Javier González Benito

Universidad de Salamanca · Department of Economics and Economic History

Purpose Competitive strategy is one of the key factors traditionally related to performance, but research explaining the mechanisms through which this strategy improves business results is scant. This study aims to shed light on this relationship by analyzing human resource management (HRM) strategy as an essential tool for transforming business st...

Purpose A food safety management system (FSMS) is a dynamic resource with the potential to generate competitive advantages, whose implementation may be certified according to internationally recognised standards such as the Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS). This research sets out to discover why companies implement these systems...

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature acknowledges that the choice of SCRM strategies should fit with contextual factors. Yet empirical support for this premise is scarce, mainly relies on just a single type of fit analysis, and lacks any consideration of organisational structures. Accordingly, this article combines two perspectives of fit...

This research explores the influence on manufacturing backshoring of improved key manufacturing resources in the home location of firms. Analysis of recent cases of backshoring in the European manufacturing industry shows that the production processes of firms that have backshored to their home location offer greater optimisation in terms of workfo...

Growing dependence on suppliers for production and innovation, together with increasing consumer demands, has prompted recent discussions of the importance of purchasing–marketing functional integration. However, empirical studies are needed to understand how to manage this interface within a new product development (NPD) context. This study, groun...

Purpose Companies in the food sector use a food safety management system (FSMS) to ensure the safety of their products, and thereby minimize any risk to consumers; nevertheless, FSMSs have been used less extensively in Latin America. The purpose of this study was therefore to analyze the motivations and barriers facing Latin American food companies...

The pressures exerted by the market, society, regulators and/or clients on organisational environmental responsibility have required companies to adopt environmental management practices. Within this process, integration with suppliers and customers is important to enable companies to meet these demands, and at the same time achieve their organisat...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect that a horizontal fit between two functions (human resources (HR) and manufacturing) has on firm performance, distinguishing between fit in objectives and fit in achievements. Design/methodology/approach This study uses 144 double surveys, addressed to two different respondents per company...

Purpose This research aims to establish the role of the purchasing function’s strategic alignment in the relationship between well-established practices and performance in that function. It is argued that the strategic alignment of purchasing may have effects (direct, mediating and moderating effects) on the purchasing function’s operating performa...

In the context of ever more demanding customers, and companies' growing dependency on external suppliers, the importance of purchasing-marketing integration has been highlighted by recent research. However, further theoretical and empirical development is still much in need. Grounded in Information Processing Theory, we present a model that provide...

p class="Abstract">The main objective of this paper is to develop a method of self-assessment of managerial competencies in Operations Management. Specifically we work the following skills: Analytical Consideration, Planification and organization, Consciousness and teamwork, Adaptability, Assertiveness, Leadership. The empirical evidence shows how...

This paper explores the impact on automobile manufacturing networks of adopting modular platforms to replace the standard platforms used to date. Analysis of European manufacturers’ production networks shows that the use of modular architecture improves coordination by increasing manufacturing mobility and thriftiness ability. The changes resulting...

Recent years have seen firms improve their environmental practices, although the question still remains as to whether or not investing in such practices is or is not beneficial or simply a matter of image. This study focuses on labour productivity as a measure of performance, and we argue that the impact of greater environmental performance on that...

The success of a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy depends on the adequate use of technology, including CRM software. This paper offers empirical evidence regarding critical success factors for CRM software adoption, namely, implementation project management and services provided by information technology consultants. Data analyses in...

Numerous studies have described the causes of plagiarism within higher education, either by focusing on contextual factors or on individual reasons. Few of these, however, help teaching staff when seeking to reduce or control this plagiarism. This paper analyses a series of factors of voluntary and involuntary plagiarism that may be taken into acco...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the environmental management of purchases and firm performance. The authors examine the moderating role played by two variables: the establishment of long-term relationships with suppliers and the strategic integration of the purchasing function. Design/methodology/approach...

