Domingos Fernandes Campos, José Tarcísio de Andrade Lima Jr, Anielson Barbosa da Silva and António Jorge Fernandes
The purpose of this paper is to analyse professionals’ competencies in supply chain management (SCM) in the mid-sized supermarket sector in Brazil as a way of broadening the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse professionals’ competencies in supply chain management (SCM) in the mid-sized supermarket sector in Brazil as a way of broadening the understanding of the importance and the use of competencies in business development.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was conducted with 60 managers from 34 companies in the mid-sized supermarket sector in the metropolitan region of Natal, Brazil. The managers evaluated the importance and use of a set of 24 general and specific competencies related to SCM. The gaps between importance and use were identified and analysed.
Findings
The results showed that the level of use was below the level of importance for all competencies, and the general competencies somehow received more attention than specific competencies in the development and execution of SCM activities. Moreover, the overall average of the gaps between levels of use and importance calculated for the general competencies was less than the general average of the gaps calculated for the specific skills.
Research limitations/implications
The research was carried out with a sample of mid-sized supermarkets in a particular region. Therefore, it is recommended that the research be extended to other contexts and supermarket companies of other sizes.
Practical implications
The calculated gaps between managers’ expectations or attributed importance and the perceived levels of competence use in supermarket organisations revealed important lines of action for correcting the course in human resources policy.
Originality/value
The present paper elaborated on an opportunities matrix, gaps × importance, showing how managers can set priorities to fill competence gaps and improve the companies’ human resources. Besides, it compares levels of importance and uses for two groups of competencies, general and specific related to SCM.
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Marcio Pereira Basilio, Valdecy Pereira, Max William Coelho Moreira de Oliveira, Antonio Fernandes da Costa Neto, Orlinda Claudia Rosa de Moraes and Samya Cotta Brandão Siqueira
The database of the Web of Science (WoS) was searched for publications from January 1945–May 7, 2020 on the topic of domestic violence in titles, abstracts and keywords. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The database of the Web of Science (WoS) was searched for publications from January 1945–May 7, 2020 on the topic of domestic violence in titles, abstracts and keywords. The references were analyzed using the R bibliometrix package, and abstracts were analyzed using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) with collapsed Gibbs sampling to obtain topics related to domestic violence.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim of the study is to explore and provide an overview of research carried out on domestic violence, in its various aspects, over the past fifty years.
Findings
As a result of the research, the authors can assert that in the last fifty years, 32,298 authors have produced 19,495 documents on the theme of policing strategy and related subjects in 111 countries. Scientific production in this area grows at a rate of 12.81 per year. The United States of America is the leading country in publications with 48.14%, followed by the United Kingdom with 7.57% and Australia with 6.05%. Regarding universities, the highlight is the University of California with 664 publications, followed by the University of London with 515 and the University of North Carolina with 484. As for journals, the highlight is the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Family Violence and Violence Against Women, which account for more than 14.32% of all indexed literature. Regarding the authors, the highlight is Campbell J.C and Feder G. Probabilistic topic modeling revealed that 18% of the topics concentrate 90% of all tokens. Topic 1 accounts for 27.9% of the sample and conducts research related to intimate partner violence.
Practical implications
As a practical implication of using the LDA in the bibliographic review, we infer that its capacity to explore large masses of data allows the researcher to explore an infinitely greater amount than the traditional methods of systematic literature review.
Originality/value
The value of these studies is summarized in the presentation of an overview on the theme in the last fifty years, offering the opportunity for other researchers to use this research as a starting point for other analyses.
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Marcio Pereira Basilio, Valdecy Pereira, Max William Coelho de Oliveira and Antonio Fernandes da Costa Neto
The purpose of this study is modelling of a problem of policing strategy order using a multicriteria method.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is modelling of a problem of policing strategy order using a multicriteria method.
Design/methodology/approach
For the construction of the impact matrix strategies under the reduction of crime rates, considering a portfolio of crimes, a questionnaire applied to specialists was used. In a second moment, defined the criteria and strategies to be ordered, the multicriteria PROMETHEE II method was used, which with the help of the Visual PROMETHEE software, emulated the systematised data in the impact matrix and produced the final ordering of the most efficient strategies, in the fight against crime, in the perception of decision makers.
Findings
As a result, this research revealed that radio patrol, when used in a non-randomised manner, is the most effective policing strategy in reducing the 18 criminal demands studied in the perception of decision makers after data emulation with the PROMETHEE II method.
Research limitations/implications
As research implications, it can be inferred that the use of multicriteria methods in the modelling of problems in public security area can contribute to the rationalisation of use of the available means in the fight against crime in large cities. This research showed that it is possible to use customised policing strategies to absolute reality.
Practical implications
The practical impact of this research lies in optimising the resources available to law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime in general.
Social implications
It can be inferred that by choosing appropriate strategies to combat local crime, there is a direct implication in optimising the resources that the government makes available to police agencies. This optimisation allows pressure reduction under the public budget for more features. The model for choosing more effective strategies contributes to local crimes decrease, increasing the sense of the population security.
Originality/value
The originality lies in filling a gap in the literature with the elaboration of the impact matrix of policing strategies in reducing criminal indices and in their associated use in ordering strategies through a multicriteria method. This study contributed to applied police intelligence.
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Carlos Sampaio, Luís Farinha, João Renato Sebastião and António Fernandes
The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global turmoil and a halt on international tourism. This study aims to evaluate the scientific literature about tourism crisis and…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented global turmoil and a halt on international tourism. This study aims to evaluate the scientific literature about tourism crisis and disasters and depicts how this research stream evolved in the face of economic, security, health, environmental or trust crises, further providing insights about a research agenda on this stream.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses bibliometric methods and topic models, specifically latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) methods to evaluate the nature and course of the tourism crises and disasters scientific literature. Data from 2,810 documents were retrieved from the Web of Science database and were used to perform the analysis.
Findings
The results show an increase of tourism crises and disasters scientific literature departing from 2010, and a surge in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, themes such as tourism competitiveness, tourism demand, crisis management, perceived risk, natural disasters and destination recovery are among the most relevant themes in the research line, showing that the effect of economic and financial crises on tourism industry, sustainable tourism and tourism demand are set to be among the most relevant in the upcoming years.
Research limitations/implications
This study fills a void in the tourism literature by providing a roadmap to understand the past, present and future of the tourism crises and disasters research line and the avenues for future research in this field, including methods, in the period post-COVID-19.
Originality/value
Previous studies on tourism crises and disasters were focused on literature review and on the relationship between crises and disasters and the tourism industry. This study uses a set of methods unused before in the research stream, namely, a combination of bibliometric methods and LDA methods, to provide a road map for the present state-of-the-art of tourism crises and disasters research and promising future research lines.
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Luis Farinha, Sara Nunes, João J. Ferreira and António Fernandes
This paper focuses on the issue of global competitive advantage of nations, based on the dimensions analyzed by the World Economic Forum in assessing the economic competitiveness…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper focuses on the issue of global competitive advantage of nations, based on the dimensions analyzed by the World Economic Forum in assessing the economic competitiveness of a large sample of countries. From the different stages of development of the countries, this study aims to help us to recognize what variables better explain the global competitive advantage of economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Following quantitative analysis, results based on PLS show what dimensions within each economic development stage best explain the global competitive advantage of economies.
Findings
Beyond the institutions, infrastructure and regulation of the markets, higher education and training, the technological readiness, the business sophistication and innovation contribute greatly to explain the competitive advantage of economies.
Originality/value
Understanding the drivers of global competitive advantage of nations, this study may help academics to conduct new studies, as well as politicians to define intervention priorities.
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Maria Francisca Reis Rabaça Vaz, Maria Elisabete Silva, Marco Parente, Sofia Brandão and António Augusto Fernandes
Develop biodegradable meshes as a novel solution to address issues associated with using synthetic meshes for POP repair.
Abstract
Purpose
Develop biodegradable meshes as a novel solution to address issues associated with using synthetic meshes for POP repair.
Design/methodology/approach
Computational models were created with variations in the pore geometry, pore size, filament thickness, and inclusion of filaments around specific mesh regions. Subsequently, one of the meshes was 3D printed to validate the results obtained from the simulations. Following this, a uniaxial tensile test was carried out on the vaginal tissue of a sow to compare with the simulations, to identify meshes that displayed behaviour akin to vaginal tissue. Finally, the most promising outcomes were compared with those of the uterosacral ligament and a commercially available mesh.
Findings
Following a comprehensive analysis of the results, the mesh that most accurately replicates the behaviour of the vaginal tissue showcases a smaller pore diameter (1.50 mm), filaments in specific areas of the mesh, and variable filament thickness across the mesh. Nevertheless, upon comparing the outcomes with those of the uterosacral, the meshes do not exhibit similar behaviour to the ligament. Finally, the commercially available mesh does not represent the behaviour of both the vaginal tissue and the uterosacral ligament and in this sense may not be the best treatment option for POP repair.
Originality/value
Their biocompatibility and biomechanical properties make them a potential solution to the disadvantages of synthetic meshes. Personalized/customized meshes could be part of the future of surgical POP repair.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Some remarks on the meaning of “collective bargaining”, “social dialogue” and “democratic and pluralistic environment”.
Abstract
Some remarks on the meaning of “collective bargaining”, “social dialogue” and “democratic and pluralistic environment”.
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Vítor M. dos Santos Reis, Mary Lou Downie, Peter Fisher and António Fernandes
The globalization of trade and markets requires international standards governing accounting and associated activities including valuation. The EU Financial Services Action Plan…
Abstract
The globalization of trade and markets requires international standards governing accounting and associated activities including valuation. The EU Financial Services Action Plan and the revised banking supervision rules both spotlight the need for consistent standards. Valuation standards exist at the international (IVSC), European (TEGoVA) and professional (RICS) levels. Differences of tradition and approach nevertheless still exist covering fundamental issues such as bases of value. Traditional valuation practice in many EU states therefore faces a process of swift harmonization. This paper examines, for one EU country, the degree of variation between valuation standards and current practice. Results are presented of the first ever survey of the professional practice of Portuguese valuers. Survey results reveal a largely part‐time profession, which appears to be poorly equipped to meet the challenge outlined above.
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Marta Fabiano Sambiase Lombardi, Carla Camargo Leal and Leonardo F.C. Basso
The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether it is possible to reconcile the objectives of sustainable development (SD) with a company's socially responsible performance in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether it is possible to reconcile the objectives of sustainable development (SD) with a company's socially responsible performance in the Brazilian Amazon. The relationship between the concepts of SD and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study method was used, based on the analysis of the Saboaria (soaps factory) of the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura.
Findings
The study demonstrated the coexistence and integration of both concepts, translated into strategies and practices of organizational management.
Research limitations/implications
The fundamental limitation of the paper is that it is formed using secondary data, collected from the internet and printed media. Conducting further research using primary data, such as interviews or surveys with Natura's managers, Natura's consumers, or Natura's employees/community, and for a longer period to analyze the Natura Saboaria experience is necessary.
Practical implications
The major implication for practice is that a sustainable strategy is necessary on a wide sense, not just in line with economic dimension.
Originality/value
This study integrates the literatures on SD and CSR to a series of business projects geared towards the sustainable use of the Amazon's resources, in pursuit of socially responsible behavior.