Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2021-04-28"
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- De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine : pensar e acreditar depois de AuschwitzPublication . Gonçalves, João Diogo Silva; Martins, António Manuel AlvesHodiernamente, o termo «Auschwitz» significa imensamente mais do que apenas o nome de um lugar. O maior campo de extermínio construído pelos nazis passou a ser o símbolo da dor, da angústia e da morte de milhões de pessoas. Sob o totalitarismo bárbaro de Adolph Hitler, os fornos crematórios incineravam, ininterruptamente, uma geração inteira não só de judeus, mas de todos aqueles que não fossem considerados dignos pelo regime do III Reich. Nesta dissertação são recolhidas interpelações postas por algumas das vítimas do Holocausto, relacionando-as com a reflexão teológica que surgiu depois desse período obscuro da História humana. A teologia, perante acontecimento tão hediondo, teve de reconsiderar os paradigmas que sustentavam a sua arquitectura, a fim de dar maior atenção ao aparente silêncio Deus diante do mal e do sofrimento humano. Esta nova forma de o saber teológico abordar o sofrimento, consagrou uma nova época para a reflexão, pois apercebeu-se que era urgente uma teologia «depois de Auschwitz».
- How does uncertainty affect stock markets?Publication . Matos, João Pedro Calvo; Fidalgo, Eva SchliephakeThe research tries to assess the impact of the measurement uncertainty in the different countries and corresponding categories aggregations created on the respective stock market price movements. For this analysis, I have constructed an uncertainty index for 36 OECD countries based on the frequency of internet searches – 100 different key expressions selected and translated for each country's native language that capture a broad range of topics between January of 2005 and December of 2020. The created index spikes both in international and country-specific historical events. The findings also suggest that, in general, the created index has predictive capabilities on share price movements, notably during periods of generalized fear and uncertainty across countries. Overall, the proposed models present results that better explain the share price movements in emerging economies than in advanced ones.
- How can luxury automakers succeed in the Portuguese electric automotive market?Publication . Pinto, Miguel Videira; Leglise, LaureThroughout the last few years, electric mobility has become one of the core investments of automakers worldwide, either as a consequence of innovation in the automotive industry, or due to the ever-growing environmental regulations imposed by national governments to reduce CO2 emissions. Electric mobility will shape the future of the automobile and companies must adapt to this evolution. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to understand how luxury automakers can succeed in the Portuguese electric automotive market. To answer this research question, we conducted a comparative case-study on Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Porsche. Findings suggested that the luxury automakers studied implement different strategies: the development of higher range capability, investment in a private charging infrastructure through the development of partnerships and the use of the highly educated electric vehicle client.
- The power of stories : luxury brand communication on social mediaPublication . Andrade, Anna Carolina Forssblad Rebello de; Leglise, LaureThe purpose of this study is to explore how luxury brands portray their values through storytelling on social media. A qualitative study was conducted due to the exploratory nature of this study using a multiple case study. Moreover, both primary and secondary data was collected. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with three luxury brands and thereafter with potential consumers. The findings identified four ways luxury brands portray their values through the role of brand storytelling on social media: (1) guaranteeing consistency (2) maintaining authenticity (3) remaining aspirational (4) engaging and educating. The research adds to existing literature in the luxury sector and brand communication
- Sustainability labels as heuristic cues for clothing consumptionPublication . Wallin, Måns Erik Henry; Braga, João Pedro Niza JacintoThis thesis strives to understand if usage of sustainability labels (Fair-trade labels) acts as heuristic cues for consumers when they are purchasing clothes, and if the sustainability labels also make people infer other things about the piece of clothing based on the sustainability label. This thesis explores the hypotheses by conducting an experiment (survey) with t-shirts as the material, that is manipulated between two conditions, high and low involvement, to see if participants, when processing the information about the t-shirts, are more inclined to use the label as a cue to make a decision, and if the participants are more likely to use the label in the low or high involvement condition. The t-shirts also come with either a positive or negative product description that portrayed the t-shirts sustainable/non-sustainable aspects. 106 evaluations are collected between the two conditions, and then analysed based on dual-process theories. The result from the study shows that t-shirts with sustainability labels are always preferred over t-shirts without labels, and labels are used by participants to make other inferences about the t-shirts: t-shirts with labels are perceived as superior over t-shirts without label, and that involvement only affected participants when there was no label present. The t-shirts with a positive product description are always ranked higher than those with a negative product description.
