Individual and Social Learning and Competitiveness: Application to Spanish Aquaculture

The general aim of this paper is to analyse the managerial relevancy of learning as a cognitive tool for developing personnel competences. This learning will be implemented through the knowledge that human resources possess, which affects and determines levels of productivity as well as added value, and shows positive results on competitiveness. In methodological terms, three hypotheses are proposed related to the theoretical part; these are compared by applying the SPSS 19 statistical program to a significant sample of aquaculture companies. Finally, some conclusions are identified regarding the singular features of learning about aquaculture and their connection with competitiveness, about the theoretical bases and results of the proposed contrasts regarding significant differences about learning within the sector itself, depending on the type of crop or subsector of the activity, showing certain limitations and proposing new research lines.