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Purpose The purpose of this study is firstly to analyze whether the determining factors of the entrepreneurial intention of academics are the same for men and women and test whether their degree of importance varies depending on gender, and secondly to test whether the lesser entrepreneurial intention of women detected in previous studies is because of the lesser presence of the determining factors of entrepreneurial intention among women or, on the contrary, is determined by the existence of implicit barriers that do not depend on these factors. Design/methodology/approach After conducting a survey on a sample of 1,178 academics, the results of a linear regression model confirm the hypothesis that female academics have less of an entrepreneurial intention. Findings Moreover, through the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition, it is observed that this lesser female entrepreneurial behavior is not because of the absence of any of the factors considered as determinants of entrepreneurial intention, but instead is related to the existence of implicit barriers for women that influence their entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a study of this nature has been conducted internationally. Unlike other studies on academic entrepreneurship, the authors do not restrict the sample to one or two universities but rather aim the study at all universities in Spain and, therefore, at all academics from all branches of knowledge.

Despite the rapid growth of the World Wide Web in the last several years few studies have appeared in the literature assessing Web sites’ efficacy. This paper provides an original Web Assessment Index, focused on four categories: accessibility, speed, navigability and content. The scoring mechanism is explained and the index is applied to assess the Web sites of all Spanish universities. Finally, conclusions and implications derived from this study are presented.

The promotion of academic entrepreneurship through the creation of university spin-offs (USOs) as a transfer system has been enhanced during the last two decades. This commitment of universities and public policy makers has been based mainly on the use of investments of public funds in universities and the capacity for such investments to create employment and economic growth. In this sense, entrepreneurial skills are one of the strongest determinants of intention. For this reason, the present study proposes the use of the paradigm known as Big Five, which proposes as personality variables those recognized by the acronym OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) to recognize if they are determinants of entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial intent, all through the application of Theory Planed Behavior (TPB). To study the influence of entrepreneurial skills, a self-administrated questionnaire was sent to more than 33,000 Spanish academics. The responses yielded a sample size of 799. The results show that entrepreneurial skills are the prime determinants of attitude and perceived control, and attitude is the decisive factor that determines the intention to go into business. Therefore, investment in training and the cultivation of skills and attitudes constitute the most relevant factors for achieving an increase in the creation of USOs.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the importance that customers give to the origin attribute when selecting a financial entity compared to other features directly related to the service that these institutions provide. In addition, this study aims at analysing what level of brand origin provides a greater utility for customers in their preference structure: regional, national or foreign. Design/methodology/approach The technique of conjoint analysis is applied via a survey of 427 customers to determine customers’ preference structure when choosing a financial entity. Findings Of particular note among the main results is the great importance the respondents give to the origin of the entity, preferring regional over national or foreign institutions. The existence of three different segments of customers based on their preference structure is also a remarkable result. Research limitations/implications Place-of-origin effect is not universal. Due to this fact, the results of the studies focussed on this research topic are difficult to extrapolate to other geographical areas. Practical implications The current situation in southern Europe financial sector obliges many small financial entities to undertake mergers in order to face the stability and solvency policies established by European Central Bank. In this sense, these institutions must decide whether or not to maintain their regional brand identity. The results of this study show the appropriateness of maintaining and communicating the regional origin of the entities. These findings will contribute to guiding decision making on brand management for financial entities. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, there is a lack of research on the place-of-origin through different levels simultaneously. This paper provides a starting point for further research about this effect in the services sector.

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Research on the place-of-origin effect has proliferated in recent decades, although there are still gaps in this field, especially in relation to the region-of-origin (ROO) and to the influence of certain moderating variables on the effect. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the ROO effect in the purchase of wine, paying special attention to the moderating role played by familiarity. Via a survey of 427 consumers carried out in the region of Extremadura (Spain), the paper study how variables as the region's overall image, its image as a wine producer, the perceived quality of its products, and consumer ethnocentrism affect the intention to purchase regional wines. To reach that goal, a structural equation model was applied using the Partial Least Square technique to identify the variables that explain and moderate this intention. The results show the region's overall image (2.65% of contribution to the purchase intentions explained variance), its image as a wine producer (8.39%), the perceived quality of its products (22.42%), and consumer ethnocentrism (10.23%) to affect the purchase intentions directly and indirectly. The confirmation of a moderating effect of familiarity in one of the model relationships contributes to give answer to one of the most significant questions in marketing theory about the origin effect. These results have important managerial implications for policy decision-makers, confirming the value of implementing communication campaigns that pursue improvement of the region's image as a brand.Additional key words: Spanish wine market; partial least square; structural equation modelling; consumer behaviour; region image; perceived quality; consumer ethnocentrism.