS P6_1 0.87 0.42 0.47 0.35 0.42 0.39 0.51 0.39 0.42 P6_2 0.88 0.40 0.46 0.32 0.46 0.39 0.51 0.36 0.39 P6_3 0.88 0.38 0.34 0.39 0.32 0.31 0.46 0.29 0.35 P5_1 0.41 0.88 0.70 0.35 0.44 0.55 0.44 0.33 0.43 P5_2 0.31 0.85 0.70 0.40 0.40 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.39 P5_3 0.36 0.76 0.60 0.44 0.37 0.38 0.46 0.39 0.40 P5_6 0.34 0.70 0.59 0.31 0.35 0.31 0.31 0.16 0.30 P5_7 0.33 0.52 0.78 0.27 0.34 0.25 0.29 0.21 0.33 P5_10 0.44 0.70 0.78 0.36 0.47 0.39 0.38 0.34 0.48 P5_12 0.39 0.63 0.80 0.35 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.27 0.41 P14_1 0.36 0.45 0.43 0.90 0.40 0.44 0.47 0.37 0.44 P14_2 0.36 0.48 0.46 0.91 0.41 0.45 0.52 0.39 0.48 P14_3 0.28 0.33 0.37 0.83 0.34 0.26 0.38 0.28 0.36 P4_1 0.29 0.38 0.39 0.35 0.71 0.36 0.47 0.24 0.44 P4_2 0.25 0.31 0.36 0.23 0.78 0.29 0.33 0.32 0.36 P4_3 0.29 0.28 0.33 0.18 0.77 0.24 0.30 0.17 0.29 P4_5 0.32 0.27 0.27 0.19 0.76 0.23 0.22 0.18 0.26 P4_6 0.34 0.35 0.39 0.31 0.70 0.33 0.37 0.30 0.37 P4_8 0.29 0.38 0.31 0.32 0.34 0.72 0.37 0.31 0.32 P4_9 0.39 0.53 0.47 0.44 0.46 0.95 0.47 0.45 0.46 P4_10 0.41 0.52 0.44 0.44 0.45 0.92 0.47 0.48 0.50 P1_1 0.51 0.43 0.42 0.41 0.40 0.37 0.83 0.38 0.49 P1_2 0.47 0.39 0.32 0.33 0.41 0.40 0.71 0.41 0.34 P1_3 0.56 0.30 0.31 0.28 0.34 0.26 0.74 0.23 0.37 P1_4 0.49 0.43 0.42 0.49 0.44 0.41 0.83 0.46 0.53 P1_5 0.48 0.41 0.41 0.44 0.47 0.39 0.84 0.43 0.55 P1_6 0.43 0.45 0.49 0.47 0.53 0.48 0.80 0.47 0.68 P2_1 0.35 0.38 0.35 0.33 0.38 0.32 0.42 0.70 0.41 P2_3 0.20 0.21 0.17 0.15 0.20 0.30 0.27 0.75 0.26 P2_4 0.28 0.31 0.28 0.30 0.31 0.33 0.39 0.70 0.37 P2_5 0.37 0.33 0.32 0.35 0.38 0.40 0.44 0.84 0.50 P3_1 0.38 0.43 0.44 0.47 0.42 0.41 0.54 0.48 0.78 P3_2 0.34 0.45 0.46 0.39 0.42 0.36 0.49 0.44 0.76 P3_3 0.24 0.39 0.37 0.39 0.34 0.34 0.40 0.36 0.71 P3_4 0.33 0.39 0.42 0.37 0.46 0.37 0.52 0.41 0.76 P3_5 0.28 0.33 0.37 0.24 0.37 0.29 0.39 0.37 0.75 P3_6 0.33 0.31 0.37 0.26 0.35 0.31 0.44 0.37 0.75 P3_7 0.30 0.33 0.41 0.33 0.46 0.34 0.47 0.40 0.78 From an examination of the results shown in Table 2, we can state that all of the constructs are reliable. They have values for both Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and for a composite reliability greater than the value of 0.7 required in the early stages of research, and the stricter value of 0.8 required for basic research (Nunnally, 1978). The AVE should be greater than 0.5, meaning that 50% or more variance of the indicators should be accounted for (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). All constructs of our model exceed this condition (Table 2). For discriminant validity, we have compared the square root of the AVE (i.e., the diagonals in Table 2) with the correlations among constructs (i.e., the non-diagonal elements in Table 2). On average, each construct relates more strongly to its own measures than to others. 15 Table 2: Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Matrix Meana SD CA CR AVE 1 1a 1b 2 2a 2b 2c 3 3a 3b 4 5 1. Potential Absorptive Capacity 4.45 1.44 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 1a. Acquisitionb 4.36 1.51 0.80 0.86 0.56 n.a. 0.75 1b Assimilationb 4.61 1.33 0.92 0.95 0.86 n.a. 0.47 0.93 2. Unlearning Context 4.85 1.26 n.a. n.a. n.a. 0.70 0.62 0.58 n.a. 2a. Consolidation of emergent u…b 5.17 1.27 0.89 0.92 0.65 0.62 0.55 0.50 n.a. 0.81 2b. The examination of lens fittingb 4.84 1.23 0.83 0.88 0.66 0.52 0.43 0.48 n.a. 0.52 0.81 2c. The framework for changing i…b 4.58 1.27 0.94 0.95 0.72 0.62 0.57 0.48 n.a. 0.55 0.65 0.85 3. Realized Absorptive Capacity 4.53 1.30 n.a. n.a. n.a. 0.65 0.58 0.52 0.62 0.55 0.43 0.58 n.a. 3a. Transformationb 4.68 1.33 0.82 0.88 0.65 0.76 0.64 0.66 0.69 0.62 0.53 0.60 n.a. 0.80 3b. Exploitationb 4.34 1.26 0.71 0.83 0.62 0.73 0.67 0.58 0.71 0.61 0.51 0.67 n.a. 0.74 0.79 4. IS Capability 5.21 1.32 0.82 0.92 0.78 0.53 0.45 0.45 0.58 0.54 0.41 0.51 0.53 0.58 0.57 0.88 5. Firm Innovativeness 4.78 1.33 0.80 0.91 0.77 0.64 0.56 0.53 0.67 0.64 0.54 0.53 0.62 0.65 0.69 0.53 0.87 Notes: a Mean = the average score for all of the items included in this measure; S.D. = Standard Deviation; CA = Cronbach’s Alpha; CR = Composite Reliability; AVE = Average Variance Extracted; n.a. = not applicable. b They represent the dimensions of each second-order construct. The bold numbers on the diagonal are the square root of the Average Variance Extracted. Off-diagonal elements are correlations among constructs. The evaluation of formative dimensions of three high-order constructs, ‘potential absorptive capacity’, ‘realised absorptive capacity’ and ‘unlearning context’, is different from that of the reflective dimensions. The appropriate procedure for formative dimensions is an examination of the weights (Mathieson, Peacock and Chin, 2001), which is a canonical correlation analysis and provides information about how each indicator contributes to the respective construct (see Table 3). Weights do not need to exceed any particular benchmark because a census of indicators is required for a formative specification (Diamantopoulos and Winklhofer, 2001). The concern with formative dimensions is potential multicolinearity with overlapping dimensions, which could produce unstable estimates (Mathieson et al., 2001). Results of a colinearity test show the variance inflation factor (VIF) scores of each second-order construct for all dimensions are far below the commonly accepted cut-off of 10. In addition, we confirmed the validity of the formative dimensions using the procedures suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981) and McKenzie, Podsakoff and Jarvis (2005). Table 3: Weights of formative constructs High order constructs and their dimensions weights t de Student Potential Absorptive Capacity Acquisition 0.66 12.82 Assimilation 0.44 8.92 Unlearning Context Consolidation of emergent understandings 0.45 5.68 The examination of lens fitting 0.21 3.23 The framework for changing individual habits 0.49 6.15 Realized Absorptive Capacity Transformation 0.48 4.14 Exploitation 0.56 4.91 4.3. Results The structural model resulting from the PLS analysis is summarised in Figure 3, where the explained variance of endogenous variables (R2) and the standardised path coefficients (β) are shown. As can be seen, all the hypothesized relationships are significant, and therefore, the hypotheses are supported. Since PLS makes no distributional assumptions in its parameter 17 estimation, traditional parameter-based techniques for significance testing and modelling were used (Chin, 1998). One consequence of the comparison between covariance structure analysis modelling approaches and PLS is that no proper overall goodness-of-fit measures exist for models using the latter (Hulland, 1999). The structural model is evaluated by examining the R2 values and the size of the structural path coefficients. Figure 3: Estimated casual relationships in the structural model *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 (based on t(499), two-tailed test) The stability of the estimates is examined by using the t-statistics obtained from a bootstrap test with 500 resamples. Table 4 sets out the model statistics, the path coefficients and the t values observed with the level of significance achieved from the bootstrap test. 18 Table 4: Model statistics Hypotheses Path coefficients T values R2 Δ R2 F 2 Potential absorptive capacity → Realized absorptive capacity (only direct effect) 0.649*** 5.77 0.42 Potential absorptive capacity → Realized absorptive capacity (mediated by unlearning context) 0.413*** 4.13 0.47 +0.05 0.1 Realized absorptive capacity → Firm Innovativeness (only direct effect) 0.610 *** 8.39 0.38 Realized absorptive capacity → Firm Innovativeness (mediated by IS capacity) 0.473*** 6.69 0.43 +0.05 0.09 ***p <.001, **p <.01, *p <.05, ns=not significant (based on a Student t (499) distribution with two tails). t(.001,499)=3.310124157, t(.01,499)=2.585711627, t(.05,499)=1.964726835. Adopting the approach used by Tippins and Sohi (2003), we checked for the presence of mediating effects by comparing the direct effect between variables and the competing links where the mediated variable is inserted, in which two substantive links are estimated and evaluated for significant differences. Table 4 shows the results of the two competing links. The first link (direct effect) examined the direct relationship between PACAP and RACAP, while the second link (partial mediation) examined the same relationship with the unlearning context acting as a mediator. The results of this partial mediation link support our hypothesis. Firstly, the partial mediation model explains more variance in RACAP than the direct effect model (0.48 vs. 0.42). Secondly, positive relationships exist between PACAP and the unlearning context (β = 0.703, p < 0.001) and between the unlearning context and RACAP (β = 0.335, p < 0.001) (see Figure 2). Thirdly, the significant relationship between PACAP and RACAP in the direct effect model (β = 0.649, p < 0.001) diminishes in the partial mediation model (β = 0.413, p < 0.001). Together, these