Browsing by resource type "working paper"
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- A bibliometric review of the barriers hindering or delaying the internationalization process: State of the art and future directionsPublication . Galvão, Anderson; Marques, Carla; Mendes, Telma; Mascarenhas, CarlaIn an increasingly global world, the internationalization process plays an essential role in the company's growth, becoming more important when the domestic market is smaller. This study's main objective is to identify and map studies on barriers to internationalization in order to identify current and future trends that allow inducing new forms and perspectives in the field of research, filling the existing gaps. For the development of this study, we used the collection of articles published in the Web of Science database due to its wide coverage in internationally indexed articles of recognized quality by the scientific community. The results of this study make it possible to identify and map the main obstacles that companies in the textile sector face at the time of internationalization. These results can lead to new ways and perspectives in the field of research and new policies that help companies to overcome these barriers and fill the existing gaps.
- Do it or not? Explaining the complexity of decision-making processes for Industry 4.0 adoption in international SMEsPublication . Mendes, Telma; González-Loureiro, Miguel; Braga, Vítor; Silva, CarinaThe adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often rests on its positive evaluation from managers, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs. Because of the mixed outcomes attainable through the SMEs’ openness to disruptive changes, managers must weigh the beneficial aspects of I4.0 against the complexities, challenges, and drawbacks coming from its implementation. Drawing upon the tenets of the dual-process theory (DPT), this study highlights the cognitive configurations leading to managerial willingness (or reluctance) to adopt I4.0. This is done by investigating perceptions about the international markets in terms of risk and uncertainty, and by assessing organizational stimuli to openness, such as the explorative and exploitative orientations (i.e., ambidexterity), in combination with decision-makers’ cognitive systems. To shed further light on observed heterogenous outcomes, this study explores the managerial willingness (or reluctance) towards I4.0 adoption among 157 managers working in international SMEs. The results of combined Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) outline different decisional paths associated with willingness and reluctance to adopt I4.0 for internationalization. This empirical evidence, therefore, contributes to the “human side of I4.0” by providing fruitful implications about cognitive configurations of decision-makers in international SMEs concerning I4.0 practices.
- Faunas - um projeto de teatro vocacionado para públicos escolaresPublication . Pinto, Isabel FermandesO presente trabalho tem como objeto de reflexão o Faunas – teatro portátil, um projeto de teatro vocacionado para públicos escolares, lançado e desenvolvido por mim desde 2005. Este documento pretende também ser a base de candidatura para atribuição do Título de Especialista na área do Teatro – Artes do Espetáculo, em conformidade com o disposto no Decreto-Lei nº 206/2009 de 31 de Agosto. Em 2005, escrevi um texto, construí um cenário, treinei o meu corpo e a minha voz, decorei o texto, ensaiei uma partitura de ações, desmontei o encosto de banco traseiro de um Citroën AX, carreguei-o com o cenário e, com um colega músico (o Allen, um percussionista e construtor de instrumentos musicais), fui a um colégio apresentar a primeira peça de teatro do Projeto Faunas. Foi o primeiro passo num percurso de criação, aprendizagem e descoberta, que me trouxe até aqui. Eu era a única atriz, sozinha num palco que não existia, mas o que eu fazia não era bem um monólogo nem era bem uma sessão de contador de histórias. Atrevo-me a dizer que seria teatro, por compor a perceção de uma realidade imaginada, num determinado espaço e em presença de público.
- A methodology for understanding the speed of internationalization process: The role of individual-level characteristicsPublication . Mendes, Telma; González-Loureiro, Miguel; Braga, VítorThis article presents a methodology that aims to explore how the decision-makers’ cognition affects the speed of internationalization. Managerial cognition is evaluated through the lens of the dual-process theory, which assumes that human information processing is made by two systems: (1) the intuitive and experiential cognitive system – System X, and (2) the rational and analytical cognitive system – System C. The speed of internationalization process is examined in terms of earliness (how soon after inception a firm enters in international markets) and post-internationalization speed (how fast a firm involves with new foreign markets after the first entry). This methodology has been put in practice in a multiple case study: the Portuguese footwear industry. The presence of some misalignments between our initial proposal and its implementation helped us to reshape and emphasize specific processes and behaviors associated to the methodology. The results suggest that, when making the decision about the first international entry, the decision-makers of the firms internationalizing earlier mostly relied on the intuitive cognitive system, while the decision-makers of the firm delaying the first entry showed a predominance of the rational cognitive system. However, regardless of being an early or later entrant, the sampled firms combine intuition with analysis to make the final decision about further involvements with foreign markets, resulting in a gradual and slower post-internationalization. Our in depth-analysis suggests that the Uppsala model could be questioned because the speed of internationalization process seems to be governed by how decision-makers perceive a given reality based on its cognition.
- Multicriteria decision making: a case study in the automobile industryPublication . Oliveira, Márcia; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa RibeiroMulti-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been one of the fastest-growing areas of operations research during the last decades. The academic attention devoted to MCDA motivated the development of a great variety of approaches and methods within the field. These methods distinguish themselves in terms of procedures, theoretical assumptions and type of decision addressed. This diversity poses challenges to the process of selecting the most suited method for a specific real-world decision problem. In this paper we present a case study in a real-world decision problem arising in the painting sector of an automobile plant. We tackle the problem by resorting to the well-known AHP method and to the MCDA method proposed by Pereira and Fontes (2012) (MMASSI). By relying on two, rather than one, MCDA methods we expect to improve the confidence and robustness of the obtained results. The contributions of this paper are twofold: first, we intend to investigate the contrasts and similarities of the results obtained by distinct MCDA approaches (AHP and MMASSI); secondly, we expect to enrich the literature of the field with a real-world MCDA case study on a complex decision making problem since there is a paucity of applied research work addressing real decision problems faced by organizations.
- The earlier the better? A microfoundational perspective of international explorative and exploitative capabilities in the transition of SMEs to Industry 4.0Publication . Mendes, Telma; González-Loureiro, Miguel; Braga, Vítor; Silva, CarinaThe international exploration-exploitation dichotomy is used in this study to expand on the resource-based view (RBV) and gain a deeper understanding of how these two distinct capabilities affect the adoption of I4.0 in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). We investigate managers' cognitive systems as a crucial microfoundation for the international organizational ambidexterity (i.e., exploration-exploitation), given that both managerial cognition and microfoundations perspective are underdeveloped and undertheorized. The study shows that managerial cognition is a crucial microfoundation of international organizational ambidexterity in the context of I4.0 adoption by using structural equation modeling on a sample of 116 Portuguese international SMEs. The findings also reveal neither international exploration nor exploitation has succeeded in creating new opportunities for the application of a technology-based model in SMEs internationalizing earlier. However, a post-hoc analysis revealed that under early internationalization, less (more) experienced SMEs benefit from international exploration (exploitation) to implement I4.0 technologies. This study concludes with implications and future research avenues.
- The fisherman's route Project: an interinstitutional collaboration initiativePublication . Carvalho, Milena; Martins, SusanaThe Fisherman's Route was created in 2015 through an inter-institutional collaboration initiative between the Porto Accounting and Business School (P. Porto) and the Parish Council of Vila do Conde (Portugal). It is being developed as part of a sustainable tourism project based on the largest fishing community in the country: Caxinas and Poça da Barca. Vila do Conde is a small town located approximately 27 km's north of Porto and 20 km's north of the International Airport Francisco Sá Carneiro. It began as a village that grew up in the Mountain of Santa Clara, a small area elevated by the River Ave and very close to the sea.