Competitive advantages as source of excess stock returns

Mestrado em FinançasThe perspectives assessment of any given company is a vital step to the efficiency of the valuation process. A correct assessment will result in the definition of assumptions that will lead to better valuation results. Wrong conclusions are frequently taken because a bad assessment was made and this is the result of the lack of a proper framework that guides the analysis of company perspectives. To solve this problem we decided to use strategic management theory and test the relation between stock returns and competitive advantages relevant for a given industry. We applied this method to the Steel Industry and tested it statistically. The results showed us that, generally, improvements in the operational efficiency, measured by the first differences in gross margin, provide excess returns. This results show us that the use of Competitive Advantages to select portfolios, in the Steel Industry, yields better than average returns.A avaliação das perspectivas para uma determinada empresa é um passo critico no processo de valorização de uma acção. Uma correcta avaliação resulta na definição de um conjunto de pressupostos que levarão a uma avaliação mais precisa. Analises erradas levam a conclusões erradas e são resultado da falta de um quadro orientador que direccione o estudo das perspectivas das empresas em causa. Para resolver este problema decidimos recorrer à teoria da gestão estratégica e testar a relação entre rendibilidades de acções e Vantagens Competitivas relevantes em determinada indústria. Aplicámos este método à Industria Siderúrgica e realizamos testes estatísticos. Os resultados mostram-nos que, na generalidade, melhorias na eficiência operacional, medida através das primeiras diferenças da margem bruta, oferece retornos acima da taxa de retorno sem risco. Estes resultados mostram-nos que a selecção de portfolios, utilizando Vantagens Competitivas, permitem-nos obter retornos acima da média

Firm performance and corporate governance variables - United Kingdom

Mestrado em FinançasA temática do corporate governance remonta ao século XVIII. Apesar disso, só depois da crise financeira da década de 2000 que afectaram todo o sistema e das graves falências empresariais, o tema voltou à ribalta. Este estudo revisita de forma abrangente a evolução das várias teorias da empresa à luz do desenvolvimento do corporate governance como ciência fundamental para promover e desenvolver a performance no meio empresarial. Para tal, foi analisado o efeito que as variáveis de corporate governance têm na performance das empresas do Reino Unido no período de 2005-2012. Foram considerados cinco mecanismos de controlo empresarial: controlo efectuado aos directores, controlo através da estrutura accionista, controlo interno efectuado pelos "Committees", atribuição do cargo de CEO e Chairman a pessoas distintas e controlo através de remuneração baseada na performance. A estrutura accionista, aliada à atribuição do cargo de CEO e Chairman a pessoas distintas e o controlo através da remuneração baseada na performance, revelaram-se os mecanismos mais significativos na resolução da equação performance governance. Finalmente, e baseado na revisão de literatura e nos resultados obtidos, é possível afirmar que o corporate governance é um processo dinâmico no qual todos os intervenientes devem ser tidos em conta na prossecução do objectivo comum desenvolver um modelo de governance que seja sustentável e benéfico para a sociedade.The theme of corporate governance dates back to the eighteenth century. Nevertheless, only after the financial crisis in 2000's decade that affected the entire system and the devastating corporate failures, the subject returned to the spotlight. This study revisits in a comprehensive way the evolution of the different theories of the firm in light of the development of corporate governance, as a fundamental science to promote and develop the corporate performance. To this purpose, we examined the effect that corporate governance variables have on the performance of companies in the UK for the period 2005-2012. We considered five mechanisms of corporate control: Board of directors, equity ownership structure, internal control performed by the Board Committees, separation of CEO and Chairman roles, and control through the variable remuneration. Board ownership, together with the separation of CEO and Chairman roles and control through the performance variable remuneration, proved to be the most significant mechanisms in the resolution of the equation performance - governance. Finally, and based on the literature review and the results obtained, it can be stated that corporate governance is a dynamic process in which the different stakeholders should be taken into account in order to achieve a common goal - develop a governance model that is sustainable and beneficial to society

Paradigm shift in the automotive market: how will premium brands deal with the innumerous challenges they will face? Current strategy overview

This work project focuses on the analysis of the automotive industry, more specifically, the premium segment. This assessment includes, not only the current outlook of the market, but also the future challenges that the industry will face. The motivation for this research lies in the key point in time which the market is, and in figuring out how brands can keep up with the revolutionary technological changes and challenges. Although the premium sector may seem a specific piece of the automotive industry, it appears like the one that not only can push forward the premium segment needs and desires but also the one that can better surpass future technological drivers and challenges and, in the end, influence the market as a whole.The automotive industry faces an unprecedented transformation, as such, there is the need to look at the current strategies, anticipate future changes, and elaborate a new strategy able to accommodate all challenges. The trends covered range from new engines to autonomous driving, connectivity, and new mobility solutions. In order to understand the current panorama and the main challenges the industry faces, the group started by conducting intensive secondary data research as well as expert interviews. The final goal of the Work Project is to develop a set of recommendations for premium brands to stay relevant in this industry

Global Biofuel Expansion and the Demand for Brazilian Land: Intensification versus Expansion

We use a spatially disaggregated model of Brazilian agriculture to assess the implications of global biofuel expansion on Brazilian land usage at the regional level. This Brazilian model is part of the FAPRI agricultural modeling system, a multimarket, multi-commodity international agricultural model, used to quantify the emergence of biofuels and to analyze the impact of biofuel expansion and policies on both Brazilian and world agriculture. We evaluate two scenarios in which we introduce a 25% exogenous increase in the global demand for ethanol and one scenario in which we increase global ethanol demand by 50%. We then analyze the impact of these increases in terms of land-use change and commodity price changes particularly in Brazil. In the first scenario, we assume that the enforcement of the land-use reserve in Brazil remains at historically observed levels, and that abundant additional land can be readily incorporated into production. The second scenario involves implementing the same exogenous biofuel demand shock but with a different responsiveness in area expansion to price signals in Brazil, reflecting varying plausible assumptions on land availability for agricultural expansion. The third scenario, which is similar to the first scenario but with a larger increase in global ethanol demand, is run to check whether increasing volume of ethanol requires the incorporation of additional quantities of land per unit of ethanol. We find that, within Brazil, the expansion occurs mostly in the Southeast region. Additionally, total sugarcane area expansion in Brazil is higher than the increase in overall area used for agriculture. This implies that part of the sugarcane expansion displaced other crops and pasture that is not replaced, which suggests some intensification in land use. The lower land expansion elasticities in the second scenario result in a smaller expansion of area used for agricultural activities. A higher proportion of the expansion in sugarcane area occurs at the expense of pasture area, which implied land intensification of beef production. This explains the small change in commodity prices observed between the first and second scenarios. These results suggest that reducing the overall responsiveness of Brazilian agriculture may limit the land-use changes brought about by biofuel expansion, which would in turn reduce its environmental impacts in terms of land expansion. Additionally, the impacts on food prices are limited because of the ability of local producers to increase the intensity of land use in both crop (by double cropping and raising yields) and livestock production (by increasing the number of heads of cattle per hectare of pasture or stocking rate) releases area that can be used for crops. In scenario three, we find that larger ethanol volumes did not require more land per unit of ethanol. Doubling the demand for ethanol does not change the results, which indicates that the limit for intensification is beyond the 50% expansion assumed in Scenario 3. In this range, the same amount of land is incorporated into production per additional unit of ethanol.Biofuels, Brazil, land use, Land Economics/Use,

Designing market-based instruments for biodiversity conservation: learning with the Australian experience and evaluating Portugal's potential

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil Gestão de Sistemas AmbientaisBiodiversity has been increasingly recognized as one of the key elements in human development and well-being. The loss of biodiversity is considered alarming not only because of its ethical and esthetical value, but also, because it comprises a variety of services essential for the health, regulation and prosperity of the biosphere. Given their significance, one might expect that the ecosystem services would be prized by markets and explicitly protected by the law, however, neither has been the case. International experience has shown that market-based instruments (MBIs), which basically provide economic incentives to modify behaviour, may be a more effective way to achieve many environmental goals, often yielding better results by harnessing the powerful cost-benefit motivations of businesses and individuals. This study intends to demonstrate the potential of market-based instruments in biodiversity conservation, particularly in protected areas. However biodiversity is not restricted to the network of national parks and other protected areas on state-owned land, it also needs to be protected and managed on privately-owned land. The goal of this work is to design a MBI, to be implemented in Portugal, in order to incentive private landowners in protected areas to achieve economic and social development without depleting the natural capital available. The design of the instrument started with the assessment of MBIs already running, with a special focus in the Australian experience. A methodology is proposed for that assessment in order to standardize the approach and analysis of this type of instrument. To overcome uncertainties and to get more information on the likely costs and benefits it is considered preferable to use an already trialled mechanism as basic framework. The instrument is designed using the basics of the Liverpool Plains Scheme (Australia), but some changes are introduced to improve it and make it more suitable to Portuguese reality. A potential target area in Portugal is selected according to several criteria, as a case study to illustrate the instrument application. It is proposed an implementation program and schedule. MBIs offer an opportunity to integrate biodiversity conservation into the economic market, however without a strong economic foundation, designing market mechanisms can result in costly mistakes. The success of this instrument will mainly depend on the ability to motivate the landowners to participate, in order to create competition between them, which will result in better outcomes at a lower cost. On the other hand, the ability to involve companies in the scheme, basically increasing the demand, will be decisive to its economic sustainability and growth. These are the keys features that will decide the success or failure of its implementation

