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Article
Publication date: 24 October 2022

Rogério Lopes, Francisco Barros, Francisco Q. de Melo, Nuno V. Ramos, Rafael Cunha, Ricardo Maia, Rui Rodrigues, M.P.L. Parente and P.M.G. Moreira

The vehicle´s body front pillar should absorb most of the striker kinetic energy, while only a fraction of that is absorbed by the door structure. This study aims to discuss the…

121

Abstract

Purpose

The vehicle´s body front pillar should absorb most of the striker kinetic energy, while only a fraction of that is absorbed by the door structure. This study aims to discuss the aforementioned issue. In this test the striker is a virtual entity. Six uniaxial strain gauges are installed throughout the door. Additionally, contactless 3D digital image correlation (DIC) allows to assess the major door panel’s continuous deformation and strain fields.

Design/methodology/approach

A coach is a large and heavy long-distance passenger transport vehicle. Their structural certification, classifies coaches as M3 Class III vehicles. New coach structures’ designs need analyses of each sub-system for critical pre-validation of the entire structure, aiming driver and passenger carrier safety. Also, a thorough examination due to increased travel speed is needed.

Findings

Experimental pseudo-dynamic (PSD) results were compared and validated using finite element method (FEM) with two pieces of distinct FEM software (Abaqus® and PamCrash®). The time dependent solution was carried out by explicit techniques. Results by FEM and PSD test showed good agreement, evidencing the reliability of the tools selected. Results by PamCrash® were closer to the experimental data.

Practical implications

R-29 is truck-only regulation, however can be adapted to coaches in case of a frontal collision. The present work focuses on the impact behavior of the passenger front door subsystem.

Originality/value

As a first validation the entire structure, the behavior of a vehicle door, under in-plane impacts was studied. The corresponding deformation energy absorbed by the frontal passenger coach door under virtual impacts of a swinging striker was assessed using a PSD approach.

Details

International Journal of Structural Integrity, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9864

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Article
Publication date: 17 November 2022

Francisco Barros, Susana Aguiar, Pedro J. Sousa, António Cachaço, Nuno V. Ramos, Paulo Tavares, P.M.G. Moreira, Luís Oliveira Santos, Min Xu and Elsa Franco

Part of the runway at Madeira Airport is a platform above the sea at a 60 m height, supported by a series of frames. When aircraft land on this section, a load is exerted on the…

62

Abstract

Purpose

Part of the runway at Madeira Airport is a platform above the sea at a 60 m height, supported by a series of frames. When aircraft land on this section, a load is exerted on the structure, resulting in bending of the beams which constitute the frames. A vision-based monitoring system was devised and implemented to measure the deflection of the runway's beams when a landing occurs.

Design/methodology/approach

An area on the midspan of two beams, located on the area where aircraft are most likely to land, was prepared with a speckle pattern, and a camera was assembled above a column on each of the adjacent frames, enabling the computation of displacements using digital image correlation (DIC). The camera continuously acquires images of the monitored area and compares them to a reference using DIC. If a displacement is detected, a number of frames before and after this event are saved for further DIC processing.

Findings

The installed systems successfully detected several events corresponding to landings and, for each of those events, measured the deflection of the beams over time and computed displacement fields for critical images, with strain values obtained up to this point being too small to measure using the current system.

Originality/value

This work provides novel insights into the behaviour of a unique structure and constitutes the first use of a vision system in its structural monitoring operations. It is also a valuable development in the implementation of automated DIC monitoring systems in locations of difficult access.

Details

International Journal of Structural Integrity, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9864

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Article
Publication date: 17 February 2021

Francisco Elder Escossio de Barros, Ruan Carlos dos Santos, Lidinei Eder Orso and Antonia Márcia Rodrigues Sousa

From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais…

1684

Abstract

Purpose

From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais 2 and their influence on the creation of value in preparation for the opening of the initial public offering (IPO).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach was adopted to achieve the proposed objective using the panel data with fixed effects and secondary data collected on the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários website, using statistical software Stata® 13.0 for statistical tests. The population comprises non-financial companies belonging to the Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais Level 2 groups, as the survey sample took into account the period of adhesion of the companies, totaled in 15 companies, which cover the period from 2008 to 2019. The selected variables correspond to the ownership structure’s characteristics, then the board’s composition and the fiscal council as the body responsible for supervising the administrators’ acts.

Findings

The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. However, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.

Research limitations/implications

The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. Despite this, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.

Practical implications

This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market. This paper finds that internal governance characteristics (founder-chief executive officer, executive incentives and board independence) and external network characteristics (prestigious underwriters, degree of venture capitalist syndication and board interlocks) are significant predictors of foreign capital market choice by foreign IPO firms.

Social implications

While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally crucial strategic decision. This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market.

Originality/value

This situation generates value to shareholders and is perceived by the market and, ultimately, generates a direct relationship with the market performance of companies. While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally major strategic decision.

Details

Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, vol. 21 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

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Article
Publication date: 3 October 2024

Alisha Rath and Lalatendu Kesari Jena

The competency trap can occur when organizations become resistant to change due to their existing competencies, leading to a culture of complacency and hindering adaptability and…

82

Abstract

Purpose

The competency trap can occur when organizations become resistant to change due to their existing competencies, leading to a culture of complacency and hindering adaptability and innovation. This paper aims to understand this trap and its hindrance to organizational learning and knowledge acquisition. The study aims to integrate employee well-being into knowledge management (KM) strategies to overcome obstacles and demonstrate its significant contribution to effective KM and improving overall organizational health.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) process was used in this research, with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol used to scrutinize articles for review. Only 50 peer-reviewed articles from 2000 to 2023 that focused on KM and employee well-being were included for review.

Findings

Organizations can tackle the competency trap by managing knowledge effectively and prioritizing employee well-being. When considered for effective KM, the PERMA (positive emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning and accomplishment) facets of well-being strategically supports knowledge sharing and sustainable organizational change through KM.

Practical implications

Focusing on PERMA facets of well-being in KM, an organization can emphasize employees' sense of achievement, addressing the competency trap to build a culture of knowledge sharing. This approach benefits professionals in developing an effective KM system.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the challenge of the competency trap, which has gained less academic attention, and explores KM from a well-being perspective.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

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Article
Publication date: 10 October 2016

Mindaugas Stankunas, Mark Avery, Jutta Lindert, Ian Edwards, Mirko Di Rosa, Francisco Torres-Gonzalez, Elisabeth Ioannidi-Kapolou, Henrique Barros and Joaquim Soares

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate socio-economic inequalities in the use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services amongst 60-84 year old people from seven…

652

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate socio-economic inequalities in the use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services amongst 60-84 year old people from seven European urban communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study were collected in 2009. The target population was people aged 60-84 years from Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden). The total sample comprised 4,467 respondents with a mean response rate across these countries of 45.2 per cent.

Findings

The study demonstrated that the majority of respondents had contact with a health care provider within the last 12 months. The highest percentages were reported by respondents from Spain (97.8 per cent) and Portugal (97.7 per cent). The results suggest that 13.0 per cent of respondents had refrained from seeking care services. The highest rates were amongst seniors from Lithuania (24.0 per cent), Germany (16.2 per cent) and Portugal (15.4 per cent). Logistic regression suggests that seniors who refrained from seeking health care was statistically significant associated with those with higher levels of education (odds ratios (OR)=1.21; 95 per cent confidence intervals (CI)=1.01-1.25) and financial strain (OR=1.26; 95 per cent CI=1.16-1.37). Furthermore, the majority of respondents were satisfied with health care services.

Originality/value

The findings from the “Elder Abuse: a multinational prevalence survey” study indicate the existence of significant variations in use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services by country and for socio-economic factors related to organizing and financing of care systems.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 29 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

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Article
Publication date: 2 October 2007

Carlos Pestana Barros and Francisco Nunes

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the pay and performance of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Portuguese, non‐profit organizations (NPOs), focusing on the role played by…

3896

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the pay and performance of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Portuguese, non‐profit organizations (NPOs), focusing on the role played by the economic performance of the organization, together with that played by the structure of the board and the individual characteristics of the manager. If the CEO can influence the board structure, agency problems arise, which in turn allow the CEO to extract rent and demand compensation in excess of the equilibrium level.

Design/methodology/approach

An ordinary least squares (OLS) model and an instrumental variable (IV) models are estimated for comparative purposes. The IV permits to account for endogenous variables in the regression.

Findings

It is concluded that governance is important in the Portuguese non‐profit sector. Several variables affect the CEO, namely, organization performance variables, board composition variables and individual variables. This result highlights the urgent need for a code of governance practice to be introduced in this sector. Moreover, the paper integrates human capital in the definition of the earnings, concluding that this also contributes to earnings.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has two limitations. The first is related to the data set and the second with the method adopted. With the reference to the data set, the span is limited and therefore the generalization of this result is questionable. A larger data span is needed to confirm the present results. Relative to the method, the OLS is unable to handle endogeneity variables in a regression. The instrumental variables (IV) can overcome this result, but some critics to this method have appear recently, when there are heterogeneous across subjects and local IV are needed.

Practical implication

A governance code should be adopted, involving NPO managers in their definition. A regulatory agency that will be the watch dog of the process should be implemented to enforce the modernization of Portuguese NPO.

Originality/value

This is the first paper analyzing governance issues on Portuguese NPO and the second paper at European level on NPO governance. It clarifies two issues, the absence of governance principles in Portuguese NPO and the need of a regulatory agency in this context.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 34 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

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Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Carlos Francisco Simões Gomes, Helder Gomes Costa and Alexandre P. de Barros

The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid modelling that combines concepts and techniques for scenario building together with a Multi-criteria Decision Aid (MCDA…

466

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid modelling that combines concepts and techniques for scenario building together with a Multi-criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) outranking approach. The paper presents a case to illustrate the proposed methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is a qualitative and quantitative mixture and it is presented as a study case. Bibliographic research is used to construct the theoretical framework. There are a number of studies that develop a sensibility analysis in MCDA modelling; however, none of them explore the robustness of the MCDA solution with use of scenarios variation.

Findings

The methodology allows the criteria that must be taken into account, according to the decision makers’ values and preferences. It is interesting to note that, depending on the scenario, different weights were applied for each criterion, and the performances of alternatives under each criterion has changed as well.

Practical implications

This need arises in decision problems that are susceptible to the influence of scenario variation.

Originality/value

This proposal was applied to a real case that has taken into account six alternatives, with a prospective analysis of three scenarios, evaluated by four criteria. The authors use prospective scenarios to choose the criterion weights and alternatives evaluation.

Details

Journal of Modelling in Management, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5664

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2006

Ricardo Sellers‐Rubio and Francisco Mas‐Ruiz

To estimate the economic efficiency of supermarket chains in the Spanish retailing industry.

2612

Abstract

Purpose

To estimate the economic efficiency of supermarket chains in the Spanish retailing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology applied is based on the non‐parametric technique of data envelopment analysis. The empirical application is carried out on a sample of 100 supermarket chains between 1995 and 2001.

Findings

The results reveal high levels of economic inefficiency in the Spanish retailing sector.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisation of the conclusions of the study to the whole sector should be made with caution, given the fact that only one of the players in the channel of distribution has been analysed.

Practical implications

Efficiency analysis facilitates the management of the intermediaries themselves at a horizontal level, allowing the realisation of “benchmarking” analysis. Producers can also identify the efficient retailers, what could be useful for vertical relationships in the channel.

Originality/value

For the first time, this study analyses the economic efficiency of the intermediaries in the Spanish retailing sector.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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Publication date: 5 December 2013

Ilma Barros-Pose

This chapter is motivated by the author’s desire to show that appreciative inquiry (AI) has developed over the course of its history by responding to client needs, gradually…

Abstract

This chapter is motivated by the author’s desire to show that appreciative inquiry (AI) has developed over the course of its history by responding to client needs, gradually enlarging the scope of its capabilities, tracing the evolution of AI from a strengths-based approach into a catalyst for flourishing and wholeness. The purpose is to share how AI has inspired the business community to embrace generative language and increase awareness of the larger system in which it operates. The chapter reviews a series of cases – including Rava Packaging (to incorporate sustainability), Nutrimental Foods (a whole system intervention), Telefonica (to increase employee commitment), and the São Paulo State Federation of Industries (to support Millennium Development Goals) – in which the author and others facilitated. The interventions involved positive dialogue and appreciative interviewing. Through its capacity for generativity, AI has created greater commitment to and engagement within organizations, stronger collaboration among multiple stakeholders that benefits business and society, and deeper and lasting commitment to profound transformation in service of flourishing. The chapter contributes to a better understanding of how, at each stage in its evolution, AI has supported business by helping to expand its positive narrative and helping organizations become agents for world benefit.

Details

Organizational Generativity: The Appreciative Inquiry Summit and a Scholarship of Transformation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-330-8

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Article
Publication date: 4 June 2020

Olumide Olusegun Olaoye, Monica Orisadare, Ukafor Ukafor Okorie and Ezekiel Abanikanda

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of government expenditure on economic growth in 15 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries over the…

279

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of government expenditure on economic growth in 15 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries over the period of 2005–2017. More precisely, this paper investigates whether institutional environment influences the effect of government spending on economic growth.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts the generalized method of moments-system method of estimation to address the problem of dynamic endogeneity inherent in the relationship. Similarly, unlike previous studies which assume that the disturbances of a panel model are cross-sectionally independent, we account for cross-section dependency and cross-country heterogeneity inherent in empirical modeling using Driscoll and Kraay's nonparametric covariance matrix estimator, adjusted for use with both balanced and unbalanced panels along with Monte Carlo simulations.

Findings

The authors find that though, government spending has a positive impact on economic growth but the level of institutional quality adversely affect that positive impact. This suggests that the institutional environment in ECOWAS countries is a drag and not a push factor for government fiscal operations and/policies. Thus, the results provide empirical evidence that there is a conditional relationship between government spending and economic growth in African countries. That is, the effect of government spending on economic growth is dependent on the quality of institutions. Lastly, these findings suggest that in order for government spending to contribute to economic growth, African countries must develop a strong institutional environment.

Originality/value

Unlike previous time series studies for African countries which concentrated on the two variable case, we include institutional quality as a third variable to underline the potential importance of institutional quality for economic growth in ECOWAS countries.

Details

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2054-6238

Keywords

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