- How does the recycled material source of packaging impacts customer´s purchase intention : the effects of brand image and consumer environmental awarenessPublication . Guilhoto, Patrícia Alexandra Pereira; Fernandes, Daniel Von Der HeydeConsumers are growing their environmental concern, and companies should fulfil their expectations and needs. Nowadays, one million plastic bottles are purchased per minute, and regulations are being created to decrease plastic use. Therefore, this dissertation aims to understand the impact that the Package's material has on the consumer’s purchase intention. For that, a packaging stimulus was used (no symbol packaging Vs Package made by recycled plastic Vs package made by ocean plastic). The concept model also includes a mediator – brand image – and a moderator – consumers’ environmental awareness – that may affect the dependent variable. An online survey was conducted that exposed respondents to the packages stimulus of liquid soap. The results obtained indicate that sustainable packages impact the purchase intention of the consumer. However, recycled plastic packages have a more positive impact on purchase intentions than packages made by ocean plastic. Afterwards, sustainable packages have also a positive effect on brand image. However, in this analysis the results of the consumer’s environmental awareness variable were not verified.
- Voice user interfaces : a consumer behavior perspective in the perception and intention to adopt smart speakers in German householdsPublication . Koffler, Viola; Fernandes, Daniel Von Der HeydeVoice user interfaces have become increasingly popular, and many consumer-level products containing this technology have been launched to the market. One of these products is the smart speaker, which shows high potential for consumer adoption. Companies will be interested in entering this lucrative market, simplifying people’s life and making the smart speaker a mainstream product. However, not many studies focus on the consumer behavior perspective. This dissertation aims to explore factors that influence the perception and intention to use smart speakers in German households, by proposing and analyzing an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). Data includes secondary data as well as primary data, from qualitative and quantitative analysis. The result showed that the factors attitude, household size for users and non-users and perceived usefulness, social influence and interest in innovation influences the intention to use smart speaker, whereas the perception and attitude is influenced by perceived usefulness (PU) and privacy concerns. Following these study results, companies should try to optimize the features of smart speaker to guarantee a higher perceived usefulness, tackle privacy concerns and investing in right targeted consumer group marketing campaigns. This study gives a solid basis for further research in the field of voice user interfaces and gives managerial implications for companies.
- The future of the air travel industry : the concept of door-to-door luggage delivery servicePublication . Ceregeiro, Manuel Maria Simões de Almeida de Sousa; Fernandes, Daniel Von Der HeydeAncillary services are becoming a growing and relevant trend in the air travel industry. Airlines have been realizing the benefits and potential these unbundled services provide to the overall results of the firm, a tendency that is mainly obtainable through the use of digital technologies and platforms. The current outdated operations and inefficient processes are not equipped to meet the rising year-on-year passenger traffic, and the recent tech-savvy traveler is increasingly demanding for low fares and pleasant experiences, so it is essential for the industry to adopt new solutions that reduce travel time and improve the overall traveling journey. The present study aims to understand the drivers and barriers that motivate or prevent travelers from using a conceptual door-to-door luggage delivery service and obtain an innermost knowledge about the preferences of the Portuguese consumers. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research data was conducted to evaluate the perceptions of the Portuguese market, and results suggest that consumers believe there is a need for innovation in the air travel industry, and the service achieved a rather favorable feedback from the consumers, despite the low familiarity with the concept of luggage delivery services. Additionally, the Portuguese consumers particularly value the Safety and Trust attributes when it comes to traveling, trademarks that need to be assured when implementing the concept.
- Quantifying the variance risk premium : an analysis of the dynamics of swapping realized versus risk-neutral implied variancePublication . Deakin, Rafael Adrian; Fidalgo, Eva SchliephakeVariance risk premia are computed based on the VIX methodology for four stock indices and five single stocks over two different time periods. The findings show that times of market uncertainty as observed in 2008/09 and 2020 affect variance swap returns significantly and decrease the profitability of short positions in variance swaps. Adjusting the time series through the exclusion of 2020, variance risk premia become more negative and significant, implying that investors accept paying a premium for market insurance. This study reveals that the CAPM and the 3-factor model (Fama and French 1993) cannot sufficiently explain variance risk premia.
- Financial distress prediction : the application of machine learning-based algorithms on portuguese small and medium enterprisesPublication . Sarrasqueiro, Bernardo Pedrosa Afonso; Reis, Ricardo César Ribeiro Ventura FerreiraFinancial distress prediction is an issue of great importance to several financial institutions and companies’ stakeholders. Detecting the early signs of it allows for corrective measures, reducing bankruptcies. This study examines the predictive power of 6 models, establishing a comparison between machine learning (ML) based models and others like Logistic Regression and Linear Discriminant Analysis. There are two main issues that this study strives to confront. The first one is to test if, in the context of Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises, ML models' use in determent of others proves to be true. The second is to add to recent literature in testing novel statistical approaches to the classification problem by comparing different ensemble techniques. The results show that the Stacking Classifier outperforms both non-ML models but also other ensemble techniques. The results prove that ML models outperform non-ML methods and that Stacking is the best ensemble technique of the three presented in this study. For Portuguese stakeholders and financial institutions, the models presented in this study serve as proof of concept that it’s possible to reliably predict financial distress by implementing these techniques.