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Purpose -This research proposes to study the connection between knowledge management practices and firm performance.Design/methodology/approach -Theoretical relations are tested through an empirical study carried out on 222 Spanish firms in the biotechnology and telecommunications industries.Findings -This paper shows how the firms that adopt knowledge management practices obtain better results than their competitors.Research limitations/implications -The subject of principles has not been considered a dimension of knowledge management. New avenues of inquiry are opened considering this dimension.Practical implications -It determines practices that have a positive incidence on firm performance.Originality/value -The conceptualization of knowledge management practices represents a theoretical innovation. This scale can be used in other knowledge-intensive industries. The paper concludes that these practices have a positive incidence on firm performance.

The intent of this research is to propose and analyse a set of policies in the construction industry to enhance social development. First, the paper shows the connections between the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and social entrepreneurship (SE), the reduction of the leakage, and then the generation of social value (SV) for sustainable regional development. For that, the article analyses briefly the literatures on SE and leakage, and focuses on the relevance of SME and social entrepreneurs as promoters of SV creation and development. Second, the paper proposes a framework and proposes a set of 20 policies aimed to reduce leakage, reinforce SMEs and entrepreneurship and also to promote SE behaviour by the diverse economic agents in the construction industry, in order to increase the generation of SV and sustainable development. Then, the paper analyses the acceptability, feasibility and viability of these proposed polices, which can be useful for academics and practitioners. For that, the study uses the Delphi methodology, applied to an expertgroup of 23 professionals (representatives of the private and public sector) belonging to the Colombian construction industry. The results emphasize the relevance of the development of local incumbents and the social focus of firms to increase the generation of SV. Oppositely, policies interfering economic freedom and free trade receive the lowest rates in the three criteria considered.

This research studies how innovation competences affect the stock of intangibles and facilitate the development of intellectual capital (IC). We develop a theoretical model with these constructs, in which we distinguish two dimensions within innovation competences — Schumpeterian and continuous improvement competences; and three dimensions for IC — human capital, structural capital and relational capital. Theoretical relations are tested in an empirical study carried out in 222 Spanish firms from the Biotechnology and Telecommunications industries. We prove that innovation competences positively affect the stock of intangibles and facilitate the development of relational capital, structural capital and human capital.

Aims:The objective of this study is to build a scale of the wellbeing of teachers in education centres. In addition, it examines the incidence of human resources management on educational performance, both directly and through the mediating effect of the wellbeing of teachers in terms of both the psychological and the physical. Methodology: The study uses the methodology of structural equations, and a sample of 315 questionnaires for teachers working in secondary education. Results: This study corroborates the significant effect of human resources management on educational performance. The relationship was observed both directly and through the mediating effect achieved when improving psychological wellbeing. Although human resources management reduces physical wellbeing, we did not observe any direct relationship between this physical wellbeing and a reduction in performance. Limitations: The study is intended as an exploratory analysis of these relationships. Consideration of a larger sample, or its extension to other areas, could further support our results. Practical implications: These results imply the need for improvement in human resources policies in schools, especially positive policies linked to improving the psychological wellbeing of teachers. Thus, better management of human resources produces an improvement in both the wellbeing of teachers (their satisfaction, their happiness and their relationship with students) and also educational performance. Furthermore, this management process has a significant effect on reducing discomfort (negative emotions, emotional symptoms, and negative physical states).