Andres Käosaar, Pedro Marques-Quinteiro and Shawn Burke
This paper aims to propose a model of teamwork effectiveness in space and analog environments (SAE).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a model of teamwork effectiveness in space and analog environments (SAE).
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted to examine the state-of-the-art of teamwork literature in SAE. A total of 37 research papers were reviewed and the results were organized according to the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) framework.
Findings
Based on 37 empirical research papers, the findings suggest that the teams working in SAE are challenged with contextual (e.g. time, isolation and confinement), collective (e.g. autonomy, culture) and individual (e.g. personality) attributes. These are inputs to team processes (e.g. interpersonal processes; communication) and emergent states (e.g. climate; emotions), which mediate team (e.g. performance; cohesion) and individual (e.g. psychological well-being) outputs.
Research limitations/implications
Given the review nature of the manuscript, the final proposed model depicting empirical findings lacks validation evidence when considered in its entirety, although pieces have been validated. Additionally, the focus only on papers that included team-level empirical SAE research (excluding individual-level studies), undoubtedly contributed to a smaller number of papers extracted.
Originality/value
This paper integrates empirical findings regarding the factors impacting team performance in SAE into a proven framework (IMOI). This integration can provide a common baseline, using a widely accepted methodology and framework, that serves to guide future research, identify gaps and guide practice.
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Duarte Pimentel, Pedro Almeida, Pedro Marques-Quinteiro and Marta Sousa
The purpose of this paper is to assess differences between employees of family and non-family firms regarding their perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess differences between employees of family and non-family firms regarding their perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels. Moreover, focusing on family firms, the authors assess the relation between the employees’ perceptions of employer branding and the psychological contract levels.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 165 Portuguese employees, 76 employees of family firms and 89 non-family firms’ employees, who responded to a questionnaire that included employer branding and psychological contract measures. All respondents study in small and medium-sized private companies.
Findings
The results confirmed the research hypotheses, suggesting that employees of family companies show higher perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels than employees of non-family companies. Results also reveal that the perceptions of employer branding are positively related to the psychological contract levels of the family firm’s employees.
Originality/value
This paper aims to contribute to the literature by addressing two contemporary organizational aspects yet under-addressed in the comparison between family and non-family firms while pursuing to offer insights on the relationship between the perceptions of employer branding and levels of the psychological contract of employees working in family firms.
Objetivo
O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar diferenças entre colaboradores de empresas familiares e não familiares no que respeita às suas perceções das práticas de employer branding e níveis de contrato psicológico. Além disso, com foco nas empresas familiares, foi avaliada a relação entre as perceções de employer branding dos colaboradores e os níveis de contrato psicológico.
Design/metodologia/abordagem
A evidência empírica é baseada numa amostra de 165 trabalhadores portugueses, 76 colaboradores de empresas familiares e 89 de empresas não familiares. Os participantes responderam a um questionário que avaliou as perceções sobre as práticas de employer branding e os níveis de contrato psicológico. Todos os respondentes trabalham em empresas privadas de pequena e média dimensão.
Resultados
Os resultados confirmaram as hipóteses de investigação, sugerindo que os colaboradores de empresas familiares apresentam perceções de employer branding e níveis de contrato psicológico mais elevados do que os colaboradores de empresas não familiares. Os resultados revelaram ainda que as perceções de employer branding estão positivamente relacionadas com os níveis de contrato psicológico dos colaboradores de empresas familiares.
Originalidade/valor
Este artigo tem como objetivo contribuir para a literatura ao abordar dois aspetos organizacionais contemporâneos ainda pouco estudados na comparação entre empresas familiares e não familiares. Procurando, ainda, que oferecer insights sobre a relação entre as perceções de employer branding e os níveis de contrato psicológico dos colaboradores de empresas familiares.
Propósito
El propósito de este artículo científico es evaluar las diferencias entre los empleados de empresas familiares y no familiares, con respecto a sus percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico. Además, centrándonos en las empresas familiares, evaluamos la relación entre las percepciones de los empleados sobre las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
La muestra de esta pesquisa incluye 165 empleados portugueses, de los cuales 76 son empleados de empresas familiares y 89 son empleados de empresas no familiares. Los participantes respondieron a un cuestionario que evaluaba sus percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico. Todos los encuestados trabajan en pequeñas y medianas empresas privadas.
Hallazgos
Los resultados confirmaron las hipótesis de la investigación. Los empleados de empresas familiares muestran una mayor percepción de las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico que los empleados de empresas no familiares. Los resultados también revelan que las percepciones de las prácticas de employer branding están relacionadas positivamente con los niveles de contrato psicológico de los empleados de las empresas familiares.
Originalidad/valor
Este artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir a la literatura abordando dos aspectos organizativos contemporáneos, aún poco abordados en la comparación entre empresas familiares y no familiares. Al mismo tiempo, este artículo busca ofrecer ideas sobre la relación entre las prácticas de employer branding y los niveles de contrato psicológico de los empleados que trabajan en empresas familiares.
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João Pedro Marques Lima, Sofia A. Costa and Ada Rocha
Excessive high caloric and nutritional intake has been associated with weight gain which is linked to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and…
Abstract
Purpose
Excessive high caloric and nutritional intake has been associated with weight gain which is linked to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancers. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the nutritional intake pattern of the population in terms of energy, macro and micronutrients.
Design/methodology/approach
There were assessed 513 workers of the University of Porto (UP) randomly selected. The Food Processor Plus was used to convert foods into nutrients and, to assess nutritional intake adequacy. Data were compared to Dietary Reference Intakes and with recommended ranges by the World Health Organization.
Findings
The intake of most individuals was above recommendations for protein, carbohydrates and sodium. The average of energy intake observed in UP employees was lower than data available for Portuguese general population. The protein, carbohydrates, total fat and water intake, cholesterol, saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fatty acids and sodium intake were found to be significantly higher for men. Significant differences were found for vitamin D and calcium between age ranges; Carbohydrates, sugar, monounsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, water and vitamin K was significantly different between teachers and non-teachers.
Originality/value
According to nutritional intake analysis, food consumption of this population was unbalanced, attending to high protein, carbohydrates and sodium intake.
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Romildo Silva, Rui Pedro Marques and Helena Inácio
The purpose of this study is to identify the possible efficiency gains in using tokenization for the execution of public expenditure on governmental investments.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the possible efficiency gains in using tokenization for the execution of public expenditure on governmental investments.
Design/methodology/approach
Through design science research methodology, the exploratory research produced a tokenized prototype in the blockchain, through the Ernst and Young OpsChain traceability solution, allowing automated processes in the stages of public expense. A focus group composed of auditors from the public sector evaluated the possibility of improving the quality of information available in the audited entities, where the tokens created represent and register the actions of public agents in the blockchain Polygon.
Findings
The consensus of the experts in the focus group indicated that the use of tokenization could improve the quality of the information, since the possibility of recording the activities of public agents in the metadata of the tokens at each stage of the execution of the expenditure allows the audited entities the advantages of the information recorded on the blockchain, according to the following ranking: first the immutability of audited data, followed by reliability, transparency, accessibility and efficiency of data structures.
Originality/value
This research makes an empirical contribution to the real use of tokenization in blockchain technology to the public sector through a value chain in which tokens were created and moved between the wallets of public agents to represent, register and track the operations regarding public expense execution.
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Pedro Marques-Quinteiro, Sjir Uitdewilligen, Patricia Costa and Ana Margarida Passos
This paper aims to test if team reflexivity is a countermeasure to the detrimental effect of team virtuality on team performance improvement, in decision-making teams.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test if team reflexivity is a countermeasure to the detrimental effect of team virtuality on team performance improvement, in decision-making teams.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 regarded 210 individuals (N = 44 teams) executing five decision-making tasks. Study 2 regarded 60 individuals (N = 20 teams) executing four decision-making tasks. Study 1 was longitudinal, with no experimental manipulation. Study 2 had an experimental longitudinal design comprising two between-team manipulations: medium of communication and team reflexivity; the outcome was team performance improvement.
Findings
Study 1’s results show that team reflexivity positively moderates the effect of virtuality on team performance improvement over time. Study 2’s results shows that a reflexivity manipulation benefits face-to-face teams more so than virtual teams, probably because team reflexivity is more effective when media richness is high.
Originality/value
The implications of reflexivity’s lack of effect in low virtuality (Study 1) and high virtuality (Study 2) teams are discussed. This study contributes to the team learning and virtual teams’ literatures by expanding current knowledge on how team reflexivity can facilitate team learning under face-to-face versus virtual communication conditions.
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Marianna Giunchi, Pedro Marques-Quinteiro, Chiara Ghislieri and Anne-Marie Vonthron
The negative consequences of job insecurity on the well-being of individuals are well known. However, the perceptions of job insecurity over time and how some factors such as…
Abstract
Purpose
The negative consequences of job insecurity on the well-being of individuals are well known. However, the perceptions of job insecurity over time and how some factors such as social support may affect them have received limited attention. This study follows precarious schoolteachers for three weeks before the end of their contract to explore how their perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 47 precarious schoolteachers who first completed a general questionnaire, then a diary survey on nine occasions over the course of the three weeks. Data was analysed with MPLUS 7.3.
Findings
The results suggest intra-individual differences regarding the way job insecurity was perceived over time. An additional discovery was that support provided by the school principal was negatively related to changes in job insecurity over time.
Research limitations/implications
The relatively small sample size, which includes only precarious schoolteachers, and the methodology complexity of the diary are limitations of this study.
Practical implications
This study highlights the subjective nature of the perceptions of job insecurity. It also shows the importance of the school principal's social support towards precarious schoolteachers; therefore, practitioners should propose interventions to enhance the quality of principal–teachers relationships.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by investigating how perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time and the role of social support.
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Pedro Alexandre de Albuquerque Marques and Robert Matthé
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an application of the Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) problem-solving methodology in a Portuguese…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an application of the Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) problem-solving methodology in a Portuguese industrial enterprise, aimed at reducing the rejection rate of a specific manufactured product due to defects generated in an aluminum gravity die casting operation.
Design/methodology/approach
Along the five-stage roadmap, a set of analytical and conceptual tools was systematically employed to better characterize the problem, define the product’s critical to quality characteristics, estimate the process baseline, determine the relevant cause-and-effect relationships, identify the root causes leading to the high rejection rate, implement an improvement plan, determine the effectiveness of the improvement actions, and put in place a control plan.
Findings
The project team discovered that the high rejection rate was caused by factors inherent to the gravity die casting operation itself and by the mixing of rejected parts made of different types of alloys from other locations within the plant. Another key finding was that the successful execution of the project was only possible due to the belief and support of top management and to the active involvement of the team members.
Practical implications
This case study illustrates a successful practical application of a Six Sigma project in a small-medium enterprise in Portugal, as well as the operational and financial benefits that derived from it; thus providing a good example for others to follow.
Originality/value
Few cases of continual improvement initiatives, including Six Sigma projects, developed at a Portuguese company are available in the literature; this paper fills such void by describing a very successful application that demonstrates the advantages that other companies can learn in terms of adopting structured methodologies to improve the quality of their products and the efficiency of their processes. Moreover, the analysis and conclusions herein presented can be of great importance for companies using gravity die casting technology.
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Pedro Marques-Quinteiro, Pedro J. Ramos-Villagrasa, Ana Margarida Passos and Luís Curral
While scales were developed to measure individual adaptive performance (IAP), fewer contributions have been done to assess the construct at the team level of analysis. This issue…
Abstract
Purpose
While scales were developed to measure individual adaptive performance (IAP), fewer contributions have been done to assess the construct at the team level of analysis. This issue is addressed through two related studies: Study 1 builds on Pulakos et al. (2000) to develop a measure of IAP. Study 2 follows from the results in Study 1 and tests a measure of team adaptive performance (Chan, 1998).
Design/methodology/approach
Scale development was done adopting a single level (Study 1) and multi-level (Study 2) structural equations modeling approach.
Findings
Results suggest that both measures of individual and team adaptive performance are reliable and show evidence supporting the adequacy of adopting referent-shift methodologies to the measurement and aggregation of team members’ rating of team adaptive performance.
Originality/value
The study offers a reliable, parsimonious and easy to apply measure of individual and team adaptive performance in organizational work environments.
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Rui Pedro Figueiredo Marques, Henrique M. Dinis Santos and Carlos Santos
The paper aims to present a solution which makes it possible to control and audit organizational transactions in real time, helping to determine the degree of reliability with…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present a solution which makes it possible to control and audit organizational transactions in real time, helping to determine the degree of reliability with which they are carried out, mitigating the organizational risk. This auditing is made at a very low level of organizational transactions executed and supported exclusively in a digital format, contrary to what happens in most monitoring of transactions, which occurs at a high level. Moreover, it describes the conceptual architecture of the solution, its components and functionalities as well as the development and technical issues which should be taken into consideration on the deployment and evaluation of the solution.
Design/methodology/approach
The work follows the design science methodology. It presents the problem and motivation of the investigation, the solution design and how it is being deployed. Furthermore, it presents the expected results based on the proposed architecture and on the results which are currently being achieved with the prototype implementation.
Findings
The prototype is being put into practice, thus the gathering of results and their evaluation is not yet complete. However, preliminary results are really satisfactory and very close to those expected and enumerated.
Originality/value
The research contributes to a new vision of organizational auditing focused on assurance services in transactions executed and supported in a digital format in compliance with the formalisms of a business ontological model of organizational transactions.
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Pedro Marques, José Requeijo, Pedro Saraiva and Francisco Frazão‐Guerreiro
By exploiting the relationships between Six Sigma and quality management systems (QMS) based on the ISO 9001 standard, this paper proposes a set of guidelines to combine and…
Abstract
Purpose
By exploiting the relationships between Six Sigma and quality management systems (QMS) based on the ISO 9001 standard, this paper proposes a set of guidelines to combine and integrate both approaches in a systematic way. The guidelines are organised into integration topics, and each one is linked to the clauses of the ISO 9001 standard they refer to.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature review, Six Sigma and QMS based on the ISO 9001 standard are thoroughly discussed and compared and beneficial synergies between them are identified. Based on this study, and to take advantage of the compatibilities and logical linkages between both approaches, guidelines for the integration of Six Sigma with the ISO 9001 requirements are developed.
Findings
Benefits resulting from the integration of Six Sigma with a QMS based on the ISO 9001 standard are mutual. The integration guidelines proposed in this paper provide a framework to unify process management practices, enhance the effectiveness of continual improvement efforts, facilitate the identification, evaluation and selection of Six Sigma projects, align the quality objectives defined for the QMS with Six Sigma project goals, establish relationships between the roles of a Six Sigma program and those inherent to an ISO 9001 QMS, and demonstrate how internal quality audits and management review benefit from a Six Sigma program.
Research limitations/implications
The integration models and guidelines herein proposed can be further expanded to include other relevant normative references, particularly environmental management systems (ISO 14001) and safety and health management systems (OHSAS 18001).
Originality/value
The set of guidelines proposed in this paper is original and will be of practical value to the increasing number of organisations adopting a process‐model for the ISO 9001 standard, that seek to incorporate Six Sigma principles, practices, methods and tools within their QMS. The guidelines cover a wide spectrum of relevant activities that usually take place in the context of both initiatives. In addition, because each guideline is accompanied by the identification of the applicable clauses of ISO 9001, they provide a useful framework to develop, implement, maintain, and improve a QMS in parallel with a Six Sigma program.