Incentives or obstacles? Institutional aspects of the cork business in the Iberian peninsula (1930-1975)

El análisis cuantitativo y comparativo de las exportaciones corcheras españolas y portuguesas durante el siglo XX muestra que España perdió el liderazgo en el comercio mundial de manufacturas del corcho en beneficio de Portugal, que pasó a ocupar la primera posición en este comercio. Este artículo trata de avanzar en la identificación de los aspectos institucionales que estuvieron detrás de las diferentes trayectorias seguidas por el negocio corchero en los dos países entre 1930 y 1975. Partiendo del análisis comparativo del marco legal y de las políticas económicas que afectaron a las distintas vertientes del negocio corchero durante las dictaduras ibéricas, se argumenta que fue diferente la atención prestada por Salazar y Franco al sector del corcho. Finalmente, se concluye que los aspectos institucionales pueden explicar una parte de la pérdida de competitividad de las exportaciones españolas respecto a las portuguesas, en la medida en que influyron en el grado de inserción de las respectivas economías en los flujos de comercio internacional, y que afectaron a los costes de producción de esta industria.The quantitative and comparative analysis of Spanish and Portuguese cork exportations during the 20thcentury shows that Spain lost its leading position in the world trade of transformed cork while Portugal rose to claim first place. This article takes a step towards identifying the institutional aspects behind the different paths taken by the cork business in the two countries between 1930 and 1975. Starting with a comparative analysis of the legal framework and economic policies which had an impact on the various branches of business during the two Iberian dictatorships, it is argued that Salazar and Franco attributed different degrees of importance to the cork sector. It concludes that these institutional aspects explain a part of the loss of competitiveness of Spanish exports in comparison with Portuguese exports, insofar as they influenced the extent to which the two economies participated in international trade flows as well as production costs in the industry.Publicad

The economic performance of clustered and non clustered firms along the different phases of the cluster life cycle : the portuguese cork industry case

This paper is about the relative economic performance of clustered and non-clustered companies in the different phases of the cluster life cycle. It starts with the explanation of a puzzling localization behaviour, namely that most of the Portuguese cork manufacturing firms are concentrated in Santa Maria da Feira, a small county in the north of the country, whereas the bulk of the cork is produced in the south (Alentejo and Ribatejo). The historical roots and past and path dependence of the trajectory of this cluster are examined, as well as the identification of its life cycle phases. A comparative analysis of the economic performance of firms localized in Santa Maria da Feira and in other regions of the country is then made, using labour productivity data for a long time span of several decades. This exercise is a quantitative illustration of the crucial importance of history for the understanding of cluster dynamics, as well as many other (evolutionary) economic phenomena

Echoes from the past : portuguese stabilization of the 1890s and 1920s

In the early decades of the contemporary world economy, Portugal had to perform twice difficult stabilization processes: during the 1890s as a consequence of the collapse of external and public debt payments, and during the 1920s in the wake of the First World War. This paper will analyse these Portuguese situations: the 1890s stabilization based on leaving the gold standard monetary system and on partial default of the external public debt payments led to a period of economic stagnation, which lasted until the First World War, in spite of the good international background provided by the so called belle époque; the 1920s stabilization based on a very tough fiscal adjustment opened the way to an interwar period of slight growth , in spite of the unfavourable international background provided by the problems of the 1920s and the Great Depression during the 1930s (although it was not enough to sustain the liberal republican regime, which was replaced by a military dictatorship, and later an authoritarian right-wing regime)

Vantagens da concentração geográfica da produção : o caso da indústria corticeira de Santa Maria da Feira

O sector corticeiro português é muito interessante para o estudo da problemática da concentração geográfica das actividades económicas. Acresce a este interesse o facto de Portugal se apresentar na actualidade como o maior produtor, transformador e exportador de cortiça, sendo esta das mais importantes componentes da chamada fileira florestal

Determinants of sucess and failure in internationalisation of the cork business : a tale of two iberian family firms

The trajectories of internationalisation followed by family firms can be viewed from several theoretical approaches: phases and models of the internationalisation process; international entrepreneurship, the sociological perspective and family business theory. A historical perspective of internationalised family firms, allowing for the integration of the abovementioned approaches, is useful to obtain a deep understanding of the internationalisation process of different sectors and of different countries. The main purpose of this paper is to identify the facilitating and restricting factors during the internationalisation path of family firms, whilst considering the influence in their competitive advantages, of ownership structure, management attitudes and other intangible assets, as well as external factors to the firms, like location. The research involved a long run analysis (of more than one century) of two firms which operate in the cork business in Spain and Portugal: Mundet & C.ª, Lda and Corticeira Amorim. One of these companies - Mundet - was closed down in the 1980s and the other – Corticeira Amorim – became, and still is, the leading firm worldwide in the cork industry. A detailed comparison of these two histories - one of failure, and the other of success - permits an accurate identification of the determinants of successful internationalisation. In fact, this comparison is useful for understanding several characteristics of both firms, some of which are similar and others which are different, allowing to test several hypotheses within the context of the theoretical approach of the internationalisation of family firms. This methodological option can be justify by several aspects. Firstly, both are family firms operating in the same business and both were concentrated on the foreign market since their conception. Secondly, both their histories encompass most of the 20th Century and both faced similar national and international constraints, which were overcome, as they both ended up becoming the leading firms in the cork business, although at different periods of time. Thirdly, their choices of location were different and, although in both cases they benefitted from agglomeration forces during certain phases of the business, location was an important determinant of the opposing destinies of these two emblematic cork family firms from Iberia

Regional integration and firm location choices : a long run approach to the cork industry in the Iberian Peninsula

The cork sector is a relevant case study given the economic importance of this industry for some regions (value added, employment and rural development). This industry isalso important because of its contribution to environmental sustainability as it uses a natural renewable raw material. Portugal and Spain are the most important producers of cork and exporters of manufactured cork products (stoppers and agglomerates). The main purpose of this paper is to study the economic integration and the historical changes of cork business location choices in the Iberian Peninsula. We start by studying the historical roots, motivations and economic consequences of the delocalization of Catalonian firms to Portugal during the first quarter of the 20th century. Then a comparison is made with the recent process of delocalization of an anchor firm of Aveiro industrial district (Corticeira Amorim) to Spain. The theoretical framework of this study is the industry and cluster life cycles as well as the recent insights from the evolutionary economic geographyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The clustering of cork firms in Santa Maria da Feira : why history matters

This paper studies the reasons why most Portuguese cork manufacturing firms are concentrated in Santa Maria da Feira, a small municipality in the north of the country, whereas the bulk of the cork is produced in the south (Alentejo and Ribatejo). It starts with a brief introductory discussion of the advantages and limitations of clusters and industrial districts, together with an illustration of the recent theoretical findings of evolutionary economic geography. Next, a comparative analysis is made of the economic performance over the last decade of firms located in Santa Maria da Feira and other regions, leading to a powerful conclusion that points to the absence of any clear advantages for clustered firms. Finally, an attempt is made to discover the historical and socio-political reasons why so many cork firms are concentrated in Santa Maria da Feira. These are shown to be indispensable for understanding and substantiating the business location decisions of most Portuguese cork entrepreneurs.peer-reviewe

La creación de una ventaja competitiva en la industria corchera portuguesa: la contribución de un distrito industrial

En la segunda mitad del siglo XX, la industria corchera española perdió su posición hegemónica en el mercado mundial de las manufacturas corcheras en beneficio de la portuguesa. En la investigación iniciada pretendemos demostrar que una de las claves de la consolidación del liderazgo portugués en este negocio radica en la formación y desarrollo del distrito industrial corchero de Aveiro en el norte de Portugal, en el que se plasmó la expansión de la industria lusa del tapón de corcho, y con ella, la decisiva orientación de la nación hacia la transformación del corcho natural, en detrimento de su tradicional vocación preparadora. Se argumenta que la legislación reguladora de la inversión privada en Portugal (el llamado Condicionamento Industrial) fue tolerante con la apertura de pequeños establecimientos "caseros" en el norte del país, siendo este hecho un refuerzo determinante de la capacidad competitiva de la industria taponera aveirense (y portuguesa) en el mercado mundial. A esta intervención estatal se unió la regulación de los salarios de la industria corchera, que estableció un diferencial salarial favorable al norte frente al resto del país. Asimismo, se pone de manifiesto la participación de una gran empresa (Amorim&Irmãos) en la formación y desarrollo de este distrito industrial, la cual acabó por convertirse en la primera a nivel mundial en el sector.During the second half of the twentieth century, the Spanish cork industry lost its hegemonic position to Portugal in the world market of manufactured cork. In this work we intend to demonstrate that one of the most important explanations for the consolidation of Portuguese leadership in the cork business lies in the formation and development of the industrial cork district of Aveiro (Santa Maria da Feira) in the north of Portugal. It was there that the growth of the Portuguese cork stopper industry took place and with this, the decisive national shift in orientation towards the manufacture of natural cork, substituting the traditional Portuguese trade in planks. We argue that the legislation that established control of industrial investment in Portugal - the so-called Industrial Conditioning (Condicionamento Industrial) - did not restrict the opening of small cottage industries in the north, thus reinforcing the competitiveness of Aveiro in the world stopper trade. Another measure of major importance was the wage regulation covering this industry, which was responsible for the favorable wage differential for the north in comparison with the south and the centre of the country. Finally, we highlight the role played by a big company (Amorim&Irmãos) in the formation and development of this industrial district. This company became a leading firm in the sector world-wide

