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This study aims to understand how legislation and technology can enhance socio-economic development in low-density population territories, focusing specifically on the dynamics of local tourist accommodation over the past decade.

A case study was conducted for five municipalities in one of the most significant tourism regions of Portugal – the Algarve – based on a systematic investigation of relevant laws, regulations and electronic platforms. Official statistics were compiled and analyzed for the five territories’ registered local accommodation services, population, overnight stays and additional local services.

The results reveal that public entities’ regulations favor micro-entrepreneurship initiatives in local accommodation and that digital tools supported by online platforms have quite visible effects on low-density territories. The findings also reveal that the local tourist accommodation supply has experienced an especially dynamic, sustained growth over the past decade. This expansion has been accompanied by an increased supply of other services, suggesting that accommodation can positively influence the existing and/or future socio-economic development of low-density territories.

Further studies focusing on other areas with low-density populations are needed to determine more clearly how local accommodation influences socio-economic development.

Public regulations supported by digital platforms that favor micro-entrepreneurship initiatives in local accommodation can strengthen local development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze how local tourist accommodation can foster socio-economic development in low-density territories.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between getting quality awards by companies and their financial performance in Iran's business.

In the first step, the relationship between awards scores and financial performance by canonical correlation analysis was examined. Then, binary and multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the degree of impact of each financial performance measure on getting quality awards. Finally, two forecasting functions were explored: the probability of achieving quality awards and the probability of achieving different levels of these awards.

Based on the analyzed data of 112 companies through canonical correlation analysis, there was a weak relationship between financial performance and getting quality awards. Also, by using logistic regression, no result was found to prove the impact of financial performance measures on getting Iran's national quality awards. It can be concluded that conceptually, deployment of excellence organizational models will not result in favorable outcomes, especially in the financial scope. Also, practically, excellence models have not been well deployed in Iranian companies, or these models do not fit to Iran's business environment. Organizational culture may not be consistent with quality.

Quality awards are given to qualified companies following the establishment of models of excellence such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). The main novelty of this research is to clarify the relationship between getting quality awards by companies and their financial performance in Iran's business.

The main objective of this study is to develop a strategy for implementing various quality measurement tools as part of a continuous improvement programme in institutions for the elderly in Portugal.

The empirical data were drawn from a survey performed in 32 institutions for the elderly, aiming to ascertain the level of knowledge of several performance measures and quality tools and their degree of implementation. Based on data and on total quality management principles, a performance measurement framework was designed and tested in two organisations.

The results confirmed the existence of a relevant gap between theory and practice and also showed that innovation measures were considered the less relevant and less used. Overall, it was concluded that the degree of quality management systems implementation (a small number of institutions have a quality system certified) affects positively the success of a performance measurement system.

The findings suggested the utility of the framework for quality improvement; however, some institutions took advantage from isolated improvements and individual measures without adopting a performance measurement system, confirming that the adoption of such a system will face obstacles.

The outcome of the study provides specific knowledge to social area organisations. The proposed framework is also a means of compliance with ISO 9001 requirements on performance measurement and continuous improvement and more general management needs.

The rapid advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has brought enormous business opportunities as well as challenges. One of these challenges is the demand for ICTs skills and expertise in adopting and implementing these emerging technologies. Coping with skills shortage poses a serious challenge across all European countries. Lack of ICTs skills and knowledge is more evident in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). As training is regarded as the most effective way of improving skills and enhancing knowledge, this paper attempts to address skills shortage at pan‐European level by identifying SMEs’ needs on ICTs training in the UK, Portugal and Poland. The investigation focuses on the most needed training areas, the required training levels and the preferred training delivery channels. The paper summarises findings from three‐country investigations and highlights the implications of findings for the design and development of a Web‐based training system for the use of ICTs in SMEs.

The goal was to improve the quality of the hospitalization process and the management of patients, allowing the reduction of costs and the minimization of the preoperative Length of Hospital Stay (LOS).

The methodology used to improve the quality of the hospitalization process and patient management was Lean Thinking. Therefore, the Lean tools (Value stream map and Ishikawa diagram) were used to identify waste and inefficiencies, improving the process with the implementation of corrective actions. The data was collected through personal observations, patient interviews, brainstorming and from printed medical records of 151 patients undergoing oral cancer surgery in the period from 2006 to 2018.

The authors identified, through Value Stream Map, waste and inefficiencies during preoperative activities, consequently influencing preoperative LOS, considered the best performance indicator. The main causes were identified through the Ishikawa diagram, allowing reflection on possible solutions. The main corrective action was the introduction of the pre-hospitalization service. A comparative statistical analysis showed the significance of the solutions implemented. The average preoperative LOS decreased from 4.90 to 3.80 days (−22.40%) with a p-value of 0.001.

