No abstract

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.

Este trabajo evalúa y contrasta la rentabilidad observada del portafolio de mercado respecto a la que se obtendría mediante un modelo de optimización que maximiza el ratio de Sharpe, usando retornos diarios del mercado bursátil colombiano. A partir de lo anterior, se obtienen 12 portafolios semestrales recomendados para el periodo 2007-2012 que se comparan con los valores reales del Índice de la Bolsa de Valores de Colombia. Los resultados alcanzados evidencian la efectividad del modelo formulado y la no eficiencia del portafolio de mercado observado, toda vez que sus recomendaciones demuestran un desempeño superior al del mercado. Los aportes de este estudio apuntan hacia el potencial de profundización de su análisis para otros escenarios y en la eventual posibilidad de adopción del modelo en decisiones reales de inversión.

Purpose This paper aims to analyze concealment and deception in self-defeating organizational crisis response strategies and the possible consequences of their adoption on a company’s reputation. It represents an example of where every guideline to address stakeholders after a crisis was dismissed. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates a major environmental incident that took place in Colombia in 2013 and studies how the responsible company responded to the incident through the examination of company reports, media statements and national and international newspaper articles. Findings The analysis shows that in addition to environmental damage, the company’s reputation was affected by the way the company responded during this crisis. Research limitations/implications The outcomes highlight the importance of the manner in which a crisis response is managed, as these types of mistakes often aggravate reputational damage. Practical implications This paper is an invitation for companies to be quick, consistent and transparent with their responses when facing their stakeholders in moments of crisis. Not doing so may aggravate not only social but also economic and environmental impacts. Originality/value Contrary to other contributions on the subject, this study implies that a misleading crisis response, including concealment and deception, can be an even greater challenge to a company’s reputation than the crisis itself.