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has often been discussed and studied by academics and practitioners over the last two decades. One reason for the growing interest in SCM is that a company's performance is no longer solely determined by the decisions it makes and actions it takes, but also by the contribution and performance of all the members along t...

div data-canvas-width="252.26493658536586">La Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible a nivel universitario implica alcanzar ciertas competencias como responsabilidad o involucración personal en temas sociales. En este trabajo presentamos una práctica en la asignatura de Organización de la Producción de dos titulaciones: Grado en Ingeniería y Grado...

In response to different economic and business trends, companies are becoming increasingly dependent on external resources and capabilities as they seek to cater for an ever more complex and challenging demand. Such dependence has led an important group of scholars to draw attention to the inevitable integration of the purchasing and marketing func...

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze how information technology (IT) can help explain performance by the purchasing function. In addition to analyzing the direct effect and mediating role of purchasing practices in the relationship between IT and purchasing performance, as has been considered in previous research, this study investigates the possib...

This paper explores the impact of the implementation of modular platforms, to replace the standard platforms used to date, on the strategic outputs of automobile manufacturing networks. Analysis of the production network of manufacturers in Europe shows that the use of modular architecture improves the coordination of manufacturing networks by incr...

In recent years, nonprofit organization performance has become increasingly important. Researchers have developed separate studies of organizational transparency and economic efficiency. However, to date, little research relates both aspects or analyzes the potential of transparency to increase or reduce an organization’s efficiency. The goal of th...

This research addresses the relationship between an organisation's assimilation of its environmental management system (EMS), the experience it gains through it, and its environmental performance. Assimilation here refers to the degree to which the requirements of the management standard are integrated within a plant's daily operations. Basing ours...

Purpose – Prior research into the manufacturing function's contribution to business performance demonstrates two seemingly incompatible approaches: strategic alignment or the identification of best practices. In the former, practices are useful only if they are consistent with the strategy to be implemented; in the latter, better performance derive...

This article, based on the various approaches to location theory, analyses relocation processes in the Spanish automobile components industry in order to explain the importance of internal factors at both corporate and production plant levels. While acknowledging that location advantages play a relevant role, we show that changes in production geog...

RESUMEN: Según muchos economistas, la crisis que estamos sufriendo no es sólo una crisis económica, sino una crisis de valores. La situación actual de producción y consumo es insostenible y requiere un cambio en las empresas y en la sociedad. Hay algunas iniciativas empresariales y de consumidores que nos hacen pensar que el cambio de actitud en la...

Many firms attempt to develop market-oriented attitudes and behaviors because of their presumably positive consequences for performance. A market orientation can provide the cultural basis for successful differentiation strategies focused on customer satisfaction. However, inconclusive evidence regarding the relationship between market orientation...

Las instituciones de educación superior (IES) han estado incorporando la sostenibilidad en la educación y los planes de estudio, donde investigaciones recientes se han centrado en las competencias de sostenibilidad, los enfoques pedagógicos y cómo conectarlos, generalmente en una sola IES. El proceso de integración de la sostenibilidad en la educac...

The aim of this research is to ascertain whether a firm’s environmental motivations may help to predict how complete or incomplete its environmental management will be, understanding incomplete management to be that which neglects one or more of the three keys aspects of such management, namely, monitoring, action and results. We specifically posit...

The literature has argued that low efficiency in comparison with other competitors in the same sector increases the probability of international relocation. In this paper, we argue that, in order to explain production relocation, it is important to consider not only the plant's efficiency in comparison with competing plants, which we shall call ext...

The economic and social importance of the automotive industry explains the need for researching improved ways of organising and managing the diverse processes involved in the production of motor vehicles. Furthermore, the management of supply chains and inter-organisational relations has acquired strategic significance in recent years and has becom...

Firms invest considerable resources to control any of their operations that may have environmental impacts in an attempt to reduce such impacts but also generate economic value. Various studies of the basic creation or destruction of monetary value through environmental performance offer contradictory evidence. Therefore, the present study proposes...

