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An empirical analysis of the relationship between supply chain strategies, product characteristics, environmental uncertainty and performance
No full textPurpose – This paper aims to investigate supply chain (SC) strategies, analyzing the adoption of lean, agile, leagile and traditional SC strategies with respect to product characteristics, environmental uncertainty, business performance and innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents an empirical analysis carried out on a sample of 329 companies. Cluster analysis was applied, based on lean and agile SC characteristics, to identify patterns among different SC strategies. One-way analysis of variance of different constructs by types of SC clusters was conducted to test the research hypotheses.
Findings – Cluster analysis indicates that the companies studied adopt four types of SC strategies – lean, agile, leagile and traditional. The differences between the clusters are identified and discussed, highlighting that companies adopting a leagile SC strategy present the highest performance, while those that adopt a traditional SC present the lowest; companies adopting an agile SC compete in the most complex and dynamic environments, while companies with a lean SC present a clear predominance of functional rather than innovative products.
Research limitations/implications – This paper provides empirical evidence of the antecedents and consequences of the adoption of different SC strategies. As a limitation, the results are based on a survey research with a limited sample size.
Originality/value – Based on the analysis of the relationship between constructs that have not been addressed previously, the paper adds to the knowledge regarding the role of SC strategies, as well as the antecedents and consequences of their adoption. The results may support managers in the difficult task of choosing the “right” SC strategy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
C Sa Ksé Bon!: Discursive circulation of a mock language slogan in the heteroglossic construction of Franco-Portuguese “community”
No full textWe examine the emergence and viral circulation of a mock language slogan, “C sa ksé bon/ That’s what’s good,” among young people of Portuguese origin living in France. The slogan reprises in stylized fashion the imagined, stigmatized French speech of first-generation Portuguese immigrant figures, which is heteroglossically represented in youthful French texting language. Wetrace the slogan’s deand recontextualizations in the early 2010s across widely disseminated videos and cinema, as well as its uptake in online comments and spontaneous Facebook comments. Participants use the slogan to signal positive and/or ironic assessments of “Portuguese” entities, and newly rebranded Franco-Portuguese identities, simultaneously nodding to previously stigmatizing images, and reincorporating them into modern youthful ones. The article contributes to research on the heteroglossia of mock language and the construction of “communities” via discourse circulation, as well as research on the images and the (in)visibility of the Portuguese in France
Portugal segundo Portugal
No full textDireção de: José Eduardo Franco e de Fátima Vieira. Coordenação de Secção: Isabel Drumond BragaMarcados pelo isolamento e pelo distanciamento face aos centros de decisão, com a permanente ameaça de sismos e de vulcões, os Açores foram forjando uma identidade que se reflete no quotidiano e na produção cultural. Tudo isto ajuda a explicar uma longa batalha pela autonomia administrativa. Por outro lado, pese embora o seu carácter periférico, e talvez mesmo por isso, o arquipélago protagonizou momentos-chave da história de Portugal e, porque não dizê-lo?, pelo menos no que à Segunda Guerra Mundial diz respeito, da história da humanidade. Considerando-se muitas vezes, talvez com alguma razão, esquecidos pelos sucessivos governos de Lisboa, os Açores construíram uma certa lenda negra de abandono, mas, em simultâneo, foram sabendo encontrar formas alternativas de sobrevivência e de resiliência.Esta publicação é financiada por fundos nacionais através da FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., no âmbito do projeto Ref.ª UIDB/04097/2020 - CETAPS
Influence of sensory stimuli on brand experience, brand equity and purchase intention
No full textSensory stimulation is used by various brands to induce desired behaviours among their customers. Although its effectiveness is recognised in business contexts, little
research has been conducted on sensory marketing. In order to contribute to filling this gap, this study sought to build a model that explains how sensory stimulation influences
intentions to purchase a brand. Brand experience and brand equity were expected to mediate this relationship. The empirical validation of the model was conducted by carrying out an online survey with a convenience sample of 302 customers of a brand of the catering industry. The data collected were processed using PLS-SEM methodology. The results
reveal that sensory stimulation positively influences brand experience and brand equity, which, in turn, have a positive impact on intentions to purchase the brand in question.
The relevant contributions that emerged from this study include not only bridging the aforementioned gap in the literature but also offering significant managerial implications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
As dimensões culturais do direito à alimentação: uma perspectiva de direito internacional
No full textExploram-se, neste trabalho, as dimensões culturais do direito humano à alimentação, previsto em instrumentos de direito internacional vinculativos para os Estados, com vista à determinação da sua natureza e efetividade.
