Global talent management during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Gods must be crazy!

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought terrifying effects for labor markets all around the world. Just as we witness rapid changes in terms of the ways of working (working from home), we are also observing an increase in unemployment. The ways in which major corporations with international operations process their global talent management (GTM) already represents a challenge in relatively stable times and clearly, in a period of such great and sustained turbulence as current experienced, this task becomes still more difficult. Hence, our research aims to study the impact of GTM on the international performance of major companies during the COVID-19 pandemic period. To this end, we surveyed a sample of 59 large companies that act in external markets. Through recourse to multiple linear regressions, we conclude that GTM practices return positive impacts on levels of international performance. Our research returns theoretical implications in terms of the application of integrated GTM models and with the results of significant relevance to corporations operating internationally, and thus enabling them to better understand which strategic human resource management policies will return the best GTM results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Factors affecting SMEs' strategic decisions to approach international markets

[EN] The internationalisation challenges that face all companies are no longer the exclusive concern of multinationals. Participation in the international marketplace has become a reality for large firms and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) alike. This kind of participation can be rewarding for both companies and employees. The markets that SMEs enter and the success of this entry depend on several factors such as cultural differences, company tradition, venture capital, products and competitors. The goal of this study is therefore to understand whether the characteristics of the external market, the characteristics of the company itself and the barriers to internationalisation influence the strategic approach that SMEs adopt in their internationalisation processes. Using data on 320 Portuguese SMEs, we apply multivariate analyses to test the dimensions of internationalisation. We find that the decision of SMEs to internationalise involves an institutional change in response to external pressures in the home country. SMEs under greater institutional pressure not only tend to expand further but also engage in their initial international activities more radically.This work is supported by FEDER funds from COMPETE 2020 and Portuguese funds - PORTUGAL 2020. Project IEcPBI - Interactive Ecosystem for Portuguese Business Internationalization - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032139.Azevedo Lobo, C.; Fernandes, CI.; Ferreira, JJ.; Peris-Ortiz, M. (2020). Factors affecting SMEs' strategic decisions to approach international markets. European J of International Management. 14(4):617-639. https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2020.107607S61763914

Nationwide access to endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke in portugal

Publisher Copyright: Copyright Ordem dos M dicos 2021.Introduction: Since the publication of endovascular treatment trials and European Stroke Guidelines, Portugal has re-organized stroke healthcare. The nine centers performing endovascular treatment are not equally distributed within the country, which may lead to differential access to endovascular treatment. Our main aim was to perform a descriptive analysis of the main treatment metrics regarding endovascular treatment in mainland Portugal and its administrative districts. Material and Methods: A retrospective national multicentric cohort study was conducted, including all ischemic stroke patients treated with endovascular treatment in mainland Portugal over two years (July 2015 to June 2017). All endovascular treatment centers contributed to an anonymized database. Demographic, stroke-related and procedure-related variables were collected. Crude endovascular treatment rates were calculated per 100 000 inhabitants for mainland Portugal, and each district and endovascular treatment standardized ratios (indirect age-sex standardization) were also calculated. Patient time metrics were computed as the median time between stroke onset, first-door, and puncture. Results: A total of 1625 endovascular treatment procedures were registered. The endovascular treatment rate was 8.27/100 000 inhabitants/year. We found regional heterogeneity in endovascular treatment rates (1.58 to 16.53/100 000/year), with higher rates in districts closer to endovascular treatment centers. When analyzed by district, the median time from stroke onset to puncture ranged from 212 to 432 minutes, reflecting regional heterogeneity. Discussion: Overall endovascular treatment rates and procedural times in Portugal are comparable to other international registries. We found geographic heterogeneity, with lower endovascular treatment rates and longer onset-to-puncture time in southern and inner regions. Conclusion: The overall national rate of EVT in the first two years after the organization of EVT-capable centers is one of the highest among European countries, however, significant regional disparities were documented. Moreover, stroke-onset-to-first-door times and in-hospital procedural times in the EVT centers were comparable to those reported in the randomized controlled trials performed in high-volume tertiary hospitalspublishersversionpublishe

Acesso a Tratamento Endovascular para Acidente Vascular Cerebral Isquémico em Portugal

