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Open innovation profile in small and medium-sized firms: the perspective of technology centres and business associations
No full textThis work seeks to understand and characterise the innovative profile of Portuguese SMEs within the context of open innovation. The analysis draws on interviews conducted with the business associations and technological centres in the moulds, footwear and automotive industries in
Portugal. The study conducted here follows an exploratory approach. This study suggests that while open innovation is relatively widespread in its adoption of external knowledge, technology transfer outside the business is less commonplace. The innovation partners are varied, chosen based on competence and experience as well as their networking ability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Profitability of microfinance institutions and borrowers: a systematic literature review
No full textUsing the SCOPUS database, this paper conducts a systematic literature review to identify the drivers of financial profitability for both microfinance institutions (MFIs) and borrowers. Among the 174 papers reviewed, 39 addressed the profitability drivers of MFIs and borrowers. For, MFIs several factors stand out: financing for women and group credit, portfolio quality; client monitoring; appropriate active and passive interest rates; and control of operating costs. For borrowers, training in small business management; the generation of innovative and well-structured business ideas, access to microcredit and adequate passive interest rate, monitoring by MFIs and investment-focused credit, are found to drive profitability without jeopardizing their scope and depth of their operations. In this way the MFIs can grow and expand their services in a financially sustainable way, and better serve excluded individuals.
These results may provide a valuable framework to MFIs and borrowers to consider in their activities. Additionally, the findings are valuable also to policymakers when designing microfinance policies aimed at poverty reduction. A possible conjecture resulting from this study is that the financial sustainability of microfinance does not lie in subsidization, but in the application of market rules. By identifying two sets of factors that drive profitability, for MFIs and for borrowers, this paper provides an interface that incorporates measurement indicators.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A vingadora e a sua vida dupla: facetas psicossociais de um fenómeno paradigmático na literatura e noutras artes
No full textTese de Mestrado em Estudos Comparados - Literatura e outras Artes, apresentada à Universidade AbertaA vingança ocupa, desde a Antiguidade, um lugar central no imaginário coletivo, como manifestação de tensões entre justiça, violência e ordem social. Presente em tradições literárias e artísticas que vão do teatro clássico à ópera, da pintura ao cinema, assume configurações diversas conforme os contextos míticos, históricos e culturais. Nos casos em que a mulher assume o papel de vingadora, esta figura surge como uma personagem inconvencional ou até marginalizada, cujo gesto punitivo transgride os papéis sociais tradicionalmente atribuídos às mulheres. A sua ação, frequentemente associada a narrativas de “rape and revenge”, expõe tanto um lado oculto da subjetividade feminina como a dimensão coletiva de um imaginário persistente. Nela se inscrevem também traços do motivo do “duplo”, que permitem encarar a vingança como um prolongamento ou uma inversão da identidade da protagonista, revelando desejos e pulsões reprimidos pela norma social. Este trabalho centra-se na análise de personagens femininas que assumem o papel de vingadora na literatura e nas suas adaptações cinematográficas, explorando as relações entre vingança, justiça, género e mito. A investigação procura responder a questões como a definição da vingança à luz da teoria da ação, a sua evolução histórica, o papel das mulheres nesse processo, as diferenças entre vingadores masculinos e femininos, a dimensão performativa dos papéis de género e os efeitos da representação da vingadora enquanto figura de justiça pessoal. Examina-se ainda de que forma as protagonistas presentes nos corpora dialogam com reflexos do motivo do “duplo” e com a tradição mitológica. Coloca-se a hipótese de estas personagens se projetarem como protótipos sociais que interrogam as dinâmicas de poder e autodeterminação feminina, questionando até que ponto poderão ser entendidas como remakes contemporâneos das Erínias – divindades ctónicas da mitologia grega associadas à vingança e à justiça punitiva – no imaginário coletivo.Revenge has occupied, since Antiquity, a central place in the collective imagination, as a manifestation of tensions between justice, violence, and social order. Present in literary and artistic traditions ranging from classical theatre to opera, from painting to cinema, it assumes diverse configurations according to mythical, historical, and cultural contexts. In cases where a woman assumes the role of an avenger, this figure emerges as an unconventional or even marginalized character, whose punitive gesture transgresses the social roles traditionally attributed to women. Her action, often associated with "rape and revenge" narratives, exposes both a hidden side of female subjectivity and the collective dimension of a persistent imaginary. It also contains traces of the "double" motif, allowing revenge to be seen as an extension or inversion of the protagonist's identity, revealing desires and drives repressed by social norms. This study focuses on the analysis of female characters who assume the role of an avenger in literature and its cinematographic adaptations, exploring the relations between revenge, justice, gender, and myth. The research seeks to address questions such as the definition of revenge in light of action theory, its historical evolution, the role of women in this process, the differences between male and female avengers, the performative dimension of gender roles, and the effects of representing the female avenger as a figure of personal justice. It also examines how the protagonists in the corpora engage with echoes of the motif of the “double” and with mythological tradition. The hypothesis is raised that these characters may be projected as social prototypes that interrogate dynamics of power and female self-determination, questioning the extent to which they may be understood as contemporary remakes of the Erinyes – chthonic goddesses of Greek mythology associated with revenge and punitive justice – within the collective imagination
Born-again globals: a case study of a non-linear internationalization behavior
No full textBased on the literature on the Uppsala model, born-again globals, non-linear internationalization model, and late market entry, this chapter aims to portray the history, changes, and adaptations of OMEGA’s internationalization process. This transitioning firm manufactures furniture and wooden hockey sticks.
