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Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2020-01-30"

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  • The effects of Hyperloop on the long-range personal and freight transportation industry in Europe
    Publication . Alves, Filipe Coelho; Pinho, André de Almeida
    The transportation industry has experience little disruptive technologies since the introduction of airplane, over 100 years ago. Nevertheless, the sector is of extreme importance in connecting people and businesses together. Hyperloop technology brings the promise of a new, faster and cleaner mode of transport that could disrupt current transportation modes. To understand the potential effects of the disruptive technology, the author analyses the current long-range freight and personal transportation industry, the modes and its characteristics and the competition between them. Hyperloop has more potential to affect the personal segment, and particularly airlines. On the freight side, the impact will be confined to the road and air modes of transport, and its degree will be lower. Once the technology is fully operational, airlines should focus on intercontinental routes where air transportation is the only mode available. LCC, relying solely on continental routes, will have difficulties in making the transition and many will leave the market. FSA and LCC will engage in M&A for operational efficiency and enlargement of hub-and-spoke networks. Air freight carriers rely mostly in intercontinental routes and should not experience a business model change. Road transportation is increasingly focusing on the “last-mile” of transportation services and may benefit from decongestion of roads caused by a shift to Hyperloop in the long-range freight transportation in Europe. Environmental impact of mode shift is considerable and is mostly caused by a shift in domestic and continental routes from air to Hyperloop transportation.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Open access Show more
  • Factors affecting an effective communication strategy for Fnac´s new venture : Nature & Decouvertes : in Portugal
    Publication . Marakis, Michael Fábio; Lino, Rute Sofia Barbosa Xavier
    The need to keep up with the demand, to adapt to new market trends and to continuously innovate product line has led Fnac to acquire Nature & Decouvertes. Focused on the expansion of product diversity of the company, arised simultaneously the desire to enter new markets such as Portugal. The purpose of this study was to understand the potential market of N&D in Portugal, the leading consumer trends, the main players, what factors affect the willingness to purchase and how can N&D communicate itself in Portugal. The present dissertation encompassed the review of literature, secondary data research, as well as consumer data collected from an online survey. It considered characteristics from the literature and later adapted by the author, that influenced the willingness to purchase from N&D. The results revealed that consumer trends and the concept of N&D were aligned. The findings from the regressions conducted indicate that the characteristics environmental values, purchase habits, attribution preferences, brand awareness and loyalty card all have a contribution to the willingness to purchase from N&D. Moreover, the feelings and attributes combined the characteristics that contribute to the willingness to pay through the leading platforms used by the respondents, allowed further conclusions regarding the communication strategy.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • The development of a performance measurement model for CMVM
    Publication . Silva, Nuno Maria Cruz Martins Pires da; Lino, Rute Sofia Barbosa Xavier
    Organizational performance is nowadays considered as a critical subject for the researchers that profoundly explore the management world. Several studies suggest that align entities’ strategic objectives with specific measures, targets and initiatives can be crucial to institutions’ success. Even more, considering that the current business market conditions force organizations to become maximum efficient in order to survive and prevail. Therefore, a performance measurement model seems as a major strategic asset to every organization that is seeking for success. Hence, the problematic consists in finding the best way to construct the ideal system. There are several well-recognized management models in the literature, however probably none is prepared to completely reach what an entity needs without a proper personalized adaptation. This thesis describes a consulting project with CMVM, the Portuguese financial authority, that consisted in the development of a performance measurement model. Being not a conventional profit maker company, CMVM presented stimulating challenges throughout this work, that hopefully resulted in an even more interesting document for the ones concerned with performance measurement. This paper reflects the development of a personalized to CMVM model, adapted from the Balanced Scorecard, created by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. Based on Leadership and Constancy of Purpose, it is divided in three perspectives, Customer, Internal Processes and Communication and respective indicators defined to be the measure for CMVM performance.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • Influência da dieta isenta de glúten na composição corporal dos doentes celíacos em idade pediátrica
    Publication . Rodrigues, Raquel Carneiro; Vasconcelos, Carla Alexandra da Costa e
    Introdução: A Doença Celíaca (DC) é uma doença inflamatória crónica e autoimune, caracterizada pela intolerância permanente ao glúten em indivíduos geneticamente suscetíveis. A etiologia da DC é multifatorial, com uma forte interação entre fatores genéticos, nomeadamente o Antigénio Leucocitário Humano da Classe 2 (HLA-DQ2), imunológicos e ambientais. O diagnóstico da DC baseia-se na avaliação clínica laboratorial (marcadores serológicos) e na realização de uma biópsia (marcadores histológicos). Atualmente o tratamento para a DC baseia-se numa Dieta Isenta de Glúten (DIG) durante toda a vida. A ingestão de alimentos com glúten provoca uma inflamação da mucosa intestinal nomeadamente atrofia das vilosidades intestinais, com consequente diminuição da superfície de absorção e de enzimas necessárias à absorção, e hiperplasia compensatória das criptas de Lieberkϋhn. Com a absorção diminuída, várias carências nutricionais podem ocorrer, entre elas, a deficiência de vitaminas D, E, B12, ferro, cálcio e zinco. Apesar da simplicidade de transformar uma dieta com glúten numa DIG, o desenvolvimento de produtos sem glúten pela indústria tem sido questionado no que respeita à adequação nutricional destes e do seu impacto, quando incluído na alimentação diária de um doente celíaco, nos parâmetros antropométricos e, consequentemente, no estado de saúde deste. O objetivo do estudo é a avaliação da ingestão alimentar e nutricional de crianças e adolescentes sob DIG, com diagnóstico de DC e relacioná-la com parâmetros antropométricos, nomeadamente: Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC), massa gorda e massa livre de gordura. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo prospetivo na Consulta Externa de Pediatria do Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João (CHUSJ), com 45 doentes celíacos em idade pediátrica que mantém uma DIG. Os parâmetros antropométricos foram avaliados com recurso à impedância bioelétrica e a ingestão alimentar foi avaliada com a recolha de questionários alimentares. Foi aplicado o questionário alimentar das 24h anteriores durante a realização da consulta externa de nutrição, e o diário alimentar de três dias consecutivos foi realizado pelos próprios doentes, e, posteriormente enviado por e-mail. Seguidamente, os dados obtidos nos questionários foram analisados no software Nutrium, e posteriormente tratados com recurso ao programa estatístico IBM SPSS ® (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, SPSS Inc, Chicago), versão 22.0, de modo a compreender o impacto da DIG na composição corporal dos doentes celíacos. Resultados: A amostra foi constituída por 45 doentes em idade pediátrica de várias faixas etárias e contou, maioritariamente, com doentes do género feminino. Todos os doentes praticavam uma DIG, observando-se que os resultados obtidos nos questionários, nomeadamente os valores de macronutrientes foram de encontro com os valores da European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Relativamente aos valores obtidos de micronutrientes, observou-se que se encontram, maioritariamente abaixo das recomendações das Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRI). .Alguns doentes provavelmente consomem de forma esporádica alimentos com glúten, ou omitiram o seu consumo aquando da realização dos questionários alimentares das 24h anteriores ou do preenchimento dos diários alimentares dos 3 dias consecutivos.Considerações finais: Na amostra estudada, a ingestão alimentar é adequada e ajustada às recomendações alimentares. No entanto, contou-se com a participação de um número reduzido de doentes pelo que se deveria aumentar o tamanho amostral e avaliar a composição dos doentes por um período mais longo.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • Can we seduce customers to buy private label products by using irrelevant attributes?
    Publication . Rebolo, João Pedro Matias; Braga, João Pedro Niza Jacinto
    Private Label brands (often referred to as low-cost options) are the strategy retailers found to offer quality products at affordable prices, allowing families to fulfil their needs and better manage their monthly disposable income. However, these brands tend to suffer from lack of identity, poor perception of quality and scepticism, which often disappear after people start consuming the products. This dissertation aims to test to which extent the presence of Irrelevant Attributes effectively contributes to reducing perceived quality deficits through the creation or enhancement of brands’ personality traits. By strengthening their identities, brands can turn consumers’ identification with the brand easier, which positively impacts their perceived value, expected hedonic experience, purchase intentions and willingness-to-pay. Although some authors claim that the presence of Irrelevant Attributes is understood by consumers as a mechanism that brands use to compensate for the underperforming attributes (as found in National brands), Private Labels may benefit from using this tool to outperform in competitive markets like Food Retail or FMCG, where players are fierce and fight incessantly. This research’s results reveal that the presence of Irrelevant Attributes allows brands to enhance their personality and differentiate themselves from its competitors. Nevertheless, they also show that perceived value and purchase intentions do not increase significantly, unlike the willingness to pay, which increases when Irrelevant Attributes are present. The presence of Irrelevant Attributes in National brands tends to weaken them, which reinforces their importance to Private Label brands as a point of differentiation.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Open access Show more
  • Playing against the rules : how a digital strategy can enhance a luxury business : the case of Burberry
    Publication . Silvano, Maria da Costa Lima Figueiras; Saraiva, Gonçalo de Oliveira Vieira Dinis
    This dissertation studies the case of Burberry: a luxury brand that saw its reputation deteriorate due to some decisions that were made as to carry out a global expansion that went against some of the fundamentals of a luxury business model. Although profitable, the brand diluted its value, and its image as a luxury brand was highly compromised. Burberry has managed to turn around by playing, once again, “against the rules” of luxury. Although many academics and other luxury brands saw digital as an anathema to luxury, Angela Ahrendts, Burberry’s CEO from 2006 to 2014, was able to see its potential as a strategic tool to spread brand content and create symbolic value, while targeting a new generation: the millennials. This time, the “dreaded” tool was used in service of luxury’s fundamentals. The main goal in this study is to understand that, although digital’s essence is the opposite to luxury’s, a digital strategy can coexist with a luxury one, as long as the former respects the fundamentals of the latter. Therefore, it is important to deeply understand the concepts and fundamentals of a luxury business model and what may happen if they are not respected. The theoretical perspectives on this matter are extensively discussed in this paper in order to understand how a digital strategy can leverage a luxury brand’s performance.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Open access Show more
  • The effects of falling energy storage costs on the european energy sector until 2030
    Publication . Kastrup, Anina Eva; Pinho, André de Almeida
    In the presence of the current development that the energy sector undergoes a transition towards greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality, renewable energy and new technologies are advancing. Electrical energy storage (EES) is implemented to reduce decoupled energy supply and demand that arose geographically and temporally through the intermittent increasing shares of renewable energy supply and decentralization of production besides the fluctuating demand patterns. This paper presents a techno-economic perspective of EES implemented at European level and its evolvement until 2030. Three scenarios are constructed to model the explicit implementations of EES drawing on falling Levelized costs of storage (LCOS). The derived impacts on conventional and renewable generation, transmission and distribution operation as well as consumption are examined. Further, the dependence on technological factors, regulators and market storage owners are depicted. In order to gain a better perspective, this paper provides a quantitative analysis along with a qualitative estimation for the potential of LCOS in relation to EES deployment. With business models adopting newly viable applications, shifts within the industry change relations between stakeholders and new dynamics induced by EES promote the energy transition.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • The turnaround story of Continental Airlines : revolutionizing customer service
    Publication . Kahyaoglu, Aydin; Saraiva, Gonçalo de Oliveira Vieira Dinis
    In the early 1990’s Continental Airlines was financially in trouble and was known for its poor customer service. In 1994, Gordon Bethune became the CEO of the company and he introduced the ‘’ Go Forward Plan’’. A year after the plan was introduced, company regained its profitability and in two years it started to be ranked top among U.S. airlines in key customer service metrics. Through conducting literature review and analyzing the turnaround story of Continental Airlines, this thesis strives to understand how a company operating in the service industry can transform successfully to overcome years of lasting bad reputation. Paper shows the relevancy of gaps model of service quality in transforming service quality and organizational reputation while indicating the importance of transformational leadership for a successful organizational change. Paper serves as a teaching material for academic instructors. Students will be able to understand and apply gaps model of service quality framework and transformational leadership theory to real life business situations after analyzing Continental’s turnaround story as suggested.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • Unibanco : analysis on the credit products’ consumers and competitors in Portugal
    Publication . Fonseca, Mónica Figueiras; Lino, Rute Sofia Barbosa Xavier
    As credit consumers are getting more informed and more demanding, it is of paramount importance for institutions to provide more reliable and complete offers that meet their needs. This has potentiated the uprising of other institutions such as fintechs that disrupted the credit offer and challenged Organizations to be more competitive. Facing this phenomenon, Unibanco has identified the need to analyze the credit demand and identify further and continuous improvement opportunities to maintain current and loyal consumers but also to attract further ones. As such, the scope of this research is to analyze the factors which influence the demand for credit in Portugal, the trends and competitors, and to propose recommendations that potentiate Unibanco’s competitiveness.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Restricted access Show more
  • The hedonic stigma : how the consumer’s memory seeks shelter from hedonism in utilitarianism
    Publication . Rolo, Agenor Bonito de Andrade Ranhada; Braga, João Pedro Niza Jacinto
    The distinction between hedonic and utilitarian consumption has been thoroughly studied from varying perspectives, each offering a clearer vision of this difference. In accordance with its cultural connotation it is relatively consensual that hedonism is associated with feelings of guilt and need for justification. Separately, the complex nature of memory along with its underlying mechanisms is subject to distortion. This happens, for example, because of the impact of gist retrieval or belief harmonization. Ultimately, people may believe in whatever they want to believe by adjusting their previously acquired beliefs and perceptions of the world. This research focuses on the linkage between memory distortion and the implications of utilitarian and hedonic consumer behavior. It is argued that negative feelings stemming from hedonic consumption will stimulate the formation of false memories that protect the self-image of the consumer. This should be more evident for people who are more prone to self-serving biases. To investigate the hypothesis a survey was conducted, in which participants were presented with a product they had theoretically acquired, using attributes with hedonic and utilitarian variations. To assess memory, participants were then faced with several manipulated attributes and asked which ones had been learned. The results showed that there is indeed an impact of hedonism in memory distortion: in the case of new attributes, utilitarian ones were more easily recorded than the hedonic. This demonstrated that people are more susceptible to adhering to new and false memories when they are less self-threatening.
    2020-01-30Master thesis Open access Show more