How to turn innovative startups into successful businesses: The case of Techperks

The Internet of Things, also known by the acronym IoT, comprises all devices and objects that are enabled to be permanently connected to the Internet, being able to identify on the network and communicate with each other. This technology is incorporated into a variety of products that are available today and designed to make life easier for consumers. The result was the emergence of smart cities, connected factories, connected cars, and an enormous amount of many other applications. All of this is evidence of how the world is adapting to the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a hot topic in our days and many business models arise from this trend, in form of new technologies, products, and services. However, when it comes to business strategy and profitability, it is not only about having the best idea or the best product but how to market it in the best way and attract the right target. Techperks is a startup built with the objective of bringing new IoT products to Portugal. However, the concept was not innovative enough to succeed as predicted in the Portuguese market. This case aims to highlight the biggest reasons explaining the brand's low performance and serve as a guide of “mistakes to avoid when launching a new innovative business”. It can also be used to stimulate student’s creativity in developing strategies used by Techperks to exploit the brand's total potential. “How should I begin?”: this is the question which students will be able to answer.A Internet das Coisas, também conhecida pelo acrónimo IoT, compreende todos os dispositivos e objetos que se conectam permanentemente à Internet, e que comunicam entre si. Daí, surgiram cidades inteligentes, fábricas conectadas, carros conectados e um sem número de outras aplicações que nos trazem, todos os dias, novas funcionalidades. Este é um tópico muito relevante e muitos novos modelos de negócios surgem dessa nova tendência, sob forma de novas tecnologias, produtos e serviços. Espera-se que muitos provavelmente tenham sucesso, dado o crescimento desta nova era da tecnologia. No entanto, quando se trata de estratégia de negócios e lucro, não se trata apenas de ter a melhor ideia ou o melhor produto, mas também como comercializá-lo da melhor maneira e atrair o alvo mais atrativo. A startup Techperks foi criada com vista a trazer novos produtos de IoT para Portugal, através da sua revenda. No entanto, o conceito não foi inovador o suficiente para criar sucesso no mercado português e a startup não conseguiu instigar sua visão no mercado. Embora ainda em operação, a loja tem demonstrado resultados aquém das previsões. Este caso, tem como objetivo destacar os principais motivos que explicam o fraca performance da marca e servir como um guia para "os erros a serem evitados ao iniciar um novo negócio retalhista inovador". Além disso, pode ser utilizado para estimular a criatividade dos alunos no desenvolvimento de estratégias que poderiam ter sido usadas pela Techperks para evitar o insucesso e utilizar todo o potencial da marca

ARCH-COMP20 Category Report: Hybrid Systems with Piecewise Constant Dynamics and Bounded Model Checking

This report presents the results of a friendly competition for formal verification of continuous and hybrid systems with piecewise constant dynamics. The friendly competition took place as part of the workshop Applied Verification for Continuous and Hybrid Systems (ARCH) in 2020. In this fourth edition, five tools have been applied to solve six different benchmark problems in the category for piecewise constant dynamics: BACH, PHAVerLite, PHAVer/SX, TROPICAL, and XSpeed. Compared to last year, we combine the HBMC and HPWC categories of ARCH-COMP 2019 to a new category PCDB (hybrid systems with Piecewise Constant bounds on the Dynamics (HPCD) and Bounded model checking (BMC) of HPCD systems). The result is a snapshot of the current landscape of tools and the types of benchmarks they are particularly suited for. Due to the diversity of problems, we are not ranking tools, yet the presented results probably provide the most complete assessment of tools for the safety verification of continuous and hybrid systems with piecewise constant dynamics up to this date

Qualitative Methodologies as a Vehicle for Understanding the Emotional Process in Soccer Players

A descriptive-exploratory investigation with pre-experimental design tried to answer the question how sports performance in competition is influenced by emotions? Two assessing instruments were built – Questionário Emoção e Desempenho Desportivo (QEDD, study 1) and Sistema de Observação do Desempenho Desportivo - (SODD -1, study 3). Interviews were used to identify the emotions’ triggers and which sports performance factors were influenced by those emotions (study 2). Study 4 intended to answer the research question, with two football players. For both players different kinds of emotions were generated by the same trigger and by different triggers. For player 1, positive and negative emotions always had a functional effect in sports performance; for player 2, positive emotions had only a functional effect on sports performance, negative emotions had both effects in sports performance (functional and dysfunctional), and some of the studied emotions had no influence in sports performance.  Uma investigação descritivo-exploratória com desenho pré-experimental procurou responder à questão como é que o desempenho desportivo, em competição, é influenciado por emoções? Foram construídos 2 instrumentos de avaliação - (QEDD, estudo 1) e Sistema de Observação do Desempenho Desportivo - (SODD -1, estudo 3). Realizaram-se entrevistas para identificar os desencadeadores de emoções e quais os fatores de desempenho desportivo que foram influenciados por essas emoções (estudo 2). O estudo 4 pretendia responder à questão de pesquisa, com dois jogadores de futebol. Para ambos os jogadores, diferentes tipos de emoções foram gerados pelo mesmo desencadeador e por desencadeadores diferentes. Para o jogador 1, as emoções positivas e negativas sempre tiveram um efeito funcional no desempenho desportivo; para o jogador 2, as emoções positivas tiveram apenas o efeito funcional no desempenho desportivo, as emoções negativas tiveram ambos efeitos no desempenho desportivo (funcional e disfuncional) e, algumas das emoções estudadas não influenciaram o desempenho desportivo. &nbsp

Inductive Program Synthesis via Iterative Forward-Backward Abstract Interpretation

A key challenge in example-based program synthesis is the gigantic search space of programs. To address this challenge, various work proposed to use abstract interpretation to prune the search space. However, most of existing approaches have focused only on forward abstract interpretation, and thus cannot fully exploit the power of abstract interpretation. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to inductive program synthesis via iterative forward-backward abstract interpretation. The forward abstract interpretation computes possible outputs of a program given inputs, while the backward abstract interpretation computes possible inputs of a program given outputs. By iteratively performing the two abstract interpretations in an alternating fashion, we can effectively determine if any completion of each partial program as a candidate can satisfy the input-output examples. We apply our approach to a standard formulation, syntax-guided synthesis (SyGuS), thereby supporting a wide range of inductive synthesis tasks. We have implemented our approach and evaluated it on a set of benchmarks from the prior work. The experimental results show that our approach significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches thanks to the sophisticated abstract interpretation techniques

Equity research Sonae SGPS S.A. : a divestment scenario in times of uncertainty

Mestrado Bolonha em FinançasThe present document consists of a report of an Equity Research on Sonae SGPS, S.A. (SON). This document was used in the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2021, obtaining a 2nd place at the local level. The report contains only public information until 14/01/2021. In addition to the standard format chosen, this report has one additional chapter, that explores the consequences of a divestment of the group’s fashion business unit. In this analysis using the precedent transactions method, we find that investors may face a sizable investment opportunity that would allow the group to rotate its assets and to free up capital. SON is a Portuguese conglomerate, comprised of eight business units (BU) that go from food and non-food retail to commercial real estate and telecommunications. The company was valued with a Sum-of-the-Parts approach, where a discounted cash flow approach was developed for most business units, reflecting all of its idiosyncrasies. For the smaller BUs, relative valuation methods were employed. The valuation yielded a buy recommendation with a price target of 1.25€/sh for 2021YE, comprising an upside potential of 75% from the January 14th, 2021 closing price of 0.71€, with medium to low risk. To support this valuation, other methods were also used, such as Relative Valuation.O presente documento consiste num relatório de um Equity Research sobre a Sonae SGPS, S.A. (SON). Este documento foi utilizado no CFA Institute Research Challenge 2021, obtendo o 2º lugar a nível local. Apenas informações públicas até 14/01/2021 foram consideradas. Para além do formato padrão escolhido, este relatório possui um capítulo adicional, que explora as consequências de um desinvestimento na unidade de negócio de moda do grupo. Nesta análise, através do método de transações precedentes, mostramos que os investidores podem enfrentar uma oportunidade de investimento considerável, que iria permitir ao grupo rodar os seus ativos, e libertar capital. SON é um conglomerado português, compreendido por oito unidades de negócio, que vão desde o retalho alimentar e não-alimentar, até ao imobiliário comercial e telecomunicações. A empresa foi avaliada com uma de soma de partes, onde um modelo de fluxos de caixa descontados foi desenvolvido para a maioria das unidades de negócio, refletindo assim as idiossincrasias de cada uma. Para as unidades de negócio de menor dimensão, métodos de avaliação relativa foram utilizados. A avaliação resultou numa recomendação de compra com um preço-alvo de 1.25€ por ação para 2021YE, representando um potencial de 75%, com um preço de fecho a 14 de janeiro 2021 de 0.71€, com um nível de risco médio-baixo. Para apoiar esta avaliação, outros métodos também foram utilizados, como a avaliação de múltiplos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Effect of Organizational Cultures on Relationships between IT Governance and Individual Behavior

Background: Organizations allocate substantial resources to Information Technology (IT) to ensure its long-term success. Hence, effective IT Governance (ITG) is crucial for business/IT alignment. However, factors like employee behavior and Organizational Culture (OC) play vital roles in applying ITG but remain underexplored. Objectives: This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the relationship between ITG and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). Additionally, it investigates the moderating effect of different cultures in the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) on the ITG-OCB relationship. Methods/Analysis: A survey was conducted involving 513 employees from over 150 companies worldwide. The data were analyzed using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings: This study confirms that institutionalizing ITG enhances OCB. Furthermore, a moderating effect was observed in most relationships, highlighting the influence of different OC types. Market and hierarchy cultures exhibited the most significant moderating effect. Novelty: This research contributes to the understanding of ITG's impact on employee behavior, extending the investigation to new dimensions of OCB and confirming the moderating role of OC. The practical implications of this study enable organizations to foster a culture that promotes ITG and cultivates employees' OCB, leading to improved business-IT alignment, enhanced IT-enabled value, and, ultimately, enhanced organizational effectiveness. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-05-010 Full Text: PD