This chapter identifies that OMEGA follows a non-linear internationalization process and late entry into international markets. The principal added value of the case study presented here is related to presenting OMEGA’s non-linear internationalization process, which displays reactive internationalization behavior in response to a saturated domestic market, typical of the Uppsala model, and which subsequently ends in a rapid internationalization process, as a born-again global, as a result of a change in its top management.
During its internationalization process, OMEGA changed its internationalization pace, modes of
entry, and export actions by adapting to the external environment and then changing its strategic focus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Is a good story enough?: a critical analysis of storyteller roles in tourism
No full textAs storytelling influences consumer attitudes and opinions, conditioning the tourist experience by appealing to the imagination, this paper reviews the literature covering the analysis of 66 papers that focus on the storytelling of the visitor/tourist as the main subject. The article is divided into four main themes: (a) storytelling as a tool to attract tourists; (b) the role of the storyteller; (c) the tourist as a storyteller; and (d) what makes a good story. The Hoshin Kanri Matrix was used to showcase each of the main themes. Although storytelling has been widely used to attract tourists, it is crucial that tourist-based storytelling can be a credible substitute for destination-based storytelling, as empathy, authenticity and the emotional attachment of tourists as storytellers play an important role as “good stories,” transforming and co-creating their experiences that emerge from the interaction of tourists, residents, and intermediaries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The risk structure of Portuguese tourism industry subsectors: a PLS-SEM approach
No full textThis paper examines risk factors that affect the Portuguese tourism industry subsectors, namely, travel agencies and tour operators, leisure and recreation activities, and tourism events firms. Additionally, it also assesses the effect of these risks on strategic and operational responses in the tourism subsectors mediated by a mitigation dimension. In terms of methodology, we used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on data collected from 416 questionnaires distributed across the three tourism subsectors complemented by a Multigroup Analysis (MGA) via partial least squares structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM). The exploratory factor analysis confirmed distinct risk categories, including organizational, environmental, competitive, economic, political, infrastructure-related, circumstantial, business deficiencies, and specific (local) risks. Results documented the different risk impacts of risks on strategic and operational responses for tourism subsectors. While mitigation efforts do not significantly differ in their overall effects across subsectors, differences emerge in their direct effects. Concerning practical implications, this research provides insights for stakeholders in the tourism industry, supporting them with the knowledge to proactively understand, anticipate, and manage any risks in their operations, essential for boosting the resilience and competitive edge of the tourism subsectors in a global environment shrouded by uncertainty.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The SDG18 and the two cultural purposes at large: towards a new pillar of sustainability?
No full textIn the past 6 years that have followed the initial launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a discussion on its extension (SDG + 1/SDG18) emerged. The SDG18 quest is interpreted as a collective pursuit for meaning on SDGs and the future of our planet, based on 23 different proposals. This article aims at a detailed analysis of these 23 proposals and their meanings within the SDGs framework which directly connects with urban trends and transitions. Methodologically, this paper is supported by online research on SDG18 proposals and a content analysis. This leads to three main categories based on the criteria of aims/claims for the SDG18: (1) country ownership as national interest; (2) societal cooperation as both a fear and an emphasis of the SDG framework and (3) cultural purposes. Throughout our analysis, the latter category resonates with the core dyads of humanity: nomadic–sedentary and rural–urban. The category was divided in two subcategories: an Anthropic Techno-explosion Purpose (a nomadic-urban-progress trend) and an Ecologic Consciousness Purpose (a sedentary-rurban-degrowth trend). These are what we describe as the two Purposes at Large, framing the dialogue about our future as human beings. Finally, assuming the relevance of this dialogue, we urge the General Secretary of the UN to create an annually SDG18 Forum.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Single minute exchange of die and organizational innovation in seven small and medium-sized firms
No full textInnovation plays a very important role in businesses competitiveness.
As Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) stem for more than 95 % of the industrial fabric in the developed world, the improvement of the industrial production or the provision of a service are key to increase their productivity and competitiveness. The Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is a Japanese process-based innovative methodology that involves the separation and conversion
of internal setup operations into external ones. The SMED makes it possible for firms to reduce their lead times and to eliminate wastefulness during changeover activities. Although organizational innovation is a very important tool, it plays a silent role in productivity improvement, as it is less tangible than product or process innovation. Moreover, studies about SMED implementation and how teams have managed to achieve their results are still very limited among SMEs.
The main objective of this chapter is to provide the results of seven projects involving business-university partnerships addressing this understudied topic: SMED implementation and organizational innovation in SMEs. The main finding of this study is that all firms managed to improve their setup times, although the results vary extensively. From the organizational innovation point of view, only one firm failed to intertwine the initiation and the implementation stages. Although all firms have initiation-implementation routines, there are clear differences among
them. As a result, although it is possible to claim that all SMEs analyzed are ambidextrous organizations, their initiation-implementation routines, deserve deeper comprehension.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Electronic government: challenges for public services consumer behaviour and value creation
No full textinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio