Search results
1 – 10 of 31Vasco Eiriz and José Carreiras
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of a supply network and the causes of network change and stability. It presents the study of a supply network of Delphi Braga…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of a supply network and the causes of network change and stability. It presents the study of a supply network of Delphi Braga (Portugal), one of the largest European plants producing car-radios, navigation system and other related products, in order to understand how it changed over time. The paper contributes to the understanding of network management.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study was carried out on a network of five suppliers of Delphi Braga adopting a relational view of networks meaning that both parties of the relationships were studied. Data and results are based on document sources and interviews with managers both from Delphi and the studied suppliers.
Findings
The causes of network change and stability are both exogenous and endogenous. They are multiple and have different impacts on network structures and processes. The paper analyses several causes of network change and their impact on the studied supplier network.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a single case study. Although the studied supplier network comprises several firms, it should be pointed out that each network has its own dynamics and structures. Therefore, though the paper makes a relevant contribution for network management, the results cannot be generalized for other networks and firms.
Practical implications
Managers should be aware of the dynamics of their supplier networks and understand the different impacts of both their firm’s decisions as well as the environment changes. By doing this, managers can anticipate changes in the structure and dynamics of their supplier networks.
Originality/value
This case study contributes to our current understanding of relationship development both at the dyadic and network level by analyzing the case of a supply network in a major European plant of car-radios and navigation systems. It discusses implications and proposes further research to advance knowledge on the topic of network change.
Details
Keywords
Angélica Vasconcelos, Alan Sangster and Lúcia Lima Rodrigues
The main aim of this paper is to illustrate the importance of avoiding Whig interpretations in historical research. It does so by highlighting examples of what may occur when this…
Abstract
Purpose
The main aim of this paper is to illustrate the importance of avoiding Whig interpretations in historical research. It does so by highlighting examples of what may occur when this is not done. The paper also aims to promote interdisciplinarity, in the form of working with those from other disciplines, as a means to avoid this occurring.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper includes an in-depth study of the bookkeeping and financial reporting of two 18th century Portuguese state-sponsored companies using archival sources. The companies were selected because of conflicting insights across disciplines concerning the quality of their bookkeeping and financial reporting – historians have been very critical, while accounting historians have seen little wrong. These differences of opinion have never previously been investigated. The authors demonstrate how information was distributed among the account books and other records of the two companies. The approach adopted enabled a reader to fully understand the recorded economic events. The authors also present and explain the procedures, criteria and accounting terminology used in their annual reports.
Findings
This paper demonstrates how easy is to inadvertently adopt a Whig interpretation of accounting history when the focus of interest is something of which the principal researcher has insufficient understanding or expertise. It also illustrates how important it is to embrace interdisciplinarity by working with those from other discipline to avoid doing so.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions from the case study are company-specific and cannot be generalised beyond those companies. However, the implications of this study go beyond the companies in its illustration of the importance of fully understanding historical evidence within its own context.
Originality/value
This paper unveils primary archival sources never previously presented in the literature. It also contributes to the literature by providing an evidence-based justification for the calls previously made to accounting historians to study accounting in its social context and engage with historians from other disciplines.
Details
Keywords
Sílvia Quinteiro, Vivina Carreira and Alexandra Rodrigues Gonçalves
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of developing literary tourism in Coimbra.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of developing literary tourism in Coimbra.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory qualitative research identifies existent resources and development potential of literary tourism. The instruments of data collection were bibliographic research, questionnaires, interviews and participant observation.
Findings
There are few literary tourism products in Coimbra, which contrasts with the number of literary places identified, namely, on the left bank of the River Mondego. Tourism development stakeholders in Coimbra have not paid enough attention to the emergence of literary tourism and the opportunities for the development of new sustainable cultural products related with it.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the size and continual renewal of the corpus, which implies a constant updating of data regarding authors and texts.
Practical implications
This study will lead to the production of a database of Coimbra’s literary resources and a digital literary map, allowing any citizen or entity to design and implement literary tourism products.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study reviewing the potential of Coimbra as a literary tourism destination. Moreover, it discusses literary heritage as a source of products and experiences to foster more balanced tourist flows throughout the city.
Details
Keywords
José Alberto Moutela, Vivina Almeida Carreira and Fidel Martínez-Roget
This chapter focuses on the territory of Schist Villages Network, located in Central Portugal, which has become the target of sustainable development projects. These projects aim…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the territory of Schist Villages Network, located in Central Portugal, which has become the target of sustainable development projects. These projects aim at conservation of natural and cultural landscapes, the valorization of heritage, boosting of socioeconomic parameters, and promotion of excellence in tourism with emphasis on hospitality. Empirical research applied different questionnaires to four stakeholders: local population, local decisionmakers, economic agents, and tourists and visitors. The data obtained were used to analyze stakeholders’ perceptions of cultural heritage and traditional roots, seen as essential elements of the territory’s authenticity, both from the point of view of tourism motivation and satisfaction with lived experiences, as well as to evaluate their loyalty to and image of the network as a destination.
Details
Keywords
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.
Details
Keywords
Maria José Baldessar and Regina Zandomênico
The production of news through artificial intelligence (AI) is a reality in many countries, including the United States, where two leading companies in this area are based. The…
Abstract
The production of news through artificial intelligence (AI) is a reality in many countries, including the United States, where two leading companies in this area are based. The purpose of this explanatory bibliographic research is to discuss who or what should bear the ethical responsibility for automated writing in a newsroom, considering that codes of ethics address only the conduct of people. This chapter compares the Code of Ethics of the National Federation of Brazilian Journalists with the code used in the United States and highlights examples of news released with incorrect information, produced by algorithms, and published by US news organizations. Facing the current informational scenario, the ethical responsibility of the automated news must be attributed to the media, represented in the figure of the editor. Such a conclusion is motivated by the fact that neither the algorithm nor the person who developed it takes part in the decision-making process of publishing an article or not.
Details
Keywords
Cláudia Barbosa, Filipa Borrego, Teresa Costa, Ana Ferreira, Madalena Martins, Susana Moreira, José M. R. C. A. Santos and José Avelino Silva
This chapter addresses the profession of research management and administration (RMA) in Portugal. It starts with a brief outline of the national research and innovation (R&I…
Abstract
This chapter addresses the profession of research management and administration (RMA) in Portugal. It starts with a brief outline of the national research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem that contextualises the development of the profession. The RMA community is characterised and the expectations for the future of the RMA profession are summarised using data collected through a national online survey. It is posited that RMA in Portugal is an emergent career having developed key traits of a profession, namely common interests and practices, a concern with deepening specialised knowledge and skills, the existence of an organised network of practitioners, the offer of academic qualifications and training in the area, and the integration in international RMA communities of practice. Nevertheless, future developments in the European Research Area (ERA) are identified as a critical milestone that will influence the development and formal legislative institutionalisation of the RMA profession in Portugal.
Details
Keywords
Asbjorn Osland and Joyce S. Osland
The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the global risks facing an award‐winning company known for best practices in sustainability and HRM that, nevertheless, is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the global risks facing an award‐winning company known for best practices in sustainability and HRM that, nevertheless, is challenged by a contentious land dispute with indigenous communities and numerous stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study based primarily on secondary sources, such as reports and web sites of the company and its stakeholders.
Findings
Aracruz Celulose SA, a Brazilian pulp company founded by a Norwegian, owns legal title to land claimed by indigenous communities. As a result, they face a complex array of additional stakeholders with contradictory perspectives: local and international non‐governmental organizations, various Brazilian and Norwegian Government entities, the World Bank, and investors. The company runs the risk of losing land and assets, reputation, and investors. There are few simple solutions to the dilemma of unresolved property rights and agrarian reform problematic in much of Latin America. Even Aracruz's hoped – for court ruling may not guarantee an end to conflict without a creative solution.
Research limitations/implications
The controversy is ongoing and the outcomes are not yet determined. Based on one case, limited generalizations can be made.
Originality/value
Numerous best practices in the operational areas under a company's control cannot completely protect firms from risks related to larger societal dilemmas and the need to negotiate win‐win solutions with stakeholders.
Details
Keywords
Enrique Acebo, José-Ángel Miguel-Dávila and Mariano Nieto
The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the effect of innovation subsidies on firms' R&D investment varies depending on whether the firm is suffering from financial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the effect of innovation subsidies on firms' R&D investment varies depending on whether the firm is suffering from financial constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this analysis, the authors provide a theoretical model and test their hypothesis using an econometric analysis of an unbalanced panel of 3,865 innovative Spanish firms during 2010–2017. They employ the SABI database to obtain firms' financial and economic data and incorporate firms' MORE financial rating. Specifically, the authors use the GMM-SYS technique to regress and measure the marginal effects of innovation subsidies size on firms' R&D investment and the influence of firms' financial constraints.
Findings
The results of this work indicate that financial constraints negatively moderate the effect of subsidies on R&D investment; that is, those firms that receive a subsidy and suffer financial constraints invest less in R&D projects than those which also receive the subsidy and do not suffer financial constraints. Besides, this work found that innovation subsidies alone do not significantly increase firms' R&D investment.
Originality/value
From a neoclassical point of view, the existence of financial constraints is the justification of public innovation policies. However, due to the difficulty of measuring financial constraints, innovation literature has abandoned the analysis of this crucial variable. This work reintroduces this vital variable and analyses how it interacts with innovation subsidies on firms' R&D investment.
Details