three points provide evidence that there is a discernible mediating effect on the unlearning context and that the partial mediation model represents a significant improvement over the direct effect model. The partial mediation model explained a substantial amount of the variance of the realised absorptive capacity (R2 = 0.48). We also estimate the ratio F2 suggested by Chin (1998), to provide the level of significance of the improvement. When F2 is greater than 0.02, the improvement is significant. In our case F2 was 0.1. Likewise, we checked for the presence of the second mediating effect by comparing the relationship between RACAP and company innovativeness, and the competing link where IS capability is included. Table 4 also shows the results of these two competing links. The first link (direct effect) examined the direct relationship between RACAP and ‘firm innovativeness’, while the second link (partial mediation) examined the same relationship with IS capability acting as a mediator. The results of the partial mediation link support our hypothesis. Firstly, the partial mediation model explains more variance in innovation than the direct effect model (0.44 vs. 0.38). Secondly, positive relationships exist between RACAP and IS capability (β = 0.526, p < 19 0.001) and between IS capability and company innovativeness (β = 0.278, p < 0.05) (see Figure 2). Thirdly, the significant relationship between RACAP and innovativeness in the direct effect model (β = 0.610, p < 0.001) diminishes in the partial mediation model (β = 0.473, p < 0.001). Together, these three points provide evidence that there is a discernible mediating effect of IS capability and that the partial mediation model represents a significant improvement over the direct effect model. The partial mediation model explained a substantial amount of the variance of the innovation (R2 = 0.44). We also estimate the ratio F2 suggested by Chin (1998), to provide the level of significance of the improvement. When F2 is greater than 0.02, the improvement is significant. In our case F2 was 0.09. Therefore, we can state that both hypotheses are supported. That is to say, the dependent variables (i.e. RACAP, firm innovativeness), are better explained in the presence of the mediator variables than when the mediators are not present. Finally, we performed the Stone-Geisser test for predictive relevance to assess model fit in the PLS analysis (Geisser, 1975; Stone, 1974). When q-squared is greater than zero, the model has predictive relevance. In our model, q-squared was 0.25. 5. Discussion The purposes of this study are to examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and company innovativeness and to identify potential contexts and capacities that can act as catalysts for these relationships. In pursuing those aims, we unpack the concept of absorptive capacity by capturing the processes behind the development of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation capacities and testing their impact on company innovativeness, in the context of unlearning and IS capability. As expected, and consistent with our model, organizational mechanisms associated with PACAP had a significant positive effect on RACAP. Therefore, if the PACAP-enhancing activities provide access to more knowledge, and a greater knowledge base enables the company to search for solutions more effectively, then these activities should improve the efficiency of RACAP for new innovation (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). Furthermore, the organizational mechanisms associated with the unlearning frameworks provide somewhat surprising results. Our data indicate that PACAP has an indirect effect on PACAP through the unlearning context. This confirms what authors such as Zahra and George (2002) suggested when they stressed that PACAP and RACAP are fundamentally different concepts that require very different strategies and structures, and that the resulting tensions between the two are difficult to reconcile. While PACAP requires change, flexibility and creativity, RACAP requires order, control and stability (Zahra and George, 2002). Current measures may pay too much attention to the ability to recognise and assimilate external knowledge (i.e. PACAP) while neglecting the role of the receiving unit’s motivation to put knowledge to commercial use (i.e. RACAP). Therefore, managers need to be aware of the role of the unlearning context in closing the knowledge gap between PACAP and RACAP. Because old, outdated knowledge can impede adaptation to new configurations, senior managers need to 20 create a culture of continuous unlearning. Without care, organizations can fall into a ‘competence trap’ (Leonard-Barton, 1992), increasingly exploiting obsolete competences, or they can fall into a ‘failure trap’ (Levinthal and March, 1993), where a failure while exploring new opportunities may lead to more research and change, and so to failure again, which leads to more research and so on. Taking this into consideration, we argue that the company’s unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between PACAP and RACAP. As organizational members pursue new learning, the unlearning context is instrumental in establishing new habits, patterns and ways of doing things and interpreting things as integral to employees’ jobs. Our results are consistent with the organizational innovation literature. As we proposed, RACAP has a positive effect on organizational innovativeness. That is, newly created knowledge allows companies to generate new ideas and innovation. These findings confirm the important role of the knowledge-creating process. RACAP fosters the utilization of recently created knowledge. This is essential for developing innovations. These results support the theoretical literature (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; March, 1991; Kogut and Zander, 1992; Leonard-Barton and Sensiper, 1998; Hedlund, 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) and are consistent with previous empirical research (Hurley and Hult, 1998; Baker and Sinkula, 1999). Finally, the analytical results of this study support the proposal that firms that invest in and improve information systems are more likely to adopt innovations. This is in broad agreement with the conclusions of authors such as Dibrell, Davis and Craig (2008) who assert that IS capability may be essential in translating knowledge into enhanced company performance (i.e. innovation). Furthermore, the results support the idea that RACAP has an indirect effect on company innovativeness mediated by information technology. These findings support the views of Hsiu-Fen and Gwo-Guang (2005), who drew attention to the fact that IS capability (knowledge infrastructure) enables employees to both use existing knowledge and create new knowledge, both of which are crucial for the adoption of innovation. For example, rather than engaging in an extensive search through an organization’s information technology-based repository of knowledge (e.g. databases), employees turn first to friends and peers to learn where to find the relevant knowledge. Consequently, organizations can only take advantage of RACAP after technology systems or colleagues direct members of an organization to a specific location in a database for lessons or tools. Therefore, managers need to be aware of the role of the unlearning context in closing the knowledge gap between PACAP and RACAP. Because old, outdated knowledge can impede adaptation to new configurations, senior managers need to create a culture of continuous unlearning. Without care, organizations can fall into a ‘competence trap’ increasingly exploiting obsolete competences, or they can fall into a ‘failure trap’, where a failure while exploring new opportunities may lead to more research and change, and so to failure again, which leads to more research and so on. Taking this into consideration, we argue that the company’s unlearning context plays a key role in managing the tension between PACAP and RACAP. As 21 organizational members pursue new learning, the unlearning context is instrumental in establishing new habits, patterns and ways of doing things and interpreting things as integral to employees’ jobs. We think that this is an important finding, as potential for any company to develop will depend substantially on its ability to maintain an appropriate balance between PACAP and RACAP, thus, companies may be trapped in a suboptimal stable equilibrium. As many overloaded managers are paring their sources, they may pay too much attention to the ability to recognise and assimilate external knowledge (i.e. PACAP) while neglecting the role of the receiving unit’s motivation to put knowledge to commercial use (i.e. RACAP). This article makes three contributions to the management literature. First, our results indicate that establishing an unlearning context, whereby an organization encourages individuals to make their own choices as to how they divide their time between