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- Determinants of the effective use of UGC (User-Generated Content) on hotel room bookings by portuguese travellersPublication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.; Freitas, AndréThe presence of user generated content (UGC) on online platforms of hotel room booking operators is changing the way consumers book a hotel room. After a critical evaluation of the technology acceptance models (TAM), the authors discuss the variables that will be employed to predict the effective use of online hotel room bookings by Portuguese travellers. The empirical investigation consists of a linear regression model that was built in order to analyse the data obtained from an online survey of 624 customers of the website Booking.com. The results showed that attitude towards UGC and the perceived ease to use of UGC are important determinants on the buyer’s decision-making process of booking a hotel room. This result shows the relevance of UGC (ratings and reviews) for online booking operators, as UGC could influence the booking of a particular hotel room. Further, the result also brings important implications for hotel managers that pay less attention to the feedback of the customers.
- The legacy of european capitals of culture to the “Smarteness” of cities: the case of Guimarães 2012Publication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.The objective of the paper is to examine the extent to which the legacy of European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) increases the “smartness” of cities. A qualitative approach based on semistructured interviews and desk research was used to assess the impact on the smart city’s dimensions hypothesized by Giffinger et al. (2007). The research revealed that this kind of mega-event reinforces the smartness of the city in which it is hosted in terms of attributes such as living, economy, people and environment. No significant legacy is observed with respect to the mobility dimension.
- Social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems: an empirical examinationPublication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.Entrepreneurial ecosystems and social entrepreneurship are receiving increasing attention for their ability to foster economic and social development. This study adopts the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach to analyse the extent to which the perceived favourability of external environment promotes or deters the launch of new ventures by social entrepreneurs. The research was based on a survey that collected data through a questionnaire emailed to Portuguese social entrepreneurship ventures. The results show that a favourable entrepreneurial ecosystem has low importance in the decision to develop new social ventures. This result is particularly consistent in more innovative social ventures. This conclusion supports the idea that many social ventures are not based on social innovation, but derive from a traditional approach to social problems. Therefore, the development of new innovative social ventures has to be supported by institutional stakeholders in order to support social entrepreneurs, regardless of the level of favourability of the entrepreneurial context.
- Social Crowdfunding: a New Model for Financing Regional Development?Publication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.Crowdfunding is an increasingly attractive source to fund social projects. However, to our best knowledge, the study of crowdfunding for social purposes has remained largely unexplored in the literature. This research envisages a detailed examination of the role of crowdfunding on the early-stage of the social projects at regional level. By comparing the characteristics of the projects available in the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange platform with others that did not use this source of financial support, we envisage to show the critical role of crowdfunding on regional development. The use of inferential techniques (Chi-square test, the Cramer’s V statistic, the Goodman and Kruskal λ and the odds ratio) demonstrates that the use of the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange platform was linked to the geographical location of the social venture as well as its geographical scope. Also, social ventures located on rural regions are more likely to use social crowdfunding platforms than social ventures located in urban areas. Further, the circumstance of having the social ventures acting at a local or regional level seems to be strongly associated with the possibility of using crowdfunding for financing social projects.
- Social entrepreneurship: Does institutional environment make a difference?Publication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the link between social entrepreneurship and institutional environment in Portugal. A quantitative approach is used in the study, with primary data collected through an online survey. A questionnaire was emailed to both Portuguese Non-Governmental Organizations and projects available on the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange. In the analysis of the data, we used descriptive statistics, factorial analysis and t-student tests in an attempt to validate the research hypotheses. The results show that a favorable institutional environment has low importance in the decision to develop social entrepreneurial initiatives. This conclusion supports the idea that many social entrepreneurs can emerge even in developing regions where the institutional environment is weak. Therefore, social entrepreneurship could be an instrument of regional development and contribute to attenuating the social and economic differences among Portuguese regions.
- Financing local development through crowdfunding: An empirical analysis of social projects in PortugalPublication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.Crowdfunding (CF) is an increasingly attractive source to fund social projects. However, to our best knowledge, the study of CF for social purposes has remained largely unexplored in the literature. This research envisages a detailed examination of the role of CF on the early-stage of the social projects at regional level. By comparing the characteristics of the projects available in the Portuguese Social Stock Exchange (PSSE) platform with others that did not use this source of financial support, we explore its role on regional development. The results we got show that, in most cases, both PSSE and Non-Governmental Organizations projects complemented the services offered by the State or by the private sector. Furthermore, about a quarter of the projects present in PSSE operated in areas that were not being addressed neither by the services offered by the State nor by the ones of the private sector. The results attained show that more recent social ventures have a greater propensity to use PSSE. The same is find in those organizations which work closely with the target audience. We also observed that the use of PSSE was correlated with the geographical scope of the Social Venture. The circumstance of having the social organization acting at a local or regional level seems to be strongly associated with the possibility of using social crowdfunding for financing social projects.
- Social entrepreneur and gender: what’s personality got to do with it?Publication . Bernardino, Susana; Freitas Santos, José; Cadima Ribeiro, J.Purpose – Research on economic entrepreneurship identifies a gender gap that is favorable to men. In the social entrepreneurship arena, the existing evidence is slightly fuzzy, as this gender gap is less preeminent. This paper aims to identify how gender differences in social entrepreneurial ventures creation are explained by different personality traits, by analyzing the extent to which female and male social entrepreneurs exhibit the same personality traits and whether potential differences are able to explain the differences in predisposition for the creation of new social entrepreneurial ventures. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature on gender differences and personality traits in social entrepreneurship details the main theoretical developments and builds the hypotheses. Based on the Big Five model, the investigation uses a hypothesis testing quantitative approach. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire that was e-mailed and applied to the social entrepreneurs engaged in the creation of social ventures in Portugal. Findings – The data gathered suggest that both female and male social entrepreneurs have personalities characterized by high levels of openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion and emotional stability. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the two groups and logistic regression, the investigation reveals that women and men who launch a new social venture only differ in one personality dimension – agreeableness – wherein women scored more highly. No significant differences are found in the other personality traits. Research limitations/implications – The research assumes that most aspects of human personality structure are represented in the Big Five model. Practical implications – The knowledge about whether gender differences are explained by different personality traits is critical to public entities that might design appropriate public policies to stimulate social entrepreneurship. Also, social entrepreneurs’ capacity building programs should be delineated in accordance with a deeper understanding about gender and personality traits differences. Social implications – The knowledge of the factors that affects the creation of new social ventures has an important potential contribution on social value creation and the promotion of gender equality. Originality/value – This paper links two important topics – gender and entrepreneurs’ personality traits – scarcely explored in the social entrepreneurship literature. Thus, the paper adds new empirical evidence to support (or not) the belief that personality and gender matter in the decision to launch a new social venture.