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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of digital competences in relation to the general competences demanded by the job market in the case of Business graduates’ future. Design/methodology/approach A telephone survey was conducted with 992 team and HR managers from November 15 to December 15, 2016. The selected respondents were chosen from a sampling frame of 4,880 registered members of a professional association of Business and Economics graduates. Only those admitting to have or having had employees under their command were accountable. Thus, the final sample of the analysis comprised a total of 231 respondents. We used partial least square modeling in order to test the hypotheses. Findings The study carried out in the professional field of graduates in Business studies shows us that of the five dimensions analyzed as digital competences, four of them show an influence on the candidate’s suitability for the post. These are communication, content creation, safety and problem solving. In the variables related to information, this relationship is not observed. Originality/value In this research, the authors analyze the digital competences from the perspective of the possible employer. The concept of digital competence is of increasing importance in recent research. There is a need to relate the competences demanded by the companies and those developed by the training centers. Also, prior literature is limited in the number of works analyzing digital competences specifically in the professional activities concerning graduates in Economics of Business studies.

The establishment of broad-based networks, such as the Triple Helix, for innovation and sustainability is sufficiently corroborated. In this work we suggest that the information received from the Triple Helix has a significant and different impact on the objectives of sustainable innovation, depending on whether companies cooperate or not. To this end, an empirical analysis of a stratified sample of more than 5000 Spanish medium and high technology companies in 2010-2014-2015 was carried out. The results confirm that companies that do not cooperate place more importance on the information received from the Triple Helix to establish their sustainable innovation targets.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine what competences are considered critical for team and human resources (HR) managers when selecting inexperienced Business graduates. Second, the authors aim to find out differences existing among businesses and organizations according to company size, and very particularly, the resources used with respect to the inexperienced graduate personnel selection practices. Design/methodology/approach To this end, the authors have performed an empirical study consisting of two qualitative data-gathering processes and a survey. First, the authors completed 12 in-depth interviews, followed by three world cafés with HR managers and consultants. Second, a survey was also conducted with 186 experienced Business graduates, team managers or middle-level staff. Findings The main results support the idea that generic competencies are the ones most appreciated in graduates. Attitudes are among the generic competencies considered most critical in inexperienced Business graduates. In particular, intra-personal, followed by inter-personal attitudes and values, were the most frequently cited and highly valued competencies. In contrast, most of the specific knowledge competences that are required for Business graduates are taken for granted. For its part, the authors found that excelling inexperienced graduates are those who show convincing proofs of holding attitudinal competences, signaled through some experience of international interchange programs, or pre-graduate internships in companies. Also, the authors found that HR managers and consultants show clear differences of preference for a set of competences or another depending on the size of the recruiting company. In particular, generic competences of knowledge, abilities, attitudes and values rate higher among small firms than larger ones. Originality/value Finally, the authors give recommendations for faculties and business schools headed to a more intensive development of generic competences, and the learning of skills on how to tailor curricula during studies and how to find jobs.