Ascensores. Optimização energética

Segundo um estudo recente da União Europeia , o sector dos edifícios será responsável por cerca de 40% do consumo total de energia neste espaço geográfico. Cerca de 70% do consumo de energia deste sector verificarse‐ á nos edifícios residenciais. Em Portugal, mais de 28% da energia final e 60% da energia eléctrica é consumida em edifícios. Por forma a dar cumprimento ao Protocolo de Kyoto, no qual se definiu uma drástica redução da emissão de CO2, a Comunidade Europeia emanou várias directivas que se relacionam directa ou indirectamente com a temática da utilização de energia. As mais importantes são entre outras, a Directiva 2002/91/CE de 16 de Dezembro de 2002 ‐ “EPB ‐ Energy Performance of Buildings” (Desempenho Energético de Edifícios) , transposta parcialmente para o direito nacional pelo Decreto‐Lei nº 78/2006 de 04 de Abril, e a Directiva 2005/32/CE de 06 de Julho de 2005 – “EuP – Energy Using Products” (Requisitos de concepção ecológica dos produtos que consomem energia). Os ascensores não são referidos explicitamente nestas duas directivas, quando se aborda a temática do aumento da eficiência energética. Na Directiva EPB são referidos essencialmente equipamentos técnicos dos edifícios como sistemas de aquecimento, climatização e iluminação, bem como sistemas de isolamento térmico dos edifícios. Na EuP, por sua vez, também não se indicam especificamente os ascensores, embora sejam referidos por exemplo motores eléctricos, que farão parte integrante de um ascensor. De acordo com um estudo da S.A.F.E – “Agência Suiça para a Utilização Eficiente da Energia”, realizado em 2005, os ascensores podem representar uma parte significativa do consumo de energia num edifício (o consumo energético de um ascensor poder representar em média 5% do consumo total de energia de um edifício de escritórios). Na Suiça estima‐se que o somatório do consumo de energia dos cerca de 150.000 ascensores instalados represente cerca de 0,5% do total de 280 GWh de consumo energético do país. A redução do consumo de energia nos edifícios poderá ser obtida através da melhoria das características construtivas, reduzindo dessa forma as necessidades energéticas, através de medidas de gestão da procura, no sentido de reduzir os consumos na utilização e através do recurso a equipamentos energeticamente mais eficientes. No preâmbulo da Directiva EuP refere‐se que “a melhoria da eficiência energética – de que uma das opções disponíveis consiste na utilização final mais eficiente da electricidade – é considerada um contributo importante para a realização dos objectivos de redução das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa na Comunidade.” Daí que seja importante estudar também a optimização energética de ascensores. No presente artigo será apresentado um resumo do estudo sobre o consumo energético realizado a uma amostra composta por 20 ascensores eléctricos instalados pela Schmitt‐Elevadores, Lda. em Portugal. Para a determinação do consumo anual de energia a partir dos dados obtidos, foi utilizado um modelo, desenvolvido com base na norma alemã VDI 4707:2009. Com base nos dados obtidos foram então identificadas diversas hipóteses de optimização, que poderão e deverão ser implementadas

Optimização energética em novos ascensores

De acordo com um estudo da S.A.F.E – “Agência Suíça para a Utilização Eficiente da Energia”, realizado em 2005, os ascensores podem representar uma parte significativa do consumo de energia num edifício (o consumo energético de um ascensor poder representar em média 5% do consumo total de energia de um edifício de escritórios). Na Suíça estima‐se que o somatório do consumo de energia dos cerca de 150.000 ascensores instalados represente cerca de 0,5% do total de 280 GWh de consumo energético do país. A redução do consumo de energia nos edifícios poderá ser obtida através da melhoria das características construtivas, reduzindo dessa forma as necessidades energéticas, através de medidas de gestão da procura, no sentido de reduzir os consumos na utilização e através do recurso a equipamentos energeticamente mais eficientes. No preâmbulo da Directiva 2005/32/CE de 06 de Julho de 2005 – “EuP – Energy Using Products” (Requisitos de concepção ecológica dos produtos que consomem energia)1 refere‐se que “a melhoria da eficiência energética – de que uma das opções disponíveis consiste na utilização final mais eficiente da electricidade – é considerada um contributo importante para a realização dos objectivos de redução das emissões de gases com efeito de estufa na Comunidade.” Daí que seja importante estudar também a optimização energética em novos ascensores

Aplicación de índices de tolerancia a la salinidad en plántulas de maíz

Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron: estudiar la aplicación de diferentes índices de tolerancia en caracteres de plántulas de maíz y evaluar su posible utilidad en la identificación de genotipos tolerantes a la salinidad. Se probaron 68 accesiones en dos ambientes (0 y 100m MClNa). Se midieron: largo de raíz, vástago y 3ª hoja y peso seco de raíz y de parte aérea. Se incluyeron 6 índices de tolerancia: índice de susceptibilidad al estrés (SSI), índice de tolerancia al estrés (STI), tolerancia al estrés (TOL), media geométrica de la productividad (GMP), productividad media (MP) e índice de estabilidad del rendimiento (YSI). Debido a la variación espacial relacionada con la concentración de sal en ambientes salinos, sería importante identificar genotipos estables frente a una gama amplia de suelos salinos. El biplot agrupó las accesiones, caracteres medidos en ambientes con y sin estrés e índices de tolerancia a sal, y demostró que los índices GMP, MP y STI fueron los que permitieron identificar los accesiones estables que se caracterizan por tener una alta expresión de estos caracteres en ambos ambientes. La aplicación del método de Componentes Principales (CP) identificó a los caracteres peso seco aéreo y largo de raíz como los de mayor contribución y ambos estuvieron asociados con dichos indices de tolerancia a salinidad. De esta manera, en este estudio las accesiones 1, 7, 30, 33, 43 y 45 fueron los más estables para los caracteres peso seco aéreo y largo de raíz. Entre ellos las accesiones 30 y 33 fueron superiores (pertenecientes a genotipos del Grupo A) porque mostraron los escores más altos sobre el eje CP1 pero sus aportes al CP2 fueron bastantes pequeños, para la mayoría de las variables.The aims of this research were: to study the application of different tolerance Indices in traits measured in maize seedlings and to assess their possible use in the identification of genotypes tolerant to salinity. Sixty eight accessions were tested in two environments (0 and 100mM NaCl). We recorded length for radicle, shoot and third leaf and dry weight for root and shoot. Six stress tolerance indices were included: stress susceptibility (SSI), stress tolerance index (STI), stress tolerance (TOL), geometric mean productivity (GMP), mean productivity (MP) and yield stability index (YSI. Saline environments show a great spatial variation in relation to the salt concentration, for this reason it would be important to identify genotypes with stable behavior in a variety of saline soils. The biplot method allowed clustering accessions, traits measured in stress and non stress environment and salt tolerance Indexes in a same graphic, and showed that GMP, MP and STI indexes were the ones who helped identify the high yielding (group A genotype) and stable accessions, characterized by a high expression of these characters in both environments. Principal Component method showed that shoot dry weight and root length had the highest contribution and both were associated with these above indices in salinity. Therefore, in this study the accessions: 1, 7, 30, 33, 43 and 45 had stable values for the traits root length and shoot dry weight. Within this group the 30 and 33 entries were superior (bellowing to Group A genotypes) because they had the highest PC1 scores but its PC2 scores were rather small for the most of the variables.Fil: Collado, Mónica B.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; ArgentinaFil: Aulicino, Mónica Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Arturi, Miguel Jacinto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; ArgentinaFil: Molina, María del Carmen. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Ivity internationalization strategy: integrative work project SME competitiveness

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsInternationalization is an important challenge and companies should analyze and plan its strategy before proceed. My project will focus the internationalization plan of Ivity. Ivity is a branding company with entirely Portuguese capital structure. As a young small company Ivity has a low international experience but, due to the Portuguese market size, it is looking for internationalization opportunities. To elaborate the internationalization plan I started by an external analysis in order to understand branding industry in Portugal. In the internal analysis I studied Ivity’s competitive advantages, innovations, competitive situation and internationalization potential. Further, I developed an international scanning having in mind that the sector where Ivity’s competitive advantages and expertise could face better opportunities are the airlines industry. Due to the similarity of language, the recent growth, the early emerging and internationalization that increase marketing needs, I found Brazil as the country I should target and I analyze Brazilian market, focusing my attention in the competition and the potential customers. Finally I develop and propose an implementation plan with a timeline of resources and investment to support the operation aligned with the defined strategy

Test mocks for low-code applications built with OutSystems

UIDB/04516/2020 PTDC/CCI-INF/32081/2017Unit testing is a core component of continuous integration and delivery, which in turn is key to faster and more frequent delivery of solutions to customers. Testing at the unit level allows program components to be tested in complete isolation, therefore these tests can be carried out quicker thus reducing troubleshoot time. But to test at this level, dependencies between application components (e.g. a web service connection) need to be removed. There have been advances in mocking and stubbing techniques that remove these dependencies. However, these advances have been made for high-level programming languages, while low-code development technology has yet to take full advantage of these techniques. This paper presents a mocking solution prototype for the OutSystems low-code development platform. The proposed mocking mechanism removes dependencies to components that the developer wants to abstract a test from, as for instance web services or other pieces of logic of an application.publishersversionpublishe