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Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Tiago Miguel Ribeiro, Abel Correia, Rui Biscaia and Carlos Figueiredo

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service quality on perceived positive and negative social impact of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of service quality on perceived positive and negative social impact of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Design/methodology/approach

A field study was conducted in Rio de Janeiro, and data were collected from residents who attended the Olympic Games through a self-administered questionnaire (n=519). The questionnaire included measures of perceived service quality, positive and negative social impact. A confirmatory factor analysis analysed the psychometric properties of the constructs, and a subsequent structural equation model examined the relationships between service quality and social impact perceptions.

Findings

The results show good psychometric properties of a multidimensional construct of service quality composed of the technical, functional, aesthetic, access, accommodation and complementary events dimensions. The service quality construct was significantly related to both positive social impact (city image and community pride enhancement, social experiences and public infrastructures) and negative social impact (social conflicts and costs) perceptions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by examining the role of service quality in sport mega-events and testing on different facets of social impact. The findings highlight that social atmosphere and new experiences in the Olympic Games are critical when planning these events.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

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Article
Publication date: 4 April 2023

Deedar Hussain and Manuel Carlos Figueiredo

The evaluation of time-based performance is a valued approach in the lean management thinking which is based on delivering value from customer's perspective. This approach…

1387

Abstract

Purpose

The evaluation of time-based performance is a valued approach in the lean management thinking which is based on delivering value from customer's perspective. This approach contributes for long-term competitiveness and success in today's business environment. The focus of this study is to analyse the cycle time and manufacturing lead time with value stream mapping (VSM) in the preparatory stage of the textile fabric manufacturing process and to identify and improve the non-value adding activities in the value chain (VC). The study presents an insight on the translation of performance improvement across functions and how upstream supply chain (SC) segments can be linked in the performance improvement program. It also covers how the application of VSM improves visibility and planning flexibility in textile fabric manufacturing process.

Design/methodology/approach

The time-based performance was evaluated using VSM and recording of the activity times in the existing process. The impact of the quality of supplier's raw material was also measured contributing to identify the strategy for procurement and the means to establish a feedback system to the upstream segments of the SC. The methodology of VSM, observation of the practice and the expertise of the individuals involved with the process were utilised to develop the value stream maps and to identify value adding activities, non-value adding activities, existing gaps and plans for improvement.

Findings

The means for improving the time-based performance were identified and their impact was measured. The factors responsible for improvement are related to the production system and with the procurement strategy. The improvement was achieved in terms of available capacity utilisation, balancing the work flow in the preparatory stages, visibility of the process by measuring its capability and flexibility for the planning function. The study revealed that the effectiveness and enhancement of VSM and related tools should be adopted to address the issue of limiting success rates of long term and repeating application of such tools. Continuous improvement, innovations and the systematic embedding of VSM in the process life cycle provide the ways for achieving long-term success.

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents a real and in-depth study on the application of VSM in the textile manufacturing process. The scope of the study is broad; it covers activities across functions with actual estimates of activity times in the manufacturing process for the focused value streams. It offers researchers the opportunity to analyse the translation of productivity improvement across functions and how upstream SC segments can be linked in a performance improvement program.

Practical implications

The study offers useful insight for the managers in textile manufacturing and other sectors for improving the time-based performance and achieving higher utilisation of capacity. It identified the production factors and their impact on warping and sizing cycle time in selected value streams and those which share common activities. It also identified the directions for future research when repeating the application of VSM in the continuous improvement cycle. Furthermore, since the industries need to progress towards advanced systems including Industry 4.0 standards, adoption of advanced VSM tool with relevant technology can align their production systems to develop the required capability. This will also bring a sustainable competitive advantage in the system.

Social implications

The focused sector is stagnant in terms of productivity and innovation. The adoption of the advanced tools can facilitate the implementation of continuous improvement and innovation strategies.

