Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of digital competences in relation to the general competences demanded by the job market in the case of Business graduates’ future.Design/methodology/approach: A telephone survey was conducted with 992 team and HR managers from November 15 to December 15, 2016. The selected respondents were chosen from a sampling frame of 4,880 registered members of a professional association of Business and Economics graduates. Only those admitting to have or having had employees under their command were accountable. Thus, the final sample of the analysis comprised a total of 231 respondents. We used partial least square modeling in order to test the hypotheses.Findings: The study carried out in the professional field of graduates in Business studies shows us that of the five dimensions analyzed as digital competences, four of them show an influence on the candidate’s suitability for the post. These are communication, content creation, safety and problem solving. In the variables related to information, this relationship is not observed.Originality/value: In this research, the authors analyze the digital competences from the perspective of the possible employer. The concept of digital competence is of increasing importance in recent research. There is a need to relate the competences demanded by the companies and those developed by the training centers. Also, prior literature is limited in the number of works analyzing digital competences specifically in the professional activities concerning graduates in Economics of Business studies.

The establishment of broad-based networks, such as the Triple Helix, for innovation and sustainability is sufficiently corroborated. In this work we suggest that the information received from the Triple Helix has a significant and different impact on the objectives of sustainable innovation, depending on whether companies cooperate or not. To this end, an empirical analysis of a stratified sample of more than 5000 Spanish medium and high technology companies in 2010-2014-2015 was carried out. The results confirm that companies that do not cooperate place more importance on the information received from the Triple Helix to establish their sustainable innovation targets.

Purpose: Urban managers increasingly focus on establishing the city as a brand to ensure a competitive force that enables the city to position itself at home and abroad. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of city branding from the market orientation of the capital cities of Spain's regional Autonomous Communities.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis uses a set of variables representing the different aspects that shape market orientation, and variables related to the development and implementation of city branding strategies. The methodology for collecting information on the cities under study is based on content analysis, and its specific application to the analysis of websites.Findings: The research carried out reveals the existence of four distinct groups of Spain's cities that can be differentiated in terms of the importance that they give to the different areas of market orientation and the development of city branding strategies.Research limitations/implications: The cities considered give an insight into the strategies of brand creation and development at major Spanish cities but tell nothing about secondary cities. The scope of the study is purely domestic. The authors intend to expand it to include cities elsewhere in Europe, to enable comparisons to be drawn of the processes of creation and development of city branding in different countries. The municipal web sites used as a source of information show some volatility, and as a result need to be reviewed from time to time.Originality/value: Although web sites as marketing tools offer significant advantages, such as accessibility of information, provision of relevant information, handling of complaints, low cost, and customer service, there has been very little research into their role in urban management. Using the content provided by each municipality's official web site as a source, this paper offers a different perspective which complements research performed through other methods.

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the main dimensions that determine the ability of cities to compete as locations for business and hubs for investment which can help policymakers to manage and prioritize urban development strategies. Design/methodology/approach: A composite indicator is proposed as a weighted aggregate of sub-indicators for the identified component dimensions (basic, efficiency-related and innovation-related competitiveness). The indicator is used to draw up a ranking of 159 European Large Urban Zones (LUZs) located in 26 EU countries based on 31 indicators, broken down into the three core dimensions of urban competitiveness identified. Findings: The dimensions underlying urban competitiveness in relation to the location of firms and attracting investment determine the level of economic development of the LUZs. The most competitive cities in the sample have a high level of economic development, and the innovation dimension is the most significant one for the three groups of cities considered, followed by the efficiency dimension and, to a lesser extent, the basic dimension. Practical implications: The findings provide guidance to policymakers on the most relevant dimensions for urban competitiveness. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature shedding light on the complex relationships between efficiency-related and innovation-related factors with regard to urban competitiveness.