The methodology allowed to highlight the improvement of the patient hospitalization process with the introduction of the pre-hospitalization service. Therefore, by adopting the culture of continuous improvement, the flow of hospitalization was redrawn. The benefits of the solutions implemented are addressed to the patient in terms of lower LOS and greater service satisfaction and to the hospital for lower patient management costs and improved process quality. This article will be useful for those who need examples on how to apply Lean tools in healthcare.

One of the common solutions to the business problems, disruptions and new developments of the global world is enhancing the resilience of systems, countries and organizations. Applying resilience differs according to business environments and context-based requirements of industries, which create a lack of consensus regarding how to achieve and apply it. To fill this gap and answer the main question, this study proposes to handle the resilience concept from an organizational perspective. By using an organizational point of view this study aims to offer an applicable philosophy that can be used by a wide range of stakeholders.

The main question of the study is to figure out whether “Is there any approach/lens to achieve resilient organizations which can be applied by the stakeholders of the system.” To reach such a “common application/approach” where the stakeholders can reach a consensus, a systematic literature review has been conducted to determine the existing approaches and practices.

The contribution of the study lies in two folds: to offer a maritime business resilience definition from the organizational point of view and to show the requirement of organizational resilience management philosophy in the maritime business context. An applicable framework is offered for the stakeholders of the maritime business transport system.

The research has some limitations. This study is designed on a systematic review to figure out existing approaches used in the maritime business field and to defend and prove the necessity of organizational resilience management philosophy in maritime business management which helps organizational survival. Further research should use different methods to empirically test the conceptual model according to different segments/stakeholders of the maritime industry. Also, this research opens a new field of study about resilience subject from the maritime context where organizational approach mentions hardly any. Therefore, future studies should investigate developing key performance indicators of components of the proposed model and its effects on maritime organizations.

As a volatile industry, increasing resilience capability helps maritime organizations to decrease the effects of disruptions while at the same enable them to operate the core business functions in the maritime business. Maritime business needs to solve not only one-time problems but also needs to resolve and exploit new opportunities from disruptions via resilient management philosophy, which help organizational adaption in fluctuating periods. To prevent such problems and become ready for complex environmental changes, organizational resilience management philosophy is vital.

Organizational resilience offers maritime business a holistic approach to evaluate problems of the system by submitting multiple ways to handle problems that help to manage uncertainty and change. Resilient management philosophy enables maritime business organizations to fight against their vulnerabilities that create risk, especially in a turbulent business environment.

The originality of the study lies in highlighting the importance of organizational resilience management philosophy in the maritime business context. And an organizational resilience framework is offered.

The global business environment causes different and difficult kinds of problems that threaten organizational survival. As an important solution, the organizational resilience concept arises and offers holistic philosophy. The resilience concept offers multidisciplinary and valuable eclectic literature to organizational studies that help to produce a wide variety of solutions but causes a lack of consensus to measure and apply resilience at an organizational level. To fill this gap, this paper aims to offer the complex adaptive systems (CAS) approach as a lens to organizations. This paper aims to offer that CAS provides a suitable toolkit to address the organizational resilience concept as it has the potential to offer more generalizable guidance.

To reach that goal, this research follows a two-phase systematic literature review. In the first phase, the purpose is to search past five years’ studies (2015–2020) to figure out current trends in organizational resilience concepts. In the second phase, organizational resilience studies, which include the CAS approach, are checked to analyze the alignment procedures of two concepts.

Literature shows that the organizational resilience concept has rarely worked from the CAS lens.CAS are more resilient via adaptation and learning as they depend on local interactions that shape and co-evolve together with their dynamic environment, which helps the emergence of self-organization in an unpredictable future. To achieve organizational resilience, the CAS lens proposes a generalizable and applicable framework to organizational studies.

Future research should also explore the impact of the interrelationship between two concepts; quantitative and qualitative methods should be applied to be able to get empirical results.

CAS lens could be used as a contemporary design idea. The CAS approach enables the learning and adaptation requirement of the organizational resilience concept, which helps to create dynamic capabilities to handle turbulent changes and gain long-lasting competitiveness. Designing organizations’ agents from CAS viewpoint helps to understand and be ready for new trends, such as digitalization or Industry 4.0.

Evaluating organizations from the CAS lens as living systems that co-evolve with their environments reveals different ways to achieve organizational resilience management philosophy. Designing organizations as CAS promotes organizational adaptation and learning, which improves organizational decision-making, increasing organizational resilience in organizations.

The originality of the study lies in proposing to achieve organizational resilience via CAS lenses and offering a conceptual framework to achieve organizational resilience.

