Abstract Purpose: By considering the organizational legitimacy framework, this work examines how offending companies decouple their narratives from the facts as a communication strategy when handling environmental crises in the Latin American context. It also considers the implications of such behavior in terms of its potential inconsistency with the organizational value system, and therefore with the ethical sense of the crisis communication practice. Design/methodology: The research relies on a multi-case study approach, where four major environmental incidents involving four extractive companies in Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina are analyzed. By scrutinizing public sources, these companies’ crisis communication processes are examined to allow for the linking of theory and practice. Findings: Results obtained suggest that to defend their legitimacy, companies deliberately conveyed untruthful messages and decouple their communication in crisis from reality, which in turn exposes a delinking between values and actions, resulting in ethical concerns for the practice of both crisis management and crisis communication. This work identifies four different decoupling-based crisis communication strategies performed by companies and the way these are accompanied by secondary strategies. Research limitations/implications: By emphasizing the connection between legitimacy and crisis communication, the study illustrates how narrative-fact decoupling (i.e., untruthful crisis communication practices) can be an indicative of more profound organizational contradictions. However, due to the constraints of case studies, it is acknowledged that the results obtained have boundaries for generalization. Originality/value: Instead of approaching decoupling as a trigger for crisis, the present investigation considers decoupling as a communicational strategy some companies engage with, when handling crisis. Furthermore, by focusing on Latin America, the study reflects the potential impact that the geographical context may have on the bodies of knowledge of organizational crisis communication and legitimacy.

Abstract: This study examines outsourced workers’ assessment of job satisfaction and the degree to which it can be affected by their perception of the reputation of the outsourcing company (i.e., their employer), that of the user company (i.e., their client), and their level of affective commitment to each one of them. Therefore, this study proposes a partial least squares structural equation model with four correlational hypotheses and two mediation hypotheses. A cross-sectional instrument was administered to 138 outsourced workers employed by the same outsourcing company in Colombia. The results indicate that the outsourcing company’s reputation has a slight influence on its employees’ affective commitment to said company, but not on their job satisfaction. Finally, the user company’s reputation has a strong influence on its outsourced workers’ affective commitment, and the latter variable plays a partial mediating role in the link between the user company’s reputation and outsourced employee satisfaction. Resumen: El presente estudio se propuso indagar por la forma en que los trabajadores en condición de tercerización laboral conciben su nivel de satisfacción en su trabajo, y el grado en que dicha valoración puede ser afectada en función de su propia percepción de reputación sobre la empresa subcontratista (su empleador) y la empresa usuaria (su cliente), así como de su nivel de vinculación afectiva con respecto a cada una de ellas. Para ello se planteó un modelamiento de ecuaciones estructurales mediante mínimos cuadrados parciales, empleándose cuatro hipótesis correlacionales y dos hipótesis de mediación. De esta manera, se aplicó un instrumento transversal sobre una muestra de 138 trabajadores tercerizados, vinculados a una misma empresa subcontratista en Colombia. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la reputación de esta empresa parecería incidir ligeramente sobre la vinculación afectiva de los trabajadores con respecto a ella misma, más no sobre su propia satisfacción en el trabajo. Finalmente, se observa una fuerte incidencia de la reputación de la empresa usuaria sobre la vinculación afectiva de sus trabajadores, variable que a su vez ejerce un rol de mediación parcial dentro del vínculo existente entre la misma reputación (de la empresa usuaria) y la satisfacción de los trabajadores.

Resumen: Este artículo ilustra el papel del populismo en la defensa de empresas estatales transgresoras, a partir del estudio del caso de la empresa Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) y su relación con el Estado venezolano durante la era del autodenominado “socialismo del siglo XXI”. Para ello se hace una investigación descriptiva y de sistematización de datos sobre algunos eventos de transgresión socioambiental en los que incurrió la compañía entre 2010 y 2020. Los resultados apuntan al uso continuo de una retórica incendiaria, constituida por el antielitismo, la defensa de la soberanía popular y la consideración de una ciudadanía homogénea y virtuosa. Esto sugiere que el populismo también puede ser utilizado como un estilo discursivo particular para defender la legitimidad de empresas transgresoras subordinadas al poder. Abstract: This work illustrates the role of populism in defending transgressing state-owned companies, based on the case of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its relationship with the Venezuelan state during the self-titled era of ‘21st-century socialism.’ To this end, a descriptive research design and systematization of data was performed on some socio-environmental transgressions by this company between 2010 and 2020. The results point to the continued use of inflammatory rhetoric, represented by anti-elitism, defense of popular sovereignty, and the consideration of homogeneous and virtuous citizenship. These findings suggest that populism can be used as a particular discursive behavior meant to defend the legitimacy of transgressing, subservient-to-power companies.

Abstract: The adoption of teleworking as a work modality in organizations has grown exponentially due to the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. This phenomenon has allowing the development of remote activities that are normally carried out in person. However, there is a concern among managers and employers due to the apparent absence of control and decreased productivity when using teleworking. For this reason, this article reviews, through two case studies of teleworkers surveillance and control software, the way in which their use provide support to the theory of formal and informal control, and how it can improve perception about the teleworking application and offer guarantees to employers. Similarly, the manuscript discusses the effects on the quality of life and personal behavior of employees who are involved within this modality. Resumen: La adopción del teletrabajo como modalidad laboral en las organizaciones ha crecido exponencialmente debido a la crisis actual de pandemia por COVID-19. Esto ha permitido el desarrollo de actividades a distancia que normalmente se realizan de forma presencial. Sin embargo, existe una preocupación en los gerentes y empleadores por la aparente ausencia del control y disminución de la productividad en su uso. Por tal razón el presente artículo revisa, a partir de dos casos de estudio de softwares de vigilancia y control de teletrabajadores, la forma en que su utilización brinda soporte a la teoría del control formal e informal, y cómo puede mejorar la percepción en la aplicación del teletrabajo al ofrecer garantías a los empleadores. De igual manera, se discuten las afectaciones en la calidad de vida y comportamiento personal de los empleados involucrados en esta modalidad.

Sicilienne (06 min. 33 sec.) / Casella -- Burlesque (04 min. NaN sec.) / Casella -- I. Moderato - Allegro vivace (22 min. 51 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- II. Quasi variazione (24 min. 12 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- III. Allegro risoluto (09 min. 10 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- Akatombo (The Red Dragonfly) (arr. Takuro Okada for voice and piano trio) (03 min. 53 sec.) / Yamada

Sicilienne (06 min. 33 sec.) / Casella -- Burlesque (04 min. NaN sec.) / Casella -- I. Moderato - Allegro vivace (22 min. 51 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- II. Quasi variazione (24 min. 12 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- III. Allegro risoluto (09 min. 10 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- Akatombo (The Red Dragonfly) (arr. Takuro Okada for voice and piano trio) (03 min. 53 sec.) / Yamada

Abstract: Entrepreneurial Companies play a fundamental role in economic growth, the creation of employment, local and regional development, and social cohesion. Start-ups will not necessarily become the largest source for employment, but they are considered economic drivers that commercialize innovation, expand internationally and create economic value. With the recent increase in prominence of new entrepreneurial ventures all over the world, much attention has been devoted to the creation of new firms. Belgium consists of three main regions: Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia. The breakdown of start-ups according to these regions is the following: Brussels: 31.5%, Flanders: 53.4%, and Wallonia: 15.1%. Note that Brussels, despite hosting only 11% of all active companies in Belgium, is doing exceptionally well regarding its share of start-ups and scaleups; almost 50% of all Belgian start-ups are concentrated in and around the cities of Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp. It is no surprise that, being the largest cities of Belgium, students make up for a significant portion of the population. More than half of the companies are active in the following categories: eCommerce, Software as a Service (SaaS), consumer mobile/web applications, industrial technology/production, and education. Half of the companies are at the start-up stage (i.e. completion of MVP or initial customers/revenue). 22% is in the seed stage and 24% in growth stage - 85% of the companies are mainly in B2B. While the majority (55%) of entrepreneurs believe that their product or service is a novelty in the world, only 4% realizes that their product or service is not a market innovation. In addition to that, 23% of startups do not have employees (Mohout, 2016). The supplying side of the market for informal capital consists of high net-worth individuals with considerable business experience, commonly known as Business Angels (BAs). Business Angels invest a portion of their wealth in high-risk, high-return start-ups (Coveney & Moore, Business Angels: Securing Start-up Finance, 1998). While it is difficult to precisely quantify the size of the angel market (due to its informal nature), some studies estimate its size to be twice the size of the institutional venture capital market (Freear, Sohl, & Wetzel, 1995). This suggests that Business Angels provide the largest amount of capital among early-stage ventures and fund a greater number of firms than venture capitalists (VCs) do. After receiving a first investment from a Business Angel, start-ups face a new critical question: whether to raise new funding under the form of debt or equity and, in the case of equity, involving new Business Angels or migrating to Venture Capital. Literature suggests that these young enterprises more often than not receive funds from equity in the early stages. However, in the case of demand for more resources and having a BA as back up, the entrepreneur may appeal to traditional financing sources in order to maintain the ownership. Resumen: Las microempresas juegan un rol fundamental en el crecimiento económico de un país, la creación de nuevos empleos y el desarrollo local y regional. Start-ups no se convierten necesariamente en la mayor fuente de empleo pero si son considerados impulsadores económicos que comercializan innovación, se expanden internacionalmente y crean valor económico. Después de recibir una primera inversión de un Ángel Inversionista, Start-Ups tienen que enfrentar una nueva y critica pregunta: ¿es mejor conseguir nuevos fondos adquiriendo una deuda o nuevo capital proveniente de inversionistas y en caso de recurrir a inversionistas, conseguir un nuevo ángel inversionista o migrar a un fondo de inversión? La literatura sugiere que estas nuevas empresas a menudo reciben fondos de capital en las primeras etapas de inversión. Sin embargo, teniendo un Ángel inversionista como respaldo, el empresario puede optar por métodos de financiación más tradicionales con la intensión de mantener propia la empresa.

Resumen: En las últimas décadas en Colombia se han percibido cambios importantes en la agricultura, relacionados con la concentración de la tierra, la expansión de la frontera agropecuaria, el crecimiento de algunos cultivos propios de la agricultura empresarial, así como el interés y adquisición de tierras por parte de actores nacionales y extranjeros. A nivel de las políticas públicas, los últimos gobiernos han realizado esfuerzos por permitir, en la legislación, la adquisición o el uso de tierras públicas por parte de empresas. Se destaca, dentro de estos esfuerzos, la promulgación de la Ley Zidres en 2016. Dichas transformaciones se enmarcan dentro de dinámicas internacionales que han llevado a la adopción del modelo de agronegocio en diferentes países. Esta tesis analiza, en el marco del neoliberalismo, la expansión del agronegocio en Colombia, a través del estudio de las transformaciones a nivel productivo, territorial y de las políticas públicas. El desarrollo de esta investigación se apoyó en la discusión teórica sobre hegemonía, en los elementos del análisis del discurso y en los desarrollos conceptuales sobre el agronegocio. El recorrido histórico sobre la cuestión agraria en Colombia, así como el estudio de la implementación del neoliberalismo y los cambios generados en la agricultura, que se han profundizado en los últimos años, sugieren la disputa del agronegocio por la hegemonía. Esta se ha intensificado, principalmente, a partir del acuerdo de paz firmado entre el gobierno de Juan Manuel Santos y la guerrilla de las FARC-EP, que incluyó la pauta de la Reforma Rural Integral y dio protagonismo a la economía campesina y a la democratización de la tierra.

Sicilienne (06 min. 33 sec.) / Casella -- Burlesque (04 min. NaN sec.) / Casella -- I. Moderato - Allegro vivace (22 min. 51 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- II. Quasi variazione (24 min. 12 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- III. Allegro risoluto (09 min. 10 sec.) / Rachmaninov -- Akatombo (The Red Dragonfly) (arr. Takuro Okada for voice and piano trio) (03 min. 53 sec.) / Yamada

Abstract: In an effort to improve coverage of the school system at the primary and secondary education levels, schools in various countries have introduced partial school days. This policy is supposed to allow two or more shifts of students to use the same infrastructure and be instructed by the same teachers, but reduces the amount of time children spend in school. Despite some positive effects on coverage, two-shift schooling has negative impacts on various learning outcomes, such as students’ performance on standardized tests. Using longitudinal data from Pruebas Saber in Colombia, this paper explores the impact of a full day of school on performance in the mathematics and language scores. Initial OLS regression results are contrasted with fixed effects models. Some effect heterogeneity is explored as well. Positive and statistically significant effects are found across all models. However, there are considerable variations in the size of the effect. First, effects on the mathematics scores are consistently larger than effects on language. Second, full-day schooling is found to make more of a difference in contexts where resources outside the classroom are less available, such as public schools which tend to be underfunded, rural areas that tend to be underserved by public services, and in children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Differences in school quality have surprising interaction effects with the length of the school day. Additional instruction time is shown to make the most difference at both ends of the quality spectrum.