Addiction At the Biennale of Venice

In this paper we analyse the socio-economic characteristics (e.g. age, gender, education, nationality) associated with the probability of subscribing to an art review, among visitors of the Visual Arts Biennale of Venice taking into account the heterogeneity of the data. The analysis uses a data set from a questionnaire given in Venice in 2003 to ascertain the key characteristics of the Biennale visitors, (Bernardi, Pizzi and Vecco, 2004). A Bayesian random parameter logit model is used with Gibbs sampling to verify the hypothesis that subscribing to an art review given that the individual visits the Biennale, defines addiction to visual arts. This model outperforms the standard logit model since it takes into account the unobserved heterogeneity of the sample data. Some policy implications are presented.Culture, Biennale of Venice, Mixed Logit model, and policy implications.

Impact of IT use on the collective attentional engagement to innovation: the case of a organization in the cork sector

Organizations process a vast amount of information, therefore putting a big strain on collective attention, a limited resource in organizations. When there is poverty of attention, decision and action become erratic and subject to failures. More research addressing the impact of information systems on organizational mindfulness is needed to develop an IS mindfulness theory. By studying how a leading company in the cork industry uses a platform to support the ideation phase of the innovation process, we provide empirical evidence pointing to the contribution of IT artefacts in promoting organizational mindfulness. Collecting research information in meetings, observations and interviews for 1 year, we were able to observe that the platform was engaging the collective attention to the incremental innovation of processes in detriment of the disruptive innovation of products. Our findings are a first contribution to develop an IS mindfulness theory and to design socio-technical arrangements that expand organizational mindfulness

Corporate tax avoidance and ex ante equity cost of capital in Europe

The aim of this paper is to study the longstanding relationship between corporate tax avoidance and ex ante equity cost of capital in Europe, taking into consideration country specific characteristics, which are essential in a context of corporate tax competition. We find that investors apprehend tax avoidance differently at distinct levels of tax avoidance. We provide strong evidence that as low tax avoidance firms engage in greater tax avoidance, the ex ante equity cost of capital decreases. On the contrary, when high-tax avoidance firms undertake greater levels of tax avoidance, the ex ante equity cost of capital appears to increase. The benefits for firms engaged in lower tax avoidance are greater from 2008 onwards, during the period of financial crisis. These results confirm that in Europe a non-linear convex relationship exists between tax avoidance and ex ante equity cost of capital. Finally, we explore the impact of institutional characteristics and results suggest that in English common law countries the effect of corporate tax avoidance on ex ante equity cost of capital appears to be lower than that in other legal origins1info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Three essays on corporate taxation : financial reporting, value, and firm creation

Doutoramento em GestãoThe doctoral thesis is composed by three self-contained empirical papers that can be read independently, plus an introduction and a conclusive chapter. The first empirical paper, which is entitled “Corporate Taxation and Financial Reporting Quality”, examines whether the relation between tax enforcement and firms’ financial reporting quality varies with firms’ level of tax avoidance in Europe. Incentives for tax avoidance are dissimilar across firms and jurisdictions, as the latter levy firms with different corporate taxation and employ different enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the simple view that higher tax enforcement increases the quality of financial reporting may also change with institutional characteristics. We predict and confirm that in Europe, overall tax enforcement is positively associated with financial reporting quality, although there is a greater incidence for firms engaged in more tax avoidance. We find a lower sensitivity to tax enforcement for firms engaged in less tax avoidance, which is consistent with the tendency for these firms to already report higher quality financial information. Furthermore, it is unclear whether our findings are sensitive to variations in other tax system characteristics and in institutional characteristics. In contrast to other studies, we show that the association between tax enforcement and financial reporting quality is sensitive to firms’ level of tax avoidance, rather than accounting for other differences at country level. The second empirical paper – “Disclosure of Income Taxes and Firm Value: a Cross Country Comparison of IFRS Adopters”, examines whether disclosure of income taxes is associated with firms’ value. We focus on all IAS 12 disclosure requirements in a sample of IFRS adopters in Europe, rather than in the US. The disclosure of income taxes is measured by an index based on hand-collected data from annual reports, which made it possible to distinguish between mandatory and voluntary disclosure of income taxes. Results suggest no direct relation between mandatory disclosure of income taxes and firms’ value. However, when the level of tax avoidance is taken into consideration the association is significant. Tax avoidance strategies are viewed with scepticism by investors, although disclosure of income taxes mitigates this negative effect, especially for tax aggressive firms, and for “poorly”-governed firms, which is measured by lower institutional ownership. Findings suggest that disclosure of income taxes might play a role in shaping the relation between tax avoidance strategies and firms’ value, rather than the quality of corporate governance. The third empirical paper is entitled as “Crossing the Border: Regional Tax Differences and Firm Creation”. Does the introduction of reduced corporate income tax rates at regional level increases firm creation? Instead of focussing on existing corporate income tax rate differentials, we take advantage of a quasi-natural experiment to study the introduction of reduced corporate income tax rates at regional level. Results suggest that the creation of firms increased with the introduction of reduced corporate income tax rates for specific regions. However, further variations in the corporate income tax rate differential between regions appear to be ineffective in fostering the creation of firms. Indeed, the effect on firm creation is robust regarding border competition, whereby neighbouring municipalities compete for corporate income tax rates. Job creation appears to be positively affected, these new firms are typically small, and the likelihood of their survival appears to be enhanced by the tax change. The findings also highlight the influence of agglomerations in order to take advantage of the tax change. Taken altogether, the findings contrast with the previous literature, which is focussed on existing tax rate differentials, as we demonstrate that what really triggers the creation of new firms is when a tax rate differential between regions is created.A tese de doutoramento é composta por três artigos empíricos autónomos que podem ser lidos de forma independente, a que se acrescenta um capítulo introdutório e um capítulo conclusivo. O primeiro artigo empírico, intitulado de “Corporate Taxation and Financial Reporting Quality”, analisa se a relação entre o nível de fiscalização da administração fiscal e a qualidade do relato financeiro das empresas varia de acordo com o nível de planeamento fiscal das empresas na Europa. Os incentivos ao planeamento fiscal não são iguais entre empresas e jurisdições, uma vez que estas últimas fazem incidir nas empresas diferentes tributações empresariais e os mecanismos de fiscalização das administrações fiscais variam igualmente entre jurisdições. Nesse sentido, a visão clássica de que uma maior fiscalização da administração fiscal tem efeitos positivos na qualidade do relato financeiro das empresas pode variar de acordo com as características institucionais dos respetivos países. Neste artigo, é previsto e confirmado que na Europa uma maior fiscalização da administração fiscal exerce um efeito positivo na qualidade do relato financeiro das empresas, no entanto esse efeito é mais acentuado para as empresas com maior nível de planeamento fiscal. Verificou-se uma menor sensibilidade para as empresas envolvidas em um menor nível de planeamento fiscal, situação que é consistente com o facto de essas empresas já exibirem um relato financeiro de melhor qualidade. Adicionalmente, os resultados parecem não ser sensíveis a variações em outras características fiscais e em características institucionais. Em contraste com outros estudos, é evidenciado que a associação entre a fiscalização das administrações fiscais e a qualidade do relato financeiro das empresas é sensível ao nível de planeamento fiscal das empresas, ao contrário de estudos existentes que sugerem a existência de efeitos diferentes de acordo com características específicas dos próprios países. O segundo artigo empírico – “Disclosure of Income Taxes and Firm Value: a Cross Country Comparison of IFRS Adopters”, analisa se a divulgação de informação sobre impostos sobre o rendimento relaciona-se com o valor das empresas. O foco recai sobre os requisitos de divulgação da IAS 12, sendo a amostra composta por empresas Europeias que adotaram as IFRS, em vez de empresas cotadas nos EUA que têm sido alvo de mais investigação. A divulgação de informação sobre impostos sobre o rendimento é medida através de um índice construído através de recolha de informação diretamente dos relatórios e contas das empresas, permitindo dessa forma distinguir a divulgação de informação com caráter obrigatório da divulgação de informação voluntária, ambas sobre impostos sobre o rendimento. Os resultados sugerem que não existe relação direta entre a divulgação de informação sobre impostos sobre o rendimento de caráter obrigatório e o valor das empresas. No entanto, quando é considerado o efeito moderador das estratégias de planeamento fiscal, a relação acima descrita é significativa. As estratégias de planeamento fiscal são vistas pelos investidores com ceticismo, todavia a divulgação de informação sobre impostos sobre o rendimento mitiga esse efeito negativo, sobretudo para as empresas com práticas mais agressivas de planeamento fiscal, bem como para as empresas com menor qualidade do corporate governance, medido por uma menor presença de investidores institucionais na estrutura acionista das empresas. Os resultados sugerem que a divulgação de informação sobre impostos sobre o rendimento pode desempenhar um papel importante na definição da relação existente entre as estratégias de planeamento fiscal e o valor das empresas, ao invés da qualidade do corporate governance. O terceiro artigo empírico é denominado de “Crossing the Border: Regional Tax Differences and Firm Creation”. Será que a introdução de taxas de imposto sobre o rendimento empresarial reduzidas ao nível regional aumenta a criação de empresas? Em vez do foco recair sobre diferenciais de taxas de imposto já existentes entre regiões, este estudo toma partido de uma aproximação a uma experiência natural para analisar o momento da introdução de taxas de imposto sobre o rendimento empresarial mais reduzidas para algumas regiões. Os resultados sugerem que a criação de empresas aumenta com a introdução de taxas de imposto reduzidas sobre o rendimento empresarial. Contudo, variações posteriores no diferencial de taxas de imposto entre regiões parecem não ser eficazes para fomentar a criação de empresas. Além do mais, o efeito na criação de empresas parece ser influenciado por competições fiscais regionais, nas quais municípios vizinhos podem competir ao nível das taxas de imposto sobre o rendimento empresarial. A criação de emprego parece ser positivamente afetada com a alteração fiscal, as novas empresas são tipicamente de pequena dimensão e a probabilidade de sobrevivência parece melhorar como consequência da alteração fiscal. Os resultados também salientam a importância dos aglomerados para que as empresas aproveitem a alteração fiscal. Em geral, os resultados contrastam com a literatura que foca-se em diferenciais de taxas já existentes entre regiões, uma vez que neste estudo é demonstrado que o período mais relevante para despoletar a criação de novas empresas é o período da criação de um diferencial de taxas entre regiões

Properties of chitosan matrix composites with hydroxyapatite and carbon nanotubes, and their use in bone tissue engineering

There is a growing demand for bone grafts by various clinical sectors, such as aesthetic procedures, treatment of injuries and dentistry, the use of synthetic materials is shown to be good due to the availability and the reduction of risks that their use brings, among the materials that are used in the clinic can be cited the chitosan matrix composites (CHI) with hydroxyapatite (HA) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which uses materials that are already used in the clinic HA and CHI with an innovative material in the sector the CNTs. The aim was to analyze and compare data from the current state of the art of CHI matrix composites with HA and CNTs applied in bone tissue engineering. This study is based on a review of the specialized literature on articles in online scientific journals, with thematic issues related to the properties of the biocomposite on board. The influence of the use on the composite properties generated by the use of CNTs together with the HA in the CHI matrix, for biomedical applications, more specifically in bone tissue engineering, was observed. It was observed that with subtle increases of CNTs in the CH composite Ha composites, the bioactivity, osteoconduction, antibacterial activity, mechanical properties of the composites, changes in the nanotexturas, and a homogeneous distribution of the materials occur, potentiality of its use in more than one application within bone tissue engineering. In the present study it was possible to observe that CHI matrix composites with HA and CNTs present a combination of properties highlighting the potential for application in bone tissue engineering. &nbsp

Using social media as organizational memory consolidation mechanism according to attention based view theory

Increasingly, organizations are aware that the knowledge generated in organization is a primary factor to remain competitive in the market. The Organizational Memory (OM) conceptualizing how the process of creation, storage and dissemination of knowledge over time can influence the actions and decisions of the organization. For this, it is necessary that the attention of individuals to be targeted and aligned, noticing the stimuli from the environment, and directing the time and cognitive effort towards the decisions to be made in the organization. This scenario, the paper provides a discussion of 22 case studies found in literature that were analyzed using the Attention-Based View of the Firm as a guiding lens. This analysis shows some evidence and relevant implications of the use of Social Media in the organizational context as well as a first theoretical description of how the focus of attention of decision makers influence the development of OM.This work has been supported by CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil and by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the Project Scope UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Methodology for The Development of an Ontology Network on The Brazilian National System for the Evaluation of higher Education (OntoSINAES)

Ontologies occupy a central position in any conceptual model of the Semantic Web, aiming fundamentally to add explicit semantics to the contents available in the Web. In the domain of Brazilian higher education, especially with regard to the National System for the Evaluation of Higher Education (SINAES), still lacks a reference ontology that can provide a basic conceptualization common to the different stakeholders of the domain. In this work we discuss the role of an ontology network developed with the purpose of improving the quality of the data produced by the different actors, institutions and systems within the domain of SINAES, in addition to facilitating their publication as open and connected data. In particular, we highlight the importance of the NeOn methodology to be followed during the development of an ontology network, demonstrating its role in defining the life cycle and in the articulation of the various processes and activities in the OntoSINAES ontological network development process

Indicators to assess the quality of organizational attention: first steps towards a measurement instrument

Organizations increasingly have access to varied and sophisticated information about their internal and external environments. While there is the general belief that accessing high quality and sophisticated information leads to more effective decisions, this is not necessarily true. In a number of disciplinary fields, from economics to psychology and technology, scholars are emphasizing that information overload produces confusion and reduces consistent decision-making. This paper focuses organizational attention and presents a tool to assess the quality of organizational attention mediated by technology. This instrument was tested and will soon be applied in a pilot study to further refine it.This work has been supported by CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil and by FCT –Foundation for Science and Technology within the Project Scope UID/CEC/00319/2013

Corporate taxes and high-quality entrepreneurship

We examine the impact of corporate taxation on entrepreneurship, using a quasi-natural experiment, which substantially reduced the corporate tax rate for start-ups located in inland municipalities in Portugal. Using a difference-in-differences approach and IV regression, we find that the tax reform increased firm entry and new firm job creation. The entrepreneurs who took advantage of this tax reform are relatively older, and are better-educated individuals. Their start-ups are relatively larger, more productive, and are more likely to survive the first 3 years. These findings suggest that corporate taxation is an imperative constraint for entrepreneurship, particularly for high-quality entrepreneurs. These better-educated individuals find it easier to overcome the hurdles of tax legislation and to make use of the opportunities created by a specific tax reform.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio