Dynamic capabilities in international markets: their antecedents and current and future performance outcomes

Classifications: M31 – Marketing; M10 – GeneralThe international context is a dynamic, complex environment in which it is hard for firms to secure current performance without hindering future performance. This study developed specific dynamic capabilities as a feasible way to balance current and future export performance. Besides including an important domain to dynamic capabilities (market) and considering the relevant but understudied context of exporting, the study’s contribution is threefold: (1) it extends previous work and studies the impact of export market orientation on product development and market-related dynamic capabilities, (2) it is the first to disentangle the effects of dynamic capabilities on current and future performance, and (3) it tests interfunctional coordination and environmental turbulence as moderators of the dynamic capabilities–performance link. An online survey was administered to Portuguese export manufacturers. The findings suggest that export market orientation dimensions – customer and competitor – are not similarly related to dynamic capabilities. Export customer orientation is an antecedent of both exploitative and explorative capabilities, whereas export competitor orientation promotes only exploitative capabilities. The effects of dynamic capabilities on current and future performance are distinct. Exploitative capabilities are positively related to current performance. Product development explorative capabilities are positively related to current performance, whereas market-related explorative capabilities have the opposite effect. Market-related exploitative capabilities and product development explorative capabilities relate positively to future performance. With respect to moderating effects, findings confirm the role of interfunctional coordination as moderator of the explorative capabilities– performance link. Environmental turbulence dimensions – technological and market – moderate the dynamic capabilities–performance link, but do so divergently.O contexto internacional é um ambiente dinâmico cuja complexidade dificulta às empresas garantir o desempenho actual sem perturbar o futuro. Este estudo introduziu as capacidades dinâmicas como forma viável de balancear os desempenhos actual e futuro. Além de incluir um domínio importante às capacidades dinâmicas (mercado); e considerar o contexto relevante mas pouco estudado da exportação, o estudo tem três contribuições: (1) estende trabalho prévio, estudando o impacto da orientação para o mercado exportador nas capacidades dinâmicas de desenvolvimento do produto e de mercado; (2) é pioneiro a desenlear os efeitos destas capacidades nos desempenhos actual e futuro, e (3) testa coordenação interfuncional e turbulência ambiental como moderadoras da ligação capacidades dinâmicas–desempenho. Aplicou-se um questionário online a fabricantes exportadores Portugueses. Os resultados sugerem que as dimensões da orientação para o mercado exportador – cliente e concorrência – não se relacionam igualmente com as capacidades dinâmicas. A orientação para o cliente antecede as exploitativas e as explorativas, enquanto a orientação para o concorrente apenas promove as exploitativas. Os efeitos das capacidades dinâmicas no desempenho actual e futuro são distintos. As exploitativas relacionam-se positivamente com o desempenho actual. As explorativas de desenvolvimento do produto relacionam-se positivamente com o desempenho actual e as de mercado de forma oposta. As exploitativas de mercado e as explorativas de desenvolvimento do produto relacionam-se positivamente com o desempenho futuro. Quanto aos moderadores, confirmase a moderação da coordenação interfuncional na ligação capacidades explorativas– desempenho. As dimensões da turbulência ambiental – tecnologia e mercado – moderam de forma oposta a ligação capacidades dinâmicas–desempenho

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: From Schumpeter to Industry 4.0

Acknowledgements: This work is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and Centro2020 through the Project references: UID/Multi/04044/2013 and PAMI - ROTEIRO/0328/2013 (Nº022158).Innovation is key to firms’ competitive advantage, performance, and growth. In this paper we try to briefly link the concepts of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with the emergence of a new industrial revolution that has been labeled as “Industry 4.0”, showing that as in the past a set of innovation are the main drivers for the change of the technical and social paradigm. We summarize a number of concepts to show that the key drivers of competitiveness are Innovation and Entrepreneurship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estimating the prevalence of female genital mutilation in Portugal

UID/SOC/04647/2013OBJECTIVES: Due to globalized migratory processes, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has spread to other countries, including countries in Europe, where, with a few exceptions, it remains a concealed problem. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first national extensive study to estimate the prevalence of FGM/C in Portugal. STUDY DESIGN: Prevalence estimation. METHODS: Using extrapolation of country-of-origin prevalence data and the 2011 Census data, this study estimated: the prevalence of FGM/C in Portugal among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) and among all women aged ≥15 years; and the number of girls aged <15 years living in Portugal who have undergone or will probably undergo FGM/C. RESULTS: It is estimated that 6576 women aged ≥15 years living in Portugal have undergone FGM/C, with cases distributed unevenly throughout the national territory. In addition, it is estimated that 1830 girls aged <15 years living in Portugal have undergone or are likely to undergo FGM/C. CONCLUSIONS: This study estimated that more than 6000 women living in Portugal have undergone FGM/C, and many girls remain at risk. These two groups need different types of interventions. Awareness of the number and geographical dispersion of cases of FGM/C will enable more informed and targeted definition of public health policies for protection of females who have undergone or are at risk of undergoing FGM/C.authorsversionpublishe

Is the Financial Report Quality Important in the Default Prediction? SME Portuguese Construction Sector Evidence

This work analyses whether financial information quality is relevant to explaining firms’ probability of default. A financial default prediction model for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) is presented, which includes not only traditional measures but also financial reporting quality (FRQ) measures. FRQ influences the decision-making due to its impact on financial information, which has repercussions on the accounting ratios’ informativeness. A panel data of 1560 Portuguese SMEs in the construction sector, from 2012 to 2018, is analysed. First, firms are classified as default or compliant using an ex-ante criterion which allows us to identify signs of financial constraints in advance. Then, the stepwise method is employed to identify which variables are more relevant to explain the default probability. Results show that FRQ measures, namely accruals quality and timeliness, impact firms’ defaulting, supporting their relevance in predicting financial difficulties. Finally, using a logit approach, the accuracy of the model increased when FRQ variables were included. Results are confirmed using “new age” classifiers, namely the random forest methodology. This work is not only relevant to the extant financial distress literature but has also relevant implications for practice since stakeholders can understand the impact of financial reporting quality to prevent additional risks.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Dynamic Capabilities

Currently, small and medium enterprises that are family businesses (SMEFs) assume an important role in the global economy. Further, innovation and flexibility became vital to firms’ survival and prosperity in the market during these volatile times. Firms should not only possess critical resources, but also be able to recombine them. Characterized by resource restrictions, SMEFs can rely on dynamic capabilities to access resources and be competitive in the market. In this regard, networking capabilities (NC) and resource combinations (RC) such as exploitative and explorative product development and on market-related capabilities emerge as key dynamic capabilities. This chapter examines the role of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on NC and RC. Using a qualitative method of in-depth case study, the chapter analyzes 12 Portuguese SMEFs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Does earnings quality impact firms’ performance? The case of Portuguese SMEs from the mold sector

Purpose: This work aims to study the impact of earnings quality on firms’ financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: An unbalanced panel data of 237 small and medium-sized Portuguese companies from the mold industry, using 2010-2018 yearly data was analyzed. While most studies focus only on earnings management when assessing earnings quality, in this study six proxies for earnings quality are used, namely accruals quality (a proxy for earnings management), earnings persistence, earnings predictability, earnings smoothness, earnings timeliness, and earnings conservatism. Moreover, two proxies of financial performance are considered, the return on assets and the economic value added. An econometric model was estimated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects specification to account for the individual firm-specific effects and ensure heteroscedasticity corrected estimates. Findings: The results show that managers must be concerned with the quality of reported earnings, as it can affect positively firms’ financial performance, especially regarding accruals quality. Persistence, predictability, smoothness, timeliness, and conservatism are shown not to exert significant influence on financial performance in the sample. Research limitations/implications: This work contributes not only as a literature review on these thematic but also to firms’ managers and stakeholders, who have information that helps them select strategies that guarantee earnings quality and improve firms’ financial performance. Originality/value: We proposed an econometric model that studies the relationship between earnings quality (using several proxies for it) and financial performance that can be applied to all companies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Socioeconomic inequality in dietary intake begins before 24 months in Brazilian children

OBJECTIVE: To assess dietary patterns by socioeconomic gradient of Brazilian infants and young children in 2006 and 2013. METHODS: Data from the National Demographic Survey (2006) and the National Health Survey (2013) were used. Food intake were described by wealth index, age range and survey year. Dietary patterns were defined by principal component analysis. Association of wealth index and dietary patterns were modelled using linear regression. RESULTS: Breast milk intake was higher for poor infants and young children, while fresh food intake (fruits, vegetables, meats, beans) was higher for the richer ones in 2006 and 2013. Biscuits and sweetened beverages were more consumed by rich infants and young children in 2006 and by poor and rich children in 2013. Three dietary patterns (DP1, DP2, and DP3) were identified in 2006 and four in 2013 (DP1, DP2, DP3, and DP4). DP1 was composed mainly of fresh foods, and it was positively associated with the wealth index for infants and young children in both years. DP2 was composed of biscuits, cookies and sweetened beverages, and it was positively associated with the wealth index for young children in 2006 and for poor and rich infants and young children in 2013. DP3 was composed of milk, water and porridge in both years, and it was not associated with the wealth index. DP4 was composed of breast milk and porridge, and it was negatively associated with the wealth index. CONCLUSIONS: DP1 is a characteristic pattern for richer infants and young children since 2006, while DP2 is a characteristic pattern for all infants and young children in 2013, regardless of wealth index. Dietary inequality between the poor and the rich seems to begin in childhood

The influence of internal and external variables in the export performance

Focusing on export performance and having as a starting point the resource- based view (RBV) and contingency theories, this paper intends to study the effect of both internal and external factors to a firm in the export venture performance. As methodology, a qualitative study was developed – case study – using semi- structured interviews to two managers and one director of marketing and communication of one of the largest cork stoppers manufacturing firm in Portugal. The major findings of this paper are that both internal and external factors have impact in both export marketing strategy adaptation and export venture performance. The more developed the internal resources are, the better is the export venture performance and export marketing adaptation. A better knowledge of external factors has the previously mentioned impact. Also, export marketing strategy adaptation has a positive influence on export venture performance. This research provides a better comprehension of the phenomenon of export performance in a strict research setting (a firm form a small open economy and, only one product). To have a better export performance, managers should invest in their internal resources (such as market and international business knowledge). This paper contributes to extant knowledge of the export performance, in the way that it sheds a light on export performance in small open economies, namely the factors which contributes to a better performance of a firm (within the research setting defined).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge transmission channels: a comparative study of clusters in Brazil and in China

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the knowledge transmission channels in two textile clusters located in two emerging economies: one in Vale do Itajaí, in Brazil, and the other in Haining, in China, highlighting the existing similarities and discrepancies. Information in the textile cluster in Brazil was collected through: studies on secondary sources and fieldwork. The characterization and identification of knowledge transmission channels most used in cluster in Chinese cluster were based on survey data collected from secondary sources, namely research published by international organizations. In both clusters, opportunities of direct learning are found with other companies operating in the same market can be restricted due to the similarity between the goods and a limited competitiveness. The results show that the relations with competitors, suppliers and customers are important knowledge transmission channels in textile clusters. This research can be used by managers to enable the understanding of the mechanisms and determinants of knowledge transmission channels and can also influence the knowledge diffusion more effectively

Canais de transmissão do conhecimento: estudo no EuroClusTex, cluster transfronteiriço entre o Norte de Portugal e a Galiza

Observa-se que os processos de aprendizagem colaborativa em clusters são cruciais para a formação da vantagem competitiva ao nível individual das empresas e no conjunto que forma o aglomerado produtivo. Neste artigo pretende identificar-se os canais de transmissão do conhecimento no EuroClusTex, cluster têxtil e de vestuário do Norte de Portugal e da Galiza. Para tanto foi realizada uma pesquisa de cunho exploratório. Os dados primários foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas com onze sujeitos-chaves. Também foram coletados dados secundários por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica. Constatou-se que o EuroCluTex contribui para a competitividade das regiões, impulsionando as relações comerciais entre a Galiza e o Norte de Portugal. No EuroClusTex os canais mais efetivos para transmissão do conhecimento são: a imitação, os fornecedores, as políticas públicas, e a capacitação de recursos humanos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio