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1 – 10 of 45Maria Manuela Cruz-Cunha, Isabel Miranda, Nuno Lopes and Ricardo Simoes
The health and social care sector is receiving growing attention due to the increased life expectancy and to the public demand for a better quality of life and better health…
Abstract
Purpose
The health and social care sector is receiving growing attention due to the increased life expectancy and to the public demand for a better quality of life and better health services. New cost-efficient approaches are required, and the paper aims to present and discuss the main results of a study undertaken in a Portuguese municipality on the perceived relevance of an e-marketplace of social and healthcare services for the inhabitants in general, and for people with special needs in particular, and the identification of the most relevant services to be offered through this platform.
Design/methodology/approach
A wide survey was undertaken to identify the needs of potential users and their expectancies with relation to the proposed platform. The results of the study are a support for the project promoters to understand the viability of the solution and the requirements to the deployment of the pilot experiment, as well as to drive the selection of domains of activities/classes of services to be offered by the platform.
Findings
Services such as information about healthcare services, home monitoring/accompanying services 24 hours per day, and personal hygiene services provided at home are the ones recognized by the inquired citizens as the most important, which indicates that the potential users will be mostly people with special needs or their family or caregivers.
Originality/value
While still at a preliminary development phase, the project represents a good opportunity to develop a totally innovative service with high potential impact for the senior population and for individuals with special needs.
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Luis Filipe Lages, Graça Miranda Silva, Ana Isabel Canhoto, Luis F. Martinez and Sara Jahanmir
Businesses are increasingly called upon to support the improvement of society and the environment, and one way to do so is by expanding into international markets, particularly…
Abstract
Purpose
Businesses are increasingly called upon to support the improvement of society and the environment, and one way to do so is by expanding into international markets, particularly through exports. Despite the importance and recognised challenges of a global approach to sustainable value creation, sustainability research tends to focus on domestic contexts. This paper aims to identify the boundary conditions linking sustainable value creation practices with firm performance in the international context.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors merge the sustainable value creation and the international marketing literature to develop two propositions that capture the emerging nature of the field and the lack of concluding evidence regarding the link between international sustainable value creation practices and firm performance. The authors test these propositions empirically by analysing 519 responses to a survey of exporting firms in Portugal, using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
Findings
The authors identify seven configurations that support sustainable value creation in an international context. These consist of varying levels of standardised and tailored offers, management experience and competitive intensity.
Practical implications
The identification of seven different configurations helps managers decide whether and how to innovate when pursuing sustainable value creation opportunities in international markets.
Social implications
The authors propose that an effective way for governments to achieve national and transnational social and environmental agendas is to help businesses that pursue sustainable value creation to succeed in international markets. Given that four of the seven pathways to improve export performance that the authors identified require international management experience, the authors posit that an effective way to support the internationalisation of those businesses is through targeted training programmes and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
Originality/value
The authors respond to calls for research to integrate the sustainable value creation and the international marketing literatures, to identify how and when firms can create sustainable value creation in an international context and thus support the resolution of global, social and environmental problems. The finding that there are multiple configurations that support this goal explains why empirical evidence collected thus far is inconclusive and helps identify the boundary conditions of existing theory.
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Isabel María García-Sánchez, María-Elena Gómez-Miranda, Fátima David and Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza
In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency.
Practical implications
There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions.
Social implications
The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society.
Originality/value
This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.
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M. Isabel Sanchez‐Hernandez and Francisco J. Miranda
The purpose of this paper is to present the first empirically tested model showing that internal marketing (IM) is a factor of success in new services development. It attempts to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the first empirically tested model showing that internal marketing (IM) is a factor of success in new services development. It attempts to bridge internal market orientation (IMO) – the philosophical background of IM programs – with successful service innovations represented by new service performance (NSP).
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the link between IMO and NSP a structural equations model was designed considering service quality and time‐to‐market as mediator variables. Data were gathered from business service firms' senior managers in Spain and Portugal (74 service companies based on a questionnaire).
Findings
The results largely support the hypothesized theoretical relationship that organizational effort in the human resources area, supported by the marketing function and implemented through an IMO, is connected with increasing service quality and innovation success.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study are context specific. In addition, surveys usually present data collection problems such as composing questions properly, key informant bias and non‐response bias. However, the actions undertaken – such as pre‐testing coupled with personal telephone contact with managers and the good results obtained in verifying the representativeness of the sample – suggested that every effort was made to obviate the limitations.
Practical implications
The results suggest that managers must ensure that internal aspects of management, such as internal communication and employee commitment, are taken into account in order to implement successful new services. Managers need to be more proactive, trying to include the marketing function in human capital issues. Understanding internal clients' wants and needs and selling company goals internally would make external efforts in developing a new service much more likely to succeed.
Originality/value
Reflecting the literature which highlights the importance of the internal relationship between service employees and the company in service innovation, the paper pays particular attention to the role of IMO linkages and their effect on service innovation success. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time this relationship has been empirically tested.
