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The main goal of this paper is to study the specific characteristics of the performance of companies in the metallurgical sector, in the northern region of Portugal.

To achieve this aim, the authors have used data from 325 companies manufacturing metal products, except machinery and equipment (CAE Rev.3 25) and 27 companies that manufacture machinery and equipment (CAE Rev. 3 28). The models were estimated by using the panel data methodology for the period between 2011 and 2019. Specifically, the estimation method of the generalized method of moments system (GMM system) proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) was used.

The results show that the main decisions on the performance of metallurgical companies in Northern Portugal depend on the dimensions of sales in the domestic market (SDM), sales in the community market (SCM), and sales in the foreign market (SFM) and also highlight that the signal and significance of the specific variables depends on how the different stakeholders understand performance.

As far as the authors know, this is the first study to comparatively analyze the two metallurgical databases in Portugal. Despite the huge difference in the size of the sample, this study’s results show that in an era of paradigm shift about what business objectives should be, stakeholders are still not environmentally aware and the social dimension is only considered by shareholders, but not yet by the manager and the general community.

The aim of this paper is to understand the importance of consumer loyalty in the specific context of Hotel Family Business. This study proposes a conceptual model to examine how perceived service quality and corporate social responsibility (SCR) influence guest satisfaction and loyalty, and also how they relate to corporate image, perceived value and price.

Through the structural equation model (SEM), a research model was proposed to examine SQ and CSR affect satisfaction and loyalty to the Douro Family Hotel and also, how they interact with corporate image, perceived value and price. The main purpose is to analyse the drivers of guest loyalty and its importance for the development and sustainability of family hotels in Douro (Portugal).

The results of the study indicate that CSR and SQ perceived by the guest have a direct and positive effect on guest satisfaction and loyalty to Douro family hotels. These variables are also determinants of the perceived value, corporate image and price.

The sample is restricted and obtained by the convenience technique, but with sufficient size for the application of the structural equations model. However, the results obtained cannot be generalised to all hotels or contexts, as they only reflect information on family hotels in the Douro.

Family businesses are a substantial share of the European economy, from the industrial sector to the services industry, including also hospitality. In Portugal, family businesses likewise play a key role, both in terms of wealth creation and job creation.

These findings provide knowledge to family hotels on how they should implement a CSR policy that promotes service quality, corporate image and guest satisfaction, and therefore their loyalty and the competitiveness of the family hotel business.

The article aims at analyzing the social representations of retirement in two different groups of professors – pre-retired and retired – from a public higher education institution. The goal is to explore the experiences, reflections, beliefs, and attitudes originated from the transition to retirement.

The research, of exploratory and descriptive nature, was guided by the Social Representation Theory (SRT) and took a qualitative approach. 16 professors were interviewed, 8 in each group (pre-retired and retired professors), using semi-structured interviews that followed a script designed to discover the main aspects of the transition to retirement.

Three figurative cores were raised – the financial aspect, the centrality of work, and the will to continue contributing, and the unpreparedness for retirement – and testimonies have shown heterogeneous representations. The study observed that although relevant, the bonus for continued services is not the main determinant for professors to continue working in the university.

The results of this study indicate the need to treat retirement as a complex and multidimensional process, offering a fresh perspective on the social representations of retirement in the academic context. The use of the Social Representation Theory to explore these perspectives adds to the originality of the approach, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the retirement process in this specific professional group.

This study focuses on the reasons leading health organisations to adopt a cooperation strategy and the benefits they can draw from that inter-organisational relation.

To this end, a mixed research approach – qualitative and quantitative – was adopted, taking a real case between a Health Centre Group in inland Portugal (ACeS-CB) and the Faculty of Health Sciences at a university situated in the same region (FCS-UBI). To gather information, a questionnaire survey was directed to medical students in this faculty, together with semi-structured interviews with those in charge of both types of organisation in the inter-organisational cooperation studied here.

After content analysis of the interviews and descriptive analysis of the questionnaires, it was concluded that this cooperation is based on a relation of a formal nature, as each organisation is independent from the other, as are their administrative and management organs. The benefits obtained from this cooperative relation regard mainly the share of human resources, particularly elements of the clinical staff in ACeS-CB who have taken on teaching duties at FCS-UBI.

Articulation of theoretical training with clinical practice and the exchange of knowledge were other benefits identified. The study also reveals that students perceive this inter-organisational cooperation as satisfactory, corresponding to what was defined by those in charge of the institutions as its main objectives.

This study focuses on the reasons leading health organisations to adopt a strategy of cooperation with other organisations in the same sector and the benefits they can obtain from that relation. It represents a tool to support managers in health organisations and other stakeholders in an inter-organisational cooperation relation, in planning strategies and understanding the impact of this type of cooperation.

Engaging in international business (IB) is a particular challenge to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), representing a condition to ensure growth and longevity. Due to their limitations of tangible resources, these companies make use of their levels of knowledge and capabilities to reach new markets. This study seeks to ascertain the role, the typologies of the knowledge and capabilities required for access to IB, and how benefits may arise for SMEs from their international experience.

To achieve these objectives, the authors ground the insights on a qualitative study that gathered data from ten semi-structured interviews with leading entrepreneurs engaged in IB. The data were analysed resorting to the QSR Nvivo software.

The results demonstrate how (1) knowledge and the development of dynamic capabilities all represent determinant facets to engaging in IB and that (2) the knowledge and learning capabilities acquired and developed in IB context also result in positive returns in domestic markets.

Despite the rising of IB studies, the interaction between knowledge and capabilities from the perspective of accessing international markets has not received attention enough from scholars. The authors argue that both constructs must act together to reach and maximize the IB of SMEs and provide evidence that engagement abroad brings several other advantages beyond economic returns.