The sharing economy is an umbrella term for different business models that seem to have a positive impact on sustainability. To achieve sustainable development, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an instrument and guide for countries and individuals. This paper sheds light on the relationships between the sharing economy, sustainability and SDGs through the content analysis of 74 papers from the database Web of Science that consider these factors through the topics of the environment, consumer values, business characteristics and urban impact regarding sectors such as mobility and accommodation. Results express that the sharing economy helps to achieve all SDGs. However, further research is needed because of the novelty of the topic and the existence of many gaps. The sharing economy has a positive effect on the dimensions of sustainability from the economic, social and environmental points of view.

Many attempts have been conducted during the last decades to define a quality measurement scale in the health sector, however there is not yet a complete agreement on which dimensions impact satisfaction. Besides, a quality scale encompassing all patient concerns related to his/her hospitalisation is still lacking. In this context, the purpose of this study is three aimed: (i) defining a scale (HospQual) to assess patients' perceived quality of hospital service; (ii) analysing the impact of perceived quality on patient satisfaction; and (iii) analysing the mediation role of fulfilment of patients' expectations between quality and satisfaction. To capture data regarding Catalan patients' perceived quality of hospital service, two surveys were launched: the first collected 200 questionnaires in June 2016, and the second collected 601 questionnaires in December 2016. An array of exploratory factor analyses was carried out with the first sample to establish the HospQual scale dimensions, which showed appropriate psychometric characteristics. The second sample was used for confirmatory purposes and also to analyse the research model analysis addressed to determine the mediating role of fulfilment of expectations. Findings confirmed HospQual dimensions impact satisfaction. Additionally, fulfilment of expectations is proved to be a mediator between quality and satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to establish a measurement scale for human resource management (HRM) practices in nonprofit organizations and to analyze their impact on employee job satisfaction. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using a principal components was performed. The analyzed sample is composed of 62 organizations with 2,030 employees. The results demonstrate that 8 out of 20 analyzed variables determine the measurement scale of HRM practices in these organizations. These variables are related to psychological demands, active work and development possibilities, social relations and leadership, and the degree of coherence in the organization with its principles. According to the results, these practices have an impact on employee job satisfaction. We believe that these results are relevant due to the lack of similar studies and the relevance of nonprofit organizations as job creators in the European Union.

Purpose Establishing alliances between social economy enterprises (SEEs) is considered to be a solution to the problem of providing enough resources and knowledge to compete in the global market and, at the same time, to maintain identity and ownership. Nevertheless, an important number of alliances breaks up after several years. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study the key factors that affect alliances’ development and outcome. In this study, the success factors that have been extensively tested in investor-owned companies are assessed in SEEs, which present important differences in organizational issues and corporate principles and values. Design/methodology/approach This study defines a scale that includes the most important factors that might be controlled by SEE managers to develop successful alliances. These factors are grouped into three categories: relational capital, relationship governance and the partner selection process. The study also assesses the impact of these factors on alliance performance. Findings Statistical analysis through structural equation modelling shows that relationship governance and the partner selection process have a significant impact on performance. Therefore, they can be considered success factors in alliances among SEEs. Originality/value Taking into account the relevant contribution of the SEEs to the European economy, and having noted the scarce number of studies about alliances success factors in the social economy sector, this study offers a significant contribution to this research field. Moreover, findings will be also interesting for SEE managers and social economy authorities when designing programmes to empower and support alliances.

It is widely recognised that there is a shortage of empirical studies on quality management about the social sector. This research contributes to address this gap by (i) empirically analysing the fitness of the model underlying European Quality in Social Services (EQUASS), a quality management and excellence programme for social services across Europe, and (ii) proposing a model with an improved fit. It uses a structural equation modelling approach on a sample of 339 external audits from 32 European organisations that were awarded an EQUASS recognition or certification between 2012 and 2015. Results reveal that the EQUASS model (2012 version) does not fit with the sample collected. An improved model with seven constructs is proposed, which shows excellent psychometric properties and good fit indexes. Leadership and result orientation play a significant role as antecedents of the orientation to persons, while staff plays a mediator role. This research provides a better understanding of the causal relationships between quality management practices embedded in the EQUASS model, as well as a simpler alternative model that is especially suited to small and medium-sized social service providers, which represent the majority of the organisations in social sector.

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RESUMENEl objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la contabilidad de la empresa Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas a partir de la documentación depositada en el Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya (Archivo Nacional de Cataluña). El estudio tiene un horizonte temporal de cuarenta años, desde el momento de la fundación, 1881, hasta el año 1922.En una primera parte se estudian las actividades y evolución de la empresa, en concreto, como fue diversificando sus actividades y los problemas que esto le ocasionó. Especial mención merece la expansión que disfrutó durante la Primera Guerra Mundial y que marcará el acontecer futuro.En la segunda parte hay un estudio detallado de las partidas que formaron parte del balance de situación y de la cuenta de gestión. También aquí se detecta cómo de forma paralela a los negocios, las necesidades informativas fueron crecientes. Remarcar que aun cuando la empresa muestra un grado importante de sofisticación en la teneduría de libros tanto por el detalle de información proporcionada como por el tratamiento de la misma, la utilización abusiva de ciertas partidas, como Valores pendientes, no permite obtener una visión demasiado nítida de la evolución de los negocios.Se puede concluir a partir de este trabajo que la contabilidad de la compañía, además de cumplir con los requisitos legales que se establecían, permitía tomar decisiones sobre las diferentes actividades a la vez que muestra un alto grado de elaboración en una época sin ayudas tecnológicas. Hace falta decir, además, que dada la distancia geográfica entre los centros de explotación y la administración, el control que se ejercía sobre estos estaba fundamentado en la información administrativa y contable que se realizaba.

The aim of this study was twofold. First, we want to determine which competences are acquired through an internship, as well as the levels of attainment. Secondly, we want to compare the levels of achievement in two different universities, since we are interested in proving whether the university of origin affects the final results. We thus organized competences following the classification made by the Tuning project, which groups them as instrumental, interpersonal and professional. A questionnaire was distributed among the students participating in internships, and the firms offering them in each university, to assess their perceptions of the competences. We used the SPSS statistical package to conduct a set of mean tests to identify differences between the perceptions of the students and firms. Students acquire a higher level of professional competences than instrumental or interpersonal competences. There are also differences according to university, which suggests its importance.