Originality/value

The main focus of this study is to analyse and improve the cycle time in the preparatory stage of the fabric manufacturing process. This has impact on other important and tangible measures including capacity utilisation and work flow and intangible measures including production planning flexibility and process visibility. The improvement impact is across departments.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

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Article
Publication date: 10 August 2021

Pedro Argento, Marcelo Cabus Klotzle, Antonio Carlos Figueiredo Pinto and Leonardo Lima Gomes

Brazil is characterized by the inexistence of a more robust system of guarantees and rules to minimize risks and protect agents in energy futures contracts. In this sense, this…

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Abstract

Purpose

Brazil is characterized by the inexistence of a more robust system of guarantees and rules to minimize risks and protect agents in energy futures contracts. In this sense, this study aims to answer the question of how a centralized clearing agent can compute safety margin requirements to help reduce the systemic risk of the energy futures contracts market in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

The intermediate steps and specific objectives are to analyze the volatility behavior, identify the autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity effects and model the variance of the return series. Based on this, the authors calculate the value-at-risk and conditional value-at-risk metrics for the energy futures contracts. As a robustness test, the authors added a peak over threshold methodology from extreme values theory.

Findings

In general, monthly products require margins because of their higher variance. With the asymmetrical distribution of returns, the authors needed to consider different maintenance margins for the long and short positions. It was also shown that two guarantee margins were required to secure the contracts as follows: the initial margin and the maintenance margin. The three factors that defined the size of the maintenance margin the volatility, skewness and kurtosis of the return series.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study lies in promoting the understanding of the risk dimensions of the energy derivatives market in Brazil and it offers concrete recommendations for how to mitigate this risk through market mechanisms and structures. Similar arrangements can be applied to other emerging markets.

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2019

Augusto Ferreira da Costa Neto, Marcelo Cabus Klotzle and Antonio Carlos Figueiredo Pinto

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study on investor behavior in exchange-traded fund (ETF) markets. The standard feedback trading model of Sentana and…

803

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study on investor behavior in exchange-traded fund (ETF) markets. The standard feedback trading model of Sentana and Wadhwani (1992) is used in a sample of 18 ETFs contracts in Brazil, China, South Africa, Korea, Mexico and India, as well as three ETFs contracts in the US market.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample includes data on daily closing prices and net asset values (NAVs) for three ETFs from each of the emerging markets of Brazil, China, Mexico, Korea and India, as well as on three ETFs from the US market. The authors used the earliest start date available in the Thomson Reuters database pertaining to all of the ETFs, and all series ended on May 5, 2017, and applied the well-established Santana and Wadhwani (1992) seminal model to evaluate evidence of feedback trading in the sample.

Findings

The empirical analysis suggests that there is evidence of feedback trading in emerging markets such as Brazil, Korea, Mexico and India, while there is no such evidence for the US market. The results are consistent with the view that developed markets investors are prone to pursue fundamental-driven investment strategies, while emerging markets investors appear to have informational guided behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Emerging markets still make up a very small part of the global ETF market, led by the USA. Nevertheless, it is extremely important that studies of this nature be gradually expanded as these markets grow, in order to verify how emerging markets compare to their developed counterparts in terms of the efficiency of information sharing and rationalization of its operations.

Practical implications

Emerging markets policy makers could benefit from these findings by stimulating new mechanisms that could minimize informational asymmetry and the persistence of so-called noise traders, a phenomenon observed recently in studies regarding ETF markets (Brown, Davies and Ringgenberg, 2018).

Originality/value

The behavior of investors was investigated by analyzing a sample of 18 ETFs from the emerging markets of Brazil, China, South Africa, Korea, India and Mexico, as well as three ETFs from the US market. Despite of being investigated separately both emerging (Charteris et al., 2014) and developed markets (Chau et al., 2011), the innovation consists in comparing those markets in a single study, pursuing to explain potential reasons for the differences observed between developed and emerging markets.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

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Article
Publication date: 7 April 2015

Mario Domingues Simões, Marcelo Cabus Klotzle, Antonio Carlos Figueiredo Pinto and Leonardo Lima Gomes

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether nonlinearities could be present in electricity loads observed in subtropical environments, where none or little heating is…

170

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether nonlinearities could be present in electricity loads observed in subtropical environments, where none or little heating is required, and whether threshold autoregressive (TAR)-type regime switching models could be advantageous in the modeling of those loads.

Design/methodology/approach

The actual observed load of a Brazilian regional electricity distributor from January 2013 to August 2012 was modeled using a popularly employed ARMA model for reference, and smooth and non-smooth TAR transition (non-linear) models were used as non-linear regime switching models.