Introduction: Since the publication of endovascular treatment trials and European Stroke Guidelines, Portugal has re-organized stroke healthcare. The nine centers performing endovascular treatment are not equally distributed within the country, which may lead to differential access to endovascular treatment. Our main aim was to perform a descriptive analysis of the main treatment metrics regarding endovascular treatment in mainland Portugal and its administrative districts. Material and Methods: A retrospective national multicentric cohort study was conducted, including all ischemic stroke patients treated with endovascular treatment in mainland Portugal over two years (July 2015 to June 2017). All endovascular treatment centers contributed to an anonymized database. Demographic, stroke-related and procedure-related variables were collected. Crude endovascular treatment rates were calculated per 100 000 inhabitants for mainland Portugal, and each district and endovascular treatment standardized ratios (indirect age-sex standardization) were also calculated. Patient time metrics were computed as the median time between stroke onset, first-door, and puncture. Results: A total of 1625 endovascular treatment procedures were registered. The endovascular treatment rate was 8.27/100 000 inhabitants/year. We found regional heterogeneity in endovascular treatment rates (1.58 to 16.53/100 000/year), with higher rates in districts closer to endovascular treatment centers. When analyzed by district, the median time from stroke onset to puncture ranged from 212 to 432 minutes, reflecting regional heterogeneity. Conclusion: The overall national rate of EVT in the first two years after the organization of EVT-capable centers is one of the highest among European countries, however, significant regional disparities were documented. Moreover, stroke-onset-to-first-door times and in-hospital procedural times in the EVT centers were comparable to those reported in the randomized controlled trials performed in high-volume tertiary hospitals.Introdução: A aprovação do tratamento endovascular para o acidente vascular cerebral isquémico obrigou à reorganização dos cuidados de saúde em Portugal. Os nove centros que realizam tratamento endovascular não estão distribuídos equitativamente pelo território, o que poderá causar acesso diferencial a tratamento. O principal objetivo deste estudo é realizar uma análise descritiva da frequência e métricas temporais do tratamento endovascular em Portugal continental e seus distritos. Material e Métodos: Estudo de coorte nacional multicêntrico, incluindo todos os doentes com acidente vascular cerebral isquémico submetidos a tratamento endovascular em Portugal continental durante um período de dois anos (julho 2015 a junho 2017). Foram colhidos dados demográficos, relacionados com o acidente vascular cerebral e variáveis do procedimento. Taxas de tratamento endovascular brutas e ajustadas (ajuste indireto a idade e sexo) foram calculadas por 100 000 habitantes/ano para Portugal continental e cada distrito. Métricas de procedimento como tempo entre instalação, primeira porta e punção foram também analisadas. Resultados: Foram registados 1625 tratamentos endovasculares, indicando uma taxa bruta nacional de tratamento endovascular de 8,27/100 000 habitantes/ano. As taxas de tratamento endovascular entre distritos variaram entre 1,58 e 16,53/100 000/ano, com taxas mais elevadas nos distritos próximos a hospitais com tratamento endovascular. O tempo entre sintomas e punção femural entre distritos variou entre 212 e 432 minutos. Conclusão: Portugal continental apresenta uma taxa nacional de tratamento endovascular elevada, apresentando, contudo, assimetrias regionais no acesso. As métricas temporais foram comparáveis com as observadas nos ensaios clínicos piloto

Możliwe związki między internacjonalizacją a strategiami innowacji: analiza portugalskich MŚP

The importance of internationalization for firm’s survival and growth seems to be consensual among the researchers on this topic. Innovation is also considered a key factor for firm’s development and competitiveness. Moreover, the relationship between innovation and internationalization has become a matter of increasingly interest in the literature and can be analysed according to two streams: innovation as cause or consequence of companies’ internationalization. Additionally, given the great importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the growth of economies, part of literature has paid special attention to this kind of enterprises. The purpose of this work is to verify the existence of a possible relationship between internationalization and innovation strategies among Portuguese firms by exploring whether Portuguese entrepreneurs consider innovation as an important factor or a motivation in the internationalization process. To achieve this goals, and based on data obtained from an online questionnaire survey, descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques are used. In particular, graphical representations, descriptive measures and also, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis (with multiple comparisons) non-parametric tests.Znaczenie umiędzynarodowienia dla przetrwania i rozwoju firmy wydaje się być zgodne wśród badaczy zajmujących się tym tematem. Innowacyjność jest również uważana za kluczowy czynnik rozwoju i konkurencyjności firmy. Ponadto związek między innowacją a internacjonalizacją stał się przedmiotem coraz większego zainteresowania w literaturze i można go analizować według dwóch nurtów: innowacja jako przyczyna lub konsekwencja umiędzynarodowienia przedsiębiorstw. Dodatkowo, biorąc pod uwagę duże znaczenie małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw (MŚP) dla rozwoju gospodarek, w części literatury zwrócono szczególną uwagę na tego typu przedsiębiorstwa. Celem tej pracy jest zweryfikowanie istnienia możliwego związku między umiędzynarodowieniem a strategiami innowacji wśród portugalskich firm poprzez zbadanie, czy portugalscy przedsiębiorcy uważają innowacje za ważny czynnik lub motywację w procesie internacjonalizacji. Aby osiągnąć te cele, na podstawie danych uzyskanych z ankiety internetowej, stosuje się opisowe i inferencyjne techniki analizy danych. W szczególności reprezentacje graficzne, miary opisowe, a także testy nieparametryczne Manna-Whitneya i Kruskala-Wallisa (z wielokrotnymi porównaniami)

The interplay of innovation and internationalisation in the foreign market entry mode and international market selection process of SMEs

In an interconnected, globalised world where the success of companies increasingly relies on internationalisation, innovation has emerged as a crucial strategic decision for firm’s strong development and competitiveness. While there tends to be a consensus in the literature regarding the growing significance of internationalisation and innovation, certain questions arise regarding the relationship between innovation and entry modes with lower market commitment as well as destination markets with lower risks. This study aims to investigate whether a discernible pattern of relationship exists between internationalisation modes, destination markets, and innovation among small and medium-sized Portuguese firms. To accomplish this research objective, we developed and distributed an online questionnaire survey and collected empirical data from Portuguese SMEs. The final dataset consisted of 310 valid responses, which were subjected to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS 27.0 Statistics software. Considering the categorical nature of the data (measured on a nominal or ordinal scale), we applied robust quantitative analysis techniques. More specifically, we employed exploratory statistical analyses, including univariate and multivariate exploratory factorial analysis (EFA), as well as inferential analysis (e.g., Spearman's correlation and Chi-square test for correlation analysis, and Mann-Whitney nonparametric test). Our findings provide empirical evidence that companies employing internationalisation modes requiring greater commitment, along with those targeting geographically and psycho-logically distant destination markets, tend to attach greater importance to innovation as a determinant of internationalisation. Our study carries important theoretical and practical implications

The interplay of innovation and internationalisation in the foreign market entry mode and international market selection process of SMEs

In an interconnected, globalised world where the success of companies increasingly relies on internationalisation, innovation has emerged as a crucial strategic decision for firm’s strong development and competitiveness. While there tends to be a consensus in the literature regarding the growing significance of internationalisation and innovation, certain questions arise regarding the relationship between innovation and entry modes with lower market commitment as well as destination markets with lower risks. This study aims to investigate whether a discernible pattern of relationship exists between internationalisation modes, destination markets, and innovation among small and medium-sized Portuguese firms. To accomplish this research objective, we developed and distributed an online questionnaire survey and collected empirical data from Portuguese SMEs. The final dataset consisted of 310 valid responses, which were subjected to statistical analysis using IBM SPSS 27.0 Statistics software. Considering the categorical nature of the data (measured on a nominal or ordinal scale), we applied robust quantitative analysis techniques. More specifically, we employed exploratory statistical analyses, including univariate and multivariate exploratory factorial analysis (EFA), as well as inferential analysis (e.g., Spearman's correlation and Chi-square test for correlation analysis, and Mann-Whitney nonparametric test). Our findings provide empirical evidence that companies employing internationalisation modes requiring greater commitment, along with those targeting geographically and psycho-logically distant destination markets, tend to attach greater importance to innovation as a determinant of internationalisation. Our study carries important theoretical and practical implications