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Managing Environmental Knowledge through Learning Processes in Spanish Hospitality Companies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro  and
Aurora Martinez Martinez
Juan Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro*
Affiliation:
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain)
Aurora Martinez Martinez
Affiliation:
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Juan G Cegarra-Navarro. Facultad de Ciencias de la Empresa. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena. Paseo Alfonso XIII, 50. 30203 Cartagena. Murcia. (Spain). E-mail: Juan.Cegarra@upct.es.
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Abstract

The major focus of this research is to investigate whether environmental knowledge has any impact on organizational outcomes through an empirical investigation of 127 Spanish hospitality companies, using structural equation models. Our results show that environmental knowledge is an important determiner for developing organizational outcomes. However, this relationship is completed with just two related constructs: Firstly, the company's acquisition process plays a key role in managing the tension between the knowledge necessary to develop the appropriated environmental initiatives and current knowledge. Secondly, the company's distribution process also sheds light on tangible means for managers to enhance their company's outcomes through environmental knowledge.

El objetivo principal de esta investigación es analizar mediante ecuaciones estructurales aplicadas a 127 empresas del sector español de la hospitalidad, si el conocimiento ambiental ejerce algún impacto en los resultados empresariales. Nuestros resultados muestran que el conocimiento ambiental ejerce un papel importante para alcanzar los objetivos entre las empresas objeto de estudio. Sin embargo, este papel se encuentra condicionado a la presencia de dos dimensiones más que actúan de forma complementaria. En primer lugar, el proceso de adquisición de conocimiento juega un papel clave para lidiar la tensión entre el conocimiento necesario para impulsar las iniciativas ambiéntales demandadas y el conocimiento actual disponible. En segundo lugar, el proceso de distribución también posibilitad medidas palpables y realizables para que los directivos puedan mejorar sus resultados a través del conocimiento ambiental.

Keywords

learning processenvironmental knowledgehospitality industryhotel outcomesproceso de aprendizajeconocimiento ambientalsector de la hospitalidadresultados hoteleros
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , November 2010 , pp. 827 - 840
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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