Prior studies of strategic consensus and firm performance have yielded inconsistent results. The authors synthesize and account for these divergent findings using a mediated moderation model. Results based on a sample of manufacturing companies in Spain suggest a pattern of mediated moderation such that the relationship between competitive method c...

The impact of corporate activity on the environment is now of considerable significance in the business world, first due to the requirements of environmentally friendly operations, and second because it is a crucial aspect of a company's competitive strategy. An Environmental Management System (EMS) enables firms to identify, analyze and control th...

This paper sets out to explain how the implementation of an environmental management systems (EMS) conditions the way firms respond to environmental pressures exerted by their stakeholders. While the most common approaches to be found in the literature consider the certification of such systems to be an indicator of proactivity and cooperation with...

The vastly increasing amounts of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has made it imperative to develop systems that can guarantee selective collection and correct treatment of such waste. The European Union (EU) Directive 2002/96/EC applies to WEEE, but some countries still lack legislation or have not yet devised a waste manageme...

An Environmental Management Systems (EMS) can be described by means of its primary measures; unfortunately, in contrast to the literature on quality management systems in which the most relevant aspects of the system are perfectly defined and compared, there is still lacking a consensus concerning the critical factors of an EMS. This has led to sev...

This article analyzes the combined effects of stakeholder pressure and the implementation of environmental management systems on organizations’ environmental behaviors. Beyond their individual effects, the implementation of an environmental management system should enhance the effect of stakeholder pressure on environmental imbalance, defined as th...

Purpose The present paper proposes simultaneous research into the effects of co‐operation with buyers and suppliers on company performance, and how both types of co‐operation interact in one specific industry. Design/methodology/approach The paper conducts an analysis of a sample of 80 sawmills in the Spanish regions of Galicia and the Basque Coun...

An appropriate alignment between business strategy, manufacturing strategic objectives and manufacturing capabilities reportedly influences business performance positively. However, few papers empirically analyse this proposition for the case of Porter's generic strategies of cost leadership and differentiation, and none jointly considers all four...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of purchasing and supply strategies on business performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical results are based on information provided on a questionnaire by purchasing managers in 180 Spanish industrial firms. Findings An organization's commercial and financial performance incre...

The environment may provide an essential variable to explain the strategic behaviour of companies, yet few works study its role in the formulation of strategies for the purchasing function. This article investigates the relationship among munificence, hostility, dynamism and complexity in the environment and the implementation of evaluation, develo...

El alineamiento, o integración, de la función de compras con otras funciones ha sido señalado como fuente de buenos resultados, tanto desde el ámbito académico como empresarial. Sin embargo, los argumentos sobre los mecanismos en los que se basa esta relación son escasos y las circunstancias que la potencian o le restan efectividad no se han estudi...

Aprovisionamiento Just-In-Time en la industria del automóvil: el reto de los proveedores de primer rango

El estudio de la contribución que la función de producción puede hacer a los resultados empresariales se ha realizado fundamentalmente desde dos enfoques aparentemente inconsistentes entre si: uno basado en el alineamiento estratégico y otro en la identificación de mejores prácticas. En el primero las prácticas serán útiles sólo si son consistentes...

The growing diffusion and acceptance in the business world of Total Quality Management (TQM) has attracted greater interest on the part of academia. Although fundamental questions focus on how the different dimensions of TQM can bring about better business performance, a more recent recurring issue pertains to the relationship between TQM and techn...

Innovative management models consider human resources to be a key dimension in the innovation process and its performance. In particular, the knowledge of the people making up the staff and their creativity is fundamental. However, scant study has been made of what specific type of policies and practices in human resource management fosters better...

Purpose – This article aims to offer empirical evidence pertaining to the relationship among entrepreneurship, market orientation and business performance within the context of disadvantaged socio-economic regions of the European Union. Design/methodology/approach – Two groups of hypotheses investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship and...

