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The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of psychological barriers both in the main stock market indices of the Baltic states and the most actively traded individual stocks. A psychological barrier refers to a specific price point, often at round numbers (i.e. powers of 10), that investors believe is challenging to breach, influencing their behavior and trading decisions.

We conduct uniformity tests and barrier tests, such as barrier proximity tests and barrier hump tests, to evaluate the presence of psychological barriers. Additionally, we explore variations in means and variances near these potential barriers using regression and GARCH analysis.

The findings reveal that psychological barriers do exist in the Baltic stock markets, particularly within market indices. The Estonian market index stands out with the most pronounced indications of psychological barriers. Individual stocks also display significant changes in means and variances related to potential barriers, albeit with less uniformity.

Collectively, our findings challenge the traditional assumption of random returns within the Baltic stock markets. For practitioners, the finding that psychological barriers exist opens up opportunities for investment strategies that can capitalize on them.

This study is the first to comprehensively investigate psychological barriers in the Baltic stock markets. Our results provide a valuable contribution to understanding the impact of that phenomenon on pricing dynamics, which is particularly pertinent in less-researched frontier markets like the Baltic states.

Europe’s outermost regions are often geographically isolated, and they face challenges when it comes to fostering innovation. This study aims to evaluate the impact of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) on the stimulation of innovation performance and the regional development of innovation in the outermost European regions. This study contributes to the development and interpretation of STP literature, which is especially relevant for policymakers operating within these regions.

We collected the data from six Regional Innovation Scoreboard reports (RIS, 2012; RIS, 2014; RIS, 2016; RIS, 2017; RIS, 2019; and RIS 2021), available at https://ec.europa.eu, for the following outermost regions of Europe: the Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain) and the Outermost Regions of France, which encompass Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Saint-Martin and Reunion Island.

The results demonstrate that, for STPs to positively impact regional policies for innovation and regional development, policymakers must make significant investments into research and development (R&D). The outermost European regions display characteristics that negatively affect innovation performance and regional development. Furthermore, we found that innovative products and services are negatively affected by these regions, as they deploy only a limited number of resources. We also conclude that the impact of STPs on the outermost European regions depends on the policies of regional governments. STPs represent important inputs to formulating and implementing innovation strategies for regional development.

This study has some limitations. This research only analyses the European Union's (EU’s) outermost regions, and we have only included data extracted from the Regional Innovation Scoreboard from 2007 to 2021. Disaggregated data for the five outermost regions in France was not available. This would have increased the sample and made the results even more robust, had the information been available.

The results propose that regional actors in the outermost regions (industry–government–academia) better articulate their resources (which are more scarce) and their priorities with regard to Science, Technology and Innovation, thus accelerating innovation and development of their regions.

In this panel data study, we adopt a methodology that enables the evaluation of STP performance under different levels of intensity of gross domestic expenditure on research and development activities in the context of the RIS. In this study, the RIS refers to the peripheral regions of the EU. This study therefore aims to evaluate the impact of STPs in stimulating innovation performance and regional development in the outermost regions of Europe.

The purpose of this paper is to involve the differences in the entrepreneurial intentions of student at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Portuguese regions (mainland and insular).

Applying a sample of 594 valid responses, the authors analyzed the data according to linear regression models.

The results convey how HEI students generally do not intend to become entrepreneurs in both the mainland and the insular regions. Although HEI students broadly do not aim to launch their own businesses, the results show that students in mainland regions feel they have the skills to start a business and drive it to success. In insular regions, students feel encouraged by their friends and family to set up their own business. When comparing insular and mainland regions, the results demonstrate how in insular regions, there is a greater probability that HEI students become entrepreneurs than in the mainland regions. Furthermore, entrepreneurial intentions in the mainland regions develop in terms of “opportunities” while driven by necessity in the insular regions.

This furthermore makes recommendations to regional governments and to HEIs in order to enable better encouragement of entrepreneurship in academia.

This study is original and innovative due to its comparison of the entrepreneurial intentions prevailing in mainland and insular regions and may propose new highlights to the academic scientific literature.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a predictive model that could replace lawyers’ annual performance rankings and inform talent management (TM) in law firms.

Eight years of performance rankings of a sample of 140 lawyers from one law firm are used. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to model and simulate performance rankings over time. Multivariate regression analysis is used to compare with the non-linear networks.

With a lag of one year, performance ranking changes are predicted by the networks with an accuracy of 71 percent, over performing regression analysis by 15 percent. With a lag of two years, accuracy is reduced by 4 percent.

This study contributes to the literature of TM in law firms and to predictive research. Generalizability would require replication with broader samples.

Neural networks enable extended intervals for performance rankings. Reducing the time and effort spent benefits partners and lawyers alike, who can instead devote time to in-depth feedback. Strategic planning, early identification of the most talented and avenues for tailored careers become open.

This study pioneers the use of ANNs in law firm TM. The method surpasses traditional static study of performance through its use of non-linear simulation and prediction modeling.

The technological and digital revolution has introduced important changes in the tourism industry. However, capturing the extent of the new tourism 4.0 paradigm is still difficult. This study aims to assess the dimensions related to the concepts of industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem when considered simultaneously, and their role in promoting a new wave of competitiveness in the tourism industry.

A bibliometric study was conducted based on tourism 4.0, hotel 4.0, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem using 120 eligible articles published between 2008 and 2021 from the Web of Science database.

