Usability, corporate social responsibility and happiness in business

Abstract

This doctoral thesis presents research focused on analyzing the current business landscape in Spain, focusing on e-commerce usability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and happiness management in business. Throughout this research, the interconnection between these concepts and their relevance to the progress of the Spanish business environment is evident. The thesis begins with an introduction that presents the key concepts under study and justifies the importance of each. This introduction contextualizes the current business landscape in Spain in relation to e-commerce usability, CSR, and happiness management, highlighting the relationships between these terms. This contextualization leads to the formulation of the objectives and hypotheses that will guide the methodologies employed. The thesis is structured as a compendium of articles that includes various crosssectional studies, with emphasis on exploratory and descriptive studies. These studies seek to provide a comprehensive view of the current business landscapein Spain. To contextualize the situation, exploratory studies were conducted, including the analysis of secondary sources and systematic and bibliometric literature reviews. These studies provided insight into the mechanisms implemented by public entities to facilitate the digital transformation of SMEs, as well as the digital purchasing methods of Spanish consumers. Furthermore, a snapshot of how companies evaluate the usability of their e-commerce sites was obtained. Regarding CSR, its components were identified, and its evolution and importance in the academic field over the last 10 years was analyzed. Similarly, a global perspective was obtained on happiness management, its current status, and its evolution over time. Subsequently, a descriptive study was conducted to integrate the concepts under study and analyze the relationships between them. To this end, a quantitative study in the form of a survey was proposed, gathering information on the constructs, their attributes, and various socioeconomic and demographic issues from the sample. The results were analyzed using a structural equation using the partial least squares (PLS) tool. Furthermore, this doctoral thesis aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contributing to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Finally, the chapters containing the main contributions of this thesis are presented, which include eight journal publications and book chapters from highimpact publishers. The thesis concludes with theoretical, managerial, and social contributions, followed by the main conclusions. The discrepancy between the digitalization of society and the digitalization of businesses, which affects the competitiveness of Spanish companies, is highlighted. The change in the purchasing behavior of Spanish consumers is also remarkabled, as they demand that companies reflect their values and beliefs, giving a decisive role to CSR. Finally, it is emphasized that the population seeks a purpose in the workplace beyond generating wealth, seeking to contribute and be happy, which highlights the importance of happiness management in new business strategies to reach out to workers and contribute to the development of a happier society.