Impact of social capital on flexible work organisation models: comparative study of european countries

The present economic context is heavily marked by a global crisis without precedents. Facing this constraint, companies feel pressured to undertake even greater efforts in order to optimize available resources. Work organisation is one of the mechanisms that managers use to align human resources with that kind of constraints and, thus, develop a better response to the market. Organisational literature shows that flexible and decentralized work organisation models are better suited to this need. These models stress the importance of human resources in promoting a flexible organization capable of change and adapt to market contingencies. This perspective can be seen on the adoption of participation, decentralization of the decision process and information, cooperation among workers through the implementation of working teams. The characteristics of human resources, namely their social and technical skills, knowledge and their ability to learn new things, are frequently pointed out as a key factor for the success of these models. The main goal of this paper is to understand the role of human and social capital for the success of flexible organisation practices. In order to accomplish this goal, it is developed an analysis of European countries from 1990 to 2005, using data from World Values Survey (WVS) and European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).Work Organisation; HPWS; Social Capital; Europe

Porto street stage at Rally Portugal: the determinants of the length of stay

We present the determinants of the length of stay (LOS) of Porto Street Stage that integrated the program of the 52nd edition of Rally de Portugal. Sport events assume an important role in the marketing of tourism destinations. However, when we compare them with other segments in tourism, it still remains underexplored. This study represents an opportunity to contribute to the literature, and it could become a significant toll for the organizers, public entities and other stakeholders. We contemplate a set of information and data that may improve the management of the future editions in a more rigorous and effective way. As we are dealing with an international event, it is an occasion to enlist tourists and promote the tourist destination. We applied a quantitative analysis and considered the sociodemographic characteristics of the spectators, factors that influenced the trip, expenses per day in the city, level of satisfaction with the event, and the intention to return. An OLS regression model, a Weibull survival model and a zero-truncated negative binomial regression model were estimated, and the results were compared. On the LOS determinants it is not common to consider the influence of each item of expenditure during the stay and the satisfaction levels with the event and different effects were observed. The travel and accommodation expenditures present a negative effect on the LOS. In the opposite side the satisfaction level and intention to return, both present a positive effect on the LOS. The sociodemographic characteristics have diverse impacts on the LOS.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

Social capital and growth in european regions

B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

Social capital and growth in european regions

Theories of economic growth at the regional and national level, have expanded the traditional production function of the Solow model towards a wide function that collects conditioning factors of labour productivity, measured by R & D expenditure, the number of patents, the human capital, the social capital or entrepreneurship rates. This set of factors have been developed by authors like Westlund (2006) and Koo and Kim (2009). The aim of this paper is to analyze regional growth in the EU, considering the differences between the EU15 and its eastern regions, using such set of factors and taking into account the limitations of existing data for this type of analysis.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

How digital media can help fight food waste

Purpose: This study intends to understand how digital media can help raise consumer awareness of the importance of combating food waste. For this, two issues were investigated: if individuals are aware of this problem food; and if are willing to learn about digital tools that promote combat this type of waste. Methodology: To assess the willingness of individuals to join digital media to combat food waste, an online questionnaire was administered to 211 individuals. The data collected were analysed thought of multivariate statistical techniques. Findings: Most consumers proved to be aware of what food waste consists of using various strategies to reduce it. However, a consumer segment with little knowledge about this topic emerged. This segment said they didn't know any brands or applications to combat food waste, but when confronted with their names, they said they knew or at least had heard of them, and subsequently demonstrated the desire to deepen or acquire their services. Originality: Understanding how digital media contribute to consumer awareness of the importance of combating food waste can help marketers design marketing strategies on this topic. Furthermore, the present research contributes to current literature on fighting food waste.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

THE EVALUATION OF MUNICIPAL TOURIST TAX AWARENESS: THE CASE OF THE CITY OF PORTO

Purpose – Evaluation of the municipal tourist tax awareness by tourists visiting the city of Porto, in order to test their knowledge and assessment about it and estimate the consequences on the city’s level of competitiveness, as a tourism destination. Design – This paper integrates the main literature review by using microdata, considering 2.139 answers, which were collected through direct interviews to tourists. Methodology – We use a logit and a generalized linear models. Findings – A little more than half of the tourists have already been aware of the tourist tax, depending on their sociodemographic characteristics, and almost 70,7% classifies the tax as “acceptable”. Two key variables stand out: level of education and nationality of the tourist. The tax is competitive and to guarantee the destination attractiveness it is highlighted that, if the revenue is invested to benefit tourism, providing improved quality services, the demand from the tourists whose profile was already identified, will not possibly be affected. Originality of the research – This study fulfils two gaps: i) the evaluation of the tourists’ awareness regarding the tax application and its assessment, according to their sociodemographic characteristics; and ii) the analysis of the destination’s level of competitiveness

The evaluation of municipal tourist tax awareness: the case of the city of Porto

Purpose – Evaluation of the municipal tourist tax awareness by tourists visiting the city of Porto, in order to test their knowledge and assessment about it and estimate the consequences on the city’s level of competitiveness, as a tourism destination. Design – This paper integrates the main literature review by using microdata, considering 2.139 answers, which were collected through direct interviews to tourists. Methodology – We use a logit and a generalized linear models. Findings – A little more than half of the tourists have already been aware of the tourist tax, depending on their sociodemographic characteristics, and almost 70,7% classifies the tax as “acceptable”. Two key variables stand out: level of education and nationality of the tourist. The tax is competitive and to guarantee the destination attractiveness it is highlighted that, if the revenue is invested to benefit tourism, providing improved quality services, the demand from the tourists whose profile was already identified, will not possibly be affected. Originality of the research – This study fulfils two gaps: i) the evaluation of the tourists’ awareness regarding the tax application and its assessment, according to their sociodemographic characteristics; and ii) the analysis of the destination’s level of competitiveness.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gastronomic experiences on tourist's life satisfaction and happiness: the case of Porto

The tourists' gastronomic experiences are important in developing a destination branding strategy, especially if this translates into greater happiness and tourists' life satisfaction. We intend to study the influence of five gastronomic/food experience variables on the tourists’ life satisfaction and happiness. After inquiring 352 tourists in Porto, the data were analysed through SEM and SPSS/AMOS software. The results validate the hypotheses concerning refreshment and hedonic/novelty experiences, which improve tourists’ satisfaction and happiness. The adverse experiences reduce the tourists' happiness, and lastly, tourists' life satisfaction with the gastronomic/food experience improves their happiness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the relationship between the length of stay and various determinants at one of the best european destinations

Studies scrutinizing the tangible and intangible factors regarding the length of stay (LOS) in a destination are rare. The emotional factors have not always been integrated into this analysis. We have contributed to fill this gap in the literature considering the degree of happiness with the tourist destination. We used a sample of 1253 tourists and three regression models were estimated (OLS regression model, a Weibull survival model and a zero-truncated negative binomial) to study the LOS. We verified that the emotional factor related with happiness affects the LOS. Furthermore, regarding the managerial/practical implications it is important to highlight that the tourists who intend to visit the city have gastronomic and wine experiences, and, through their contact with the cultural heritage of the city, they will stay for a longer period of time. In addition to economic factors, as expenditures, there are also emotional and experiential aspects that influence LOS and these have to be included in the communication of a tourist destination. The attributes of a destination are not enough to influence the LOS. The destination must also be a set of experiences that will increase the happiness of the tourist with the destination.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira VieiraN/

Level of recommendation and satisfaction after an event: the NOS Primavera Sound case study

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the level of recommendation and satisfaction related with sociodemographic characteristics of visitors and the loyalty they show regarding the festival. Methodology: Data from a random sample of 1397 visitors were collected from an online questionnaire after the festival occurred. In univariate analysis with application of the ANOVA test, we observe that the global satisfaction is influenced by age, marital status, educational degree, residence, if they participated in the previous edition, type of ticket and intention to return for the next edition. In the application of the factorial analysis, three distinct factors emerged: the recommendation of the festival, the satisfaction with the organization and the satisfaction with the stages. In the econometric models we highlight simultaneously the gender and the intention to return that influence the recommendation and the satisfaction. Findings: The results will be important for the framework of management and marketing of the event NOS Primavera Sound in the sense that they can be used for the visitor segmentation through the identification of sociodemographic characteristics of visitors, the levels of recommendation, satisfaction and loyalty towards the event. Originality/Value: This is the first time a post-event analysis is applied to NOS Primavera Sounds, in Portugal.B913-0565-0908 | Elvira Vieirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio