Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés)

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Do environmental and cleaner production practices lead to circular and sustainability performance? Evidence from Colombian manufacturing firms
    (2023) Mora-Contreras, R. (Rafael); Ormazabal-Goenaga, M. (Marta); Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Hernández-Salazar, G. (Giovanni); Prieto-Sandoval, V. (Vanessa); Torres-Guevara, L.E. (Luz Elba); Carrillo-Hermosilla, J. (Javier)
    The implementation of activities close to the circular economy (CE), such as environmental management system (EMS) and cleaner production (CP) practices, and their relationships, are expected to have positive effects on the circular and sustainability performance. However, current research has provided results in which the effects are diffuse, contradictory, or even negative in some cases. Given the need for more consensus on the relationship between CE-related practices and sustainability performance, we investigated the effect of EMSs and CP prac-tices, and their interactions on companies' circular and sustainability performance. This longitudinal study used official Colombian government data of 1544 manufacturing companies from 2012 to 2019, considering impact assessment and structural equation modeling. Our results clarify which elements of circular and sustainability performance have and have not been affected by the implementation of these practices and their interactions, highlighting important challenges for theory, practice, and society. In this regard, manufacturing companies that adopt EMSs, CP or both practices obtain benefits related to the sale of certain waste, the reuse of water and the creation of green jobs and improvements in their organizational performance. However, adopting such practices does not necessarily imply waste circularity. Moreover, our findings guide management decision-making on which practices to implement to achieve better performance. We also evidence limited sustainable value creation by industries in social terms. Finally, we recommend the strategic implementation of CE and the development of new business models enabled by systemic eco-innovations and technology for sustainable value creation.
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    Action research projects: one step ahead in the researcher-practitioner relationships
    (2017) Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Alfaro, J.A. (José Antonio)
    This study pretends to highlight the usefulness of developing action research (AR) projects as a way to develop a set of integrated studies based on a dual contribution: academic and managerial ones. The concept of AR Project goes one step ahead in terms of AR methodology as an extended case study. We describe an specific AR Project associated to a doctoral theses in the field of innovation intermediation. As main results, we have learned from this experience that (1) the relationship between researchers and practitioners must be collaborative and based on trust and commitment, (2) an AR Project is broader and more complex than a case study, (3) the diffusion of research results must be differentiated for practitioners and academics, and finally, (4) the AR Project is an open and collaborative innovation practice.
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    Training for sustainability through biomimicry and creative problem-solving processes
    (2023) Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Cabra, J. (John); Prieto-Sandoval, V. (Vanessa); Torres-Guevara, L.E. (Luz Elba); Jaca, C. (Carmen)
    Biomimicry is a sustainable design strategy that harnesses the understanding of nature and its efficient resource utilization. However, the academic literature needs comprehensive methodol-ogies for applying biomimicry across various fields of study and professions. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of teaching a fusion of biomimicry and Creative Problem Solving (CPS) processes to management students tasked with designing eco-innovative products.Equipped with prior training in sustainability, biomimicry, creativity, and innovation, the students undertook a challenge to create a sustainable backpack using biomimicry within the CPS framework. To evaluate the training's effectiveness, systematic content analysis was applied to assess the usefulness and features of students' output. Additionally, a survey was administered to gauge the impact of this experience on the students' learning.The results suggest that the CPS approach effectively facilitated the students' development of sustainable products, even without a background in natural sciences, resource availability, or technology. These findings encourage the development of training workshops for future managers who may initially doubt their ability to propose sustainable products. Furthermore, insights from these pilot courses may inspire educators and the broader academic community to incorporate sustainable design strategies into their curriculum, leveraging valuable creative skills to address global challenges and future employment opportunities.
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    ECO-labels as a multidimensional research topic: Trends and opportunities
    (Elsevier, 2016-05) Ormazabal-Goenaga, M. (Marta); Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Prieto-Sandoval, V. (Vanessa); Alfaro-Tanco, J.A. (José Antonio)
    This study analyzes the importance of ecolabels as an eco-innovation tool that can contribute to the sustainable design, production and consumption of products. Our research has a dual objective. The first is to build a theoretical framework that explains the relationship between ecolabels and eco-innovation, their determinants (demand, supply; and institutional and political influences) and the dimensions that arise from them. Second, according to this framework, a systematic literature review was carried out to identify the trends and opportunities in ecolabeling as a multidimensional topic, from empirical, geographical and sectorial perspective. The main contributions of this paper are a proposal for cyclical ecolabeling innovation process, an understanding of the ecolabeling dimensions according to the studies analyzed, and ecolabel performance in the market. Additionally, the systematic literature review revealed that ecolabels have been mainly explored in food sectors and, developed countries, and researchers tend to assess their performance from the dimension of market dynamics.
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    Unraveling the effect of circular economy practices on companies' sustainability performance: Evidence from a literature review
    (2023) Mora-Contreras, R. (Rafael); Ormazabal-Goenaga, M. (Marta); Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Prieto-Sandoval, V. (Vanessa); Torres-Guevara, L.E. (Luz Elba)
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    The role of Business Associations as drivers of strategic management of innovation
    (2018-01-30) Mejía-Villa, A. (Andrés); Alfaro, J.A. (José Antonio)
    Traditionally, business associations have been representatives of the interests of companies. Additionally, they have become coordinators of business activity and facilitators of the flow of information in the industry. Currently, the associations go further, they are developing a new role as innovation intermediaries for their affiliated companies. This work, although very valuable is not evident, therefore, they suffer from invisibility for business and academic organizations. Consequently, this doctoral thesis aims to deepen the study of the role of associations as key agents of the processes of open and collaborative innovation in business ecosystems, that is denominated innovation intermediation. In order to meet this challenge, we developed an Action Research project with three phases that comprise the articulation of a theoretical framework, and two fieldworks with a group of associations from the community of Navarra (northern Spain). In the first phase, we present a robust theoretical framework on the strategic, innovation and creativity aspects that surround the dynamics of associations as innovation intermediaries. Likewise, we clarify the fundamental concepts of associations as organizations of a social and economic nature. Finally, we describe their new role as facilitators of the strategic innovation of companies in the industrial sectors. In the second phase, we designed and applied a survey of 21 business associations, which allowed us to define their innovation intermediation functions, the types of innovation they tend to promote among their companies, and their dynamic capacities for innovation intermediation. Subsequently, we performed a cluster analysis to propose a typology of business associations. Finally, as a result of the previous findings, in the third phase we carried out an interactive and participative work with managers from 16 associations that allowed us to propose a Maturity Model of Innovation Intermediation Capacity, and also to propose the concept of business associations as Communities of Collaborative Innovation.