PACAP and RACAP, is possible and relates positively to innovation. This finding is important in the ongoing debate surrounding the relationship between the exploration and exploitation of knowledge, and confirms what authors such as Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) and Newey and Zahra (2009) say when they argue that a company’s ability to reconfigure the dynamic processes of exploration and exploitation of knowledge is a key source of its sustainable competitive advantage. Second, this research provides evidence to test the theoretical model on the basis of empirical tests. Even though research in the innovation field theoretically indicates that absorptive capacity is a catalyst for organizational innovativeness (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Fosfuri and Tribó, 2008), the innovation literature lacks empirical evidence to support this assertion. The process we followed included an in-depth literature review and an empirical study of several industries. This method helps to fill the gap in empirical work in the innovation and absorptive capacity fields, in which measures of organizational knowledge are rare, and often rely on crude proxies. Third, the results also shed light on a tangible means for managers to enhance their company’s innovation capabilities through IT. Our findings indicate that both IS capability and RACAP contribute to company innovativeness. This could be interpreted as meaning that the lack of absorptive capacity that may exist in the early stages of IS development can gradually be enhanced through the use of RACAP (i.e. real options). Consequently, this sequential model presented in this paper provides practical steps for managers interested in organizational structures that support company innovativeness. 6. Conclusions As competition intensifies and the pace of change accelerates, it is likely that aspects of PACAP and RACAP will change over time, requiring the modification of some of the content of organizational learning. Sethi, Smith and Park (2001), for instance, found that social cohesion among product development teams decreases the innovativeness of new products. In such situations, even though PACAP and RACAP potentially facilitate information sharing and joint sense-making, if those processes are not balanced appropriately, innovations are likely to suffer, 22 causing a reduction in the value of new products and services. The present study found that the unlearning context mediates the effects of PACAP on RACAP. Although this result needs further investigation, one conclusion that might be drawn is that managers need to foster an unlearning context to encourage the alignment of knowledge exploitation and exploration within the organization, in order to build effective innovations. As part of this assessment, the results emphasise the need for managers to have an explicit understanding of how their critical knowledge can be leveraged to renew their RACAP when needed. Perhaps management is over-investing in the development of PACAP and RACAP processes when they should be investing in mechanisms to facilitate the context of unlearning. Increased efforts to promote unlearning will greatly strengthen the link between PACAP and RACAP. On the other hand, company innovativeness is not determined by RACAP alone, but is also influenced by changes in the technological structures and the organizational developments that facilitate technology implementation. The present study found that the effect of RACAP on company innovativeness is mediated through the presence of information system capability. From a practical point of view, this finding may help managers to decide what technological knowledge they should have to support their RACAP, to compare that technological knowledge with what they already have, and to make decisions about how to develop or acquire the appropriate technology and knowledge. As a result, managers need actively to manage the knowledge gap between the technology they need to have and the RACAP they actually have. Future research will need to continue developing tools to support unlearning. Because knowledge entails scope and context and is enacted through the perspectives of multiple holders of knowledge in a firm and captured through language, the choice of the “holders of knowledge” who will identify what the firm must know is crucial (Cepeda and Vera, 2007). The present study has relied on the CEO or a member of the senior management team as a key holder of knowledge about the company and its capacity to learn or unlearn. Future research, might profitably sample multiple holders of knowledge within a company, and will be helpful in testing for inter-rater reliability and improving the internal validity of knowledge management studies. Furthermore, the present research was conducted within one national context to control for national culture effects across firms. Nonetheless, this design affects the external validity of the results. Since we have used a list of companies belonging to different sectors, it is probable that the results can be generalised to countries with similar characteristics. Some relevant features of the companies in this study need to be taken into consideration: (1) the companies are relatively large and old, (2) most of the personnel hold a university degree, and (3) the technological environment is changing continuously. Future studies could compare our results with those in other contexts. Finally, the cross-sectional design does not allow us to observe the short- and long-term impact of absorptive capacity on the unlearning context, information system capability and organizational innovativeness. Although our model proposes sequenced relationships between absorptive capacities (PACAP and RACAP), the unlearning context and IS capability, we 23 measure all these constructs at one point in time. Also, our measures do not directly capture dynamic change in innovation, but only the positive association between RACAP, IS capability and organizational innovativeness at one point. This positive association is suggestive of how a change in one variable is related to change in the other variable. Given the dynamic nature of the processes and constructs implied in our model, and the possibility of feedback loops and circular relationships characteristic of such dynamic capabilities, our study would benefit from a more longitudinal approach in order to understand more fully the link between unlearning context, IS capability and absorptive capacities. References Akgün, A. E., J. C. Byrne, G. S. Lynn and H. Keskin (2007). 'Organizational unlearning as changes in beliefs and routines in organizations', Journal of Organizational Change Management, 20, pp. 794-812. Akgün, A. E., G. S. Lynn and J. C. Byrne (2003). 'Organizational learning: A socio-cognitive framework', Human Relations, 59, pp. 839-868. Baden-Fuller, C. (1995). 'Strategic innovation, corporate entrepreneurship and matching outside-in to inside-out approaches to strategy research', British Journal of Management, 6, pp. 3-16. Baker, W. E. and J. M. Sinkula (1999). 'The synergistic effect of market orientation and learning orientation on organizational performance', Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 27, pp. 411-427. Baker, W. E. and J. M. Sinkula (2002). 'Market orientation, learning orientation and product innovation: Delving into the organization's black box', Journal of Market-Focused Management, 5, pp. 5-23. Balogun, J. and M. Jenkins (2003). 'Re-conceiving change management: A knowledge-based perspective', European Management Journal, 21, pp. 247-257. Barclay, D., C. Higgins and R. Thompson (1995). 'The partial least squares (PLS) approach to causal modelling: Personal computer adoption and use as an illustration', Technological Studies, 2, pp. 285-309. Barr, P., J. Stimpert and H. A. (1992). 'Cognitive change, strategic action and organizational renewal', Strategic Management Journal, 13, pp. 15-36. Becker, K. (2005). 'Individual and organizational unlearning: Directions for future research', International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 9, pp. 659-670. Becker, M. (2001). 'Managing dispersed knowledge: Organizational problems, managerial strategies, and their effectiveness', Journal of Management Studies, 38, pp. 1037–1051. Bettis, R. A. and C. K. Prahalad (1995). 'The dominant logic: Retrospective and extension', Strategic Management Journal, 16, pp. 5-14. 30 P5_12: Our unit has difficulty implementing new products and services (reverse) P5_13: Employees have a common language regarding our products and services (Source: Jansen et al., 2005) The consolidation of emergent understandings: with respect to your organization indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement (1= high disagreement and 7= high agreement): P1_1: Managers seem to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things P1_2: Management has tried to initiate projects and introduce innovations P1_3: Managers recognise the value of new information, assimilate it and apply it P1_4: Managers adopt the suggestions of personnel in the form of new routines and processes P1_5: Managers are prone to collaborate with members of the organization and to solve problems together P1_6: Managers are concerned with the fact that the manner of answering before unforeseen circumstances will be known by all (Source: Cegarra and Sánchez, 2008) The examination of lens fitting: with respect to your current position indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement (1= high disagreement and 7= high agreement): P2_1: Employees are able to identify problems (new ways of doing things) easily P2_2: Employees are able to see mistakes from my colleagues P2_3: Employees are able to listen to my customers (e.g. complaints, suggestions) P2_4: Employees are able to share information with my boss easily P2_5: Employees try to reflect and learn from their own mistakes (Source: Cegarra and Sánchez, 2008) The framework for changing the individual habits: with respect to your personal skills indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement (1= high disagreement and 7= high agreement): P3_1: New situations have helped individuals identify their own mistakes P3_2: New situations have helped individuals recognise unwished attitudes P3_3: New situations have helped individuals identify improper behaviours P3_4: Individuals recognise forms of reasoning or arriving to solutions as inadequate P3_5: New situations have helped individuals change their behaviours P3_6: New situations have helped individuals change their attitudes P3_7: New situations have helped individuals change their thoughts (Source: Cegarra and Sánchez, 2008) IS capability: (1= high disagreement and 7= high agreement): P14_1: There are rules for formatting or categorizing knowledge in my organization P14_2: There are specified keywords that need to be used for categorizing or searching for knowledge in my organization P14_3: There are common technologies available for everyone in my organization P14_4: There are technological barriers in my organization that prevent absorbing knowledge P14_5: There are technological barriers in my organization that prevent applying knowledge P14_6: Potential problems in technology are uncovered before the business is affected 31 P14_7: Data is searched for errors/mistakes frequently (Source: Gold et al., 2001) Organizational innovativeness: (1= high disagreement and 7= high agreement): P6_1. Accepted technical innovation P6_2. Management seeks innovation P6_3. Innovation is readily accepted in program/project management P6_4. People are penalised for new ideas that don't work (R) P6_5. Innovation is perceived as too risky and is resisted (R) (Source: Hurley and Hult, 1998) FUNDACIÓN DE LAS CAJAS DE AHORROS DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO Últimos números publicados 159/2000 Participación privada en la construcción y explotación de carreteras de peaje Ginés de Rus, Manuel Romero y Lourdes Trujillo 160/2000 Errores y posibles soluciones en la aplicación del Value at Risk Mariano González Sánchez 161/2000 Tax neutrality on saving assets. The spahish case before and after the tax reform Cristina Ruza y de Paz-Curbera 162/2000 Private rates of return to human capital in Spain: new evidence F. Barceinas, J. Oliver-Alonso, J.L. Raymond y J.L. Roig-Sabaté 163/2000 El control interno del riesgo. Una propuesta de sistema de límites riesgo neutral Mariano González Sánchez 164/2001 La evolución de las políticas de gasto de las Administraciones Públicas en los años 90 Alfonso Utrilla de la Hoz y Carmen Pérez Esparrells 165/2001 Bank cost efficiency and output specification Emili Tortosa-Ausina 166/2001 Recent trends in Spanish income distribution: A robust picture of falling income inequality Josep Oliver-Alonso, Xavier Ramos y José Luis Raymond-Bara 167/2001 Efectos redistributivos y sobre el bienestar social del tratamiento de las cargas familiares en el nuevo IRPF Nuria Badenes Plá, Julio López Laborda, Jorge Onrubia Fernández 168/2001 The Effects of Bank Debt on Financial Structure of Small and Medium Firms in some European Countries Mónica Melle-Hernández 169/2001 La política de cohesión de la UE ampliada: la perspectiva de España Ismael Sanz Labrador 170/2002 Riesgo de liquidez de Mercado Mariano González Sánchez 171/2002 Los costes de administración para el afiliado en los sistemas de pensiones basados en cuentas de capitalización individual: medida y comparación internacional. José Enrique Devesa Carpio, Rosa Rodríguez Barrera, Carlos Vidal Meliá 172/2002 La encuesta continua de presupuestos familiares (1985-1996): descripción, representatividad y propuestas de metodología para la explotación de la información de los ingresos y el gasto. Llorenc Pou, Joaquín Alegre 173/2002 Modelos paramétricos y no paramétricos en problemas de concesión de tarjetas de credito. Rosa Puertas, María Bonilla, Ignacio Olmeda 174/2002 Mercado único, comercio intra-industrial y costes de ajuste en las manufacturas españolas. José Vicente Blanes Cristóbal 175/2003 La Administración tributaria en España. Un análisis de la gestión a través de los ingresos y de los gastos. Juan de Dios Jiménez Aguilera, Pedro Enrique Barrilao González 176/2003 The Falling Share of Cash Payments in Spain. Santiago Carbó Valverde, Rafael López del Paso, David B. Humphrey Publicado en “Moneda y Crédito” nº 217, pags. 167-189. 177/2003 Effects of ATMs and Electronic Payments on Banking Costs: The Spanish Case. Santiago Carbó Valverde, Rafael López del Paso, David B. Humphrey 178/2003 Factors explaining the interest margin in the banking sectors of the European Union. Joaquín Maudos y Juan Fernández Guevara 179/2003 Los planes de stock options para directivos y consejeros y su valoración por el mercado de valores en España. Mónica Melle Hernández 180/2003 Ownership and Performance in Europe and US Banking – A comparison of Commercial, Cooperative & Savings Banks. Yener Altunbas, Santiago Carbó y Phil Molyneux 181/2003 The Euro effect on the integration of the European stock markets. Mónica Melle Hernández 182/2004 In search of complementarity in the innovation strategy: international R&D and external knowledge acquisition. Bruno Cassiman, Reinhilde Veugelers 183/2004 Fijación de precios en el sector público: una aplicación para el servicio municipal de suministro de agua. Mª Ángeles García Valiñas 184/2004 Estimación de la economía sumergida es España: un modelo estructural de variables latentes. Ángel Alañón Pardo, Miguel Gómez de Antonio 185/2004 Causas políticas y consecuencias sociales de la corrupción. Joan Oriol Prats Cabrera 186/2004 Loan bankers’ decisions and sensitivity to the audit report using the belief revision model. Andrés Guiral Contreras and José A. Gonzalo Angulo 187/2004 El modelo de Black, Derman y Toy en la práctica. Aplicación al mercado español. Marta Tolentino García-Abadillo y Antonio Díaz Pérez 188/2004 Does market competition make banks perform well?. Mónica Melle 189/2004 Efficiency differences among banks: external, technical, internal, and managerial Santiago Carbó Valverde, David B. Humphrey y Rafael López del Paso 190/2004 Una aproximación al análisis de los costes de la esquizofrenia en españa: los modelos jerárquicos bayesianos F. J. Vázquez-Polo, M. A. Negrín, J. M. Cavasés, E. Sánchez y grupo RIRAG 191/2004 Environmental proactivity and business performance: an empirical analysis Javier González-Benito y Óscar González-Benito 192/2004 Economic risk to beneficiaries in notional defined contribution accounts (NDCs) Carlos Vidal-Meliá, Inmaculada Domínguez-Fabian y José Enrique Devesa-Carpio 193/2004 Sources of efficiency gains in port reform: non parametric malmquist decomposition tfp index for Mexico Antonio Estache, Beatriz Tovar de la Fé y Lourdes Trujillo 194/2004 Persistencia de resultados en los fondos de inversión españoles Alfredo Ciriaco Fernández y Rafael Santamaría Aquilué 195/2005 El modelo de revisión de creencias como aproximación psicológica a la formación del juicio del auditor sobre la gestión continuada Andrés Guiral Contreras y Francisco Esteso Sánchez 196/2005 La nueva financiación sanitaria en España: descentralización y prospectiva David Cantarero Prieto 197/2005 A cointegration analysis of the Long-Run supply response of Spanish agriculture to the common agricultural policy José A. Mendez, Ricardo Mora y Carlos San Juan 198/2005 ¿Refleja la estructura temporal de los tipos de interés del mercado español preferencia por la liquidez? Magdalena Massot Perelló y Juan M. Nave 199/2005 Análisis de impacto de los Fondos Estructurales Europeos recibidos por una economía regional: Un enfoque a través de Matrices de Contabilidad Social M. Carmen Lima y M. Alejandro Cardenete 200/2005 Does the development of non-cash payments affect monetary policy transmission? Santiago Carbó Valverde y Rafael López del Paso 201/2005 Firm and time varying technical and allocative efficiency: an application for port cargo handling firms Ana Rodríguez-Álvarez, Beatriz Tovar de la Fe y Lourdes Trujillo 202/2005 Contractual complexity in strategic alliances Jeffrey J. Reuer y Africa Ariño 203/2005 Factores determinantes de la evolución del empleo en las empresas adquiridas por opa Nuria Alcalde Fradejas y Inés Pérez-Soba Aguilar 204/2005 Nonlinear Forecasting in Economics: a comparison between Comprehension Approach versus Learning Approach. An Application to Spanish Time Series Elena Olmedo, Juan M. Valderas, Ricardo Gimeno and Lorenzo Escot 205/2005 Precio de la tierra con presión urbana: un modelo para España Esther Decimavilla, Carlos San Juan y Stefan Sperlich 206/2005 Interregional migration in Spain: a semiparametric analysis Adolfo Maza y José Villaverde 207/2005 Productivity growth in European banking Carmen Murillo-Melchor, José Manuel Pastor y Emili Tortosa-Ausina 208/2005 Explaining Bank Cost Efficiency in Europe: Environmental and Productivity Influences. Santiago Carbó Valverde, David B. Humphrey y Rafael López del Paso 209/2005 La elasticidad de sustitución intertemporal con preferencias no separables intratemporalmente: los casos de Alemania, España y Francia. Elena Márquez de la Cruz, Ana R. Martínez Cañete y Inés Pérez-Soba Aguilar 210/2005 Contribución de los efectos tamaño, book-to-market y momentum a la valoración de activos: el caso español. Begoña Font-Belaire y Alfredo Juan Grau-Grau 211/2005 Permanent income, convergence and inequality among countries José M. Pastor and Lorenzo Serrano 212/2005 The Latin Model of Welfare: Do ‘Insertion Contracts’ Reduce Long-Term Dependence? Luis Ayala and Magdalena Rodríguez 213/2005 The effect of geographic expansion on the productivity of Spanish savings banks Manuel Illueca, José M. Pastor and Emili Tortosa-Ausina 214/2005 Dynamic network interconnection under consumer switching costs Ángel Luis López Rodríguez 215/2005 La influencia del entorno socioeconómico en la realización de estudios universitarios: una aproximación al caso español en la década de los noventa Marta Rahona López 216/2005 The valuation of spanish ipos: efficiency analysis Susana Álvarez Otero 217/2005 On the generation of a regular multi-input multi-output technology using parametric output distance functions Sergio Perelman and Daniel Santin 218/2005 La gobernanza de los procesos parlamentarios: la organización industrial del congreso de los diputados en España Gonzalo Caballero Miguez 219/2005 Determinants of bank market structure: Efficiency and political economy variables Francisco González 220/2005 Agresividad de las órdenes introducidas en el mercado español: estrategias, determinantes y medidas de performance David Abad Díaz 221/2005 Tendencia post-anuncio de resultados contables: evidencia para el mercado español Carlos Forner Rodríguez, Joaquín Marhuenda Fructuoso y Sonia Sanabria García 222/2005 Human capital accumulation and geography: empirical evidence in the European Union Jesús López-Rodríguez, J. Andrés Faíña y Jose Lopez Rodríguez 223/2005 Auditors' Forecasting in Going Concern Decisions: Framing, Confidence and Information Processing Waymond Rodgers and Andrés Guiral 224/2005 The effect of Structural Fund spending on the Galician region: an assessment of the 1994-1999 and 2000-2006 Galician CSFs José Ramón Cancelo de la Torre, J. Andrés Faíña and Jesús López-Rodríguez 225/2005 The effects of ownership structure and board composition on the audit committee activity: Spanish evidence Carlos Fernández Méndez and Rubén Arrondo García 226/2005 Cross-country determinants of bank income smoothing by managing loan loss provisions Ana Rosa Fonseca and Francisco González 227/2005 Incumplimiento fiscal en el irpf (1993-2000): un análisis de sus factores determinantes Alejandro Estellér Moré 228/2005 Region versus Industry effects: volatility transmission Pilar Soriano Felipe and Francisco J. Climent Diranzo 229/2005 Concurrent Engineering: The Moderating Effect Of Uncertainty On New Product Development Success Daniel Vázquez-Bustelo and Sandra Valle 230/2005 On zero lower bound traps: a framework for the analysis of monetary policy in the ‘age’ of central banks Alfonso Palacio-Vera 231/2005 Reconciling Sustainability and Discounting in Cost Benefit Analysis: a methodological proposal M. Carmen Almansa Sáez and Javier Calatrava Requena 232/2005 Can The Excess Of Liquidity Affect The Effectiveness Of The European Monetary Policy? Santiago Carbó Valverde and Rafael López del Paso 233/2005 Inheritance Taxes In The Eu Fiscal Systems: The Present Situation And Future Perspectives. Miguel Angel Barberán Lahuerta 234/2006 Bank Ownership And Informativeness Of Earnings. Víctor M. González 235/2006 Developing A Predictive Method: A Comparative Study Of The Partial Least Squares Vs Maximum Likelihood Techniques. Waymond Rodgers, Paul Pavlou and Andres Guiral. 236/2006 Using Compromise Programming for Macroeconomic Policy Making in a General Equilibrium Framework: Theory and Application to the Spanish Economy. Francisco J. André, M. Alejandro Cardenete y Carlos Romero. 237/2006 Bank Market Power And Sme Financing Constraints. Santiago Carbó-Valverde, Francisco Rodríguez-Fernández y Gregory F. Udell. 238/2006 Trade Effects Of Monetary Agreements: Evidence For Oecd Countries. Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero y José Antonio Martínez-Serrano. 239/2006 The Quality Of Institutions: A Genetic Programming Approach. Marcos Álvarez-Díaz y Gonzalo Caballero Miguez. 240/2006 La interacción entre el éxito competitivo y las condiciones del mercado doméstico como determinantes de la decisión de exportación en las Pymes. Francisco García Pérez. 241/2006 Una estimación de la depreciación del capital humano por sectores, por ocupación y en el tiempo. Inés P. Murillo. 242/2006 Consumption And Leisure Externalities, Economic Growth And Equilibrium Efficiency. Manuel A. Gómez. 243/2006 Measuring efficiency in education: an analysis of different approaches for incorporating non-discretionary inputs. Jose Manuel Cordero-Ferrera, Francisco Pedraja-Chaparro y Javier Salinas-Jiménez 244/2006 Did The European Exchange-Rate Mechanism Contribute To The Integration Of Peripheral Countries?. Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero y José Antonio Martínez-Serrano 245/2006 Intergenerational Health Mobility: An Empirical Approach Based On The Echp. Marta Pascual and David Cantarero 246/2006 Measurement and analysis of the Spanish Stock Exchange using the Lyapunov exponent with digital technology. Salvador Rojí Ferrari and Ana Gonzalez Marcos 247/2006 Testing For Structural Breaks In Variance Withadditive Outliers And Measurement Errors. Paulo M.M. Rodrigues and Antonio Rubia 248/2006 The Cost Of Market Power In Banking: Social Welfare Loss Vs. Cost Inefficiency. Joaquín Maudos and Juan Fernández de Guevara 249/2006 Elasticidades de largo plazo de la demanda de vivienda: evidencia para España (1885-2000). Desiderio Romero Jordán, José Félix Sanz Sanz y César Pérez López 250/2006 Regional Income Disparities in Europe: What role for location?. Jesús López-Rodríguez and J. Andrés Faíña 251/2006 Funciones abreviadas de bienestar social: Una forma sencilla de simultanear la medición de la eficiencia y la equidad de las políticas de gasto público. Nuria Badenes Plá y Daniel Santín González 252/2006 “The momentum effect in the Spanish stock market: Omitted risk factors or investor behaviour?”. Luis Muga and Rafael Santamaría 253/2006 Dinámica de precios en el mercado español de gasolina: un equilibrio de colusión tácita. Jordi Perdiguero García 254/2006 Desigualdad regional en España: renta permanente versus renta corriente. José M.Pastor, Empar Pons y Lorenzo Serrano 255/2006 Environmental implications of organic food preferences: an application of the impure public goods model. Ana Maria Aldanondo-Ochoa y Carmen Almansa-Sáez 256/2006 Family tax credits versus family allowances when labour supply matters: Evidence for Spain. José Felix Sanz-Sanz, Desiderio Romero-Jordán y Santiago Álvarez-García 257/2006 La internacionalización de la empresa manufacturera española: efectos del capital humano genérico y específico. José López Rodríguez 258/2006 Evaluación de las migraciones interregionales en España, 1996-2004. María Martínez Torres 259/2006 Efficiency and market power in Spanish banking. Rolf Färe, Shawna Grosskopf y Emili Tortosa-Ausina. 260/2006 Asimetrías en volatilidad, beta y contagios entre las empresas grandes y pequeñas cotizadas en la bolsa española. Helena Chuliá y Hipòlit Torró. 261/2006 Birth Replacement Ratios: New Measures of Period Population Replacement. José Antonio Ortega. 262/2006 Accidentes de tráfico, víctimas mortales y consumo de alcohol. José Mª Arranz y Ana I. Gil. 263/2006 Análisis de la Presencia de la Mujer en los Consejos de Administración de las Mil Mayores Empresas Españolas. Ruth Mateos de Cabo, Lorenzo Escot Mangas y Ricardo Gimeno Nogués. 264/2006 Crisis y Reforma del Pacto de Estabilidad y Crecimiento. Las Limitaciones de la Política Económica en Europa. Ignacio Álvarez Peralta. 