Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2016-02-22"
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- Sogrape : a matter of focusPublication . Trêpa, Miguel Mexia Alves Burbach; Guedes, Nuno Manuel de MagalhãesThe Thesis that is hereby presented in the form of a Case Study aims to depict the competitive landscape of Sogrape, the biggest Portuguese wine company, and to examine the key variables that led the company to adopt a focus strategy. Sogrape competes in the fragmented global wine market. It produces wines in 5 different countries, fostering over 25 brands and exporting to more than 120 markets. Having grown mostly through portfolio extensions in the past, the company has opted to make a key change on its competitive strategy. The Case Study is based on a real-life situation. It explores Sogrape‟s business, linking it with the company‟s history and the global wine market. Drawing on the knowledge of the company‟s top executives, the case challenges readers to analyze Sogrape‟s focus decision. This Thesis includes a Literature Review of relevant topics and a Teaching Note offering an analysis of the case.
- Effective big data management : a development of critical success factors and an analysis of firms' capabilities in the automotive industryPublication . Nieder, Nicolai; Grando, AlbertoThis dissertation examines the analytical capabilities of firms with regard to effective big data management in the commercial vehicle industry. Value creation through effective big data management has been and will be one of the key challenges for organizations in data-generating industries such as the commercial vehicle one. Hence, a model with Critical Success Factors (CSF) for analytical capabilities is developed from theory. The model, with each seven CSF grouped into strategic/organizational, human, and technological capabilities, is then validated through two separate interviews with leading IT and industry experts. After validation, a survey is designed around the CSF developed in order to gain insights into the main players of the industry. The survey is distributed by a German-based consultancy (partner of this dissertation) to its automotive clients’ IT and sales/marketing departments, representing a major part of the industry. The survey results show scores around the mean with regard to all three dimensions of analytical capabilities with the strategic/organizational dimension at 4.25, human at 3.79 and technological at 3.91 (scores between 1 and 7). Additionally, IT and business managers differ in their perception of the own organization’s capabilities, with the most significant difference concerning the human capabilities. All in all, IT managers’ scores are lower than the business managers ones along all three dimensions of the model. In future, the developed CSF model can serve as the foundation for an initial self-assessment for companies in data-generating industries with regard to analytical capabilities before conducting further more detailed analyses.
- The flash concept : a new way of doing businessPublication . Carmona, Mafalda Lima Carneiro; Guedes, Nuno Manuel de MagalhãesOver the past few years, the mature retail industry has undergone several changes in sequence of both the adverse economic context and the increasing popularity of e-commerce amongst consumers. Sonae Sierra, one of the largest players in the Portuguese market, has been able to manage these changes while sustaining its long-standing reputation and profitability since its foundation in 1989. It owns 46 shopping centres in 4 different markets - Europe, South America, Africa and Asia – and has 7 projects under development. Despite the slightly uncertain economic context, Sonae Sierra managed to keep its occupancy rates constant by introducing a new concept on its portfolio – the Flash Stores. Moved by the success of this initiative, the company is currently analysing how to develop the concept further in order to continue to attract new and innovative brands to its malls’ tenant mix. In this dissertation, the creation and implementation of the Flash Store concept is analysed and a reflection about its future is offered. In both the Case Study and the Teaching Note, it is suggested that this new concept may not only help the company in attracting new brands, but also constitute an ally to manage the challenging e-commerce trend. In the Literature Review, theoretical concepts relevant for the Case Study are presented as a ground for the analysis in the Teaching Note.
- «Viver juntos», à luz da aliança de Deus com a humanidade : uma perspetiva de planificação da unidade letiva 1 do 5º ano de EMRCPublication . Vieira, Eva Cristina da Silva; Palma, Alexandre Coutinho Lopes de Brito; Carvalho, Cristina Sá
- The impact of standalone restaurants in hotels : the case of Tivoli Hotels & ResortsPublication . Lima, Luís Miguel Figueiredo de; Lino, Rute Sofia Barbosa XavierOnce considered as a minor component of the hotel’s business, hotel restaurants are regaining momentum, and gradually overcoming the widespread negative stigma associated with them. Through the development of popular standalone hotel restaurants, hotels aim at improving their attractiveness, and at drawing not only hotel guests, but also external visitors. Still, the creation of popular restaurants internally detracts the hotel from its core business of selling rooms, and requires certain competences that not all hotels possess. Therefore, many hotels resort to contractual arrangements with specialized external restaurant operators. With an emphasis on Tivoli group, this dissertation aims at comprehending the impact of independent restaurants in hotels, and to understand what the critical factors for its success are. The research is mainly qualitative in nature, with interviews, market research and internal financial reports used to reach conclusions. The findings suggest that the role of the hotel restaurant is evolving, and that the integration of standalone restaurants in hotels engenders benefits that go well beyond simple financial gains, as it also leverages the hotel’s image and value. However, the development and maintenance of an independent hotel restaurant is more costly than a conventional hotel restaurant, and it’s only rational when a set of critical factors is met. The conclusions underline that while the implementation of independent hotel restaurants may be considered as a solution to turnaround underperforming units and as a source of competitive advantage, each case is unique, and a complete cost-benefit analysis is necessary before taking the decision to invest.
- Designing a coalition loyalty program for traditional retailPublication . Ferreira, Beatriz Nieves; Lino, Rute Sofia Barbosa XavierThis dissertation describes a plan to create a dynamic around traditional points of sale, or street shops, which, in some locations, are going through difficulties. A Multi-Vendor Loyalty program was designed taking into consideration the region of Cascais (Portugal). Nevertheless, such program can be replicated to other locations. Customers earn points from every transaction made within the participant partner stores and accumulate them in a single account. Those points are redeemed for prizes on a third-party ran online platform. Partner stores gain from the effects of customer loyalty in a network organized scheme. There are already loyalty programs that function in partnership of a portfolio of brands, but, at the level of urban retail I haven’t found any. Hence, this is an innovative solution that intends to counter the trend of increasing amounts of time and money spent in modern retail formats. Customer and retailer interviews, meetings and benchmarking were used in this study. The customer survey results show the trend for shopping at modern retail formats. The majority claims to be willing to consider using traditional retail more often if there were a loyalty coalition. The retailer survey shows that loyal customers are important for the business, which is positive because loyalty should be built upon an existing customer base. The majority says they would be willing to consider becoming partners of a Multi-Vendor Loyalty Program. This paper comprises an extensive literature review, mainly about loyalty programs, followed by the presentation of results, upon which the MVLP was designed.
- Santini : a scoop of expansionPublication . Ferreira, Joana Mafalda Tavares; Guedes, Nuno Manuel de MagalhãesSantini has been a very well-¬‐known artisanal brand of ice-¬‐cream, famous for the quality of its products, based on a secret recipe. In 2009, the family ice-¬‐cream company, Santini decided to open its capital to external investment. This started a new phase in the life of the company that allowed it to open new stores and a new protection plant. This dissertation provides a case study of this small Portuguese company which main objective is to keep its expansion process without damaging its brand image and its differentiation positioning. The Master Thesis also presents a Literature Review that seeks to provide theoretical tools for further analysis of the case. The Teaching Note includes an analysis of the case; it’s in this section that conclusions are drawn and the recommendations are suggested regarding the strategy that should be followed by the firm.
- Fotografia vernacular : do quotidiano da família para a arte contemporâneaPublication . Marques, Maria Margarida Cardoso de Sá; Feray, Jenny Helene DeniseA fotografia contemporânea vive da analogia entre a prática e a teoria e, é na fotografia vernacular, que esta relação tem o seu exponente. O estudo Fotografia Vernacular: do quotidiano da família para a arte contemporânea pretende investigar de que forma a familia é objecto central da fotografia vernacular e como esta pode encontrar o seu lugar na arte contemporânea. Esta investigação, apoiada no desenvolvimento prático e artístico de um projeto fotográfico, pretende indagar a relação da família com a arte, tendo como ponto de partida a snapshot. Para tal, é analisada a história da fotografia vernacular, atendendo não só aos aspectos teóricos e artísticos, mas também aos sociológicos. Aqui, são indagadas as relações familiares e o impacto que a fotografia tem sobre as mesmas. O álbum, como elemento relíquia e a fotografia como catalisador da memória são pontos curiosos quanto à relação que estabelecemos com a própria imagem e com o carácter temporal da mesma. Neste âmbito erguem-se diferentes perspectivas, sendo destacado o contributo determinante de Geoffrey Batchen, que luta ativamente para integrar a fotografia vernacular no seio da arte. As contribuições artísticas dos fotógrafos Joachim Schmid, Rosângela Rennó e Duarte Amaral Netto, são também referências relevantes nesta dissertação, sendo as suas atuações, cruciais para a atualmente percepção da fotografia vernacular e da dualidade público/privado que a mesma transporta. Como é que algo realizado e pensado na e para a esfera privada, pode tornar-se público? O projecto artístico De ti herdei o nome surge da reflexão e do questionamento desta investigação e visa propor, no contexto da arte, novas formas de ver e utilizar a fotografia vernacular, tendo como ponto de partida a família do autor desta dissertação.