Ricardo Aguado

Development rooted on Riojan soil: the wine cluster and beyond.

The wine industry has experienced dramatic changes since the 80s. The surge of New Producing Countries challenging the Euro-centred status quo, the decline of consumption in traditional markets, the permanent large imbalances in the sector resulting in global overproduction, the apparition of new consumers, the development of wine tourism… In this period of time, Rioja, a region producing wines since the Middle Ages, has been able to use all its strengths to increase its market share in the wine global market, driving the regional economy to higher and more widespread social welfare. This paper shows the main features of this relation between wine and territory at Rioja, and the reasons for the successful performance of this sector, using a number of approaches (cluster, agro-industrial district, oenopolis) that progressively enlarge the scope of the analysis up to including all potential relations between the main regional sector and the society itself.

Dignity at the Level of the Firm: Beyond the Stakeholder Approach

After the financial crisis that took place in 2008, many scholars proposed a new position for the firm inside society; one in which the generation of value for all stakeholders and the environmental responsibility were basic points (Porter and Kramer 2011). However, the dominant economic anthropology (the neoclassical theory of the firm) still proposes that the objective of the firm is short-term profit maximization (Jensen 2002). On the other hand, other academics have used the stakeholder approach to direct the objectives of the firm not only to maximize shareholders’ interest, but also the interests of all economic actors that interact inside or with the firm. The main objective of this chapter is to present a model that could facilitate firms to deal with the issue of morality directed to the preservation and development of human dignity. In short, the paper’s intention is to go beyond the stakeholder approach and propose the ISCT as a valid approach to integrate the discussion about human dignity at the level of the firm in an attempt to reconnect firms’ objectives with the interest of society.

The Role of Shapeholders as a Link between a Firm and Non-Stakeholders: The Pursuit of an Economy for the Common Good Based on Stakeholder Theory

Abstract Stakeholder theory may be the Archimedes lever that allows defining a possible Economy for the Common Good; however, the theory’s current level of development does not enable it to escape the criticism that considers it nothing more than shared egoism. The expansion of the concept of stakeholder, including not only groups that collaborate in the creation of value or which are actively impacted by the organisation, but also incorporating those affected by omission – non-stakeholders – would lead to the reconciliation of stakeholder theory and the common good. Nevertheless, to set it within corporate practice, besides having selfish and altruist incentives, would be of interest for the conceptual development of shapeholders, understood as the link between non-stakeholders’ interests and needs, and firms.

Jesuit Business Education Model: In Search of a New Role for the Firm Based on Sustainability and Dignity

Abstract: Jesuit Universities have been training responsible professionals since the 16th century. Given this educational tradition, and in the face of the new challenges posed by the present-day social and economic situation, the Society of Jesus has started to implement the “Ledesma-Kol-venbach” educational paradigm in its higher education institutions. Instead of short-term profit maximization, the Ledesma-Kolvenbach model considers sustainability, human dignity and social well-being as key elements in business strategies. The objective of this paper is to propose a method capable of measuring the economic and social value generated by a firm managed in accordance with the four dimensions of the Ledes-ma-Kolvenbach model. The methodology is developed in three steps. In the first place, the authors explore the existing literature on the Ledes-ma-Kolvenbach model and its roots in Jesuit education. Secondly, they analyze the literature that studies the role of the firm from a neoclassical perspective, as well as other complementary or alternative approaches. In the third place, they present an empirical model that has already been tested in different organizations, designed to measure the social and economic value generated by firms. The main result of the paper is a method that can be used to measure the social and the economic value generated by firms, such that society, managers and public administrations have an operational tool to present and evaluate the economic and social performance of firms.

GDP and beyond: towards new measures of sustainability based on Catholic social thought

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the suitability of using gross domestic product (GDP) as a proper indicator for sustainability in a given national economy and to identify the main features that a proper measure of sustainability (composed by a set of indicators) should incorporate. After showing the inconveniences of using GDP as an indicator of sustainability for national economies, the authors aim to present complementary indicators to GDP per capita to do this task. They also aim to calculate and discuss the efficiency of OECD countries in terms of achieving sustainable development.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed based on recent economic studies about sustainability and also on the principles of Catholic social thought. Once complementary indicators to GDP in order to measure sustainability have been proposed, the econometric method data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to perform an efficiency analysis of the three dimensions of sustainability (soc...

A New Approach to Humanistic Management Education Based on the Promotion of Justice and Human Dignity in a Sustainable Economy

In spite of major shifts that have transformed businesses, the economy, and society in the last decade, a few changes have taken place in management education models taught by business schools and executive education (EE) programs (Waddock and Lozano, 2013). The most important changes adopted by business schools are centered in digital methodologies and online education that intensively use information technology to transform management education tools and methodologies.