This paper analyses the relevance of Colombian institutional quality in recent years in terms of the performance of its exports within a framework of trade openness. Based on the trade gravity model, we examine the effect of governance on the evolution of Colombian exports through an econometric approach that identifies, on the one hand, the influence of institutional quality, and on the other hand, the influence of the institutional distance between Colombia and its trading partners. We use a panel data set for 2005–2018, through which the export flows from Colombia to 136 of its trading partners are considered. The findings indicate that Colombian institutional quality and the institutional distance between the country and its partners are statistically significant and affect its foreign sales. Similarly, there is a prominent influence of regulatory quality and the rule of law variables in the performance of Colombian exports in relation to other variables included in the model. We conclude that the Colombian government must improve its institutional quality considerably as a fundamental step towards boosting its overseas sales, not least because the country’s institutional distance from the world average is notable, which also affects its exports.

Las organizaciones perciben al comercio electrónico como un mecanismo para llegar a sus stakeholders de manera directa, y, de este modo, facilitar el éxito de la transacción desde cualquier punto del mundo (Guzmán, Gil y Carot 2013). El objetivo del artículo es establecer cómo las organizaciones han adoptado esta estrategia para mejorar la eficiencia en la comercialización de sus productos y servicios. Sobre esa base, se evidencia que, para llegar a sus stakeholders, deben orientar sus estrategias hacia la inclusión de la comunidad, a partir de la participación e interacción que se genera con la organización en los medios sociales, entre los cuales Facebook destaca como la red social más utilizada para el e-commerce. Finalmente, se comprueba que el e-commerce ha sobrepasado el simple hecho de comercializar en Internet y ha avanzado hasta el s-commerce o comercio social, un horizonte que incluye a la comunidad y al usuario como partí-cipes en los procesos relacionados con la comercialización a través de redes sociales.Palabras clave: comercio electrónico, web social, competitividad, comercio social From e-commerce to s-commerce: Innovation within the reach of organizations. A study for footwear sector in Bucaramanga, ColombiaOrganizations perceive electronic commerce, as a mechanism to reach their stakeholders directly, facilitating the success of the transaction and from anywhere in the world (Guzman, Gil & Carot 2013). The objective of this article is to establish how organizations have adopted this strategy to improve efficiency in the marketing of their products and services, showing that to reach their stakeholders they should orient their strategies towards inclusion of the community, from the participation and interaction that is generated with the organization in social internet media, where Facebook is the most used social network for e-commerce. Finally, it is found that e-commerce has surpassed the simple fact of internet marketing, moving up the social commerce or s-commerce, a horizon which includes the user community and the Internet user as a participant in the processes related to marketing through social networks.Keywords: Telework, social web, competitiveness, social commerce Do comercio eletronico ao comercio social: A inovação ao alcance das organiçõesAs organizações percebem ao comercio eletronico, como um mecanismo para chegar ao seus stskeholders de maneira direta, assim facilita o sucesso da negociação e desde qualquer ponto do mundo (Guzmán, Gil & Carot, 2013 O objetivo do artigo é estabelecer cómo as organizações se adaptam esta estrategia para melhorar a eficiencia comercial dos seus productos e serviços, evidenciando que para chegar aos seus stakeholders deben orientar suas estrategias à inclussão da sociedade, partindo da participação e interação que se gera com a organização das redes sociais, onde fecebook é a rede social mais utilizada para o e-comerce. Finalmente, é provado que o e-comerce ultrapassou o simples fato de comercializar na internet, avanzando até o s-comerce ou comerc...

La adopción de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (TIC) en las organizaciones favorece la competitividad empresarial. Este artículo expone al teletrabajo como un mecanismo de contratación a través del uso de las TIC y la necesidad de plantear las competencias relacionadas con las actividades del teletrabajador. La investigación se realizó entre 114 empresarios del sector calzado, en Bucaramanga, Colombia, para indagar acerca de sus apreciaciones sobre la adopción de esta modalidad laboral. Los resultados muestran que en la contratación de teletrabajadores se requieren establecer lazos de confianza y el desarrollo de habilidades que van más allá de sus conocimientos informáticos. Los empresarios evidencian que los teletrabajadores deben ser responsables, creativos, innovadores, cumplidores de su deber, y desarrollar las competencias relacionadas con la comunicación, la gestión del tiempo y la lectoescritura para mejorar la competitividad empresarial.

This article examines the extent to which Colombia's trade liberalization, as a government strategy to boost its exports, has helped to balance its structural trade deficit. Based on the trade gravity model theory, we derive twoway specifications (Colombian exports and imports) in order to analyze bilateral trade flows (fuels and nonfuels) between Colombia and 136 countries from 2005 to 2018. Additionally, we compare the real export performance of Colombia with its main partners through the trade potential index (TPI), to assess the effect of Colombia's openness on bilateral trade. The econometric approach indicates that the free trade agreement (FTA) factor has a negative net effect on Colombia's exports and a positive net impact on Colombia's imports.Finally, the TPI analysis allows us to infer that although there is an evolution towards the intensification of Colombian trade, this trend is greater in imports than in exports, which suggests a deepening of the Colombian trade deficit.

The study analyses the relevance of the trade agreement between Colombia and the European Union as a policy that promotes trade between them (export and import flows) and, subsequently, establishes its effectiveness in reducing the trade deficit of the former. Furthermore, the paper analyses the determinants of trade flows between the parties, emphasizing the effect of factor endowment on their bilateral trade. We use a panel data set from 2005 to 2019, wherein the export and import flows between Colombia and the countries of the European Union are considered. The findings indicate that the trade agreement between the two parties has deepened the Colombian trade deficit. Additionally, it is established that the parties share an inter-industry trade pattern based on their factor endowment. Consequently, the Colombian government should consider these findings to reorient its trade policy towards those European Union countries that have an opposite factor endowment.