Repositório RCAAP

This paper aims to assess whether and how current Portuguese national spatial planning policy and regional spatial plans are based on evidence revealing trends and patterns of population decrease and rural and urban shrinkage in Portugal. Firstly, built on a literature review, we identify the consequences of population decrease, the so-called characteristics of shrinkage, and we briefly look at dominant approaches and strategies to deal with it. Secondly, we review macro level policy documents to access global awareness and perception of shrinkage from a transnational perspective. Finally, after sketching an international framework on our subject matter shrinkage, a content analysis is applied to the Regional Spatial Plans of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon and of the Northern Region. Urban shrinkage and shrinking cities are not explicitly mentioned in these documents. This is partly understandable because it is an emergent phenomenon in Portugal, in comparison with other countries, and because the concept is recent and it has not yet come to light in Portuguese planning practice. In addition, results suggest that the doctrine of growth is still embedded in Portuguese planning culture. In sum, despite clear evidence of population decrease in Portugal, spatial planning policy and regional spatial plans have either disavowal or reactive character pertaining population decrease and shrinkage.

The new demographic, social, economic and cultural conditions that appeared in Poland after 1990 have crucially influenced the transformation of its cities in both quantitative and qualitative terms. One of the manifestations of those changes is an increasingly visible process of shrinkage of many of them. The overcoming of its detrimental effects will be one of the most important challenges for planning and urban policy in Poland in the 21st century. This article seeks to identify new urban policy challenges that Polish cities have to meet in the face of advancing urban shrinkage. It starts with the presentation of theoretical issues concerning urban policy and urban shrinkage. Discussed next are the formation of urban policy in Poland and major aspects of the transformation and shrinkage of Polish cities after 1990. Special emphasis is put on the need to work out a new, integrated urban policy that would allow them to adapt to the negative demographic trends observed.

Assuming that providing memorable experiences is the raison d’être of tourism industry, the city envisaged as a tourist destination should assume the tourist’s perspective when designing the settings and the most significant activities of a visit. Cities are facing new challenges, noticeably the globalisation of economies, the growing importance of the visual and the symbolic that define the current trends of consumption and the attractiveness of a place. Culture and events play a strategic role when designing innovative and appealing tourism experiences. The European Capital of Culture (ECoC) is an international event which represents a unique opportunity for the cities to stand out in this globalised and competitive scenario. This paper focuses on the study of Pécs, European Capital of Culture 2010, and it aims to study the influence of this event on the design of city tourism routes. A survey by questionnaire was administered to tourists before and during ECoC in Pécs. Respondents indicated in open-ended questions the most outstanding points in their visit to the city, on which were designed the relevant circuits and routes during that tourist experience in Pécs. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software STAS.

Ecuador is immersed, since the adoption of the 2008 Constitution, in a process of economic, social and political changes, following the steps on their path to a more equal, post-extractive and democratic society. The main tool for this purpose, the National Strategy for the «Buen Vivir» (Good living) and the Change in the Production Model emphasizes new ways for producing, consumption and self-organization. Although Ecuadorian Constitution comprises these ideas and the Ecuadorian Government has promoted different programs and strategies, there is a limited analysis about the local manifestations of these policies. In this way, this paper proposes a study of the local strategies developed in a medium-size city in the south of Ecuador through the analysis of the local networks and the initiatives of local actors for developing strategies oriented to this end. Interviews and statistical data (demographic, economic and social data mainly) are used to confirm the level of accomplishment of these objectives. Thus, the existing local networks and the path of the city of Santa Rosa may explain the different level of recent socioeconomic changes taken place at local level instead of Central government policies.

Conflict is an inevitable reality both in personal and in organizational life. For being inevitable, the conflict must be managed Defined as a process that occurs when one party feels adversely affected by another (e.g., De Dreu, 1997 the conflict management styles can be analysed as a function of personality variables. In this respect the cultural intelligence, self-monitoring and self-interdependent seem to be relevant variables, since characterised by flexibility and interest in other aspects present in conflict management styles. In this study, we propose that cultural intelligence, associated with the self-interdependent and self-monitoring, can have a positive impact on the choice of most effective interpersonal conflict resolution styles. Being cultural intelligence an attribute of extreme importance, we still sought to determine how the quantity and quality of intercultural contact and self-interdependent present themselves as predictors of it. With a sample of 399 individuals, the proposed model suggests that high levels of cultural intelligence mediated by a high self-monitoring and selfinterdependent positively affect and predict the conflict resolution styles adopted. Given the need to develop abilities aimed at increasing the skills of conflict resolution, this study adds to the existing literature new predictors, contributing to the welfare and performance of human resources, and consequently to success and organizational effectiveness.

