PurposeThis paper aims to study competencies between two groups of professionals: employees in innovative companies and entrepreneurs. Therefore the following questions arise: Are these two types of competences the same? Do innovative companies demand an entrepreneurial profile? Are entrepreneurs' companies spontaneously innovative?Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses personal competences in two different groups of professionals. On one hand the authors work the common characteristics among successful entrepreneurs; on the other, they study the competences that innovative companies demand of their employees. The authors study if there is an overlap between both types of competences, considering that the areas in common may represent a training opportunity for both the entrepreneurs and organizations seeking innovation.FindingsThe authors find that innovative organizations value six characteristics in their employees, which are related to entrepreneurs' characteristics and describe individuals within the organization that are able to work in teams, are committed to their work, seek information and new opportunities, and are able to take risks in innovative ventures. However, there are characteristics that entrepreneurs have and that organizations that want to be innovative are not seeking. If employees had these characteristics, they would allow them to be persistent despite difficulties. Finally, the authors find that there is a competence that innovative organizations need but entrepreneurs may not have, which is having previous experience in the field.Originality/valueThe paper shows that the individual competencies that characterize the entrepreneur are also found in innovative organizations.

Service companies in developed countries represent 70–80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Spain, within the service sector, tourism is the main contributor and is growing annually. This is obviously an opportunity for the country due to its benefits and economic effects but at the same time a well-structured, sustainable and competitive model for its continued development is needed in order to adopt best practices and reference innovative models from other sectors. A qualitative approach using Case Study, Grounded Theory and Delphi Method has been conducted to study the tourism sector in the city of Gandia, Valencia (Spain). Results show that a tourist destination with its different components and stakeholders involved in its value chain can be interpreted as an ecosystem and so reference ecosystem models could be adopted to boost the development of a region. Considering the results obtained, this study can contribute to the development of a tourist destination in a sustainable and innovative way.

Purpose: This paper has a double purpose. First, to analyze the competencies and skills proposed as ideals for an Industrial Engineering degree and identify them in the current study plans implemented in Spanish universities. Second, to check the fit between competencies and skills described in Spanish Industrial Engineering and corporative strategy are in all the analyzed study plans, but competencies as shared vision, free access to information and involvement of managers do not appear in new degrees, but they are required in real business.Research limitations/implications: About the origin of information, we use official web sites belonging to Spanish public and some private universities, and corresponding schools. Some universities have not updated the information about degrees in Industrial Engineering, and they still have old plans information.Moreover, the comparison we can make between the competencies of degrees and the needs to develop the Industrial Engineering profession is theoretical because the introduction of new degrees has just started and there are no graduates.Practical implications: The principal practical implication is to identify a professional profile of the engineer common to most Spanish universities and therefore facilitate the selection of one curricula or another for students. These can lead to check with the first graduates whether or not the competencies acquired in University fit in the business world. On the other hand, from a professional point of view, we open a future line of research by testing competencies acquired by graduates and competencies required in the professional field, as well as the study of these competencies in the professional field. In addition, current employees may decide to recycle their competencies or acquire new ones knowing the design of new degrees. Originality/value: There are no comparative studies about competencies a Spanish Industrial Engineer has to acquire in University to develop his or her professional work. In consequence, there are not comparative studies about competencies acquired in University and profiles demanded by companies in real business world. This paper deals with both topics.

Companies operate in a competitive and changing environment requiring increasingly effective and efficient management strategies. Lean is a proven philosophy in the industrial sector having helped companies to adapt to rapid market changes; to economic, technical, and social complexities; and to customer needs. For this reason, companies in the service sector are adopting Lean to improve their service management and to achieve economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This paper presents a model which uses Lean tools to facilitate the introduction of Lean in the management of primary care centers. The results show the implementation of Lean improved primary care center management, achieved stated objectives, and demonstrated faster adaptation to environmental needs and changes. The Lean philosophy developed and applied in the primary care center proved useful at a professional level facilitating developmental changes and prompting lasting improvements by developing a sustainable work culture.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to perform a context analysis about a specific Kaizen program, suggestion systems in permanent teams, and identified the barriers and facilitators that companies encounter while implementing them from the workers’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach The authors applied an inductive method, the Grounded Theory, to develop a specific context theory using the information that emerged from a convenience sample of 182 workers in several countries. Findings The facilitators and barriers identified for the workers in the field study are aligned with those identified in previous studies, generally obtained using information provided by managers. The methodology enabled us to identify the relationships between them and their level of relevance. Research limitations/implications The main limitations were linked with the source of the data as the authors worked with a convenience sample and only analyzed the information provided by the workers. Practical implications The identified facilitators, their relationships and their relevance, contribute to understand the functioning phenomena of suggestion systems in permanent teams to facilitate organizations using this continuous improvement program more effectively. Originality/value The originality of this study, apart from identifying facilitators from the workers’ perspective, is that the used method enabled us to identify the relationships between them and know how the operators perceived their relevance.