265/2006 Have Child Tax Allowances Affected Family Size? A Microdata Study For Spain (1996-2000). Jaime Vallés-Giménez y Anabel Zárate-Marco. 266/2006 Health Human Capital And The Shift From Foraging To Farming. Paolo Rungo. 267/2006 Financiación Autonómica y Política de la Competencia: El Mercado de Gasolina en Canarias. Juan Luis Jiménez y Jordi Perdiguero. 268/2006 El cumplimiento del Protocolo de Kyoto para los hogares españoles: el papel de la imposición sobre la energía. Desiderio Romero-Jordán y José Félix Sanz-Sanz. 269/2006 Banking competition, financial dependence and economic growth Joaquín Maudos y Juan Fernández de Guevara 270/2006 Efficiency, subsidies and environmental adaptation of animal farming under CAP Werner Kleinhanß, Carmen Murillo, Carlos San Juan y Stefan Sperlich 271/2006 Interest Groups, Incentives to Cooperation and Decision-Making Process in the European Union A. Garcia-Lorenzo y Jesús López-Rodríguez 272/2006 Riesgo asimétrico y estrategias de momentum en el mercado de valores español Luis Muga y Rafael Santamaría 273/2006 Valoración de capital-riesgo en proyectos de base tecnológica e innovadora a través de la teoría de opciones reales Gracia Rubio Martín 274/2006 Capital stock and unemployment: searching for the missing link Ana Rosa Martínez-Cañete, Elena Márquez de la Cruz, Alfonso Palacio-Vera and Inés Pérez- Soba Aguilar 275/2006 Study of the influence of the voters’ political culture on vote decision through the simulation of a political competition problem in Spain Sagrario Lantarón, Isabel Lillo, Mª Dolores López and Javier Rodrigo 276/2006 Investment and growth in Europe during the Golden Age Antonio Cubel and Mª Teresa Sanchis 277/2006 Efectos de vincular la pensión pública a la inversión en cantidad y calidad de hijos en un modelo de equilibrio general Robert Meneu Gaya 278/2006 El consumo y la valoración de activos Elena Márquez y Belén Nieto 279/2006 Economic growth and currency crisis: A real exchange rate entropic approach David Matesanz Gómez y Guillermo J. Ortega 280/2006 Three measures of returns to education: An illustration for the case of Spain María Arrazola y José de Hevia 281/2006 Composition of Firms versus Composition of Jobs Antoni Cunyat 282/2006 La vocación internacional de un holding tranviario belga: la Compagnie Mutuelle de Tramways, 1895-1918 Alberte Martínez López 283/2006 Una visión panorámica de las entidades de crédito en España en la última década. Constantino García Ramos 284/2006 Foreign Capital and Business Strategies: a comparative analysis of urban transport in Madrid and Barcelona, 1871-1925 Alberte Martínez López 285/2006 Los intereses belgas en la red ferroviaria catalana, 1890-1936 Alberte Martínez López 286/2006 The Governance of Quality: The Case of the Agrifood Brand Names Marta Fernández Barcala, Manuel González-Díaz y Emmanuel Raynaud 287/2006 Modelling the role of health status in the transition out of malthusian equilibrium Paolo Rungo, Luis Currais and Berta Rivera 288/2006 Industrial Effects of Climate Change Policies through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme Xavier Labandeira and Miguel Rodríguez 391/2008 La integración del mercado español a finales del siglo XIX: los precios del trigo entre 1891 y 1905 Mariano Matilla García, Pedro Pérez Pascual y Basilio Sanz Carnero 392/2008 Cuando el tamaño importa: estudio sobre la influencia de los sujetos políticos en la balanza de bienes y servicios Alfonso Echazarra de Gregorio 393/2008 Una visión cooperativa de las medidas ante el posible daño ambiental de la desalación Borja Montaño Sanz 394/2008 Efectos externos del endeudamiento sobre la calificación crediticia de las Comunidades Autónomas Andrés Leal Marcos y Julio López Laborda 395/2008 Technical efficiency and productivity changes in Spanish airports: A parametric distance functions approach Beatriz Tovar & Roberto Rendeiro Martín-Cejas 396/2008 Network analysis of exchange data: Interdependence drives crisis contagion David Matesanz Gómez & Guillermo J. Ortega 397/2008 Explaining the performance of Spanish privatised firms: a panel data approach Laura Cabeza Garcia and Silvia Gomez Anson 398/2008 Technological capabilities and the decision to outsource R&D services Andrea Martínez-Noya and Esteban García-Canal 399/2008 Hybrid Risk Adjustment for Pharmaceutical Benefits Manuel García-Goñi, Pere Ibern & José María Inoriza 400/2008 The Team Consensus–Performance Relationship and the Moderating Role of Team Diversity José Henrique Dieguez, Javier González-Benito and Jesús Galende 401/2008 The institutional determinants of CO2 emissions: A computational modelling approach using Artificial Neural Networks and Genetic Programming Marcos Álvarez-Díaz , Gonzalo Caballero Miguez and Mario Soliño 402/2008 Alternative Approaches to Include Exogenous Variables in DEA Measures: A Comparison Using Monte Carlo José Manuel Cordero-Ferrera, Francisco Pedraja-Chaparro and Daniel Santín-González 403/2008 Efecto diferencial del capital humano en el crecimiento económico andaluz entre 1985 y 2004: comparación con el resto de España Mª del Pópulo Pablo-Romero Gil-Delgado y Mª de la Palma Gómez-Calero Valdés 404/2008 Análisis de fusiones, variaciones conjeturales y la falacia del estimador en diferencias Juan Luis Jiménez y Jordi Perdiguero 405/2008 Política fiscal en la uem: ¿basta con los estabilizadores automáticos? Jorge Uxó González y Mª Jesús Arroyo Fernández 406/2008 Papel de la orientación emprendedora y la orientación al mercado en el éxito de las empresas Óscar González-Benito, Javier González-Benito y Pablo A. Muñoz-Gallego 407/2008 La presión fiscal por impuesto sobre sociedades en la unión europea Elena Fernández Rodríguez, Antonio Martínez Arias y Santiago Álvarez García 408/2008 The environment as a determinant factor of the purchasing and supply strategy: an empirical analysis Dr. Javier González-Benito y MS Duilio Reis da Rocha 409/2008 Cooperation for innovation: the impact on innovatory effort Gloria Sánchez González and Liliana Herrera 410/2008 Spanish post-earnings announcement drift and behavioral finance models Carlos Forner and Sonia Sanabria 411/2008 Decision taking with external pressure: evidence on football manager dismissals in argentina and their consequences Ramón Flores, David Forrest and Juan de Dios Tena 412/2008 Comercio agrario latinoamericano, 1963-2000: aplicación de la ecuación gravitacional para flujos desagregados de comercio Raúl Serrano y Vicente Pinilla 413/2008 Voter heuristics in Spain: a descriptive approach elector decision José Luís Sáez Lozano and Antonio M. Jaime Castillo 414/2008 Análisis del efecto área de salud de residencia sobre la utilización y acceso a los servicios sanitarios en la Comunidad Autónoma Canaria Ignacio Abásolo Alessón, Lidia García Pérez, Raquel Aguiar Ibáñez y Asier Amador Robayna 415/2008 Impact on competitive balance from allowing foreign players in a sports league: an analytical model and an empirical test Ramón Flores, David Forrest & Juan de Dios Tena 416/2008 Organizational innovation and productivity growth: Assessing the impact of outsourcing on firm performance Alberto López 417/2008 Value Efficiency Analysis of Health Systems Eduardo González, Ana Cárcaba & Juan Ventura 418/2008 Equidad en la utilización de servicios sanitarios públicos por comunidades autónomas en España: un análisis multinivel Ignacio Abásolo, Jaime Pinilla, Miguel Negrín, Raquel Aguiar y Lidia García 419/2008 Piedras en el camino hacia Bolonia: efectos de la implantación del EEES sobre los resultados académicos Carmen Florido, Juan Luis Jiménez e Isabel Santana 420/2008 The welfare effects of the allocation of airlines to different terminals M. Pilar Socorro and Ofelia Betancor 421/2008 How bank capital buffers vary across countries. The influence of cost of deposits, market power and bank regulation Ana Rosa Fonseca and Francisco González 422/2008 Analysing health limitations in spain: an empirical approach based on the european community household panel Marta Pascual and David Cantarero 423/2008 Regional productivity variation and the impact of public capital stock: an analysis with spatial interaction, with reference to Spain Miguel Gómez-Antonio and Bernard Fingleton 424/2008 Average effect of training programs on the time needed to find a job. The case of the training schools program in the south of Spain (Seville, 1997-1999). José Manuel Cansino Muñoz-Repiso and Antonio Sánchez Braza 425/2008 Medición de la eficiencia y cambio en la productividad de las empresas distribuidoras de electricidad en Perú después de las reformas Raúl Pérez-Reyes y Beatriz Tovar 426/2008 Acercando posturas sobre el descuento ambiental: sondeo Delphi a expertos en el ámbito internacional Carmen Almansa Sáez y José Miguel Martínez Paz 427/2008 Determinants of abnormal liquidity after rating actions in the Corporate Debt Market Pilar Abad, Antonio Díaz and M. Dolores Robles 428/2008 Export led-growth and balance of payments constrained. New formalization applied to Cuban commercial regimes since 1960 David Matesanz Gómez, Guadalupe Fugarolas Álvarez-Ude and Isis Mañalich Gálvez 429/2008 La deuda implícita y el desequilibrio financiero-actuarial de un sistema de pensiones. El caso del régimen general de la seguridad social en España José Enrique Devesa Carpio y Mar Devesa Carpio 430/2008 Efectos de la descentralización fiscal sobre el precio de los carburantes en España Desiderio Romero Jordán, Marta Jorge García-Inés y Santiago Álvarez García 431/2008 Euro, firm size and export behavior Silviano Esteve-Pérez, Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero and José Antonio Martínez-Serrano 432/2008 Does social spending increase support for free trade in advanced democracies? Ismael Sanz, Ferran Martínez i Coma and Federico Steinberg 433/2008 Potencial de Mercado y Estructura Espacial de Salarios: El Caso de Colombia Jesús López-Rodríguez y Maria Cecilia Acevedo 434/2008 Persistence in Some Energy Futures Markets Juncal Cunado, Luis A. Gil-Alana and Fernando Pérez de Gracia 435/2008 La inserción financiera externa de la economía francesa: inversores institucionales y nueva gestión empresarial Ignacio Álvarez Peralta 436/2008 ¿Flexibilidad o rigidez salarial en España?: un análisis a escala regional Ignacio Moral Arce y Adolfo Maza Fernández 437/2009 Intangible relationship-specific investments and the performance of r&d outsourcing agreements Andrea Martínez-Noya, Esteban García-Canal & Mauro F. Guillén 438/2009 Friendly or Controlling Boards? Pablo de Andrés Alonso & Juan Antonio Rodríguez Sanz 439/2009 La sociedad Trenor y Cía. (1838-1926): un modelo de negocio industrial en la España del siglo XIX Amparo Ruiz Llopis 440/2009 Continental bias in trade Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero & José Antonio Martínez Serrano 441/2009 Determining operational capital at risk: an empirical application to the retail banking Enrique José Jiménez-Rodríguez, José Manuel Feria-Domínguez & José Luis Martín-Marín 442/2009 Costes de mitigación y escenarios post-kyoto en España: un análisis de equilibro general para España Mikel González Ruiz de Eguino 443/2009 Las revistas españolas de economía en las bibliotecas universitarias: ranking, valoración del indicador y del sistema Valentín Edo Hernández 444/2009 Convergencia económica en España y coordinación de políticas económicas. un estudio basado en la estructura productiva de las CC.AA. Ana Cristina Mingorance Arnáiz 445/2009 Instrumentos de mercado para reducir emisiones de co2: un análisis de equilibrio general para España Mikel González Ruiz de Eguino 446/2009 El comercio intra e inter-regional del sector Turismo en España Carlos Llano y Tamara de la Mata 447/2009 Efectos del incremento del precio del petróleo en la economía española: Análisis de cointegración y de la política monetaria mediante reglas de Taylor Fernando Hernández Martínez 448/2009 Bologna Process and Expenditure on Higher Education: A Convergence Analysis of the EU-15 T. Agasisti, C. Pérez Esparrells, G. Catalano & S. Morales 449/2009 Global Economy Dynamics? Panel Data Approach to Spillover Effects Gregory Daco, Fernando Hernández Martínez & Li-Wu Hsu 450/2009 Pricing levered warrants with dilution using observable variables Isabel Abínzano & Javier F. Navas 451/2009 Information technologies and financial prformance: The effect of technology diffusion among competitors Lucio Fuentelsaz, Jaime Gómez & Sergio Palomas 452/2009 A Detailed Comparison of Value at Risk in International Stock Exchanges Pilar Abad & Sonia Benito 453/2009 Understanding offshoring: has Spain been an offshoring location in the nineties? Belén González-Díaz & Rosario Gandoy 454/2009 Outsourcing decision, product innovation and the spatial dimension: Evidence from the Spanish footwear industry José Antonio Belso-Martínez 455/2009 Does playing several competitions influence a team’s league performance? Evidence from Spanish professional football Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo & Francisco González-Gómez 456/2009 Does accessibility affect retail prices and competition? An empirical application Juan Luis Jiménez and Jordi Perdiguero 457/2009 Cash conversion cycle in smes Sonia Baños-Caballero, Pedro J. García-Teruel and Pedro Martínez-Solano 458/2009 Un estudio sobre el perfil de hogares endeudados y sobreendeudados: el caso de los hogares vascos Alazne Mujika Alberdi, Iñaki García Arrizabalaga y Juan José Gibaja Martíns 459/2009 Imposing monotonicity on outputs in parametric distance function estimations: with an application to the spanish educational production Sergio Perelman and Daniel Santin 460/2009 Key issues when using tax data for concentration analysis: an application to the Spanish wealth tax José Mª Durán-Cabré and Alejandro Esteller-Moré 461/2009 ¿Se está rompiendo el mercado español? Una aplicación del enfoque de feldstein –horioka Saúl De Vicente Queijeiro, José Luis Pérez Rivero y María Rosalía Vicente Cuervo 462/2009 Financial condition, cost efficiency and the quality of local public services Manuel A. Muñiz & José L. Zafra 463/2009 Including non-cognitive outputs in a multidimensional evaluation of education production: an international comparison Marián García Valiñas & Manuel Antonio Muñiz Pérez 464/2009 A political look into budget deficits.The role of minority governments and oppositions Albert Falcó-Gimeno & Ignacio Jurado 465/2009 La simulación del cuadro de mando integral. Una herramienta de aprendizaje en la materia de contabilidad de gestión Elena Urquía Grande, Clara Isabel Muñoz Colomina y Elisa Isabel Cano Montero 466/2009 Análisis histórico de la importancia de la industria de la desalinización en España Borja Montaño Sanz 467/2009 The dynamics of trade and innovation: a joint approach Silviano Esteve-Pérez & Diego Rodríguez 468/2009 Measuring international reference-cycles Sonia de Lucas Santos, Inmaculada Álvarez Ayuso & Mª Jesús Delgado Rodríguez 469/2009 Measuring quality of life in Spanish municipalities Eduardo González Fidalgo, Ana Cárcaba García, Juan Ventura Victoria & Jesús García García 470/2009 ¿Cómo se valoran las acciones españolas: en el mercado de capitales doméstico o en el europeo? Begoña Font Belaire y Alfredo Juan Grau Grau 471/2009 Patterns of e-commerce adoption and intensity. evidence for the european union-27 María Rosalía Vicente & Ana Jesús López 472/2009 On measuring the effect of demand uncertainty on costs: an application to port terminals Ana Rodríguez-Álvarez, Beatriz Tovar & Alan Wall 473/2009 Order of market entry, market and technological evolution and firm competitive performance Jaime Gomez, Gianvito Lanzolla & Juan Pablo Maicas 474/2009 La Unión Económica y Monetaria Europea en el proceso exportador de Castilla y León (1993- 2007): un análisis de datos de panel Almudena Martínez Campillo y Mª del Pilar Sierra Fernández 475/2009 Do process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth? Juan A. Mañez, María E. Rochina Barrachina, Amparo Sanchis Llopis & Juan A. Sanchis Llopis 476/2009 Incertidumbre externa y elección del modo de entrada en el marco de la inversión directa en el exterior Cristina López Duarte y Marta Mª Vidal Suárez 477/2009 Testing for structural breaks in factor loadings: an application to international business cycle José Luis Cendejas Bueno, Sonia de Lucas Santos, Inmaculada Álvarez Ayuso & Mª Jesús Delgado Rodríguez 478/2009 ¿Esconde la rigidez de precios la existencia de colusión? El caso del mercado de carburantes en las Islas Canarias Juan Luis Jiménez y Jordi Perdiguero 479/2009 The poni test with structural breaks Antonio Aznar & María-Isabel Ayuda 480/2009 Accuracy and reliability of Spanish regional accounts (CRE-95) Verónica Cañal Fernández 481/2009 Estimating regional variations of R&D effects on productivity growth by entropy econometrics Esteban Fernández-Vázquez y Fernando Rubiera-Morollón 482/2009 Why do local governments privatize the provision of water services? Empirical evidence from Spain Francisco González-Gómez, Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo & Jorge Guardiola 483/2009 Assessing the regional digital divide across the European Union-27 María Rosalía Vicente & Ana Jesús López 484/2009 Measuring educational efficiency and its determinants in Spain with parametric distance functions José Manuel Cordero Ferrera, Eva Crespo Cebada & Daniel Santín González 485/2009 Spatial analysis of public employment services in the Spanish provinces Patricia Suárez Cano & Matías Mayor Fernández 486/2009 Trade effects of continental and intercontinental preferential trade agreements Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero & José Antonio Martínez-Serrano 487/2009 Testing the accuracy of DEA for measuring efficiency in education under endogeneity Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero & José Antonio Martínez-Serrano 488/2009 Measuring efficiency in primary health care: the effect of exogenous variables on results José Manuel Cordero Ferrera, Eva Crespo Cebada & Luis R. Murillo Zamorano 489/2009 Capital structure determinants