Findings

Evidence of nonlinearities were found in the load series, and evidence was also found on the intrinsic resistance of this type of models to structural breaks in the data. Additionally, to reacting well to asymmetries in the data, these models avoid the use of exogenous variables. Altogether, this could prove to be a definite advantage of the use of such model alternatives.

Research limitations/implications

However, even if the present work may have been limited by the observation frequency of the available data, it appears TAR models appear to be a viable alternative to forecasting short-term electricity loads. Nonetheless, additional research is required to achieve a higher accuracy of forecast data.

Practical implications

If such models can be successfully used, it will be a great advantage for electricity generators, as the computational effort involved in the use of such models is not significantly larger than regular linear ones.

Originality/value

To our knowledge, this type of research has not yet been made with subtropical/tropical electricity load data.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

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Article
Publication date: 24 September 2019

Slobodanka Jovasevic, José Correia, Marko Pavlovic, Rita Dantas, Carlos Rebelo, Milan Veljkovic and Abilio M.P. de Jesus

In the last decades, the demand and use of renewable energies have been increasing. The increase in renewable energies, particularly wind energy, leads to the development and…

268

Abstract

Purpose

In the last decades, the demand and use of renewable energies have been increasing. The increase in renewable energies, particularly wind energy, leads to the development and innovation of powerful wind energy converters as well as increased production requirements. Hence, a higher supporting structure is required to achieve higher wind speed with less turbulence. To date, the onshore wind towers with tubular connections are the most used. The maximum diameter of this type of tower is limited by transportation logistics. The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative wind turbine lattice structure based on half-pipe steel connections.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a new concept of steel hybrid tower has been proposed. The focus of this work is the development of a lattice structure. Therefore, the geometry of the lattice part of the tower is assessed to decrease the number of joints and bolts. The sections used in the lattice structure are constructed in a polygonal shape. The elements are obtained by cold forming and bolted along the length. The members are connected by gusset plates and preloaded bolts. A numerical investigation of joints is carried out using the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS.

Findings

Based on the proposed study, the six “legs” solution with K braces under 45° angle and height/spread ratio of 4/1 and 5/1 provides the most suitable balance between the weight of the supporting structure, number of bolts in joints and reaction forces in the foundations, when compared with four “legs” solution.

Originality/value

In this investigation, the failure modes of elements and joints of an alternative wind turbine lattice structures, as well as the rotation stiffness of the joints, are determined. The FE results show good agreement with the analytical calculation proposed by EC3-1-8 standard.

Details

International Journal of Structural Integrity, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9864

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Article
Publication date: 24 February 2022

Arne De Keyser and Werner H. Kunz

Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that…

4609

Abstract

Purpose

Service robots are now an integral part of people's living and working environment, making service robots one of the hot topics for service researchers today. Against that background, the paper reviews the recent service robot literature following a Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology (TCCM) approach to capture the state of art of the field. In addition, building on qualitative input from researchers who are active in this field, the authors highlight where opportunities for further development and growth lie.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies and analyzes 88 manuscripts (featuring 173 individual studies) published in academic journals featured on the SERVSIG literature alert. In addition, qualitative input gathered from 79 researchers who are active in the service field and doing research on service robots is infused throughout the manuscript.

Findings

The key research foci of the service robot literature to date include comparing service robots with humans, the role of service robots' look and feel, consumer attitudes toward service robots and the role of service robot conversational skills and behaviors. From a TCCM view, the authors discern dominant theories (anthropomorphism theory), contexts (retail/healthcare, USA samples, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) settings and customer focused), study characteristics (robot types: chatbots, not embodied and text/voice-based; outcome focus: customer intentions) and methodologies (experimental, picture-based scenarios).

Originality/value

The current paper is the first to analyze the service robot literature from a TCCM perspective. Doing so, the study gives (1) a comprehensive picture of the field to date and (2) highlights key pathways to inspire future work.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

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Article
Publication date: 13 July 2020

Malú N.P.S. Cerqueira, Danilo R.D. Aguiar and Adelson Martins Figueiredo

The purpose of this paper is to investigate firm strategies and the exertion of market power in the brewing sector in Brazil following a merger between the two largest brewers…

195

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate firm strategies and the exertion of market power in the brewing sector in Brazil following a merger between the two largest brewers (Brahma and Antarctica) that created Ambev and given that the existing literature is inconclusive on this subject

Design/methodology/approach

In this study the authors apply cointegration analysis to price series of beer brands. The authors use the reduced form vector error correction (VEC) model to measure the price responses of beer brands in terms of direction, magnitude and speed. The authors use monthly retail prices for the primary brands of beer in the city of São Paulo, Brazil's largest consumer market. Specifically, the authors use two sets of retail prices, one from bars (the main point of beer sales, with roughly 50% of market share) and another from supermarkets. The series range from 1994 to 2014, depending on the brand.

Findings

This study indicates that Ambev's two major brands (Skol and Brahma) behave as market leaders, while its third brand (Antarctica) has been used to challenge the low-price competitor (Nova Schin). The authors also found evidence that the pricing policies of Brahma and Antarctica have changed toward cooperation following the creation of Ambev.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this article is that the authors only had access to retailer data. As the merger involved brewers, the authors would ideally use manufacturer beer prices in their econometric analysis. However, the consistency of our results suggests that retailers have been passively transmitting brand strategies launched at a manufacturer level.

Social implications

As the dominant firm created following the merger of the two largest brewers appears to use one of its brand to restrict entry of competitors and the premium brands to enjoy high profits, consumers tend to be harmed by high beer prices and lack of options. Furthermore, small and medium-size companies cannot grow due to entry barriers created by the dominant firm.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to apply cointegration analysis to examine the effect of mergers on pricing strategies. The robustness of this study suggests that this approach could be used for antitrust agencies to monitor post-merger strategies.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

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Article
Publication date: 30 September 2020

Cristina Doritta Rodrigues, Felipe Mendes Borini, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq and Roberto Carlos Bernardes

This study aims to look at the relationship of external embeddedness and institutional distance (governance aspects) with the foreign subsidiary research and development (R&D…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to look at the relationship of external embeddedness and institutional distance (governance aspects) with the foreign subsidiary research and development (R&D) capacity. Furthermore, it examines whether these relationships are mediated by subsidiary product and process innovation, and whether institutional distance plays a moderating role in the relationship between subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on survey data from 130 foreign subsidiaries operating in Brazil and test their model using variance-based structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results suggest that subsidiary (product and process) innovation fully mediates the relationships between: subsidiary external embeddedness and R&D capacity; and institutional distance and subsidiary R&D capacity, such that the relationship is positive in case of the former and negative in case of the latter. The relationship between subsidiary product and process innovation and R&D capacity is positive and stronger at lower levels of institutional distance.

Originality/value

The research ignores the underlying mechanisms of the external embeddedness and institutional distance relationship with subsidiary R&D capacity. Furthermore, institutional distance based on formal governance aspects and their impacts on subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity are rarely investigated. This paper contributes with regard to these aspects.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 24 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Jeovan de Carvalho Figueiredo, Luiz Carlos Di Serio, Jislaine de Fátima Guilhermino, Wladimir Augusto César de Morais and Vera Lucia Neto

Most research and development (R&D) activities in Brazil are performed by science and technology institutions (STIs). The purpose of this research was to determine whether…

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Abstract

Purpose

Most research and development (R&D) activities in Brazil are performed by science and technology institutions (STIs). The purpose of this research was to determine whether environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) developed by these organizations were transferred to companies, either through cooperation during research or through mechanisms such as licensing agreements or spin-offs.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 1,939 research groups and 702 patent registers, identified from the same set of words related to ESTs, using semantic search in open-access databases, covering a period from 2005 to 2014, were examined. The two data sets (patents and research groups) were overlaid, and it was possible to associate inventors’ names with researchers’ names.

Findings

The results showed that only six patents could be related to the 1,939 identified research groups. Of the six patents, only one was the object of a licensing agreement, and no spin-off was identified.

Practical implications

This study evidenced that it is necessary to expand the mechanisms of knowledge transfer, directed not only from STIs to companies but also in the opposite direction, given that companies recognize potential market opportunities.

Originality/value

This study shows that improvements in the Brazilian National Innovation System are necessary, as ESTs research groups demonstrated a weak association with technologies transferred to companies, with only one case of technology transfer in the form of a licensing agreement.

Details

Innovation & Management Review, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2515-8961

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