This study demonstrated the advances in industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality publications over 13 years and identified five interconnected dimensions: (1) knowledge transfer in tourism; (2) networking tourism innovation; (3) sources of tourism innovation; (4) smart tourism ecosystem and (5) innovation research in tourism. It was also concluded that tourism development should be a regional competence based on strategic networking and externalisation of regional knowledge flows.

This bibliometric review provides important implications and recommendations for several players of industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality and policymakers. Not only did it make it possible to create a state of art, but also to categorise the existing interconnections between the dimensions of Tourism 4.0, Hotel 4.0, Tourism innovation and Tourism ecosystem to optimise its implementation and generate greater value. In addition, practical implications were inferred that improve the tourism sector’s competitiveness, helping strategic decision-making at the level of policymakers and actors in this sector.

Apart from state of the art, this bibliometric review made it possible to categorise the existing interconnections between the dimensions of tourism 4.0, hotel 4.0, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem to optimise its implementation and generate greater value. Practical implications were inferred that improve the tourism sector’s competitiveness, helping strategic decision-making at the level of policymakers and several players in this sector.

This study addresses the existing literature gap in the interconnection of industry 4.0 with tourism and hospitality by describing the most relevant conceptual interconnections and setting practical implications for improving the competitiveness of the tourism industry. Furthermore, it integrates previous studies and outlines future lines of investigation.

This paper aims to understand how the different stakeholders assess the adequacy of smart specialization policies defined for their regions.

This paper has followed a quantitative methodology through the application of questionnaire surveys to stakeholders of the various territorial regions in Portugal.

As a result, from the “resource-based view” approach applied to the various regions, the attained results highlight that the suitability of smart specialization policies defined for the Portuguese regions is not unanimous among its stakeholders.

The research can be used as a tool to assist regional policymakers in strategic reflection when defining and adjusting smart specialization strategies in their territories.

The significance of event tourism in destination development underscores the importance of assessing the quality of events and their sustainability for competitiveness. This study investigates tourists’ perceptions of service quality and sustainability at the “Biggest São João in the World” event in 2023. Employing a quantitative approach, we conducted field research using questionnaires based on the Tourqual model, integrating sustainability indicators to address environmental impacts associated with such events. Data collection took place between June and July 2023, with a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 709 visitors. Descriptive statistics were applied to the 2022 survey data (397 respondents), on the 2023 data (709 respondents). Results reveal that the event’s diverse activities received the highest average rating at 4.03, while the use of sustainable transport during the event garnered the lowest rating at 1.93. This emphasizes the need for event organizers to implement continuous improvement plans, focusing particularly on areas with critical evaluations to enhance visitor satisfaction. This study’s originality and innovative approach contribute valuable insights for event managers and researchers and promote both local development and environmental awareness.

The growing uses of digital technologies have been creating several new business opportunities. Recently, a new concept has emerged in the literature, the “digital entrepreneurship ecosystem” (DEE). However, it has been empirically understudied. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity. The meta-organization theory was used as a perspective of analysis. A quantitative methodology was applied in a sample that includes data from 28 European countries through the generalized method of moments. It was concluded that the DEE pillars, informal and formal institutions, market conditions, physical infrastructure, human capital and talent and networking and support positively influence entrepreneurial activity. It was also found that the variables knowledge, creation and dissemination and finance have a negative impact on entrepreneurial activity. Several theoretical and empirical contributions are also left for the various stakeholders. The present study is original, as no known studies analyze the influence of DEE on entrepreneurial activity in European countries from the perspective of meta-organization theory.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the entrepreneurial intentions of higher education students in a private higher education institution (HEI), enrolled in the following courses: Business Management, Hospitality Management, Tourism and Business Relations.

A quantitative methodology was used through the application of a questionnaire in a private HEI located in the northern region of Portugal and 228 valid responses were collected.

We have found out that (1) the elder the students are, the higher is the probability that they will consider entrepreneurship as the first option to enter the job market; (2) the courses of Business Management and Hotel Management are those that influence the entrepreneurial intentions most positively; (3) the more prepared a student feels in order to start a business, the more likely he will become an entrepreneur; (4) to consider entrepreneurship as the first option to enter the job market is positively influenced by the dimensions of the Attitude Toward Enterprise (ATE), namely, leadership, creativity, achievement and personal control; (5) to have a business idea could be motivated by the course in which the students are enrolled in, if they feel they are prepared to start a business, and by the dimensions of ATE.

HEIs and/or regional governments may have an entrepreneurship support office, where students can get assistance in the process of creating their companies and develop innovative entrepreneurial models adapted to older students. The creation of “senior entrepreneurial ecosystems” can be an interesting path to be explored. HEIs can make extracurricular activities available to students. Policymakers must introduce entrepreneurship to primary and secondary education.

This study increases the understanding of the individual characteristics of the students in a private HEI, as well as the courses that positively influence entrepreneurial intentions.

Using artificial intelligence technologies in customer service through chatbots is revolutionizing companies’ commercial practices and business models. This study explores the role of customer experience drivers in using chatbot services in customer engagement and customer behavior intention. The mediating role of customer engagement in the relationship between the customer experience drivers of using chatbots and the customer behavior intention was also explored.

For this purpose, a sample of 1,319 Portuguese consumers using chatbots in their online purchases was collected. A quantitative methodology was applied with the partial least squares method.

The results reveal that the customer experience drivers of using the chatbot service directly and positively influence customer engagement but not customer behavior intention. However, there is a positive influence of customer experience drivers on customer behavior intention when mediated by customer engagement.

This study contributes to developing social exchange and resource exchange theories in customer experience. In addition, it allows companies to infer practical implications for obtaining sustainable competitive advantages through implementing chatbot technology.