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Ana Isabel Gaspar Pacheco, João Ferreira, Jorge Simoes, Pedro Mota Veiga and Marina Dabic
The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on…
Abstract
Purpose
The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on entrepreneurial processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study intends to fill this gap by researching the mechanisms for facilitating AE and the variables that can moderate the relationship between such mechanisms and AE in Portuguese HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach
Our research model aims to assess the mechanisms of academic entrepreneurship (AE) within a sample of 125 Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs). To test our research hypotheses, we employed a structural equation model (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Additionally, our evaluation examines the potential moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs (PoCs). Our research model seeks to evaluate the mechanisms for facilitating AE and explore the effects of including incubator programs, support initiatives, and PoCs as moderators. The seven variables (Research mobilization, Unconventionality, Industry collaboration, University policies, Incubator programs and support initiatives, Proof-of-concept programs, and academic entrepreneurship) were measured using a 7-point Likert scale.
Findings
The results revealed that different drivers of AE influence the creation and development of entrepreneurial activities. Our findings also show the moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs on AE. We find that incubator programs, other support initiatives, and PoCs maintain a moderating effect on AE and benefit their respective HEIs.
Research limitations/implications
The study examines only the Portuguese HEI context. Therefore, generalizing these results necessitates reservations. However, the responses came from various actors in HEIs, from different academic backgrounds and research interests. This makes the results more generalizable. Limitations are evident in external validity, given that we gathered the data over a relatively short period.
Practical implications
Observed factors are explored to gain a deeper understanding of their influence on the mechanisms of AE. The implications arise from the new perspective presented and the methodology used to identify mechanisms capable of fostering AE. We hope this research will encourage other researchers to study this topic further.
Social implications
the engagement of universities at the global level should be emphasised in future policy. While universities in innovation systems often have a local focus, their engagement in innovation ecosystems transcends the boundaries of geographic locations.
Originality/value
PoCs had a significant positive moderating effect on the impact of research mobilization and university policies on AE. Thus, we find interactions between universities and industry boost AE. This study demonstrates how AE benefits HEIs by extending orientation towards mobilizing research, unconventional approaches, cooperation with industry, and university policy implementation. We thus advocate a new approach, demonstrating the influence that the mobility of research, unconventionality, industry collaboration, and university policies hold over AE.
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This paper analyzes how an infertile body is shaped by social discourses and reproductive technologies. Reproductive governances are articulated in this context by ideas and…
Abstract
This paper analyzes how an infertile body is shaped by social discourses and reproductive technologies. Reproductive governances are articulated in this context by ideas and social values regarding family and motherhood, the binomial of infertility-TRA, legislation and norms and health professionals' practices. In addition, it shows how diverse infertile bodies experience (and withstand) these reproductive governances. Various sources have been consulted, including newspapers, biographical books, bibliographic sources from specialized literature and interviews carried out by the author.
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Isabel Sánchez García and Rafael Curras-Perez
The purpose of this paper is to study the drivers of service provider switching intention other than satisfaction and, additionally, analyse the moderating role of the type of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the drivers of service provider switching intention other than satisfaction and, additionally, analyse the moderating role of the type of service (utilitarian vs hedonic). Specifically, the authors study the effects of alternative attractiveness, post-purchase regret, anticipated regret and past switching behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
A representative survey with 800 consumers of mobile phone services (utilitarian) and holiday destinations (hedonic) was carried out.
Findings
Satisfaction is not a significant antecedent of switching intention in the hedonic service and its effect is marginal in the utilitarian service. In the utilitarian service, the main predictor of switching intention is post-purchase regret, whereas in the hedonic service, the main determinants of switching intention are past switching behaviour and anticipated regret.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is the analysis of the determinants of provider switching behaviour that may explain abandonment by satisfied customers, to see if their influence is greater or smaller than that of satisfaction itself, which has been the most analysed variable. Furthermore, there are expected to be differences between utilitarian and hedonic services, an aspect which is also studied in this work.
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Éllen Cristina Ricci, Erotildes Leal, Ehidee Isabel Gómez La-Rotta, Rosana Onocko-Campos and Maria O'Connell
The Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA–R) in Revised Version is an instrument designed to assess the degree to which mental health programs and services implement recovery-oriented…
Abstract
Purpose
The Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA–R) in Revised Version is an instrument designed to assess the degree to which mental health programs and services implement recovery-oriented practices. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of the RSA–R instrument for use in local mental health services in the city of Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
This method for cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument included a series of iterative steps including preparation, translation, back translation, harmonization, expert evaluation, focus groups, in-depth interviews, expert opinion and pilot study.
Findings
A multi-rater assessment of the equivalence of content between the original RSA–R and the translated version revealed that each of the 32 items achieved at least 88% agreement in terms of equivalency. A multi-step harmonization process revealed additional suggestions for improvements in readability, comprehension and applicability to Brazilian context. An expert in youth and adult education provided additional stylistic recommendations. Combined, this iterative approach to cross-cultural translation resulted in an adapted version of the instrument that was well understood, culturally appropriate and adequate for further verification of psychometric properties.
Originality/value
The recovery process in Brazil and in the USA has culturally determined differences in terms of the way mental disorders are understood, diagnosed and treated. Moreover, there are different notions of what constitutes desirable results of recovery, health care and welfare. At the present time, there are few, if any, available cross-cultural instruments to assess the recovery-orientation of services between Brazil and the USA.
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Ana Pinto de Moura, Luís Miguel Cunha, Ulisses Miranda Azeiteiro and Walter Leal Filho