Assume-se que a análise dos direitos humanos à luz da cultura não é pacífica, por haver quem considere que a cultura é uma imposição retrógrada de prerrogativas locais que impedem o progresso e o consenso global em matéria de direitos humanos, mas sugere-se que, sendo a cultura o mecanismo pelo qual os seres humanos constroem significados a partir da realidade, é uma condição necessária para a compreensão do Direito à Alimentação. Da análise do direito em vigor e dos princípios de atuação das organizações internacionais, em articulação com os Estados, no combate à fome e défices alimentares, no âmbito da Agenda 2030 das Nações Unidas, conclui-se que o Direito à Alimentação é tanto um direito social quanto uma liberdade individual,
ordenado à salvaguarda da dignidade da pessoa humana. Sugere-se, também, que o grau de efetividade do Direito à Alimentação se mede pela qualidade do acesso aos alimentos, vista como uma dimensão de qualidade de vida e de expressão cultural de pessoas concretas. A metodologia é qualitativa e apoia-se em dados quantitativos. A pesquisa é atual e pertinente, ao permitir pensar o papel do direito internacional dos direitos humanos nas sociedades contemporâneas marcadas por novas condições e problemas que exigem abordagens regulatórias inovadoras.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Ensino a distância e tecnologias digitais enquanto promotores da comunicação e integração educacional e intercultural no ensino superior: oportunidades e desafios na atualidade e em tempos de pandemia Covid-19
No full textEm 2020, com o surgimento da pandemia Covid-19, o mundo foi confrontado com
mudanças drásticas que evidenciaram desigualdades sociais entre países e nos países, com
maior reflexo nos grupos mais vulneráveis, em situação de pobreza ou migração. Estes
desafios verificaram-se na área da educação que, em poucos dias, sofreu uma adaptação de
um modelo presencial para um ensino remoto, o que fez renascer o debate sobre o modelo
educativo existente, e sobre a disseminação tecnológica no ensino. Estas evidencias
motivaram o desenvolvimento do presente estudo, que teve como objetivo perceber o
impacto do uso das tecnologias digitais, enquanto facilitadoras da integração educacional e
intercultural. A introdução das tecnologias digitais, para além de permitir a manutenção do
ensino, pode ainda facilitar a integração de alunos provenientes de diferentes países e
culturas, contribuindo para um ensino mais adaptado à realidade do mundo de trabalho
global, plural e mutável. No entanto, também apresenta desafios, pois apesar de uma
abordagem digital ser mais próxima da realidade social, é mais adaptada a determinados
públicos-alvo e mais exigente e potencialmente mais solitária para o aluno, contrariamente
ao ensino pré-pandemia, onde a base era a proximidade ao professor evitando que o aluno
dependa tanto de si próprio. Para melhor compreender e quantificar o impacto desta
dinâmica realizou-se um estudo descritivo e exploratório, de cariz misto (qualitativo e
quantitativo). Na fase qualitativa participaram coordenadores e professores de Instituições
do Ensino Superior Portuguesas, que deram o seu contributo especializado através de
entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas, tendo sido analisados os resultados através de uma
análise de conteúdo. A fase quantitativa abrangeu uma amostra não probabilística de alunos
de Instituições de Ensino superior portuguesas, recolhida através de uma entrevista online,
o que permitiu uma análise estatística descritiva dos dados. Os resultados demonstram que
a pandemia impôs desafios como a falta de preparação da maioria das instituições de ensino
superior para uma migração tecnológica, o que implica uma necessidade de investimento
financeiro, assim como o impacto negativo em termos de efeitos psicológicos que um ensino
totalmente a distância pode ter na comunidade educativa que não se identifica com este tipo
de modalidade de ensino, ou para os alunos que não têm condições para o frequentar. No
entanto, todos os desafios devem ser encarados como oportunidades, e percebeu-se a
essencialidade do apoio aos professores bem como destes aos alunos e a necessidade de capacitação de competências digitais, comunicacionais e interculturais através da
implementação de ações de formação. Uma abordagem mais tecnológica amplifica a
possibilidade de manter um ensino em qualquer circunstância, em paralelo com a facilitação
da integração sociocultural de todos os alunos independentemente da sua origem. Estas
alterações não só preparam a educação para possíveis novas adversidades futuras, como
permitem diminuir desigualdades, conferindo maior inclusão e abertura ao ensino superior.In 2020, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was confronted with
drastic changes that evidenced social inequalities between countries and countries, with
greater impact on the most vulnerable groups, in poverty or migration. These challenges,
transversal to the whole society, were verified in education that, in a few days, underwent
an adaptation of a face-to-face model for remote teaching, which reborn the debate on the
existing educational model, and on the technological dissemination in teaching. These
evidences motivated the development of the present study, which aimed to perceive the
impact of the use of digital technologies as facilitators of educational and intercultural
integration. The introduction of digital technologies, in addition to allowing the maintenance
of education, can also facilitate the integration of students from different countries and
cultures, contributing to a teaching more adapted to the reality of the global, plural and
changing world of work. However, it also presents challenges, because although a digital
approach is closer to social reality, it is more adapted to certain target audiences and more
demanding and potentially lonelier for the student, unlike pre-pandemic teaching, where the
basis was proximity to the teacher preventing the student from relying so much on himself.