in growth firms accessing venture funding Marina Balboa, José Martí & Álvaro Tresierra 490/2009 Determinants of debt maturity structure across firm size Víctor M. González 491/2009 Análisis del efecto de la aplicación de las NIIF en la valoración de las salidas a bolsa Susana Álvarez Otero y Eduardo Rodríguez Enríquez 492/2009 An analysis of urban size and territorial location effects on employment probabilities: the spanish case Ana Viñuela-Jiménez, Fernando Rubiera-Morollón & Begoña Cueto 493/2010 Determinantes de la estructura de los consejos de administración en España Isabel Acero Fraile y Nuria Alcalde Fradejas 494/2010 Performance and completeness in repeated inter-firm relationships: the case of franchising Vanesa Solis-Rodriguez & Manuel Gonzalez-Diaz 495/2010 A Revenue-Based Frontier Measure of Banking Competition Santiago Carbó, David Humphrey & Francisco Rodríguez 496/2010 Categorical segregation in social networks Antoni Rubí-Barceló 497/2010 Beneficios ambientales no comerciales de la directiva marco del agua en condiciones de escasez: análisis económico para el Guadalquivir Julia Martin-Ortega, Giacomo Giannoccaro y Julio Berbel Vecino 498/2010 Monetary integration and risk diversification in eu-15 sovereign debt markets Juncal Cuñado & Marta Gómez-Puig 499/2010 The Marshall Plan and the Spanish autarky: A welfare loss analysis José Antonio Carrasco Gallego 500/2010 The role of learning in firm R&D persistence Juan A. Mañez, María E. Rochina-Barrachina, Amparo Sanchis-Llopis & Juan A. Sanchis-Llopis 501/2010 Is venture capital more than just money? Marina Balboa, José Martí & Nina Zieling 502/2010 On the effects of supply strategy on business performance: do the relationships among generic competitive objectives matter? Javier González-Benito 503/2010 Corporate cash holding and firm value Cristina Martínez-Sola, Pedro J. García-Teruel & Pedro Martínez-Solano 504/2010 El impuesto de flujos de caja de sociedades: una propuesta de base imponible y su aproximación contable en España Lourdes Jerez Barroso y Joaquín Texeira Quirós 505/2010 The effect of technological, commercial and human resources on the use of new technology Jaime Gómez & Pilar Vargas 506/2010 ¿Cómo ha afectado la fiscalidad a la rentabilidad de la inversión en vivienda en España? Un análisis para el periodo 1996 y 2007 Jorge Onrubia Fernández y María del Carmen Rodado Ruiz 507/2010 Modelización de flujos en el análisis input-output a partir de la teoría de redes Ana Salomé García Muñiz 508/2010 Export-led-growth hypothesis revisited. a balance of payments approach for Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico David Matesanz Gómez & Guadalupe Fugarolas Álvarez-Ude 509/2010 Realised hedge ratio properties, performance and implications for risk management: evidence from the spanish ibex 35 spot and futures markets David G McMillan & Raquel Quiroga García 510/2010 Do we sack the manager... or is it better not to? Evidence from Spanish professional football Francisco González-Gómez, Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo & Miguel Á. García-Rubio 511/2010 Have Spanish port sector reforms during the last two decades been successful? A cost frontier approach Ana Rodríguez-Álvarez & Beatriz Tovar 512/2010 Size & Regional Distribution of Financial Behavior Patterns in Spain Juan Antonio Maroto Acín, Pablo García Estévez & Salvador Roji Ferrari 513/2010 The impact of public reforms on the productivity of the Spanish ports: a parametric distance function approach Ramón Núñez-Sánchez & Pablo Coto-Millán 514/2010 Trade policy versus institutional trade barriers: an application using “good old” ols Laura Márquez-Ramos, Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso & Celestino Suárez-Burguet 515/2010 The “Double Market” approach in venture capital and private equity activity: the case of Europe Marina Balboa & José Martí 516/2010 International accounting differences and earnings smoothing in the banking industry Marina Balboa, Germán López-Espinosa & Antonio Rubia 517/2010 Convergence in car prices among European countries Simón Sosvilla-Rivero & Salvador Gil-Pareja 518/2010 Effects of process and product-oriented innovations on employee downsizing José David Vicente-Lorente & José Ángel Zúñiga-Vicente 519/2010 Inequality, the politics of redistribution and the tax-mix Jenny De Freitas 520/2010 Efectos del desajuste educativo sobre el rendimiento privado de la educación: un análisis para el caso español (1995-2006) Inés P. Murillo, Marta Rahona y Mª del Mar Salinas 521/2010 Sructural breaks and real convergence in opec countries Juncal Cuñado 522/2010 Human Capital, Geographical location and Policy Implications: The case of Romania Jesús López-Rodríguez, Andres Faiña y Bolea Cosmin-Gabriel 523/2010 Organizational unlearning context fostering learning for customer capital through time: lessons from SMEs in the telecommunications industry Anthony K. P. Wensley, Antonio Leal-Millán, Gabriel Cepeda-Carrión & Juan Gabriel Cegarra- Navarro 524/2010 The governance threshold in international trade flows Marta Felis-Rota 525/2010 The intensive and extensive margins of trade decomposing exports growth differences across Spanish regions Asier Minondo Uribe-Etxeberria & Francisco Requena Silvente 526/2010 Why do firms locate r&d outsourcing agreeements offshore? the role of ownership, location, and externalization advantages Andrea Martínez-Noya, Esteban Gárcía-Canal & Mauro f. Guillén 527/2010 Corporate Taxation and the Productivity and Investment Performance of Heterogeneous Firms: Evidence from OECD Firm-Level Data Norman Gemmell, Richard Kneller, Ismael Sanz & José Félix Sanz-Sanz 528/2010 Modelling Personal Income Taxation in Spain: Revenue Elasticities and Regional Comparisons John Creedy & José Félix Sanz-Sanz 529/2010 Mind the Remoteness!. Income disparities across Japanese Prefectures Jesús López-Rodríguez, Daisuke Nakamura 530/2010 El nuevo sistema de financiación autonómica: descripción, estimación empírica y evaluación Antoni Zabalza y Julio López Laborda 531/2010 Markups, bargaining power and offshoring: an empirical assessment Lourdes Moreno & Diego Rodríguez 532/2010 The snp-dcc model: a new methodology for risk management and forecasting Esther B. Del Brio, Trino-Manuel Ñíguez & Javier Perote 533/2010 El uso del cuadro de mando integral y del presupuesto en la gestión estratégica de los hospitales públicos David Naranjo Gil 534/2010 Análisis de la efectividad de las prácticas de trabajo de alta implicación en las fábricas españolas Daniel Vázquez-Bustelo y Lucía Avella Camarero 535/2010 Energía, innovación y transporte: la electrificación de los tranvías en España, 1896-1935 Alberte Martínez López 536/2010 La ciudad como negocio: gas y empresa en una región española, Galicia 1850-1936 Alberte Martínez López y Jesús Mirás Araujo 537/2010 To anticipate or not to anticipate? A comparative analysis of opportunistic early elections and incumbents’ economic performance Pedro Riera Sagrera 538/2010 The impact of oil shocks on the Spanish economy Ana Gómez-Loscos, Antonio Montañés & María Dolores Gadea 539/2010 The efficiency of public and publicly-subsidiz ed high schools in Spain. evidence from pisa-2006 María Jesús Mancebón, Jorge Calero, Álvaro Choi & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún 540/2010 Regulation as a way to force innovation: the biodiesel case Jordi Perdiguero & Juan Luis Jiménez 541/2010 Pricing strategies of Spanish network carrier Xavier Fageda, Juan Luis Jiménez & Jordi Perdiguero 542/2010 Papel del posicionamiento del distribuidor en la relación entre la marca de distribuidor y lealtad al establecimiento comercial Oscar González-Benito y Mercedes Martos-Partal 543/2010 How Bank Market Concentration, Regulation, and Institutions Shape the Real Effects of Banking Crises Ana I. Fernández, Francisco González & Nuria Suárez 544/2010 Una estimación del comercio interregional trimestral de bienes en España mediante técnicas de interpolación temporal Nuria Gallego López, Carlos Llano Verduras y Julián Pérez García 545/2010 Puerto, empresas y ciudad: una aproximación histórica al caso de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Miguel Suárez, Juan Luis Jiménez y Daniel Castillo 546/2010 Multinationals in the motor vehicles industry: a general equilibrium analysis for a transition economy Concepción Latorre & Antonio G. Gómez-Plana 547/2010 Core/periphery scientific collaboration networks among very similar researchers Antoni Rubí-Barceló 548/2010 Basic R&D in vertical markets Miguel González-Maestre & Luis M. Granero 549/2010 Factores condicionantes de la presión fiscal de las entidades de crédito españolas, ¿existen diferencias entre bancos y cajas de ahorros? Ana Rosa Fonseca Díaz, Elena Fernández Rodríguez y Antonio Martínez Arias 550/2010 Analyzing an absorptive capacity: Unlearning context and Information System Capabilities as catalysts for innovativeness Gabriel Cepeda-Carrión, Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro & Daniel Jimenez-Jimenez