The internationalization paradigm and dynamic capabilities of Portuguese firms: contributions from case studies in the metallurgical and metal-mechanic sectors

Esta pesquisa mergulha na esfera microeconómica do setor secundário, visando iluminar os paradigmas de internacionalização das empresas Portuguesas. Um estudo de caso é conduzido nas empresas focais centrado no vértice estratégico. Uma revisão da literatura é realizada nos campos interdisciplinares das ciências económicas e da gestão, com uma focagem dualística no modelo processual de internacionalização de Uppsala e, comitantemente, na teoria das capacidades dinâmicas. No contexto da indústria, o estudo centra-se no setor da metalurgia e metalomecânica. É seguido um design comparativo, com uma configuração de caso múltiplo e unidades de análise incorporadas. Este enquadra-se numa abordagem qualitativa e posição filosófica interpretativista, com uma orientação dedutiva. A análise de dados está enraizada num quadro metodológico triádico: o procedimento analítico geral de Miles e Huberman (1984), o protocolo de Weber (1990) e o quadro de referência de Gioia (2009). Os casos exibem uma realidade de internacionalização multiparadigmática, com heterogeneidade entre si e sobreposição dimensional de alguns fenómenos, aderindo de forma distinta ao modelo de Uppsala e à teoria das capacidades dinâmicas. Em segundo lugar, os construtos seminais abordados na problemática de partida revelam efeitos distintos. Verificou-se uma relação positiva entre os paradigmas de internacionalização observados e os fatores de distância psíquica. Os fatores de distância geográfica, observam um efeito ambidexteriano (relação positiva e de espúrio). A última é causada pelo fenómeno contingencial de perificidade económica (com raízes nas teorias Ricardiana e Smithiana da competividade nacional e absoluta) revelando uma necessidade latente de políticas públicas para restaurar o equilíbrio de forças com os outros mercados da UE e estimular os fluxos de investimento para o exterior. Terceiro, as capacidades dinâmicas (CDs tipo 1 e 2) revelam processos de reconfiguração orientados para a ambidexteridade internacional, porquanto as CD globais demonstram sinais de mutabilidade e transferabilidade bidireccional para múltiplos pontos de destino.This research plunges into the microeconomic orb of the Portuguese economy of the secondary sector, aiming to illuminate the internationalization paradigms of these firms. A case research is conducted upon the focal firms focused on their strategic apex. A literature review is performed in the interdisciplinary fields of economics and managerial sciences, dualistically centered on the internationalization process model of Uppsala, and commitantly, at the dynamic capabilities theory. In the context of the manufacturing industries, this study focusses on the sector of metallurgy and metal-mechanic. A comparative design is followed, with a multiple case setting and embedded hermeneutic units of analysis. It fits a qualitative approach within an interpretative philosophical stance with a deductive orientation. The qualitative data analysis process is rooted in a triadic methodological framework: the general analytical procedure of Miles and Huberman (1984), the Weber protocol (1990) and the framework of Gioia (2009). The cases exhibited a multiparadigmatic internationalization reality, with heterogeneity among them although with some overlapping phenomena adhering differently to the U-model and to the dynamic capabilities doctrine. Second, seminal constructs addressed in the initial problematization revealed distintive relations. The psychic distance factors of the U-model were positively perceived as a true relation. The geographical distance factors observe an ambidexterian effect - true and spurious. The latter caused by the contingency phenomenon of economic periphery uncovers a latent need for public policies to retrieve the equilibrium of competitive forces with other EU markets and stimulate the outward flow of investment of the firms. Third, the DCs, both type 1 and type 2, exhibit processes of reconfiguration oriented towards international ambidexterity, while the GDCs evidence of DC mutability and indiscriminate bidirectional transferability

Spatial energetics:a thermodynamically-consistent methodology for modelling resource acquisition, distribution, and end-use networks in nature and society

Resource acquisition, distribution, and end-use (RADE) networks are ubiquitous in natural and human-engineered systems, connecting spatially-distributed points of supply and demand, to provide energy and material resources required by these systems for growth and maintenance. A clear understanding of the dynamics of these networks is crucial to protect those supported and impacted by them, but past modelling efforts are limited in their explicit consideration of spatial size and topology, which are necessary to the thermodynamically-realistic representation of the energetics of these networks. This thesis attempts to address these limitations by developing a spatially-explicit modelling framework for generalised energetic resource flows, as occurring in ecological and coupled socio-ecological systems. The methodology utilises equations from electrical engineering to operationalise the first and second laws of thermodynamics in flow calculations, and places these within an optimisation algorithm to replicate the selective pressure to maximise resource transfer and consumption and minimise energetic transport costs. The framework is applied to the nectar collection networks of A. mellifera as a proof-of-concept. The promising performance of the methodology in calculating the energetics of these networks in a flow-conserving manner, replicating attributes of foraging networks, and generating network structures consistent with those of known RADE networks, demonstrate the validity of the methodology, and suggests several potential avenues for future refinement and application