Global consultancies: determinants of market entry and strategies for conquering clients in foreign locations

Reports in the general and specialist press as well as several official estimates (e.g. UNCTAD, 1993, EU, 1989-1996) point at a rapid increase in the use and internationalisation of management consultancies. However, the application of MNE definitions, measurements and theories to this type of services is still in its infancy. Thus, this paper sets out to identify first, the main determinants of market seeking investments of global consultancies, they evolved over time, and its implications for the nature and scope of subsidiaries activities. These are more like miniature replicas of their parent firms than specialised units in a world wide service network. Secondly, the strategies they have used to tap successfully into foreign markets, overcoming the problems facing service providers (e.g. Holmstrom, 1985, Dunning, 1989) and the liability of operating in a foreign location. It focus on the importance of trustcreating mechanisms for the establishment of lasting relationships with clients and how they were facilitated by shared social, cultural or educational proximity between consultants and clients. It draws on in-depth interview based case studies of twelve global consultancies and their operations in the Portuguese economy. Avenues for future research are pointed out

Experimental and numerical analysis of the cyclic behaviour of RC beam-column connections with plain reinforcing bars

The information available in the literature about the cyclic behaviour of reinforced concrete elements with plain reinforcing bars is scarce. As a consequence, the influence of bar slippage in elements with plain bars is not yet comprehensively understood. In this paper are presented and discussed the main results of the cyclic tests carried out on five full-scale reinforced concrete beam-column joints with plain bars and without specific detailing for seismic demands. An additional joint specimen with deformed bars was also tested for comparison. Furthermore, numerical models were built to simulate the response of two of the specimens. Particular attention was given to the influence of bar slippage. The results of the conducted analyses underline the importance of accounting for bond-slip in the numerical modelling of elements with plain bars and also highlight the need for specific models to simulate the effects of this mechanism in the presence of plain bars

Searching for sectoral patterns of innovation in european manufacturing industry

The present paper is conducted under the research project “Enterprise of the Future: Trends and Scenarios towards Competitiveness” which attempts to disclosure determinants of future enterprise competitiveness. Innovation is not only a must today but also an imperative in future competitiveness scenarios. In modern evolutionary economics it is argued that sector-specific factors are one of the key factors explaining innovative behaviour and performance of firms. Several contributions have pointed that industries largely differ in terms of knowledge base and technological sources, opportunities and appropriation of innovative activities, technological trajectories and firms’ strategies. Using as background Pavitt’s taxonomy, this paper explores the nature, extent and sources of variety of innovation in the manufacturing industry, aiming at identifying common patterns across industries, and sectoral patterns across countries. This paper presents evidence based on the aggregated results of the last IV Community Innovation Survey released by EUROSTAT (CIS4), for which data is available for a number of industries and countries

Directions in entrepreneurship education in Europe

An extraordinary proliferation of entrepreneurship courses and programs was and still is underway in colleges and universities worldwide. In Europe this phenomenon has been further stimulated by the focus on Entrepreneurship as key objective for the implementation of the Europe2020 strategy (EC, 2010). This paper provides a systematized overview of patterns and directions in EE in Europe in recent years. We conduct a review of the published research of the theme with an European focus in an attempt to organize the literature along precise lines. When possible we use empirical findings to sustain our arguments. Systematizing the existing literature is a necessary step in developing the field. For researchers, this overview will be constructive in providing an analysis of the directions of published research and in setting up a research agenda for the future. It also raises awareness with regard to entrepreneurship, and in particular, to its potential contribution to the individuals and to the competitiveness of economies. The empirical analysis adds to our knowledge about the current situation of EE in practice in Europe

Materials and techniques of Art Nouveau architecture in Italy and Portugal: a first insight for an European route to consistent restoration

The results of the investigations on building materials and techniques of Casa Major Pessoa, a typical Art Nouveau construction in Aveiro (Portugal), and two coeval Art Nouveau buildings in Bologna (Italy) are presented as a methodological contribution to the restoration of this kind of buildings. This is the first step to ascertain the existence of a common thread between local materials, technologies and architecture in European countries at the same period. A holistic approach was adopted: materials were investigated along with architectural, structural and technological features, in order to achieve a first insight into the Art Nouveau architecture in Europe in particular for its consistent restoration without loss of historical memory

Dynamic nonlinear analyses for the 4-storey infilled R/C frame: study of a retrofitting solution

A research project on assessment and retrofitting of R/C frame structures is currently being developed under the research programme of the ICONS TMR-research network. This paper presents and discusses the preliminary experimental results from a 4-storey bare frame representative of the common practice of 40~50 years ago in most south European countries and devotes special attention to the study of a retrofitting solution based on bracing and rubber dissipaters, which intends to increase stiffness and damping reducing consequently the earthquake deformation demands.O estudo aqui apresentado concentra-se numa solução de reforço de um pórtico utilizando contraventamentos (k-bracing) com perfis de aço em conjunto com elementos elastoméricos de dissipação. Os resultados das análises não lineares da estrutura com e sem alvenaria e com reforço são apresentados e discutidos. Na segunda parte da comunicação apresentam-se os resultados experimentais já disponíveis e discute-se o problema da modelação recorrendo aos resultados experimentais e comparando os resultados obtidos com diferentes tipos de modelos

Experimental characterization of the structural response of adobe arches

Earth was one of the first construction materials used by mankind and has been used as a building material since ancient times until the present days. Its qualities related to thermal comfort, low cost or simple construction techniques have contributed to such a long tradition throughout the world with several different architectural expressions, integrating the culture and history of each region. With the wide propagation of steel and concrete structures, there has been a general loss of the traditional knowledge in earth construction. This type of construction presents important structural fragilities and requires a special maintenance to preserve its qualities. In order to understand the structural behaviour of this type of structures, the associated construction methods and processes have to be considered. Aveiro University has been developing studies on adobe constructions, with research on the material mechanical characterization, experimental study of the structural behaviour of adobe masonry walls and, more recently, in the development of a detailed survey methodology for the characterization of buildings in Aveiro district. Integrated in these studies, arches with different geometries were built using adobe blocks and traditional construction methods. These arches were tested under different types of vertical loading (distributed symmetrical, distributed non-symmetrical and point load) until collapse. The experimental tests performed reproduce the typical loading conditions of these structures during construction and use. The tests conducted, the results obtained and the main conclusions attained are described in this paper

Foreign subsidiaries performance and dynamics: a comparative analysis with domestic firms

In this study we conduct a dynamic and comparative analysis showing evolutional differences between foreign and domestic firms, a topic particularly important when foreign direct investment has become more important to economic growth. In this study, we discuss the Portuguese experience and the comparative evolution of foreign subsidiaries and domestic firms during the period 1985-2005. We look in particular at issues of performance, human capital and dynamics. The research is based on a large scale panel data at firm level from the database ‘Quadros de Pessoal’ for the period 1985-2005. Our study expands over previous analyses conducted about Portugal with qualitative empirical data at firm level. From our knowledge, this is the first study with such a long time pan dimension. More than allowing for a comparative and static analysis, with this time horizon it is possible to investigate how the differences evolved over time. We found dissimilar progress trends in performance, human capital and dynamics. We discuss the implications of the findings and open prospects for future research. To study the quality of the foreign investments and its potential impact on the competitiveness of the host economy is clearly an important issue, especially in an economy with strong a challenge for convergence, and about which we still know very little on these issues. These analyses and empirical evidences are important to evaluate the efforts put in action in the last decades to attract FDI, and to open new lines of discussion and new policy measures

On R&D, medium and high-tech industries and productivity: an application to the Portuguese case

This paper investigates the potential impact of increased R&D efforts and structural change in Portugal on labour productivity. The paper addresses Portugal’s ambition, expressed in the 2005 Technological Plan. Based on existing literature on the relation between R&D expenditures, structural change and productivity, we evaluate the contribution of R&D and high-tech industries on productivity over the last 30 years. Our results confirm the importance of governement’s R&D and of business R&D in the medium to high-tech sectors, as they stimulate productivity growth. However, we cannot hypothesize that productivity growth was primarily rooted on the development of medium-high technology industries

Seismic analyses of a R/C building: study of a retrofitting solution

The preliminary experimental results from the tests on a 4-storey R/C frame structure are presented and discussed. The full-scale model is representative of the common practice of 40~50 years ago in most south European countries. Special attention is devoted to the study of a retrofitting solution based on bracing and rubber dissipaters, which intends to increase stiffness and damping reducing consequently the earthquake deformation demands