For a more detailed understanding and a quantification of the impact of this dynamic, a
mixed (qualitative and quantitative) study was carried out: descriptive and exploratory. In
the qualitative phase, coordinators and professors from Portuguese Higher Education
Institutions participated, who gave their specialized contribution through semi-structured
individual interviews, and the results were analysed through a content analysis. In the
quantitative phase was collected a non-probabilistic sample of students from Portuguese
higher education institutions, collected through online interviews, which allowed a
descriptive statistical analysis of the data. The results show that the pandemic has imposed
challenges such as the lack of preparation of most of the higher education institutions for a
technological migration, and that implies a need for financial investment, as well as the
negative impact in terms of psychological effects that a fully distance learning can have on
the educational community that does not identify with this type of teaching modality, or for
students who are unable to attend it. However, all challenges must be seen as opportunities,
and it was perceived the essentiality of support to teachers and their need for training of
digital, communication and intercultural skills through the implementation of training actions, while they support students. A more technological approach amplifies the possibility
of maintaining a teaching in any circumstance, in parallel with facilitating the socio-cultural
integration of all students regardless of their origin. These changes not only prepare
education for possible new future adversities, but also reduce inequalities, giving greater
inclusion and openness to higher education
Challenging the theoretical lenses of internationalization: a case study analysis
No full textInternationalization involves an active behavior to compete in international markets.
Several theories, as well as several entry modes, have been developed to explain why and how firms compete internationally. Nevertheless, the internationalization process is difficult to implement as it involves not only historical reasons, as well as traditional strategies that sometimes are usually not questioned by the firm. This chapter aims to depict a case study in which a firm is trying to deploy an opportunitydriven internationalization, shifting its traditional modus operandi. The firm is
analyzed based on several theories, namely the Uppsala model, the network-based theory, the born globals and the born again globals, and it is possible to conclude that despite its more than 80 years of existence, neither of the four theories can be properly used to explain the firm’s international behavior. Moreover, to embrace international challenges, the firm needs to reposition its traditional business behavior.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Differentiation strategy and export performance in emerging countries: mediating effects of positional advantage among mozambican firms
No full textSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in economic and development
growth, particularly in developing countries. Their success depends on the expansion of their markets across borders, based on the strategies adopted, in which differentiation strategies and positional advantages play an important role. As an emerging country, Mozambican SMEs face a lack of resources and business environmental challenges in deploying their unique advantages when competing abroad. As such, the objective of this paper is to study the impact of differentiation strategies on the export performance of Mozambican SMEs, and the mediating effect of positional advantage on the relationship between the differentiation strategy and export performance of SMEs. To achieve this objective, an empirical study was conducted, based on a sample of 250 Mozambican firms, to test a theoretical model that applied Structural Equation Modeling using the Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) algorithm, based on SmartPLS software version 3.3.6 (SmartPLS GmbH, Oststeinbek, Germany). The results show that differentiation strategies positively impact the export performance of SMEs and that positional advantage mildly mediates the relationship between the differentiation strategy and export performance. This suggests that Mozambican SMEs may not be properly taking advantage of the positional advantage of the differentiation strategies, as the added value generated by the positional advantage is relatively modest. As such, Mozambican SMEs still need to support their positional advantages to overcome fierce international competition. This study contributes to the knowledge about the consequences of adopting differentiation strategies and positional advantages on the export performance of SMEs, particularly in the context of emerging countries.This work was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Internationalisation of the firm theories: a schematic synthesis
No full textThis article carries out an integrative analysis of internationalisation theories. The most important contributions to the literature on internationalisation theories are used to create a schematic table giving a framework overview. This approach shows the high-level interaction of the literature, covering all internationalisation theories, their focus and basic assumptions, while at the same time showing their historical timeline. We identify the main schools of thought – ranging from economics based to integrative models – using an analysis that begins in the 18th century and ends
in the 21st century with the most recent trends in internationalisation theories.
This schematic and integrative analysis aims to support the academic community in their research on business internationalisation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio