Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cooperation between firms as an important phenomenon, particularly within entrepreneurial strategies. This paper describes the results of an empirical study about SMEs (small and medium‐sized enterprises) in the textile and clothing sector in Portugal. The results show that the level of cooperation between SMEs is limited in extent. When cooperation exists between the firms, the empirical results obtained reveal a great number of agreements in the production area so that subcontracting is the form of collaboration most commonly adopted. The SMEs prefer to cooperate with local firms because they know each other and share the same cultural background. The empirical results also allow us to conclude that the cooperative agreements are mainly informal; and that their stability is ensured and guaranteed by trust and communication between the partners.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of image on student satisfaction and loyalty.

In order to accomplish the objectives proposed, a model reflecting the influence of image on student satisfaction and loyalty is applied. The model is tested through use of structural equations and the final sample is of 2,687 students.

The model shows that image is the construct that most influences student satisfaction. The influence of image is also relevant on student loyalty.

In this paper, the constructs of image resulted in a reliability level of 0.846; future research is needed in order to find more reliable image measurement indicators.

If higher education institutions have to compete through image, the first step to take is to measure the university image held by its students. It is proven by this paper that the construct which most influences student satisfaction in higher education is the image construct, with a total effect of 0.86. Thus, if the institutional image rises or falls by a unit in terms of valorisation, satisfaction increases or diminishes by a proportion of 0.86 and loyalty by a proportion of 0.73.

Several studies have shown that, in general, corporate image is important to attract and retain customers. This paper depicts the specific influences of image specifically on student satisfaction and student loyalty and also the respective level of influence.

This paper aims to develop a new model of stakeholder classification and a model for explaining the relationship between the organization and its respective stakeholders.

The new proposed model is based on an empirical study that comprises an exploratory study based on 15 interviews and a confirmatory study based on 684 questionnaires answered by staff of 11 public universities. The main variable deployed is the stakeholder's respective level of influence from the organization's management perspective, that is, their level of legitimacy, power and urgency.

The new model proposes six stakeholder types (regulator, controller, partner, passive, dependent and non‐stakeholder). To explain the relationship between the stakeholder and the organization, the traditional needs‐satisfaction vision was expanded. The variables of relevance, mutual influence and participation were found to be important in explaining the organization and stakeholder relationship. This study contributes both in simplifying stakeholder classification and in explaining the relationships between parties.

The study proposes a new model for stakeholder classification based on empirical research carried out with public organizations, therefore it is advisable to test this new classification scheme with other types of organizations.

This research proposes a stakeholder classification scheme previously unpublished in the literature, which helps organizations managing the relationships with their stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to identify distinct market segments based on several environmental variables. Given the complexity and the range of variables that may determine the characterisation of these groups, as was made evident in the literature review, it was decided to focus this research mainly on analysing the environmental and demographic criteria.

The data were collected through a survey of Portuguese consumers, aged over 18. The model of data collection was a survey conducted by self‐administered questionnaire. A total of 887 were considered valid (the final sample). The questionnaire is composed of two sections. In the first part, data are collected about the demographic characteristics of respondents. The second part examines the environmental dimension (concern, affect, knowledge, environmentally friendly behaviours, information search, activism, green products buying behaviour, sensitivity to price, waste separation/recycling, perceived efficiency, scepticism, etc.). After collection, the data were statistically analysed and interpreted using the statistical software Statistical Package for Social Sciences 15.0. The data obtained were submitted to a multivariate statistical analysis, which included the following sequence of statistical treatment: factor analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. After this, a characterisation was made of the segments found.

The results of this study show that there are consumers who buy green products and that certain environmental and demographic variables are significant for differentiating between the “greener” segment and the other segments. Yet, generally speaking, one is left with the impression that the Portuguese, despite their support for policies designed to improve the environment, do not translate their concerns into actions: they rarely join environmentalist associations and they do not take part in policy making. Their participation is often based on protecting the environment by saving electricity and water, which shows that these concerns may be more closely related with economic factors than with an environmental consciousness. It can be concluded that Portuguese consumers understand the challenges currently placed before the environment, and that they are aware of the existence of environmental problems, even though their concerns are not always translated into environmentally friendly behaviour. It was also noted that there are consumers who are prepared to base their buying decisions on purchasing products that do not harm the environment. In fact, it was seen that there is a segment of “greener” consumers in the sample that differs significantly in some aspects from the other market segments.

The importance of market segmentation is highlighted, together with a presentation of the most relevant criteria for differentiating individuals in terms of their environmental behaviour. The results of this study show that there are consumers who buy green products and that certain environmental and demographic variables are significant for differentiating between the “greener” segment and the other segments.

The objective of this paper is to measure the level of organizational wisdom of firms and verify its influence on the value they produce.

This study seeks to establish linkage between organizational wisdom and value creation with the development of a new model based on the contributions of North's wisdom matrix and the Jordan and Jones model. The proposed model, using primary data from the Portuguese textile sector, is tested through recourse to a structural equation model.

The results point to the conclusion that companies with high organizational wisdom do manage to improve their efficiency and effectiveness but this proves insufficient for actually increasing the level of value created when taking into account the industry's prevailing environment.

Firms may apply this model to ascertain their level of organizational wisdom. This model may also be deployed to determine this organizational wisdom level for a set of companies (a company cluster) or even a sector.

The main contribution of this paper stems from the explanatory value of the proposed model as it enables the measurement of a firm's organizational wisdom and its influence on the final value produced.

The objective of this paper is to collate and debate the main issues driving the stakeholder theory academic debate.

First, a discussion of the stakeholder concept is set out before moving on to the history and nature of stakeholder theory. The work proceeds with an attempt to bring together systematically the points of divergence among researchers interested in stakeholder theory, and, finally, there is a brief discussion of these theoretical loopholes in conjunction with a proposed research agenda for the field.

Based on the unification of the theoretically problematic issues, research agenda are put forward with the objective of clarifying doubts and resolving the controversies ongoing among academics. As regards the formulation of stakeholder theory, one question requiring resolution is that of the stakeholder concept itself. Additionally, further research should focus on the boundaries as to what constitutes a stakeholder group as well as defining the criteria for attributing individual membership of one or another group. In practical theoretical application, it is correspondingly necessary to target research on aspects such as conflicts of interest between stakeholders and management difficulties in coping with multiple objectives. Finally, there is a need for research that systematizes the knowledge produced with the objective of attaining the theoretical convergence necessary for the development of stakeholder theory.

The main contribution of this paper derives from the systematization of the various shortcomings that need overcoming within the framework of stakeholder theory and the identification of research agendas.

The purpose of this paper is to study the specialization of regional clusters and their innovative behaviour, in a particular Portuguese region.

A regional case study (Region Centro of Portugal) is used, employing secondary and primary data in order to measure specialized critical mass of a region's clusters and analyze their innovative behavior following the European Cluster Observatory (ECO) methodology.

Combining the different nature of data (primary and secondary), this paper identifies the specialized critical mass of a region's cluster, makes statements about the role of clusters in a regional context, and demonstrates how a regional clustering approach is important to understanding the innovative process. Based on an empirical survey, three types of clusters were found: basic, intermediate and advanced.

Among the research limitations is the undersized sample of primary data which does not allow deep findings to be drawn about the innovative behavior of the clusters in a general way. Therefore, future research should focus on this area, extending the empirical analysis presented here to add qualitative indicators on innovative behaviour, to calculate the impact of absorptive capacity in the case of regional clusters.

This study provides a consistent methodology of cluster operation which could be useful for undertaking comparative work within regions' clusters across different sectors and countries, to reinforce the importance of the current discussion of policy clusters, and to identify specific requirements and needs of each cluster in order to improve the quality of decision making and to draw some policy implications.

This paper is the first to measure specialized critical mass of a region's clusters at the enterprise level and to explain cluster innovative behaviour, combining primary and secondary, based on ECO criteria. Furthermore, it provides initial empirical evidence and an amount of significant findings to support managers and policymakers in the understanding of regional and innovation clustering of small to medium‐sized enterprises.

States that owing to foresight and planning by Portuguese business executives, most firms in Portugal survived the difficult 1970s and 1980s and, as a consequence, are stronger in today’s competitive internal and external challenges. Sets out the methodology used and gives data analysis and results in a descriptive way, with the use of explanatory tables. Closes by stating that time‐based differentiation may offer new ways for firms competing in highly differentiated markets.