Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2019-07-03"
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- Innovation in German SMEs and the influence of digitization : evidence from firm level dataPublication . Renz, Mathias Kurt; Peukert, ChristianIn Germany, there is evidence of a widening innovation gap between smaller and larger firms. The number of firms innovating decreases as mostly smaller firms are quicker to refrain from innovation efforts. Digitization is believed to be an enabler of innovation, yet smaller firms appear especially reluctant to implement digital tools into their operations. This study investigates the relationships of firm size, firm age, and digital technology with innovation. The results demonstrate that larger and younger firms are more likely to create product innovations. Digitization is, as expected, an innovation lever enabling more digital firms to more product and process innovations. Additionally, a higher degree of digitization has a positive moderating effect on process innovations in larger firms. The results are based off thousands of German SMEs recorded in the Mannheim Innovation Panel, a representative dataset for the German economy. The applied methodology is regression analysis, i.e. multivariate linear regression as well as fixed effects estimation models. This study highlights the importance of digital technology in an innovation economy context as it could potentially narrow the innovation gap between smaller and larger firms. Therefore, managers should acknowledge and embrace the innovation potential provided by digital technology. Policymakers should incentivize higher levels of digitization, especially for smaller firms, and provide access to training offers on an individual level for older employees, who oftentimes feel inept to work with digital tools.
- Inteligência artificial no local de trabalho : dimensões da sua intervençãoPublication . Francisco, Inês Almeida; Andrade, António Manuel Valente deO objetivo global deste estudo consiste em perceber que visão têm as pessoas sobre a Inteligência Artificial (IA), o patamar onde se encontra e ainda que consequências futuras pensam que esta tecnologia terá, principalmente no que diz respeito ao seu impacto no local de trabalho. O tema tem vindo a conquistar espaço em diferentes ambientes de discussão e, como tal, várias questões são levantadas, debatidas e aprofundadas para melhor compreensão desta tecnologia e das suas implicações presentes e futuras. Embora existam várias definições associadas ao conceito de IA, são muitas as que estão de acordo quanto à capacidade que as máquinas têm de resolver problemas tal como os humanos o fariam – através das suas capacidades cognitivas. Uma forma de fundamentar o crescente interesse por esta tecnologia são os inúmeros estudos das consultoras e as publicações existentes nas diversas áreas/setores: desde a saúde, finanças, recursos humanos, retalho, manufaturação ou até o setor legal. De forma a dar seguimento ao objetivo proposto, foi realizado um estudo exploratório que utilizou como instrumento de recolha de dados um inquérito por questionário que foi respondido por 269 indivíduos. A informação armazenada relativa aos mesmos foi posteriormente analisada através de métodos estatísticos. Os resultados revelam que são poucos os cidadãos que não se sentem ameaçados pela inclusão da IA no local de trabalho: existe um receio que as tarefas desempenhadas por humanos sejam substituídas por robôs. Apesar disso, revelam-se otimistas quanto à possível existência de uma simbiose entre homens e máquinas no exercício de atividades laborais.
- EDP case study : how to initiate and organize digital transformationPublication . Ydstebø, André; Costa, João António da Cruz Ribeiro daWith the rise of a digital economy, Weill and Woerner (2015b) found that Digital disruption threatens 46% of revenues within the next 5 years for firms with a revenue greater than 7B $, motivating enterprises across industries to renew their business models and the organizations´ DNA to thrive in the future. In my thesis, I have chosen to develop a teaching case which intends to illustrate how a traditional company can initiate and organize Digital Transformation as a starting point to successfully transform itself to succeed in the digital era. I have selected the company EDP Energias de Portugal for this matter. The case presents how Energias de Portugal initiated Digital Transformation, enabling the students to analyze and find insights from their approach, the challenges that occurred, and the concerns behind the major decisions required. From interviewing key-persons behind EDP´s Digital Transformation efforts, it was emphasized that people-related challenges were the main hindrance, and that communication and involvement played a vital role to drive cultural changes, acquire digital talent, and gain support for the initiates.