This paper studies the effect of manufacturing pro-activity, understood as the company's interest in adopting new developments in the production and operations area, on environmental pro-activity, manifested by the implementation of voluntary environmental management practices. It is theoretically argued that there is a positive link between both o...

This paper explores the linkages between the practices and behaviour developed in the operations function of a company and the implementation of the ISO 14001 standard by that company. Specifically, it is argued that (1) those companies with a more proactive operations function are also the companies more inclined to develop capabilities that facil...

El entorno ha sido considerado una variable esencial para explicar el comportamiento estratégico de las empresas, pero pocos trabajos han estudiado el papel que desempeña en la formulación de la estrategia en la función de compras y aprovisionamiento. El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la relación entre la munificencia, la hostilidad, el dinam...

This article examines the role of industrial firms' market orientation as a moderator of the economic–ecologic conflict. Specifically, the authors consider the effect of industrial firms’ market orientation on perceptions of the environmental pressure exerted by stakeholders and the environmental practices implemented in response to that pressure....

As a consequence of new European legal regulations for treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), recycling plants have to be installed in Spain. In this context, this contribution describes a method for ranking of Spanish municipalities according to their appropriateness for the installation of these plants. In order to rank th...

Although several articles have studied the effect that stakeholder pressure has on the environmental behavior of firms, little research has attempted to identify the contingencies that explain such pressure. This article investigates the effects of six relevant variables on stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies: size,...

Este trabajo pretende avanzar en la identificación y análisis de las contingencias que llevan a las empresas a desarrollar estrategias medioambientales proactivas en el ámbito de la logística y la gestión de la cadena de suministros. En concreto, se analiza el papel del tamaño empresarial, la concienciación y creencias medioambientales de los direc...

Although the strategic importance of purchasing has been acknowledged in recent years, few studies analyze its contribution to business performance. The alignment of the purchasing function with business strategy is essential, but previous work links better performance with the implementation of specific purchasing practices. This article develops...

Purpose The objective of this paper is to study the relationship between information technology (IT) investments and performance in the purchasing function. A study is made not only of whether this relationship exists, but also of the mediating role played by both purchasing practices and the strategic integration of purchasing. Design/methodology...

On the basis of theoretical assumptions approached via the investment development path (IDP), this study examines the most important factors for and against the location decisions in foreign direct investment taken by multinational enterprises, considering host countries at very different stages of economic development (Latin American and European...

La transformación medioambiental de las empresas consiste en la adopción de medidas que previenen y corrigen su impacto medioambiental. Muchas empresas asumen una postura reactiva antela transformación medioambiental, es decir, se limitan a responder a las exigencias legislativas y de diversos grupos de presión. Sin embargo, otras empresas tienen u...

Although it is true that the issues of quality and innovation have been dealt with extensively from different perspectives, studies on the relationship between the two concepts are few. This study tackles this relationship by analyzing the links between the broader concepts of total quality management (TQM) and business innovation capability (BIC)....

This paper is based on an empirical study of 103 Spanish multinational companies that have carried out foreign direct investment (FDI) and analyses to what extent the decision to invest in Latin America responds to factors different from those involved in the decision to invest in other destinations. Rooted in the revised eclectic paradigm of Dunni...

The aim of this research is to analyse the dissatisfaction that ISO 9000 has created in small companies. Certification is only a guarantee that the company is using a quality management system according to a list of requisites and procedures. However, the benefits that have been attributed to ISO 9000 have often been overstated, so that companies t...

Benito has a degree in Mathematics (1995) and a PhD in Economics and Management Sciences (1999) from the University of Salamanca, where he joined as an Assistant Professor of Management after taking the MPhil degree in Management Studies of the University of Cambridge (UK) (1997) and the MSc degree in Operations Management of UMIST (UK) (1998). He...

This paper reviews the literature in order to identify the determinant factors of a company's environmental proactivity. It starts by arguing that environmental proactivity can be manifested through diverse practices and strategies and goes on to comment upon several variables that seem to influence the decision to implement such strategies. Some o...

La gestión de compras se ha convertido para muchas empresas en una actividad fundamental capaz de generar ventaja competitiva. Este artículo sostiene que, para que esto ocurra, es necesario que la función de compras esté integrada en el proceso de planificación estratégica de la empresa. Se aporta evidencia al respecto y también se muestra que la e...

The relationship between market orientation and organizational performance has been the focus of many studies for the last few years. The conclusions reported are very diverse and even contradictory. This ambiguity is reinforced to some extent by the high degree of methodological heterogeneity in the definition and measure of market orientation and...

This paper studies the relationship between the environmental motivations or beliefs prevailing in a company and the kind of environmental transformation the company is undertaking. In this sense, we distinguish four types of motivations: ethical, productive, commercial, and relational; and three areas where environmental transformation is typicall...

The objectives of this paper are both to identify the environmental motivations associated with the decision to initiate the process for ISO14001 certification and to check whether such motivations undergo any changes once the company obtains its certification and experiences the actual effects of this process. Based on the work of Bansal and Roth,...

Purpose This research paper analyses the link between manufacturing proactivity, understood as the tendency of a company to implement the most modern and advanced production management practices and business performance. Design/methodology/approach Over a sample of 186 industrial companies, two dimensions of proactivity were identified; one reflec...

This paper analyses the relationship between environmental proactivity and business performance on a sample of 186 industrial companies. This relationship is approached by studying a bundle of relationships between different dimensions or manifestations of environmental proactivity and different measures of business performance. The analysis in par...

En este artículo se aborda el carácter multidimensional de la implantación de prácticas medioambientales en el ámbito empresarial. Tras una revisión de las distintas medidas adoptadas en la transformación medioambiental de las empresas, se aporta evidencia empírica sobre su implantación en tres sectores industriales españoles. En concreto, se ident...

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar de que forma y en que medida las prácticas ya consolidadas a nivel de ensambladores en la industria de automoción española se han extendido al resto de fabricantes participantes en la cadena de valor. En concreto, se estudian las diferencias existentes en cuanto a las prácticas de producción y aprovisionamien...

This paper studies the role of geodemographic segmentation as an analytic tool in retail location strategy. The most relevant factors that should determine retail location selection are revised, and the potential contribution of geodemographic segmentation to the assessment of such factors is examined. The empirical application provides evidence on...

This paper analyses the relationship between environmental proactivity and business performance on a sample of 186 industrial companies. This relationship is approached by studying a bundle of relationships between different dimensions or manifestations of environmental proactivity and different measures of business performance. The analysis in par...

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a ripe field of study. Although the status of TQM as a management theory is still under discussion, there is growing consense that there exists a positive relation among firm performance and TQM recommended practices. The concept that TQM is a strategic resource for firms to secure their compatitive advantage has f...

This study provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the relevance of geodemographic segmentation as a support tool in the definition of an optimal geographic price discrimination strategy on the part of retail firms. A theoretical model is established in which decisions on price across the geographical markets depend on operative, competiti...

Ante la necesidad de Espa�a de instalar nuevas empresas de reciclaje de RAEE, este trabajo proporciona a los agentes decisores una ordenaci�n de los principales municipios espa�oles seg�n su apropiabilidad para la instalaci�n de estas empresas. Desarrolla un procedimiento que consiste en la identificaci�n de los factores relevantes que deben teners...

Although it is true that the issues of quality and innovation have been dealt with extensively from different perspectives, studies on the relationship between the two concepts are few. This study tackles this relationship by analyzing the links between the broader concepts of total quality management (TQM) and business innovation capability (BIC)....

One of the key elements of a total quality management (TQM) policy is the assurance of an adequate supply of materials and components. The objective of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it analyses the relationship between different purchasing system variables and supplier quality assurance practices. Secondly, it explores both the connections betwee...

Tras la entrada en vigor de la Directiva Europea sobre Residuos de Aparatos Eléctricos y Electrónicos (RAEE), los fabricantes de la Unión Europea han visto aumentada su responsabilidad en la gestión de los residuos de los aparatos que fabrican. Esta nueva exigencia lleva a preguntarse cuáles son las características que deben poseer o desarrollar pa...

El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la insatisfacci�n generada por la certificaci�n ISO9000 en la peque�a empresa. La certificaci�n es s�lo una prueba de que la empresa, tras cumplir unos requisitos y ajustarse a una serie de procedimientos, ha puesto en marcha un sistema de gesti�n de la calidad. Sin embargo, se le han atribuido beneficios y v...

The paper reports empirical evidence of diverse organizational factors determining the implementation of Just-in-Time (JIT) purchasing practices. A theoretical framework distinguishing basically between operational practices, inherent in JIT environments, and complementary practices, characteristic of partnership sourcing arrangements, is proposed...

This paper reports on an empirical study based on 103 Spanish companies which have conducted foreign direct investment (FDI). Built on the eclectic paradigm, it aims at finding out the main ownership, internalization and location factors which affect such internationalization processes. The results confirm the determinant importance of factors such...

This paper reports some empirical observations of the way in which the Spanish auto components industry is implementing supplier quality and reliability practices. The findings are examined in relation to four hypotheses. Amongst the main conclusions of the study is that there is an apparently large group of suppliers who, in spite of implementing...

Auto components manufacturers are finding important barriers to translating the supply practices used by final assemblers to their own suppliers. In particular, there are some obstacles to the involvement of suppliers in design and product development. By means of exploratory case studies, this paper identifies five suppliers' features that make su...

Este trabajo es un estudio emp�rico a partir de 103 casos de empresas multinacionales espa�olas que han efectuado inversi�n directa en el exterior. El trabajo analiza de forma desagregada los factores de activo, internalizaci�n y de localizaci�n. Entre los factores de activo destaca el impacto de los activos intangibles vinculados con la empresa. E...

The objective of this paper is to analyse the complementarities and interrelationships between the different JIT purchasing practices which have extended in industrial markets in recent years. The incorporation of trust as an explicative element in a framework based on Transaction Costs Economics leads us to propose that the success of logistics-re...

This paper reports empirical evidence of the implementation patterns of JIT purchasing developed by the Spanish auto components industry. An analytical framework distinguishing between operational practices, inherent in JIT environments, and complementary practices, characteristic of partnership sourcing arrangements, is proposed and used to guide...

In this paper, a framework based on the eclectic paradigm of Dunning is used to provide some empirical evidence about the internationalisation process of firms in Castilla y León. Through the applicatioin of hierarchical analysis and other descriptive methodologies, it has been possible to reach some conclusions about which are the factors determin...

Proyecto realizado por el Laboratorio de Diseños Educativos Multimedia y Teleducación, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias de la Educación (IUCE), Universidad de Salamanca (http://iuce.usal.es). La aplicación 'El flujo de la renta, V.O.I.', prentende proporcionar un ejemplo práctico de las posibilidades que encierran la aplicación de las nuevas tec...

JIT purchasing, as many other trends in supply management, is not applicable to any circumstances, rather its implementation responds to particular factors. Focusing on the characteristics of the purchased products, this paper contributes to identifying some of these factors. Seven variables, volume, specificity, technological complexity, essential...

Building on previous literature, proposes a theoretical approach to the study of the factors affecting the major decisions related to the internationalisation process of firms. Provides some empirical evidence through the study of a group of newly internationalised companies in one of the less industrially developed regions of Spain. Uses a descrip...

This paper examines two research questions. First, is a re-engineered company a suitable platform for the subsequent application of TQM principles? Second, is BPR an appropriate means to transform an organisation operating along traditional lines into one which is managed using TQM principles? It is posited that these questions have been given scan...