This paper presents an analytical approach to the reality of Spanish-Moroccan families in Spain, constructed from two areas of data collection. The first was collected from available intermarriage data (in which at least one of the two members of the couple was Moroccan) and the second from the available data about children of these unions. The analyses were performed using official data collected in the Statistical Bulletin of Birth from the National Institute of Statistics (NIS henceforth). Since 2008, the Moroccan community has constituted the second largest contingent of foreign residents in Spain (after Romanians), although its historical trajectory places them as the immigration group with higher sociodemographic relevance. The Moroccan migration is the result of young people who marry at young ages with a strong trend toward marrying homogamously within their own national group who journey to Spain and reside primarily in larger regions such as Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Catalonia. The results of this study indicate that couples who are both Moroccan parents show some different marriage patterns when compared to couples where only one parent is of this nationality

Based on the management of diversity’s implications on the provision of public services, this work reflects on the perception that groups with ethnic differentiation have over housing policies in Andalusia. Specifically, we present the results obtained through a questionnaire elaborated ad hoc from a project based on modeling socio-spatial social intervention in social housing in Andalusia. The most significant differences found in relation to the Andalusians who benefit from these politics are exposed, with differentiation of the Gypsy collective as well as the Group of Moroccan immigrants who have access to this type of housing. Despite the differences, the needs for action in the field of social housing are equal for everyone in the neighborhood, despite ethnic diversity, although their perceptions, valuations and satisfaction can influence actions that are developed and must be considered. Finally, we believe that the politics of public housing in Andalusia expires with the social function of the housing. The problems reside in improving the management of this public park to achieve a major implication of the tenants in the maintenance of the communities and to promote new public housings that they could answer to the situations supervened in this context of crisis.

The business expansion to other geographical areas with different cultures from which organizations were created and developed leads to the expatriation of employees to these destinations. Recruitment and selection procedures of expatriates do not always have the intended success leading to an early return of these professionals with the consequent organizational disorders. In this study, several articles published in the last five years were analyzed in order to identify the most frequently mentioned dimensions in the selection of expatriates in terms of success and failure. The characteristics in the selection process that may increase prediction of adaptation of expatriates to new cultural contexts of the some organization were studied according to the KSAOs model. Few references were found concerning Knowledge, Skills and Abilities dimensions in the analyzed papers. There was a strong predominance on the evaluation of Other Characteristics, and was given more importance to dispositional factors than situational factors for promoting the integration of the expatriates.

This study seeks to analyze a) if the frequency with which group choose to use a certain strategy is associated with the type of conflict represented in a given situation and b) if, for different types of conflict, different conflict handling patterns (the frequency of their use) could be considered significant predictors of group effectiveness, measured through group performance and satisfaction. We developed a correlational empirical study with a sample composed of 73 work groups, taken from 14 organizations in the industrial and service sectors. The results showed that groups in task conflict situations choose integrative strategies more often than when in relational conflict situations. Moreover, avoiding strategies were more likely to be used in relational conflict situations than in task conflict situations. On the other hand, our results showed that the frequency with which a group uses an integrative strategy can be considered a significant (positive) predictor of group satisfaction for both types of conflict situations (task and relationship). Our results are discussed and compared with our previous literature review, as well as the implications and limitations of the study, along with some thoughts on further investigation.

Following the theories of gray and positive accounting this study examines the options in the measurement of assets and the usefulness of fair value. Using a sample of 104 Portuguese and Spanish companies with listed securities, the research analyzes factors associated with the fair value option and whether the listing incorporates this information. The results reveal a conservative behavior, where only 19% of companies use the fair value, specially the Portuguese (35%), confirming that the country of origin has a significant influence on this choice. The fair value option is more expressive on investment properties, and less expressive in intangibles. The sectors denote significantly different behaviors, and companies with higher quotes are more cautious using the fair value. The market reacts differently about the nature of this information. It is favorable to its sectorial utilization, reacting negatively to a more widespread use (Portugal), which supports the argument that the relevance of fair value estimates are dependent on the confidence placed by investors. This study contributes to stress the culture and market price of companies as explanatory variables for the use of fair value. Our findings suggest a more conservative culture in Spanish than in Portuguese companies.

Even though surf tourism in Portugal is an economic activity with a steady growth rate, there are not many assessment studies available. Using a survey undertaken in surf camps located in the Vila do Bispo County, this study aims to analyse the environmental awareness of surf tourists in the Algarve. Through the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale it is shown that the environmental attitudes of respondents are strongly pro-ecological but also reveal some anthropocentric aspects. Tourists were asked about their willingness to pay for an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection in the Algarve. The results show that the large majority (86%) would be willing to pay, which indicates a high environmental awareness. It is also found that the willingness to pay is related to the nationality, with respondents from Germany, Austria and Switzerland showing a higher willingness to pay.

The personality of a destination is vital to build a coherent destination brand and strengthen the place identity. Furthermore, brand personality appears in literature as a strategic axis that can be explored by tourist destinations in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. Since a brand encompasses not only functional but also symbolic elements, its image, as perceived by consumers, can be assessed with respect to both its functional and psychological components. Hence, this exploratory study investigates the brand personality of Portugal as a tourist destination, from the perspective of the Czech market, through a destination image approach. The online survey instrument included open-ended items to depict functional and psychological destination features and additional questions to characterize the profile of a sample of Czech university students. The main findings of this research highlight positive personality traits that are related to the brand of Portugal, which suggest its potential as a vacation destination for the Czech market under study.

With more organizations looking for employees who take initiative and respond creatively to the challenges of the job, engagement and psychological empowerment becomes important at both individual and organizational levels. Engaged employees are generally more satisfied with their work, committed and effective at work. According to the JDR model (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004), engagement may be produced by two types of working conditions: job demands (i.e., role stress) and job resources (i.e., psychological empowerment; self-efficacy). This study examines the role of psychological empowerment and work engagement as antecedents of job satisfaction. A cross sectional study using online questionnaires was conducted. The sample consisted of 152 Portuguese workers in hotels. Tourism is an important tool for profit and the Portuguese hotels are fundamental for the growth of the country. Employee satisfaction increases employee retention and increases productivity influencing the income / profits for hotels. Hierarchical multiple regressions analyses revealed that job satisfaction was significantly predicted by psychological empowerment and work engagement. Results support JDR model by showing that positive outcomes, such as job satisfaction, may be predicted by motivational process and job demands. On a practical level, JDR model provides a framework for understanding motivating workplaces and engaged and satisfied hotel employees.

This paper addresses the role of imagery and tourism experiences (TEs) in the construction of tourism destination image (TDI). It highlights the importance of the construct imagery at all stages of consumption, because of the intangibility that characterizes tourism and services in general. This aspect gains importance since it is impossible for tourists to experience the desired holidays prior to visitation, leading the way for imagery to become an essential element to inspire and to influence them during the decision-making process, and consumption before, during and after the experience. A conceptual model resulting from the literature review and the potential theoretical contribution of the model are discussed.

Timor-Leste is a small island that emerged as Asia’s newest nation in 2002, and it is largely unknown as a tourism destination in the world, with geographic, natural, and socio cultural weaknesses and vulnerability. In this country, tourism is considered as one of the priorities for the national economic development, in addition to agriculture, and petroleum. However, in a new destination, which is also in the first stage of tourism development, the involvement of stakeholders is very limited both on the supply and the demand sides. This situation presents a major challenge to the achievement of a sustainable tourism development. Moreover, the study of tourism in this country is a very recent phenomenon. In this context, the objective of this study is twofold. Firstly, it intends to examine the perceptions of the local leaders (from the public sector, the private sectors and from non-governmental organizations) regarding the sustainable tourism development concept; and secondly, to understand to what extent these leaders take initiatives in voluntary actions towards sustainable tourism development at the local level, as well as their motivations and difficulties in this process.

This research was conducted both in Portugal and Brazil and explores energy efficiency (EE) behavioral change programs implemented by a non-state-owned company selling electricity to residential consumers in both markets. In order to understand to what extent the corporate social marketing (CSM) framework is being used in these programs, the motivations of non-state-owned companies to implement EE programs and the approach underpinning these projects are analyzed. Furthermore, this study compares the approaches used by the multinational company in its EE programs implemented in the Portuguese and the Brazilian markets. Data collected from interviews are submitted to comparisons, using the grounded theory. The perspectives of competing companies with similar programs, and other stakeholders are included in the analysis. The research seeks for a substantive theory emerged from the data suitable for the analyzed context. The findings of this predominantly qualitative study suggest that the corporate social marketing approach contributes to achieving the goals of energy efficiency programs, while adding corporate gains to the companies, such as positive corporate image, business strategy improvement and stakeholders’ engagement. Links between international climate public policy goals, specific governmental EE programs goals, and companies’ behavioral change programs are presented.

Recruitment and management of volunteers in non-profit organizations is a fundamental activity in increasing these organizations’ capacity and one that can benefit considerably from applying marketing principles. However, these organizations are found to have difficulty in applying marketing principles due to the lack of capacity in this professional area. This article aims to draw a parallel between theory and practice based on the literature in this field and the case study of CooLabora in its activity of university volunteerism - UBICool. The case study shows that many of the principles suggested by theory are applied in this specific case, although often informally and unplanned, and so recognizing the positive and less positive factors can contribute to future improvement with benefits for the organization, volunteers and society.

This paper focuses on a social marketing project proposal for a community in a social housing neighborhood in Faro, in southern Portugal. The aim of the research is to discuss the possibility of the implementation of a neighborhood network, using a social marketing approach with the goal of strengthening the ties of cooperation, solidarity and friendship between the inhabitants of the neighborhood with a view to fostering social cohesion in the city. The paper offers a theoretical and empirical discussion about the characteristics of particular areas designated as social housing neighborhoods. Data collection was performed in loco by giving a questionnaire to the inhabitants of the neighborhood and by direct observation. The results facilitated a balance between the needs of the residents and their ability to help their neighbors. The results are followed by a discussion and a proposal for a social marketing project targeted to the neighborhood under study.

Within the paradigm of the experience economy, the literature has recently focused on the importance of creating the conditions to provide individuals with positive, meaningful and memorable consumption experiences. The consumption experience model proposed by Pine and Gilmore, which is based on four dimensions – entertainment, aesthetics, education and escapism – has been operationalized and adapted in several settings. This study presents the results obtained from the analysis of participants’ experiences at the Querença Market, from the perspective of visitors. This initiative is part of a pilot project for territorial intervention – the Querença Project - which was implemented by nine young graduates in the region of Algarve, Portugal. Through a diversified offering of products and cultural and nature-related activities, based on the co-creation process with the local community, it was possible to revitalize the traditional village market, which became extinct 70 years ago. The results of the questionnaires presented to visitors of the market highlighted the multi-sensory nature of the event, which is related to the wide diversity of sensory stimuli associated with food, agricultural products and human interaction. Visitors described an overall positive and memorable experience, emphasizing the dimensions related to “aesthetics” and “entertainment.”

As the awareness of social problems and environmentally related issues in particular becomes widespread, companies have been called to participate in the resolution of these, given that they are the main economic agents with impacts on the society and on the environment. Considering that corporations face pressures from their stakeholders to contribute to solving the social global issues that are affecting them, this theoretical paper analyses the role of stakeholder theory, a new management paradigm, and the importance of social marketing to achieve the aims of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The key point of this study is the possible contribution of social marketing to ensuring the companies’ voluntary involvement in promoting social and environmental well-being, supporting them to respond to stakeholders’ requests, due to its capacity of providing, over time, quantifiable improvement on social issues. In this context, this study explores the linkage between stakeholder theory, CSR and social marketing concepts, giving particular attention to the social marketing contribution to solving environmental issues.