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Impact of export promotion programs on export performance
No full textThis research examines the relationship of Export Promotion Programs (EPPs), sponsored
by a Portuguese Regional Association for Development on Trade and Industry, with firms’ export
performance. To investigate this, two models were applied using panel data analyses that relate
export performance to variables such as participation in EPPs, age and size of firms. Data on 198
firms for the sampling period 2010 and 2018 was drawn from a Portuguese Regional Development
Association and SABI (Iberian Balance sheet Analysis System) database. The results show that
participation in EPPs does have a positive influence on the export performance of firms, especially for those firms with previous export experience, demonstrating the importance of using these programs.
Findings also document that firm size relates positively export performance, whereas firms age show a negative effect on export performance, suggesting that larger firms with more resources positively influence exports and an increase in firms’ age may increase their cultural inertia, inability to change strategies, decreasing their export performance, respectively. Finally, the participation in EPPs seems not to influence export performance for firms without previous export experience. The research contributes to the literature providing evidence on the role of EPP on firms’ export performance behavior promoted by regional development associations.Funding: 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
Backpackers' space–time behavior in an urban destination: the impact of travel information sources
No full textThis research aims to identify the information sources used by backpackers before and during the visit to an urban destination and its influence on the movements performed.
It uses a questionnaire survey combined with a GPS app to track the movements of backpackers to identify backpackers' spatiotemporal behavior. A bivariate analysis using non-parametric tests was used to examine the relationships between variables. This study concludes that the consulting online information before the visit has a great deal of influence on the spatiotemporal behavior of the backpackers, namely on the linearity and intensity of the visit. If online information sources are
very important due to the intense use of information by backpackers, word of mouth from other travelers should not be disregarded as an important information source.
This research can contribute to the definition of more informed and differentiating tourism marketing strategy considering the information sources used and its influence on the movements performed during the visit.This work was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A spatial statistics methodology for inspector allocation against fare evasion
No full textThis article discusses public transport fare evasion from the point of view of the relations
between inspection actions and detected evasion, with the aim of improving the efficacy of
the former. By applying spatial statistics methods to a large dataset from Lisbon, Portugal,
namely, entropy-based local bivariate relationships (LBR) and geographically weighted
regression (GWR), it is shown that the two variables are associated in a widespread manner
throughout the city, mostly in a linear way. Mapping out marginal gains from inspection
actions then shows where they detect the most evaders, allowing transport companies to
relocate their inspector teams in a more effective manner. Results for Lisbon show that
gains in effectiveness of circa 50% can be obtained, mostly by moving some inspector teams
from the centre of the city to the periphery during daytime. The methodology requires
only inspection/detection databases, which transport companies usually have, making it a
valuable, practical tool to combat fare evasion
Perspectives on the integration of Brazilian immigrant students into the Portuguese education system: case study of a primary school in the urban center of Braga
No full textDissertação de Mestrado em Administração e Gestão Educacional, apresentada à Universidade AbertaO presente estudo pretende ser um olhar atento sobre a forma como a integração dos alunos imigrantes brasileiros é percecionada. O estudo recai sobre uma escola do norte do país, mais concretamente Braga, cidade esta que tem vindo a ser alvo da preferência dos imigrantes brasileiros. A escola em estudo é um centro escolar com cerca de 300 alunos com idades compreendidas entre os 3 e os 10 anos, Para efeitos da investigação, foram considerados os alunos do 1.º ciclo. A amostra é constituída por um agrupamento, dois representantes do poder local: o presidente da junta da união de freguesias e a vereadora da educação da câmara municipal, a diretora do agrupamento, 15 docentes e 18 encarregados de educação.
Foram realizadas entrevistas aos representantes do poder local e à diretora do agrupamento, bem como aplicados inquéritos por questionário aos docentes e aos pais/encarregados de educação. O estudo procura compreender de que forma os anseios e expectativas dos imigrantes foram cumpridos ou defraudados, identificando constrangimentos e potencialidades no processo de integração.
Conclui-se que a integração dos alunos brasileiros constitui um processo de aprendizagem institucional, que desafia a escola a evoluir de respostas centradas na adaptação do aluno para práticas estruturais de inclusão transformadora, reforçando o seu papel como espaço de equidade, pertença e cidadania intercultural.This study aims to provide a close look at how the integration of Brazilian immigrant students is perceived. The study focuses on a school in the north of the country, more specifically Braga, a city that has become a preferred destination for Brazilian immigrants. The school under study is a school center with approximately 300 students aged between 3 and 10 years old. For the purposes of the research, students from the first cycle were considered. The sample consists of a school cluster, two representatives of local government: the president of the parish union council and the councilor for education of the municipal council, the school cluster director, 15 teachers, and 18 parents/guardians.
Interviews were conducted with the representatives of local government and the school cluster director, as well as questionnaire surveys applied to teachers and parents/guardians. The study seeks to understand how the desires and expectations of immigrants were met or frustrated, identifying constraints and potential in the integration process.
It concludes that the integration of Brazilian students constitutes an institutional learning process, which challenges the school to evolve from responses focused on student adaptation to structural practices of transformative inclusion, reinforcing its role as a space of equity, belonging, and intercultural citizenship
Humanities, humanism and ethics in a digital context: challenges for digital literacy research and learning
No full textBuilding on the collaborative efforts between Universidade Aberta and Universidade Nova de Lisboa this communication focuses on critical reflections in Information Science and seeks to answer the question: “What challenges arise at the intersection of Humanities transformation and digital literacy research and learning?” It will share insights from three years of strategic and critical reflection, discussing integration of Digital Literacy into learning environments. Special attention is given to four emerging research and learning areas related to Digital Literacy (DL):1. Synergies between Information Science and Digital Humanities; 2. The rise of Digital Humanism and Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence grounded in human rights and sustainable information practices; 3.The Cross-Cutting Role of Digital Ethics in evaluating whether traditional ethical principles remain relevant and effective in addressing the opportunities and risks of digital transformation; 4. Evolving Frameworks of Digital Literacy in Educational Contexts promoting digital fluency as a collective competence in higher education, fostering more effective integration of digital skills into academic contexts
As pequenas e médias empresas e o desafio da inovação aberta
No full textAs mudanças tecnológicas e de mercado, encetadas por um processo de globalização crescente têm criado uma necessidade nas pequenas e médias empresas (PME) nunca antes sentida: a de concorrerem em mercados mais alargados de forma bem-sucedida. Para tal, as PME terão de se manter competitivas no mercado, adotando práticas que lhes permitem obter conhecimento e recursos que, em conjunto com as suas tecnologias, as diferenciem das restantes. Assim, a inovação aberta é um caminho interessante para todas as PME que procuram complementar os seus recursos e conhecimento internos através de relacionamentos interorganizacionais. Surge então o conceito de inovação aberta, através do qual empresas interagem com o exterior, alterando o paradigma clássico de inovação fechada. Assim, através deste estudo bibliográfico, baseado na análise de 15 artigos sobre inovação aberta em PME foi possível identificar as diferentes estratégias, perspetivas e impacto da inovação aberta nas PME. Claramente, a limitação de recursos tornam as PME mais propícias a interagir com o exterior, de forma a obter novos conhecimento e recursos para alavancarem as suas vantagens competitivas. Foi possível concluir que as PME recorrem fortemente a práticas de inovação aberta, uma vez que, dada a sua dimensão reduzida, não possuem todos os recursos e conhecimento necessários. Os resultados desta análise demonstram ainda que existem fatores internos e externos que influenciam a adoção destas práticas, destacando-se também o papel dos CEO e a importância das redes sociais para aceder a conhecimento criado fora das fronteiras da empresa.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The “Endless Perspective” to University – Industry – Government relations
No full textSince the emergence of the Triple Helix, expansions to Quadruple, Quintuple, N-tuple helices, and models decomposing higher-order helices into multiple interrelated triple helices, or two-layer triple helices have been proposed. Albeit presenting alternative conceptual frameworks these different Helix models seem unsuited to address internal boundaries to the institutional spheres of the university, industry, and government. Addressing this circumstance, the present article pursues the research purpose of conceptualizing a perspective that opens the possibility of analysis to occur between but also within the boundaries of the institutional spheres. To that effect it advocates the application of different reference frames (scopes) to capture the dynamics that empirically emerge from the system under research. The novelty of this study is that it expands the existing theory by proposing that adding “scopes” (instead of introducing new helices) can increase the analytical potential of the Triple Helix.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A systematic review of the literature on industrial divestment
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the existing research on industrial divestment in order to identify the reasons for it, the process whereby it is achieved, and the outcomes of industrial sell-offs and closures. The study reports the main findings that have gained acceptance in the literature, gaps in the research and potential directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach – A three stage systematic literature review protocol was used to conduct this review. The results are organized according to an “Antecedents – Process – Outcomes” framework.
Findings – The traditional accounts of industrial divestment have been framed in terms of firms’ weak performance and over-diversification as antecedents to divestment, leading to corporate governance issues.
However, the list of antecedents of industrial divestment is more extensive. There is no consensus over the impact of some factors on divestments, as is the case of firm and unit size. The results are not conclusive as to whether firm performance improves after divesting.
Research limitations/implications – Future research should analyze the relationship between the antecedents of investment and divestment. The divestment process is not well studied and more studies that engage in theory building are needed, namely, on primary data and examining the short-term and long-term impacts of divestment on performance.
Practical implications – This review offers a comprehensive synthesis of the antecedents, the process and outcomes of divestment through sell-offs and closures. Factors such as environmental conditions and the entry mode strategy are important in determining the divestment of subsidiaries. Divestments may be positively or negatively regarded by shareholders, depending on the context of the firm. Promoting managerial changes facilitates divestment.
Originality/value – This paper synthesizes knowledge of the main reasons as to why firms completely dispose of their assets, contributing to this under-researched field.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) by means of a PhD
scholarship (Grant No. SFRH/BD/115337/2016).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
How supply chain strategies moderate the relationship between innovation capabilities and business performance
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to study how the fit between innovation capabilities and supply chain (SC) strategies affects business performance. An empirical study based on a sample of 329 companies from Portugal and Brazil was performed to test a theoretical model based on the resource-based view. Linear and hierarchical regression
analyses are conducted to test the hypotheses. The different combinations of core and supplementary innovation capabilities and lean and agile SC strategies are empirically tested and discussed. Data reveal that core and supplementary innovation capabilities positively impact on business performance and that SC strategies moderate the relationship between innovation capabilities and business performance. The analysis also shows that the combination of an agile SC strategy and supplementary innovation capabilities offers the greatest opportunities to improve business performance. The results of this study could help managers to choose the most appropriate SC strategy, thus contributing to increasing the impact of innovation capabilities on business performance.
This study contributes to the knowledge concerning the consequences of adopting different innovation capabilities and SC strategies on business performance.This research is sponsored by FEDER funds through the program COMPETE – Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – and by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia –, under the project UIDB/00285/2020. This work is financed by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT – Fundaç˜ao para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia, within project UIDB/50014/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio