João Varela da Costa, Daniel Filipe Dongo and Miguel Mira da Silva
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the applicability of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) through a systematic approach using M-Macbeth to present alternatives for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the applicability of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) through a systematic approach using M-Macbeth to present alternatives for mitigating high-impact instances of disinformation in a community and measure the attractiveness of the options.
Design/methodology/approach
The recent advent of Fake News (FN) and disinformation poses a significant threat to a community, organisation or individual, contributing to the erosion of public trust in institutions and democracy. This is aggravated should the authors consider the multiplicity of FN and, thus, the multitude of risk and their impact on the community. This research proposes tackling FN as a digital risk by applying an MCDA to select the appropriate countermeasures for Law Enforcement Agencies to tackle disinformation and FN crimes.
Findings
Results indicate that to mitigate risk effectively, prioritising risk using adequate strategies and appropriate courses of action is crucial.
Originality/value
Nevertheless, the contributions of this research work allowed us to comprehend the best option to mitigate the risk of FN and provide a realistic approach to support Law Enforcement in decision analysis.
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Cristela Maia Bairrada, João Fontes da Costa, Rui Manuel Santos and Arnaldo Coelho
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model that intends to identify the determinants and consequences of brand credibility, specifically in the pharmaceutical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model that intends to identify the determinants and consequences of brand credibility, specifically in the pharmaceutical industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses developed according to the proposed model were tested through an online questionnaire and answered by 225 individuals from Portugal.
Findings
The results show that the credibility of brand communication, perceived quality and brand familiarity are the key components that contribute most to the creation of a credible brand. Regarding consequences, this study confirms that, in the face of a credible brand, consumers are more willing to repeat the purchase, to pay more for it and to promote their opinion among other consumers.
Originality/value
This research innovates by presenting, for the first time, a conceptual model of brand credibility specific to the non-prescription medicines market, thus contributing to a better understanding of this issue by companies and brand managers of the pharmaceutical industry.
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Paulo Arthur Mauro, Kateline Ketne Daltoé, João Ricardo da Costa Lopes, Flavia d Albergaria Freitas and Victor M.C. Almeida
Marketing Channels.
Abstract
Subject area
Marketing Channels.
Study level/applicability
The case was developed to stimulate the discussion about decisions and strategies of channel and was recommended for MBA students in courses such as Marketing Channels or Trade Marketing in Business Administration.
Case overview
The case reports the dilemma experienced in 2013 by Osmar Buzin, one of the partners of Cervejaria Noi, whose specialty beers had achieved prestige among their customers, mainly in the city of Niterói, RJ, where the company was born. This success aroused the interest of other markets that wanted to sell their products. The opportunity for expansion brought together the need to decide how to meet these new markets: deliver directly to the points of sale, as it did before; or use distributors. Osmar knew that he could count on Gilmar Gutbrodt, his partner and brewmaster, along with Bianca Buzin, the General Manager of the brewery to evaluate together the best strategy for reaching new markets.
Expected learning outcomes
It is expected that at the end of the discussion of the case, students will be able to achieve the following learning outcomes: to design the path-to-market, identifying the role of intermediaries; to identify distribution alternatives and key channel members; and to perceive the advantages and disadvantages of intermediation and its unfolding in channel management.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Subject code
CSS: 8: Marketing.
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Luis D'Avolgio Zanetta, Matheus Takamori Costa Umebara, João Paulo Costa, Douglas Koji Takeda and Diogo Thimoteo Da Cunha
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the differences between common Brazilian beer and pure malt beer in the responses of hedonic scaling, willingness to pay and emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the differences between common Brazilian beer and pure malt beer in the responses of hedonic scaling, willingness to pay and emotional response.
Design/methodology/approach
Two types of beer were selected to be tested – a common beer: Pilsen Skol and pure malt beer: Pilsen Eisenbahn. All the analysis was conducted under three labeling conditions: blind; labeled; inverted label with 70 participants in each test. A nine-point hedonic scale evaluated the acceptance. The consumer was questioned how much he/she would be willing to pay for a bottle of beer that he/she tasted. A questionnaire was elaborated based on the EsSense profile to evaluate emotions; 25 emotions were evaluated using a five-point scale. The socioeconomic status was defined based on consumer's household characteristics.
Findings
The acceptance score, positive emotions and willingness to pay were higher for pure malt beer in the labeled test and for common beer (labeled as pure malt) in the inverted test. The findings highlight that information, such as beer type and socioeconomic status, could influence consumer responses by altering hedonic perceptions, emotions and commercial value attributed to different beers. In general, the beer type did not affect the evaluated variables.
Practical implications
Brewing industry should explore in their marketing strategies and state clearly the pure malt label. In restaurants, owners can explore pure malt beers as a strategy for garnering different customer profiles. Technological and production investments should be encouraged to reduce the product price, favoring the final consumer.
Originality/value
This study contributes to understanding the growth in the consumption of pure malt beers in Brazil. Moreover, it brings an overview of the influence of the label/information on regular Brazilian consumers.
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Floyd D'Souza, João Costa and J. Norberto Pires
The Industry 4.0 initiative – with its ultimate objective of revolutionizing the supply-chain – putted more emphasis on smart and autonomous systems, creating new opportunities to…
Abstract
Purpose
The Industry 4.0 initiative – with its ultimate objective of revolutionizing the supply-chain – putted more emphasis on smart and autonomous systems, creating new opportunities to add flexibility and agility to automatic manufacturing systems. These systems are designed to free people from monotonous and repetitive tasks, enabling them to concentrate in knowledge-based jobs. One of these repetitive functions is the order-picking task which consists of collecting parts from storage (warehouse) and distributing them among the ordering stations. An order-picking system can also pick finished parts from working stations to take them to the warehouse. The purpose of this paper is to present a simplified model of a robotic order-picking system, i.e. a mobile manipulator composed by an automated guided vehicle (AGV), a collaborative robot (cobot) and a robotic hand.
Design/methodology/approach
Details about its implementation are also presented. The AGV is needed to safely navigate inside the factory infrastructure, namely, between the warehouse and the working stations located in the shop-floor or elsewhere. For that purpose, an ActiveONE AGV, from Active Space Automation, was selected. The collaborative robot manipulator is used to move parts from/into the mobile platform (feeding the working stations and removing parts for the warehouse). A cobot from Kassow Robots was selected (model KR 810), kindly supplied by partner companies Roboplan (Portugal) and Kassow Robotics (Denmark). An Arduino MKR1000 board was also used to interconnect the user interface, the AGV and the collaborative robot. The graphical user interface was developed in C# using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 IDE, taking advantage of this experience in this type of language and programming environment.
Findings
The resulting prototype was fully demonstrated in the partner company warehouse (Active Space Automation) and constitutes a possible order-picking solution, which is ready to be integrated into advanced solutions for the factories of the future.
Originality/value
A solution to fully automate the order-picking task at an industrial shop-floor was presented and fully demonstrated. The objective was to design a system that could be easy to use, to adapt to different applications and that could be a basic infrastructure for advanced order-picking systems. The system proved to work very well, executing all the features required for an order-picking system working in an Industry 4.0 scenario where humans and machines must act as co-workers. Although all the system design objectives were accomplished, there are still opportunities to improve and add features to the presented solution. In terms of improvements, a different robotic hand will be used in the final setup, depending on the type of objects that are being required to move. The amount of equipment that is located on-board of the AGV can be significantly reduced, freeing space and lowering the weight that the AGV carries. For example, the controlling computer can be substituted by a single-board-computer without any advantage. Also, the cobot should be equipped with a wrist camera to identify objects and landmark. This would allow the cobot to fully identify the position and orientation of the objects to pick and drop. The wrist camera should also use bin-picking software to fully identify the shape of the objects to pick and also their relative position (if they are randomly located in a box, for example). These features are easy to add to the developed mobile manipulator, as there are a few vision systems in the market (some that integrate with the selected cobot) that can be easily integrated in the solution. Finally, this paper reports a development effort that neglected, for practical reasons, all issues related with certification, safety, training, etc. A future follow-up paper, reporting a practical use-case implementation, will properly address those practical and operational issues.
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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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Richard Teare, Jorge Costa, João Gomes and Mónica Montenegro
João Henrique de Paiva Costa and Yákara Vasconcelos Pereira
AccorHotels commenced operations in Brazil in the 1970s. Since then, the company has experienced several economic crises in that country and almost gone bankrupt. Using the…
Abstract
Purpose
AccorHotels commenced operations in Brazil in the 1970s. Since then, the company has experienced several economic crises in that country and almost gone bankrupt. Using the dynamic capabilities (DCs) framework, the purpose of this paper is to understand how the company managed to maintain its competitive advantage in such a turbulent and competitive environment over the years. The study sought to identify the main DCs developed in the company between 1974 and 2018 and understand how they were developed based on the analysis of their key microfoundations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a qualitative approach. The data were collected in 22 interviews, including with top management and the founder of the hotel chain in Brazil. The interviews took place in three different years, 2005, 2016 and 2018. The investigation is supported by content analysis of the data.
Findings
The four main DCs identified at AccorHotels were capability to innovate; qualification capability; renewal capability; and capability to manage threats and mitigate risks. In addition to shedding light on the origins of the DCs, the importance of microfoundations is discussed.
Research limitations/implications
The model presented in the theoretical framework and results should not be generalized, since this limitation is inherent to qualitative research. On the other hand, there are academic implications relevant to the development of the DCs in the service sector by revealing four capabilities that can enable sustainable competitive advantage.
Practical implications
The results provide business practitioners in the hotel sector with information about DCs and microfoundations to face the external and competitive environment throughout its trajectory. Specifically, it shows the way to develop the capabilities that can collaborate in the exploration of opportunities.
Social implications
Executives have the responsibility to make appropriate strategic decisions to stay in the market, meeting the expectations of stakeholders. However, the demand is not only financial, employees of tourism businesses are part of family units. Given this context, society gains when studies of this type are developed, because from the socialization of the results obtained from Accor Hotels, leaders can make organizations thrive and foster the professional development of workers, and tourism industry in general.
Originality/value
This is the first study of DCs undertaken with an international hotel chain. In addition, studies on DCs in the tourism industry are still scarce, and Brazil is an environment where hotels have shown steady growth.
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Susana Margarida Jorge, João Baptista da Costa Carvalho and Maria José Fernandes
Until the end of 1997, governmental accounting in Portugal was characterised as essentially cash-based budgetary accounting, using singleentry as the bookkeeping method. The only…
Abstract
Until the end of 1997, governmental accounting in Portugal was characterised as essentially cash-based budgetary accounting, using singleentry as the bookkeeping method. The only compulsory accounting system was Budgetary Accounting. As many countries all over the world, nowadays Portugal is implementing a reform of the whole governmental accounting, which has as most important innovations the use of double-entry within a system compulsorily integrating accrual-based Financial and Cost Accounting along with Budgetary Accounting (still essentially cash-based). The main purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the reform and current situation of governmental accounting in Portugal, especially discussing the accrual basis implementation. In particular, it shows that not only governmental accounting reform in Portugal has been going towards international harmonization, but also problems that have arisen are common to others faced by several countries. Perspectives of future evolution are also presented.
Long She, Fatemeh Khoshnavay Fomani, João Marôco, Kelly-Ann Allen, Hamid Sharif Nia and Pardis Rahmatpour
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, student engagement in online learning has been a critical issue for all educational institutions. The university student…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, student engagement in online learning has been a critical issue for all educational institutions. The university student engagement inventory (USEI) is the most used scale for assessing the construct of student engagement. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the USEI among 1504 Chinese university students who completed a survey through an online platform between December 2020 and January 2021.
Design/methodology/approach
In this cross-sectional study, content validity, construct validity and reliability of the scale were assessed.
Findings
The results supported the three-factor model with acceptable goodness of fit (χ2 (71) = 369.717, p = 0.13, χ2/df = 5.207, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.967, normed fit index (NFI) = 0.960, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.958, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.030, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (90% CI) = 0.053 [0.049, 0.057]), good internal consistency and construct reliability (Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficient >0.70) and strong convergent validity. Also, the measurement invariance was confirmed across gender.
Originality/value
This study showed that the 3-factor structure of USEI with Chinese university students had good construct validity, internal consistency and reliability. It could help measure student engagement in online learning in China.