- Melhoria de processos em gestão de stocksPublication . Constantino, Beatriz Rocha; Ribeiro, Rita Moura Bastos de AlmeidaPressionadas por um mercado cada vez mais competitivo e globalizado, as organizações procuram progressivamente obter vantagem competitiva não pelo preço, que é facilmente imitável, mas por um serviço ou produto de qualidade que acrescente valor ao cliente. Excelência na qualidade pode ser atingida através da melhoria continua dos processos de uma empresa. No centro logístico da Alliance Healthcare (AH) no Porto identificaram-se atividades e processos com uma performance desajustada ao objetivo de qualidade de excelência da organização. Assim, procurou-se perceber de que forma a metodologia Lean pode contribuir para a melhoria dos processos logísticos nas organizações. Durante este caso de estudo foram identificados os problemas que passo a enumerar: a ineficiência do carregamento de canais e o consequente número elevado de canais vazios, o processo de localização de produtos ineficaz, a inexistência da categorização dos mesmos e a sua influencia na taxa de automatização, atualmente desajustada ao objetivo da organização e o elevado número de erros nomeadamente no processo de aviamento dos autómatos principais (SDA e TDA) e o semi-autómato (MPS). Estas atividades e processos foram analisados tendo como base principal os conceitos da metodologia Lean e a filosofia Kaizen amplamente desenvolvidas na revisão de literatura. Na análise dos problemas utilizaram-se ainda métodos qualitativos (entrevistas e conversas informais), métodos quantitativos (análise de dados) e ferramentas de melhoria continua (5S, 5 porquês, Diagrama de Ishikawa, Ciclo PDCA, Diagrama A3) como meios para sugerir e implementar ações corretivas e ultimamente, melhorar a performance destas e a qualidade do serviço prestado pela organização. Através da implementação das metodologias referidas anteriormente aos processos e atividades foi possível, em alguns dos problemas identificados, comprovar que os conceitos e ferramentas Lean e Kaizen quando aplicados melhoram efetivamente a operação.
- Fatores que influenciam a adoção de políticas de endividamento zero : análise das empresas cotadas do Reino UnidoPublication . Boiça, Filipe Almeida; Ribeiro, Ricardo Miguel Martins da Costa; Novais, JoãoNos últimos anos, as empresas que optam por uma política de endividamento zero têm aumentado ao longo do mundo. O presente trabalho analisa o facto de muitas empresas deterem um peso de endividamento zero, comportamento que não vai ao encontro dos modelos financeiros da literatura sobre estrutura de capital (Strebulaev e Yang, 2007). Atualmente, os desenvolvimentos neste tema ainda são poucos e não apresentam conclusões consistentes e claras uma vez que apenas consideram uma ou duas motivações para as empresas optarem por este tipo de comportamento. Por forma a ultrapassar as limitações existentes, este trabalho aborda três motivações: a ausência de necessidades de financiamento externo; as restrições financeiras; e a flexibilidade financeira para as empresas cotadas do Reino Unido, no período temporal de 2008 a 2016, considerando o endividamento total, o endividamento de curto-prazo e o endividamento de médio e longo-prazo. Adicionalmente, incluiu-se ainda os determinantes dimensão, tangibilidade, rendibilidade, benefícios fiscais não financeiros, crescimento e risco (Titman e Wessels, 1988; Rajan e Zingales, 1995). Os resultados obtidos sugerem que empresas com ausência de necessidades de financiamento externo incorrem com menor probabilidade em políticas de endividamento nulo, as restrições financeiras empresariais não têm impacto na probabilidade de as empresas optarem por uma política de endividamento nulo e empresas que procuram maior flexibilidade financeira têm maior probabilidade de optarem por uma política de endividamento nulo.
- The impact of sports on city branding : the case of Braga as European City of SportsPublication . Fernandez, Magna Patrícia Pinto; Machado, Joana Pinto Leite CésarThe purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of sports on city branding, in other words, to understand how cities use marketing strategies, such as hosting sports events, for brand positioning and gaining competitive advantage from other cities. In this study, we will observe these effects using the city of Braga as a case study, due to the fact that in 2018, it was nominated European City of Sports and in 2019, the best European City of Sports. The major findings were that sports events are cost-effective and flexible marketing tools which allow the city to reach different target groups and create brand awareness. The communication process was a challenge because the city had to target the fans of different modalities, who have different needs, however, the use of a segmented marketing strategy contributed to improve the experience of the different publics with the city. By hosting medium events, the city of Braga gained visibility and was able to effectively differentiate itself from other competitors. The residents were a key public for the success of the city’s sports events, as they acted as true brand ambassadors. They embraced the challenge and supported all the initiaves with pride. The relevance of the residents is in line with several studies, which suggest that if the citizens do not support the city’s marketing strategy, the whole strategy can be put into question.
- M&A transaction in the Portuguese cheese market : a case study about Queijos TavaresPublication . Silva, Tiago Pontes; Assunção, António Luís Traça Borges deManagers who run businesses make countless decisions on a daily basis, there are ones that are more important than others, deciding on acquire a competitor is not something they do every day. Mergers & Acquisitions have the objective to create value for the shareholders and that is what Queijos Tavares is looking forward to do in the case study in which this dissertation is based. In fact, this dissertation explores the possible deal in the Portuguese cheese industry between the largest traditional sheep cheese producer and one of its closest competitors. Queijos Tavares, a recently PE-backed company, has an opportunity to buy Ribeiro & Guimarães that has an Enterprise Value (DCF-Wacc) of €0.16 million, its shareholders reject to engage in negotiations at a price below €2 million. The key to complete this strategic acquisition is hidden in the significant synergies that this transaction brings to Queijos Tavares.
- Artificial Intelligence and its potential to reduce food waste in the Grocery Retail IndustryPublication . Müller, Christina Lisa; Saraiva, Gonçalo de Oliveira Vieira DinisWith one-third of globally produced food being lost or wasted, food waste poses one of the most pressing sustainability issues of our time. In the pursuit of reducing food waste, the retail sector is particularly important due to its strategic position as a gatekeeper to the food supply chain (FSC). Artificial Intelligence (AI), as the most prevalent technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has gained increasing attention as an enabler for sustainable development. Yet, research linking AI and waste management has remained scarce. The dissertation, therefore, aims to investigate the potential of AI for food waste reduction in the grocery retail industry. Through ten semi-structured, in-depth interviews with AI-solution providers, grocery retailers, and AI-experts, this work provides a holistic understanding of AI´s potential for food waste reduction along the grocery value chain. It is shown that AI can unlock three opportunities: Firstly, through AI-based demand forecasting to ensure that the optimal amount of products gets ordered, preventing food waste in the first place. Secondly, through AI-based dynamic pricing to efficiently sell-through products close to expiry, promoting products at optimal level and time. Lastly, through AI-Marketplaces to effectively redistribute surplus food, preserving consumable food. Building on these findings, the dissertation outlines a vision for grocery retailers on how to harness AI´s potential for effective waste management and further provides an implementation-guideline, ensuring to unlock the technology´s full potential.
- Do it yourself! : an analysis of the business opportunity of self-service technologies in the German retail industryPublication . Heinemann, Moritz Alexander; Saraiva, GonçaloThe implementation of self-service technologies is transforming the German retail environment. Yet, not all retailers are able to evaluate the business value of these technologies. This study synthesizes prior research to develop a conceptual framework that assesses the business opportunity of self-service technologies through the relationship between consumers’ technology readiness, their satisfaction with self-service technologies and the resulting behavioral intentions towards the respective retailers. The hypothesized framework was statistically significant supported, indicating that the technology readiness of consumers positively affects consumers’ satisfaction with self-service technologies, which in turn affects consumers’ behavioral intentions towards the respective retailers. Furthermore, it shows that technology readiness plays an important role of consumers’ willingness to use an innovative self-service retail store. Further findings are presented to discuss the business opportunity of self-service technologies in the German retail industry. The study provides managerial implications and concludes with suggestions for future research.
- Premium sports channels : the effect of local teams’ success and competition quality on subscriptionsPublication . Romero, Frederico Mengo de Abreu Hopffer; Reis, Filipa Rodrigues Peres RamosIn this study, several variables were tested related to sportive success, team and competition quality and its’ local impact on sports pay TV subscriptions. Together with other variables considered relevant in previous studies of media consumption and sports, it was used a fixed effects model to calculate the magnitude of each treatment. It was concluded that the variables representing success didn’t generate new subscriptions in the city the football club plays. In relation to the team and competition quality variables, it was concluded that the presence of a team of a small city in the first division was the variable with the biggest impact. Still, losing sports broadcasting rights was the variable with the biggest impact in the analysis which could represent a decrease of about 21.5% in the number of subscriptions.