Inquiry in higher education for sustainable development: Crossing disciplinary knowledge boundaries

This paper aims to present the research results of the impact of a pedagogical approach on students, implemented as a part of the Doctoral Programme in Sustainability Science, which was designed following an innovative model at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. The main drivers include building a new body of interdisciplinary knowledge leading to the application of science to address real problems towards transdisciplinary education. We aimed to understand if a project work methodology proposed to students, based on an inquiry perspective and dealing with different dimensions of sustainable development, contributed to creating an interdisciplinary solution for a problem on sustainability challenged by food production and consumption, and also to understand if this methodological approach is perceived as important to their learning as professionals and citizens. Data were collected by direct observation, a questionnaire applied to the students, and students’ individual reflections. The results suggest great potential for an inquiry perspective in trying to solve a real problem. Students' proposals were realistic, viable, and complementary enough to collectively contribute in response to the global problem. The use of approaches acquired from different areas of knowledge was clear, and the project methodology was well understood. Students considered the experience very rewarding in terms of learning and contributing positively to their personal and professional development. This Doctoral programme is anchored in a progressive continuum encompassing holistic debates with a multidisciplinary team of professors in environments that promote interdisciplinary attitudes and new knowledge, and also project work aimed at guiding students to transdisciplinary learning, which constitutes an innovative form of dealing with the complex challenges created by the science of sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recursos naturais não renováveis: modelos de exploração óptima. O caso de uma pedreira de mármores em Vila Viçosa e sua recuperação paisagística

Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão.A conservação dos recursos naturais e a preservação do equilíbrio ambiental revelam-se como pedras basilares de um crescimento sustentável e harmonioso. Nesta óptica, apresenta-se uma resenha dos principais contributos para a teoria dos recursos não renováveis, desde o estabelecimento do Princípio de HOTELLING até às abordagens que o inovaram no que concerne aos custos, situação de mercado e aumento dos recursos por via da descoberta de novas jazidas e aparecimento de "backstop technology". Em Portugal, a extracção de mármores apresenta um peso económico significativo em algumas regiões. Sendo o mármore um recurso não renovável, a sua extracção apresenta vários problemas, não só relacionados com a escassez num futuro próximo, mas também com os impactos ambientais da sua exploração. Arvorando-se a região de Estremoz-Borba-Vila Viçosa como uma das mais ricas em reservas de calcário cristalino e onde a importância sócio-económica e densidade de pedreiras são bastante elevadas, procedeu-se à aplicação de um modelo de exploração económica óptima de recursos não renováveis com algumas adaptações (nomeadamente a consideração dos custos de recuperação paisagística) a uma pedreira situada na região, com intuito meramente exemplificativo e ilustrativo.The conservation of the natural resources and the preservation of the environmental balance reveal themselves as basilar foundations of a sustainable and harmonious growth. In this perspective, we present a detailed description of the main contributions for the theory of exhaustible resources from the establishment of the HOTELUNG Principie till the approaches that have innovated this same Principie in what concerns the costs fonction, market conditions and the increase of resources through the discovery of new stocks and the appearing of "backstop technoíogf. In Portugal the extraction of marbles presents a significant economicall meaning in some regions. Being marble an exhaustible resource, its exploration causes several problems, not only related with its scarcity but also with the environmental impact of its exploration. Estremoz, Borba and Vila Viçosa is a very wealthy region in what concerns supplies of clear limestone, where the socio-economical importance and density of stone-pits are very high, a pattern of economic optimal exploration of exhaustible resources with some adjustments (mainly the cost of landscape recovery) was implemented to a marble quarry, placed in that same region, as a mere example and illustration.N/