Evaluating the firm's likelihood to adopt an e-procurement system

Towards identifying the factors that foster electronic procurement systems adoption, we reviewed the literature and developed a model that explains electronic-procurement systems (EPS) adoption, considering the technology-organization-environment framework as well as the institutional theory. This model was tested with data collected from the 2500 largest companies operating in Portugal. Based on the t-test for equality of means we found evidence that EPS adoption is positively and significantly associated to (1) firm size; (2) technology competence; (3) the perception companies have about the EPS success of their competitors; (4) the extent of adoption among competitors; and (5) the trading partner readiness to perform electronic transactions. The logistic regression supplied further evidence that technology competence, firm size, extent of adoption among competitors and trading partner readiness provide a reasonable estimate for each firm's likelihood to adopt EPS. We also found evidence that firms which main activity is commerce are more likely to adopt EPSs than firms operating on manufacturing or services industries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Understanding influencer endorsement in the luxury sector

The following dissertation studies the transition of celebrity endorsement to the Social Media context by exploring the effect of Social Media Influencers’ endorsement on the consumption of luxury products. This relationship was reviewed with the use of the Social Learning Theory, testing both the fit between product and endorser, and the transferred value from the endorser to the product. Additionally, this dissertation investigates the role of the influencers’ popularity on the effectiveness of the endorsement. On one hand, popularity showed no significant impact on the fit between luxury products and the influencer. On the other hand, a positive relationship between the perceived status of a product and the influencer’s popularity was verified. Which was confirmed as a determinant factor to a successful link between the endorsement of popular influencers and higher purchase intentions of the endorsed luxury products. These results were coherent with the literature review presented.A seguinte dissertação estuda a transição do patrocínio de celebridades para o contexto de Social Media, explorando o efeito do patrocínio de Social Media Influencers sobre o consumo de produtos de luxo. Esta relação foi estudada com o uso da Social Learning Theory, testando a adequação entre a marca patrocinadora e o influencer, e o valor transferido do influencer para a marca (após o patrocínio). Adicionalmente, esta dissertação investiga o papel da popularidade dos influenciadores na eficácia dos patrocínios. Por um lado, a popularidade não demonstrou nenhum impacto significativo na adequação entre os produtos de luxo e o influenciador patrocionado. Por outro lado, verificou-se uma relação positiva entre o status associado à marca e a popularidade do influenciador. O que foi confirmado como um factor determinante para um vínculo bem-sucedido entre o patrocínio de influenciadores populares e intenções de compra mais altas dos produtos de luxo patrocionados. Os resultados foram coerentes com a revisão literária apresentada

Drivers and barriers influencing sustainable food procurement in the hospitality industry

In late years, the tourism and hospitality industry became one of the most important contributors to the global economy and sustainable development. Corporate responsibility is now accepted to be a viable strategy to achieve competitive advantages as well as stakeholders’ satisfaction. By interviewing representatives from six Lisbon hotels and one expert association, the present study aims to identify the drivers and barriers influencing a hotel’s ability to implement a sustainable food procurement system as well as to determine how, and in what ways, specific hotel characteristics and market position can impact its motivations, setbacks and overall ability to manage food procurement in a sustainable way. The interviews’ responses and the case-studies have shown how the quest for quality, internal and external communication, education and mutual collaboration with all stakeholders, corporate responsibility programs and guidelines and ultimately, business values and philosophy are the more recurrent reasons motivating hotels to achieve sustainable food procurement. On the other hand, the lack of prioritization of sustainable objectives, lack of implementation of such values throughout all hierarchies, lack of administrative freedom and an overall lack of sustainable supply chains and sustainable suppliers and products have been identified as the biggest difficulties hampering the process of implementing sustainable food procurement policies. Despite many factors being identified as possible factors affecting these results, we have ultimately concluded that a balance between sustainable development, customer satisfaction and financial sustainability are key for the achievement of sustainability related policies.Nos últimos anos, a indústria do turismo e da hospitalidade contribuiu fortemente para a economia global e o desenvolvimento sustentável. A responsabilidade empresarial é agora aceite como uma estratégia competitiva que satisfaz todos os interessados. O presente estudo, que parte de entrevistas a representantes de seis hotéis de Lisboa e a uma associação especializada, tem como objetivo identificar que motores e obstáculos influenciam a capacidade de os hotéis implementarem um sistema sustentável de compras de alimentos e determinar os efeitos das suas características específicas e do seu posicionamento no mercado nessas respetivas motivações e dificuldades. As respostas dos inquiridos e os estudos de casos mostram como a procura da qualidade, a comunicação interna e externa, a educação das partes interessadas e a colaboração entre elas, os programas e diretrizes de responsabilidade empresarial e, em última instância, os valores e as filosofias empresariais são os fatores que mais influenciam, e mais frequentemente, a política de aquisição sustentável de alimentos. Por outro lado, a falta de prioritização dos objetivos de sustentabilidade, a falta de inscrição dos respetivos valores em toda a cadeia hierárquica, a falta de liberdade administrativa e, por fim, a falta generalizada de cadeias de fornecimentos, fornecedores e produtos sustentáveis foi identificada como o maior travão à implementação de políticas sustentáveis de aquisição de alimentos. Apesar de vários fatores terem sido identificados como possíveis obstáculos a esses objetivos, concluímos que equilibrar o desenvolvimento sustentável com a satisfação do cliente e a sustentabilidade financeira é fundamental para implementar políticas de sustentabilidade

Endovascular Treatment of Iliofemoral Deep Venous Thrombosis - Is There Enough Evidence to Support It? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

INTRODUÇÃOː O Síndrome Pós-Trombótico (SPT) e a redução da Patência Iliofemoral (IF) são complicações comuns da Trombose Venosa Profunda Iliofemoral (TVPIF). Estudos recentes sugerem que técnicas de tratamento endovascular, tais como a Trombólise Dirigida por Catéter (TDC) e a Trombectomia Farmacomecânica (TF), permitem reduzir de modo eficaz o risco e morbilidade de SPT em doentes com TVPIF. Este artigo visa rever a literatura atual acerca deste tema, focando-se nos outcomes obtidos a longo prazo a partir da aplicação de técnicas de tratamento endovascular a doentes com TVPIF. AQUISIÇÃO DE EVIDÊNCIAː Foi elaborada uma revisão sistemática da literatura usando as bases de dados PubMed/Medline e Scopus, de acordo com as normas de publicação da PRISMA. Um número total de 40 artigos foram incluídos na análise qualitative da revisão, de acordo com a sua relevância científica. Deste grupo inicial de artigos, 9 artigos foram incluídos na realização da análise quantitativa. SÍNTESE DE EVIDÊNCIAː O tratamento endovascular com TDC e TF está associado a uma diminuição do risco de desenvolvimento de SPT, por comparação com anticoagulação standard (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.54-0.92). Para além disso, a patência IF apresenta taxas superiors em pacientes tratados com TDC ou TF, por comparação com anticoagulação standard (OR = 3.20; 95% CI = 1.80 -5.71). Não há diferenças estatísticas significativas no risco de SPT e na patência IF entre pacientes tratados com TDC e TF. Complicações como hemorragias, embolismo pulmonar e morte tmabém não parecem divergir entre o tratamento endovascular e anticoagulação, bem como entre TDC e TF. CONCLUSÕESː Técnicas de tratamento endovascular parecem ter outcomes satisfatórios a longo prazo em doentes com TVPIF, relativamente ao risco de SPT e à preservação da patência IF. Contudo, investigação adicional com ensaios clínicos randomizados prospetivos com elevado tamanho populacional e tempos de seguimento longos parece ser necessário para poderem ser tiradas mais conclusões.INTRODUCTIONː Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) and iliofemoral (IF) patency reduction are common complications of iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis (IFDVT). Recent studies suggested that endovascular treatment, such as catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) and pharmacomechanical thrombectomy (PMT) can effectively reduce the risk and morbidity of PTS in IFDVT patients. This article aims to review the current literature on the subject, focusing on the long-term outcomes of endovascular treatment techniques in IFDVT patients. EVIDENCE ACQUISITIONː A thorough systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed/Medline and Scopus, according to PRISMA statement guidelines. Forty articles were included, according to their scientific relevance, for the qualitative analysis. From this initial set of articles, nine articles were included for the quantitative analysis. EVIDENCE SYNTHESISː Endovascular treatment with CDT or PMT is related to a decreased risk of PTS development, when compared to standard anticoagulation treatment (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.54-0.92). Furthermore, IF patency presents superior rates in patients treated with CDT or PMT, instead of anticoagulation (OR = 3.20; 95% CI = 1.80 -5.71). There are no significant differences in the risk of PTS and IF patency between patients treated with CDT and PMT. Complications such as bleeding, pulmonary embolism and death, don't seem to differ between endovascular treatment and anticoagulation, as well as between CDT and PMT procedures. CONCLUSIONSː Endovascular techniques seem to have satisfactory long-term outcomes in IFDVT, regarding to PTS risk and IF patency. However, further investigation with prospective randomized clinical trials with large populations and long follow-ups is necessary

Designing personalized intelligent decision support systems: the impact of risk attitude on using secury selection models

The variety of investment methods and the complexity of investment decisions have increased steadily in the last two decades. This growth has created a need for comprehensive and expandable financial decision support systems that embody major approaches toward investment decisions. The question is whether such systems should take into account the investor's unique requirements and personal characteristics. This paper reports on the first phase of our research. Here, we design such a system, create a prototype, and use it for an exploratory investigation of the impact of investors' individual characteristics on their use of models in making decisions. More specifically, we report on how investors' attitudes towards risk, gender, and age relatetheir choice of investment models.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudo observacional e retrospetivo acerca do índice de massa corporal e do nível de desempenho das capacidades motoras condicionais em alunos do 2ºciclo do ensino básico do concelho da Covilhã

Nas sociedades contemporâneas, os estilos de vida das populações têm vindo a modificar-se nas últimas décadas, o que se traduz em modelos de ocupação sedentários e padrões alimentares que favorecem o aumento do sobrepeso e da obesidade. Dados de estudos recentes na Europa colocam Portugal entre um dos países com maior prevalência de obesidade infantil, com elevada prevalência de sedentarismo e com reduzida prática de atividade física na vida quotidiana (OMS, 2004; Teixeira et al., 2008). Pretende-se com esta investigação estudar as capacidades motoras condicionais (flexibilidade, força média, força inferior e velocidade) de uma amostra de 1740 crianças, a frequentar o 2º ciclo do Ensino Básico, em duas escolas do concelho da Covilhã, durante 19 anos letivos, bem como analisar o efeito de caraterísticas individuais (idade, género e índice de massa corporal) no desenvolvimento diferenciado dessas capacidades motoras. Os resultados mostraram a existência de capacidades motoras condicionais diferenciadas das crianças segundo a idade, género e o grau de obesidade. Assim, registou-se um ganho de flexibilidade, força média e força inferior e velocidade por parte dos alunos que frequentavam o 6º ano de escolaridade comparativamente com os alunos de 5º ano. Também se verificou que as meninas apresentaram, em média, valores de flexibilidade superiores ao dos rapazes. O contrário sucedeu para as capacidades motoras força média, força inferior e velocidade onde os rapazes apresentaram melhores performances. Constatou-se ainda que os alunos com baixo peso, sobrepeso ou obesidade apresentam um pior desempenho físico, comparativamente com os alunos com peso normal. Relativamente ao estudo retrospetivo das capacidades motoras dos alunos, desde 1993 até 2012, verificamos que estes apresentam valores médios mais elevados da escala de flexibilidade nos períodos letivos iniciais de análise comparativamente aos anos letivos mais recentes, denotando assim uma tendência de diminuição da flexibilidade dos alunos entre os dois períodos. Para as capacidades físicas, força média e velocidade, não foi possível traçar uma tendência demarcada de evolução ao longo dos 19 anos letivos. No que diz respeito à força média, verificamos que os alunos do 5º ano de escolaridade apresentam valores mais elevados desta escala nos últimos anos letivos comparativamente com períodos letivos anteriores. Os resultados do nosso estudo levam-nos a concluir que as capacidades motoras condicionais são influenciadas pelo índice de massa corporal, género e idade.In contemporary societies, the lifestyles of people have been changing in recent decades, which is translated into sedentary models of occupation and eating patterns that favor the increase of overweight and obesity. Data from recent studies in Europe put Portugal among the countries with a higher prevalence of childhood obesity, with a high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle and reduced physical activity in everyday life (OMS, 2004, Teixeira et al., 2008). This research aims to study the conditional motor skills (flexibility, medium strength, lower strength and speed) of a sample of 1740 children attending the “2º ciclo do Ensino Básico” (2nd cycle of basic education) in two schools in the “Concelho da Covilhã” (County of Covilha), for 19 school years and analyze the effect of individual characteristics (age, gender and body mass index) in the development of these different motor skills. The results showed the existence of different conditional motor skills of children according to age, gender and degree of obesity. Thus, there was a gain in flexibility, medium strength, lower strength and speed on the part of students attending the 6th grade compared with students in the 5th grade. We also found that girls showed, on average, higher values of flexibility compared to the boys. The opposite happened for the medium strength, lower strength and speed in which the boys had better performances. It was further observed that students with underweight, overweight and obesity have a worse physical performance compared with students of normal weight. For the retrospective study of students motor skills, from 1993 to 2012, we verify that they had a higher average level of flexibility in initial academic periods of analysis compared to the most recent school years, thus denoting a downward trend in the flexibility of students between the two periods. For the physical abilities, medium strength and speed, it was not possible to draw a marked tendency over the 19 academic years. Regarding the medium strength, it was concluded that students in the 5th grade showed higher values of this scale in the last academic years compared to previous academic periods. The results of our study lead us to conclude that the conditional motor skills are influenced by body mass index, gender and ag

The quality of monitoring data in Civil Engineering works

This paper presents the research and discusses the findings concerning the identification and definition of quality dimensions related to the monitoring data obtained in the safety control of major civil engineering works, namely dams and bridges. The analysis of the behavior and the safety evaluation of these works essentially depend on the quality of the data collected by the sensors, named the observation data, besides the quality of the models and, last but not least, the knowledge and experience of the experts involved. In addition, LNEC stores and preserves the observation data concerning major civil engineering works, which represents an important research source for LNEC and Universities and, thus, shapes itself as an e-Science scenario. Differently from other e-Science environment authors, we have not restricted our work to objective dimensions, whose measures can be calculated automatically. It appears, from the experts' opinions, that some subjective dimensions can largely enrich the quality information about archived data at the expense of some additional work in data curation. In the development of this research we used an online version of the Delphi method with the Q-Sort technique, complemented with upstream interviews and a downstream meeting with the experts. We found out, and sorted by the importance level assigned by the experts, ten dimensions for the quality of observation data, which are error-of-observation, coherence, relevancy, interpretability, timeliness, completeness, accessibility, appropriate amount of data, access security and preservation

How do portuguese college students perceive e-commerce?

This paper identifies that e-commerce adopters and non-adopters rate differently each of the supposed e-commerce qualities. While adopters consider that the most important qualities of e-commerce are best values on e-commerce, detailed information on e-commerce, timeliness, easiness of comparing and comfort, non-adopters rate personalization and availability higher than adopters do. The various patterns of attitude regarding e-commerce qualities were identified through a principal component factor analysis that proposed four factors: detail towards the optimal choice; practical; best values; and flexibility. The structural equation model explained e-commerce adoption based on the factors above and identified that while high ratings of detail towards optimal choice, practical and best values have a positive impact on e-commerce adoption, high ratings of flexibility is negatively associated with it. The negative association between the valuation of flexibility as an e-commerce quality and e-commerce adoption suggests that e-commerce is not providing enough flexibility, which is composed by personalization and availability, since the adopters rate it lower than the non-adopters do, what leads us to recommend improvements on these features towards the encouragement of the Internet users that are not yet e-commerce adopters

LEVERAGING ON MOBILE BUSINESS TO ENHANCE FIRM PERFORMANCE: AN ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL STUDY

Advancements in mobile technologies leverage the potential of m-business to impact organizational performance. This study aims at identifying the determinants of m-business usage and its impact on the firm?s performance. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Resource-Based View (RBV) theories ground this research?s conceptual model for assessing the value of m-business in an organizational context. Two different methodologies are combined in this study. The first consists on an exploratory study based on expert interviews to define m-business value and the impacts that its usage may have on the organization. The second develops a nomological net to assess m-business usage and value. The measurement and structural models are then tested using structural equation modelling as implemented in Smart PLS based on the data of 180 Portuguese organizations. Results show that compatibility and complexity are not among the factors that are antecedents of m-business usage, while relative advantages, technology competence, technology integration, managerial obstacles, competitive pressure, low partner pressure and mobile environment are significant antecedents of m-business usage. Additionally, supporting the results from the interviews, impacts on the procurement dimension is less significant than impacts on the marketing and sales and internal operations dimensions of m-business value

Influencing factors on the buying behavior in the software market

The case of desktop Operating System and Office Suite choices considering Proprietary and Open Source Software alternatives