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The objective of this chapter is to outline an integrating picture of the situation, representativeness, contradictions, and challenges that the treatment of diversity assumes in Brazilian society and in its organizations. The aim is to reply to the research question: “How are public policies and organizational practices constructing ways of inserting and valuing the diversity of Brazilians?” We provide a brief background of the changes in the global and Brazilian contexts over the last few decades and analyze the demographic data presented in the 2010 Census and in studies on diversity that were published in the main periodicals in the Administration area in Brazil, between 2000 and 2014 with regard to the segments most widely studied in the academic literature: Afro-descendants, homosexuals, the elderly, Indians, women, and people with a disability. The conclusion reached is that, in a short period of time, Brazil has made great strides in constructing the mechanisms and legal devices for recognizing the rights of its diverse population and that private companies are in the initial stages of introducing diversity programs.

Research on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has been based on Western developed economies’ samples (or specific Eastern countries such as China and Saudi Arabia), lacking attention to developing contexts (Latin America). Even though OCBs’ antecedents in the Global North context have been thoroughly explored, Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) perceptions and organizational commitment’s (OC) roles are “under-studied” in such developing contexts. This study aims to respond to the call for research on the behavioral perspective on CSR in Latin America, challenging implicit assumptions of theories developed in Western developed countries, related to the employees’ CSR perceptions and OC and OCB research.

In a postpositivist approach, the authors tested whether CSR and OC directly affect OCB, exploring OCB’s five dimensions – altruism, courtesy, consciousness, civic virtue and sportsmanship, with a main hypothesis that CSR and OC directly affect OCBs. The sample comprises responses from 1,059 employees from public and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brazil – the largest economy in Latin America, yet a collectivistic society developing country, in which OCB phenomena is still underexplored or done to a lesser extent.

Whenever positively perceiving their organizations’ CSR activities, employees identify strongly with the organization, influencing positive job outcomes such as OC and OCBs. Findings indicate that despite not perfectly fitting non-North American contexts, the OCB five-dimension structure is positively related to employees’ CSR perception, confirming OC’s stronger role in the Brazilian context. Indeed, findings confirm OC’s influence over all OCB dimensions, re-stating it as a stronger predictor of behaviors like consciousness (compliance), civic virtue and sportsmanship.

This research accepted the challenge of bringing OC back to OCB research. Indeed, seminal work had implied OC as a robust and significant predictor of the OCB, yet in Western developed economies. The scarcity of research on the matter in developing collectivist economies such as Brazil, justifies this study’s novelty and appropriateness.

La investigación sobre el organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) se ha basado en muestras de economías desarrolladas occidentales (o países orientales específicos como China y Arabia Saudita), sin prestar atención a los contextos en desarrollo (América Latina). Aunque se han explorado a fondo los antecedentes de las OCB en el contexto del Hemisferio Norte Global, las percepciones de la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE) y los roles del compromiso organizacional (CO) están “poco estudiados” en tales contextos en desarrollo. Respondemos al llamado a investigar la perspectiva conductual de la RSE en América Latina, desafiando los supuestos implícitos de las teorías desarrolladas en los países desarrollados occidentales, relacionadas con las percepciones de RSE de los empleados y las investigaciones sobre OC y OCB.

En un enfoque pos-positivista, probamos si la RSE y el OC afectan directamente al OCB, explorando las cinco dimensiones del OCB: altruismo, cortesía, conciencia, virtud cívica y espíritu deportivo, con la hipótesis principal de que la RSE y el OC afectan directamente a los OCB. La muestra comprende respuestas de 1.059 empleados de instituciones de educación superior (IES) públicas y privadas en Brasil, la economía más grande de América Latina, pero un país en desarrollo con una sociedad colectivista, en el que los fenómenos OCB aún están poco explorados o se realizan en menor medida.

Siempre que perciben positivamente las actividades de RSE de sus organizaciones, los empleados se identifican fuertemente con la organización, lo que influye en resultados laborales positivos, como OC y OCB. Los hallazgos indican que, a pesar de no encajar perfectamente en contextos fuera de América del Norte, la estructura de cinco dimensiones de OCB está positivamente relacionada con la percepción de RSE de los empleados, lo que confirma el papel más fuerte del OC en el contexto brasileño. De hecho, los hallazgos confirman la influencia del compromiso organizacional sobre todas las dimensiones del OCB, reformándolo como un predictor más fuerte de comportamientos como la conciencia (cumplimiento), la virtud cívica y el espíritu deportivo.

Esta investigación aceptó el desafío de devolver el OC a la investigación de OCB. De hecho, un trabajo fundamental había implicado que el OC era un predictor sólido y significativo del OCB, incluso en las economías desarrolladas occidentales. La escasez de investigaciones sobre el tema en economías colectivistas en desarrollo como Brasil, justifica la novedad y pertinencia de este estudio.

A investigação sobre o comportamento de organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) tem-se baseado em amostras de economias desenvolvidas ocidentais (ou de países orientais específicos, como a China e a Arábia Saudita), sem atenção aos contextos em desenvolvimento (América Latina). Embora os antecedentes dos OCBs no contexto do Hemifério Norte tenham sido exaustivamente explorados, as percepções da Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSE) e os papéis do organizational commitment (OC) são “subestudados” nesses contextos em desenvolvimento. Respondemos ao apelo por pesquisas sobre a perspectiva comportamental da RSE na América Latina, desafiando pressupostos implícitos de teorias desenvolvidas nos países ocidentais desenvolvidos, relacionadas às percepções de RSC dos funcionários e às pesquisas de OC e OCB.

Numa abordagem pós-positivista, testamos se a Responsabilidade Social Corporativa e o OC afectam directamente o OCB, explorando as cinco dimensões do OCB – altruísmo, cortesia, consciência, virtude cívica e espírito desportivo, com a hipótese principal de que a RSE e o OC afectam directamente os OCB. A amostra compreende respostas de 1.059 funcionários de Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) públicas e privadas do Brasil – a maior economia da América Latina, mas um país em desenvolvimento com sociedade coletivista, no qual o fenômeno do OCB ainda é subexplorado ou realizado em menor grau.

Sempre que percebem positivamente as atividades de RSE das suas organizações, os funcionários identificam-se fortemente com a organização, influenciando resultados positivos do trabalho, como OC e OCBs. Os resultados indicam que, apesar de não se ajustar perfeitamente aos contextos não norte-americanos, a estrutura de cinco dimensões do OCB está positivamente relacionada com a percepção de RSE dos funcionários, confirmando o papel mais forte do OC no contexto brasileiro. Na verdade, os resultados confirmam a influência do compromisso organizacional sobre todas as dimensões do OCB, reafirmando-o como um preditor mais forte de comportamentos como consciência (conformidade), virtude cívica e espírito desportivo.

Esta pesquisa aceitou o desafio de trazer o OC de volta à pesquisa de OCB. Na verdade, o trabalho seminal tinha implicado o OC como um preditor robusto e significativo do OCB, ainda nas economias desenvolvidas ocidentais. A escassez de pesquisas sobre o assunto nas economias coletivistas em desenvolvimento, como o Brasil, justifica a novidade e a adequação deste estudo.

Humanized digital solutions that provide better access, understanding and use of health services enable better decisions and better patient’s experience focused on humanization of care. This translates into better health literacy in the digital area.

Currently health care is inseparable from digital health, and this evidence was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this analysis, a cross-sectional study was carried out, with 335 valid answers in a quantitative and qualitative research to evaluate the opinion of the respondents regarding their digital health use and the means used, as well as the perception of emotions generated before and during the pandemic. A qualitative content analysis was also performed on the open question about the future of health.

The results showed a humanization in digital is essential and that it is necessary to prioritize the human relationship and find the meaning of space, communication and proximity of health face-to-face, respecting as differences.

This chapter will also propose the presentation of challenges and results from the application of health literacy on patient empowerment in the health system, based on humanized digital solutions.

The aim of this paper is to analyze and compare the effect of different hotel characteristics and room attributes on room rates of hotels in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, the capital and second most important city in Portugal.

Using the hedonic pricing method, hotel characteristics are decomposed and analyzed, giving us the perception of the impact of each hotel attributes on the room rates and the people’s willingness to pay for this. Ordinary least square regression analysis was applied to the hedonic price model to find which variables could explain differences in the hotel room rates in Lisbon and Porto.

The results suggest that in Lisbon and in Porto, a number of common characteristics have significant effects on consumer willingness to pay for a stay in a hotel as star rating, consumer rating and the room size. In Porto, the existence of a fitness centre and in Lisbon, the distance to the city centre are also attributes that create a premium in room rates.

The knowledge of the most valued characteristics by consumers is an important tool for hotel managers to define a price strategy. Also important is the knowledge of the attributes that provide more added value for consumers as these should be taken into account in new investment decisions.

This study highlights the implications of the way one defines and measures qualitative hotel characteristics in hedonic pricing. Although the hedonic method has been applied in several studies, to our knowledge, in Portugal, there are few studies applied only to hotel room rates, and there are no studies comparing hotel room rates in different Portuguese cities. Moreover, the research highlights the critical role of a proper definition and measurement of the variables in hedonic pricing in general and the hotel star in particular.

The turbulent phase of COVID-19 has caused uncertainty as governments fail to develop coherent strategies for cutting emissions and are struggling to match the rhetoric of sustainable activities with actions (Barbier & Burgess, 2020; Cawthorn, Kennaugh, & Ferreira, 2021). In the recent past, firms have failed in their plans to decarbonise their key sectors such as the retail sector in the United Kingdom So far, retailers' commitment to achieving net zero emissions has been an important pledge but delivery is nowhere closer to their promises (Henriques, 2020). The firms' climate targets are not going to be met by magic as serious action is needed to fulfil the promises.

Fossil fuels have led to a drastic increase in carbon emissions in the world over the last decade. Firms championing cleaner energy and low carbon technologies are needed to cut emissions. Renewable energy sources such as wind energy can help reducing the dependency of fossil fuels (Boretti, 2020; Ebhota & Jen, 2020). Wind is an indirect form of solar energy which can provide environment-friendly option in uncertain times and can provide long-term sustainability of global economy. Solar energy technologies have the potential to decrease climate change through energy-related emissions (Li, Dai, & Cui, 2020). Increasing energy demand has initiated a focus on using hydrogen from water as a substitute for oil and fossil fuels (Boretti, 2020).

The first part of the chapter discusses theoretical perspectives of sustainable development and environmental performance with regards to three main issues: energy, water and carbon emissions, whereas the later part highlights the importance of solar technology as a low-polluted alternative to fossil fuels in the retail sector. Sustainable development of energy, water and environmental precautions such as reducing carbon emissions are of interest to wider branches of industries including retail, energy and water sector, governmental policymakers, researchers, educators and society. The purpose of this chapter is to increase the debate of the key issues of sustainable development regarding environment, energy and water in the modern times.

The objective of this article is to study the factors influencing the leverage and debt maturity of 48 Public Entities and 297 Private Entities, in the health sector in Portugal, in the period between 2015 and 2021, including the pandemic crisis, coronavirus disease 2019.

To test the proposed hypotheses, the panel data methodology was used, considering the GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) system estimation method.

Our findings suggest that in times of crisis, both public and private entities resort to long-term loans to finance additional expenses and guarantee the continuity of health services. Also, there is a strong dependence on short-term debt (short leverage [SLEV]), especially in the public sector, suggesting some financial imbalance in current management, with no margin of financial security. In private hospitals, a more considered strategic definition is demonstrated, without current management risks.

As far as the authors are aware, this article is original and covers an important gap in the literature when considering the determinants of debt maturity in public and private hospitals in Portugal, a country where the debate about the essence of the National Health System, it’s in the news every day.

The authors examine the impact of CEO generalist experience on firm performance. Using 522 listed firms in Indonesia for the period 2010–2018, the authors find that the generalist CEO is negatively associated with firm performance. Generalist CEOs tend to experience ambiguity in adjustments in the new environment. In order to decrease the impact of a generalist CEO, our empirical evidence finds that CEO tenure does not significantly moderate the association between the two. This is because generalist CEOs with longer tenure tend to avoid changing strategies, and therefore the negative impact of CEO generalist is not altered. The results of this study provide suggestions for the firm in the developing country to appoint a CEO with generalist experience.

This study aimed to propose and test a model that describes the different aspects and mechanisms that influence the behavioral intentions of fitness center customers by examining the relationship between service convenience, service quality and perceived value, comparing customers with and without PT service. This study is highlighted by the need for fitness centers to remain competitive and profitable and the fact that PT services are one of the top ten global fitness trends.

Data were collected from 412 fitness center customers. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test each proposed hypothesis.

Nine of the ten hypotheses tested, between service convenience, service quality, perceived value and behavioral intentions, were supported. The results from bootstrapping supported the indirect effects of service quality and perceived value in the relationship between service convenience, service quality and behavioral intentions. The presence of the PT service affects the majority of the relationships in the model.

Customers with PT services may have different expectations and perceptions based on the cost associated with the service. Managers may consider adapting their service strategies to these distinct customer segments, offering differentiated service levels or targeted convenience improvements.

The variables under study integrate a comprehensive model for fitness centers while innovating by incorporating PT services as a moderating variable, providing a differentiated view of how customer segments perceive and respond to fitness center offerings.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between organisations' sustainability performance management practices and sustainability performance.

Data for the study were collected from 314 medium to large organisations operating in Australia. A mailed printed questionnaire was used to collect the data. Personal interviews with 20 senior executives were conducted to pilot test and refine the questionnaire.

The results indicate the organisations apply eight sustainability performance management practices (SPMPs) to improve seven different sustainability performance indicators (SPIs). Each of the eight SPMPs is positively associated with at least one or more SPIs. The paper finds that customer value, new product development and information capital performance indicators are each associated with a single SPMP, while the other four performance indicators (environmental, employee value, social responsibility, and financial performance) are each associated with multiple SPMPs. Overall, the results indicate that increasing the level of an organisation's focus on its individual SPMPs is positively associated with its better performance under one or more SPIs.

This study provides empirical evidence concerning which SPMPs are positively associated with particular SPIs. A framework of the identified SPMPs and SPIs is developed with a view towards promoting future research and practical applications to foster organisational sustainability performance.

People are increasingly concerned about food and health and are seeking enriched products. One way to add nutritional value to yogurt consists of the addition of nutritional flour. However, it is necessary to optimize formulations that meet the consumers’ expectations. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to aim at sensory optimization of a strawberry yogurt enriched with different flours.

The optimal concentrations of each flour were defined using the Just-about-right-scale test. Then, an acceptance test was used to assess the samples at optimal concentrations.

It was observed that the strawberry yogurt should include 1.275 percent golden flaxseed flour, 1.093 percent green banana flour, 1.075 percent eggplant flour and 3.420 percent oatmeal flour. All formulations had good acceptability and the yogurt added with the addition of golden flax flour and the traditional product received similar sensory acceptance. Thus, it is possible to add nutritional value to strawberry yogurt by maintaining its sensory quality.

More detailed studies on the shelf-life of yogurt are necessary to enable the incorporation of flours into yogurt as heat, light and oxygen can reduce the beneficial effects of flours. Therefore, researchers should test the proposed propositions further.

Optimization of an enriched yogurt is a good alternative to provide a product that meets consumers’ expectations, besides adding value to the product. However, there are technological challenges when adding functional components in foods. Thus, this study aimed at sensory optimization of a strawberry yogurt enriched with different flours.

The authors aimed to provide a healthy product to the market as well as contribute toward product variety in the market.

There are few studies in respect to the sensory aspects of enriched yogurts. Therefore, this work will aid future studies, supporting the optimization of functional products and contributing toward product variety in the market.