El entorno empresarial global genera distintos problemas que amenazan la supervivencia de la organización. Como solución relevante, surge el concepto de resiliencia organizacional que ofrece una filosofía holística. El concepto de resiliencia ofrece una literatura ecléctica multidisciplinaria y que es valiosa para los estudios organizacionales que ayudan a producir una amplia variedad de soluciones, pero existe una falta de consenso para medir y aplicar la resiliencia a nivel organizacional. Con el fin de llenar este vacío, este documento ofrece el Enfoque de Sistemas Adaptativos Complejos (CAS) como una lente para las organizaciones. El objetivo de este estudio es demostrar que los Sistemas Adaptativos Complejos (CAS) proporcionan un conjunto de herramientas adecuado para abordar el concepto de resiliencia organizacional, ya que tiene el potencial de ofrecer una orientación más generalizable.

Para alcanzar ese objetivo, esta investigación sigue dos fases de revisión sistemática de la literatura. En la primera fase, el propósito fue buscar en cinco años (2015–2020) para investigar las tendencias actuales en los conceptos de resiliencia organizacional. En la segunda fase, se verifican los estudios de resiliencia organizacional que incluyen el enfoque CAS para analizar los procedimientos de alineación de dos conceptos.

La literatura muestra que el concepto de resiliencia organizacional no se vincula a los Sistemas Adaptativos Complejos (CAS). Los sistemas adaptativos complejos son más resistentes a través de la adaptación y el aprendizaje, ya que dependen de las interacciones locales que dan forma y coevolucionan junto con su entorno dinámico que ayuda a emerger como auto-organización en un futuro impredecible. Para lograr la resiliencia organizacional, la lente CAS propone un marco generalizable y aplicable a los estudios organizacionales.

La originalidad del estudio radica en proponer lograr la resiliencia organizacional a través de los Sistemas Adaptativos Complejos (CAS) y ofrece un marco conceptual para lograr la resiliencia organizacional.

Resiliencia organizacional, Enfoque de sistemas adaptativos complejos (CAS), Revisión sistemática de la literatura, Modelo conceptual

Documento conceptual

O ambiente de negócios global gera diferentes problemas que ameaçam a sobrevivência da organização. Como solução relevante, surge o conceito de resiliência organizacional que oferece uma filosofia holística. O conceito de resiliência oferece uma literatura multidisciplinar eclética e é valioso para estudos organizacionais que ajudam a produzir uma grande variedade de soluções, mas há falta de consenso para medir e aplicar resiliência a nível organizacional. Para colmatar esta lacuna, este trabalho oferece a Abordagem Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) como uma lente para organizações. O objetivo deste estudo é demonstrar que os Sistemas Adaptativos Complexos (CAS) fornecem um conjunto adequado de ferramentas para abordar o conceito de resiliência organizacional, uma vez que tem o potencial de oferecer orientações mais generalizadas.

Para atingir este objetivo, esta investigação segue duas fases de revisão sistemática da literatura. Na primeira fase, o objetivo foi procurar em cinco anos (2015–2020) investigar as tendências atuais nos conceitos de resiliência organizacional. Na segunda fase, verifica-se estudos de resiliência organizacional que incluem a abordagem CAS para analisar os procedimentos de alinhamento de dois conceitos.

A literatura mostra que o conceito de resiliência organizacional não está ligado a Sistemas Adaptativos Complexos (CAS). Os sistemas adaptativos complexos são mais resistentes através da adaptação e da aprendizagem, pois dependem de interações locais que moldam e co-evoluem juntamente com o seu ambiente dinâmico que ajuda a emergir como auto-organização num futuro imprevisível. Para alcançar a resiliência organizacional, a lente CAS propõe um quadro generalizável aplicável aos estudos organizacionais.

A originalidade do estudo consiste em propor a obtenção de resiliência organizacional através de Sistemas Adaptativos Complexos (CAS) e oferece um quadro conceptual para alcançar a resiliência organizacional.

Resiliência organizacional, Abordagem de sistemas adaptativos complexos (CAS), Revisão sistemática de literatura, Modelo conceptual

Papel conceitual

Due to the emergent use of social media for marketing purposes, and the limited number of studies focusing on the use of social media by firms, the purpose of this paper is to explore the inclusion of social networks in the traditional marketing mix models.

A sample of 20 small and large Italian liquor producers was used, and their Facebook profiles were content analyzed.

The results provide evidence about the emerging shift from the use of social media for communication purposes through static advertising (characterized by pictures and slogans), to its use as an interactive channel that can influence consumers’ purchasing behaviour through multimedia tools (i.e. games and interactive applications able to solicit users’ interest), by emphasizing the extent to which a higher level of participation by a firm involves a higher level of consumer interaction. The findings also suggest that the firm’s participation should be considered as a new element of the traditional marketing mix model and as an additional tool for efficient market sizing and sensing.

The study offers findings on actual usage of Facebook as part of marketing mix strategies based on large and small enterprises operating in the food and beverage sector, where a dearth of studies is observed. The study enhances and advances the social media and marketing literatures.