Repositório RCAAP

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O estudo analisa a perceção dos fornecedores da Força Aérea Portuguesa (FA) sobre os determinantes da adoção das práticas de Responsabilidade Social e Responsabilidade Ambiental, considerando a Pressão dos stakeholders, a Motivação, as Barreiras e o Apoio da FA como fatores influenciadores da adoção das mesmas. Criou-se um questionário por inquérito como método de recolha de dados, obtendo-se 584 respostas válidas, representativas do tecido empresarial dos fornecedores da Força Aérea. Para a análise de dados e teste das hipóteses formuladas, utilizou-se o método dos mínimos quadrados parciais através do modelo de equações estruturais. Realizaram-se ainda entrevistas semiestruturadas a dois fornecedores, como forma de análise de robustez. Os resultados demonstram que o apoio da FA influencia positivamente a pressão dos stakeholders, assim como a adoção de práticas sociais e ambientais. A Pressão dos stakeholders e a Motivação influenciam positivamente a adoção destas, no entanto as Barreiras não têm um efeito significativo neste âmbito. O estudo contribui para a elaboração de políticas de implementação de comportamentos de responsabilidade social empresarial nos fornecedores do setor público português, assim como, para a melhor compreensão dos fatores que influenciam a adoção de práticas de sustentabilidade.

Purpose – The market for counterfeit goods worldwide has continued to grow significantly over the years, attracting the curiosity of researchers in the marketing field. This study aimed to analyse the influence of pricequality inference and attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products on the intentions to purchase non-deceptive counterfeit products. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a quantitative methodology and utilised the crosssectional survey method to collect data from a sample of 381 respondents comprising university students. The data was then analysed using the computer software Smart PLS 4. Findings – The results established that the respondents’ price-quality inference of counterfeit products was positively associated with the attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products and intention to purchase counterfeit products. Furthermore, the study revealed that attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products partially mediated the influence of price-quality inference on customer intention to acquire non-deceptive counterfeit goods. A multigroup analysis of the proposed relationship did not find any statistically significant differences in the pattern of results concerning the gender groups. Research limitations/implications – The significance of the study findings is hampered by the singular focus on university students as a reference point for young people’s perceptions of counterfeit goods in South Africa. The study, however, presents verifiable evidence that marketers and brand managers of genuine products may utilise to develop intervention measures to sway young African consumers away from counterfeits and towards genuine brands. Originality/value – This is one of the few studies in the literature that addresses young adults’ deliberate purchasing of non-deceptive counterfeits in South Africa, an important consumer market in Africa.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the causal mechanisms that explain the relationship between the long-term buyer–supplier relationship and buyer performance. Building on the growing body of research on social capital in supply chain management (SCM), the authors examine how a buyer achieves superior performance in forming the enduring partnership with a supplier through two different forms of supplier embeddedness: buyer–supplier dyadic embeddedness and supplier external embeddedness. Design/methodology/approach – The bootstrapping method is utilized in data analysis to examine the mediating effects of the two different forms of supplier embeddedness simultaneously on the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer performance outcomes. Findings – The authors find that the two forms of supplier embeddedness serve as distinct conduits for the buyer to translate the long-term buyer–supplier relationship into performance effectiveness. Notably, dyadic embeddedness only mediates the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer economic performance, while supplier external embeddedness solely mediates the linkage between the duration of buyer–supplier relationships and buyer innovation performance. Originality/value – This study empirically demonstrates that different forms of supplier embeddedness may benefit a buyer differentially when directed at distinct performance goals. If a buyer can leverage both buyer– supplier dyadic embeddedness and supplier external embeddedness, the buyer will overcome value creation limitations of social capital from a single source, obtaining more comprehensive performance benefits sought by developing long-term buyer–supplier relationships.

Hydrophilic polymers swell to form gels that contain many times their dry weight in water. They are marketed as ‘superabsorbent polymers’, with different trade names, for incorporation into soils and substrates. YunKai et al. (2002) reviewed the effects of these polymers on agricultural soils and crops. Another use of hydrophilic polymers is in disposable diapers and similar products. A layer of polyacrylate polymer is located between cellulose fibres, and the whole contained by a plastic cover. Effects of metals on ecosystems and biological resources are increasingly recognised (Izquierdo et al., 2005; Pérez-de-Mora et al., 2006). It is too expensive to remove metals from severely contaminated soils, and the restoration of these sites does not imply a decrease in the total contents of toxic metals, but rather a change in their availability. Factors that influence the flow of metals from solid phases towards soil solution govern their bioavailability. In this manuscript, the emphasis is set on the effect of polyacrylate polymers on plant growth and quality of metal-contaminated soils, deriving from their effect on metal availability.

Purpose – This paper provides remarkable insight into the structural components of a firm’s core competence and its development via research and development (R&D) activities for innovation and exporting activities. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have used a positivist design and a deductive methodology. The authors have examined the extant literature developing a theoretical framework to empirically investigate the relationships between a firm’s core competence, organisational learning (OL), tacitness, dynamic capability and R&D activities. To carry out this investigation, the authors have collected stratified sample data from 330 firms operating in North East England, a peripheral region of England. Findings – The authors have found that there are indeed significant statistical relationships between these structural components, R&D activities and a firm’s core competence, and this nexus is pertinent to innovation and exporting. Furthermore, it is found that North East England is significantly constrained by the lack of finance, technological capability, experts and brain drain. Based on these findings, the authors propose a cooperative R&D framework to narrow down these constraints to assist firms in developing core competencies for innovation and exporting in peripheral regions. Social implications – There is an urgent need to investigate the incidence of knowledge-driven activities, R&D, the extent of innovation and exporting activities of firms operating in North East England, a peripheral region of the United Kingdom (UK). Originality/value – This study provides an original and systematic investigation of the firm’s core competence and its formation via key structural components for innovation and exporting within an empirical framework.

A saúde e o bem-estar dos enfermeiros são afetados pelas exigências do seu local de trabalho e, por sua vez, o seu trabalho afeta o bem-estar e as pessoas a quem prestam cuidados de saúde. Para que possamos intervir eficazmente no sentido de promover a sensação de bem-estar nos profissionais de saúde e, consequentemente, retê-los nas organizações, é necessário aprofundar os nossos conhecimentos sobre este tema e promover ações que criem ambientes seguros e propícios ao desenvolvimento profissional e crescimento pessoal dos enfermeiros. Assim, desenvolveu-se um estudo de natureza descritiva e correlacional, com o objetivo de analisar o impacto de certos fatores que influenciam o bem-estar dos enfermeiros, nomeadamente, a autonomia profissional e a falta de civismo por parte dos utentes. Por outro lado, é efetuado o estudo do impacto do bem-estar na intenção de abandonar a profissão por parte dos profissionais de saúde. Por fim, são discutidas as implicações teóricas e praticas do estudo. A amostra envolveu 201 enfermeiros pertencentes a diversas organizações de saúde em Portugal. Este estudo permitiu-nos concluir que os profissionais de saúde que apresentam maiores níveis de autonomia e menores níveis de falta de civismo por parte dos utentes, são os mesmos que experienciam uma maior sensação de bem-estar. Os mesmos profissionais que experienciam maiores níveis de bem-estar, são os mesmos que têm menores intenções de abandonar a profissão.

In strength training, especially in rehabilitation when relearning certain movement patterns, it is a common practice to focus internally, e.g., on a certain muscle. However, recent scientific evidence suggests an external focus of attention as a solution that maximizes performance when compared to an internal focus of attention. An external focus promotes a greater number of motor solutions, which seems to derive from an "optimal" amount of variability inherent in the motor system. However, the effect of focus of attention on the variability of force/ torque has not been tested experimentally until now. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of the type of attentional focus (external vs. internal) on the regulation of torque variability and its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Fourteen participants performed a submaximal isometric knee extension task, from which measures of torque variability (sample entropy - temporal structure; and coefficient of variation - magnitude of variability) were extracted. Additionally, electromyographic activity of the knee extensor (vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and rectus femoris) and knee flexor (semitendinosus and biceps femoris) muscles was quantified. Furthermore, the co-contraction index between the extensor-flexor pairs was calculated. In the same assessment the participants performed a maximal isometric knee extension task, where peak torque and rate of torque development were extracted. The maximal tasks were performed three times and the submaximal tasks twice per condition (control, internal, external). A one-way repeated measures ANOVA with Tukey's multiple comparisons test, or a Friedman's ANOVA, were used to test the effect of condition. In the submaximal tasks, an internal focus (vs. an external focus) caused a decrease in sample entropy (i.e., increased regularity), whereas for the coefficient of variation a trend in the opposite direction was found. Additionally, an internal focus (vs. an external focus) caused an increase in muscular activity of vastus medialis and semitendinosus. The co-contraction indices involving semitendinosus showed an increase when adopting an internal instead of an external focus. In the maximal tasks, no differences between conditions were found. Taken together, the increase in regularity and in the coefficient of variation are indicators of a reduced motor control caused by an internal focus when compared to an external focus. The fact that an internal focus (vs. an external focus) leads to a general increase in co-contraction and muscular activity, but without affecting maximal force parameters, suggests a lower efficiency of the motor system caused by inter-muscular coordination processes. The present results are of great importance for sport performance as well as in the context of exercise and health, as changes related to instructions and the task goal seem to impact torque regulation and its neurophysiological mechanisms.

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Introdução: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência da fragilidade na população idosa portuguesa e analisar o comportamento das dimensões do fenótipo da fragilidade ao longo de 3 meses de follow-up Metodologia: A amostra foi composta por 267 participantes. A avaliação da fragilidade foi realizada a partir do fenótipo de Fried, que utiliza os indicadores da perda de peso, exaustão, atividade física, velocidade de marcha e fraqueza muscular. A análise estatística dos dados foi realizada a partir do qui-quadrado, comparando as avaliações inicial e follow-up, realizadas com 3 meses de follow-up. Resultados: Os participantes tinham uma idade média de 77,38 ±7,8 anos, dos quais 67,8% eram mulheres e 32,2% eram homens. Foram detetadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas em todos os itens de avaliação do fenótipo da fragilidade: Perda de Peso (=48,987; p<0.001); Exaustão (=6,526; p<0,001); Atividade Física (=64,380; p<0,001); Velocidade de Marcha (=107,409; p<0,001); Fraqueza Muscular (=105,811; p<0,001); e também na Fragilidade (=98,964; p<0,001). Conclusão: O fenótipo de fragilidade de Fried mostrou ser um bom instrumento para avaliar a prevalência da fragilidade na população portuguesa, mostrando existir relações significativas em todos os domínios da fragilidade e na fragilidade em si, entre a avaliação inicial e o follow-up.

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This paper models, in game-theoretical terms, the location of two vertically-linked monopolistic firms in a spatial economy formed by a large, high labor cost country and a relatively small, low labor cost country. It is found that the decrease in transport costs shifts firms towards the low production cost country. This process takes two different forms: in labor-intensive industries it leads to spatial fragmentation; in industries with strong input-output relations, agglomerations are conserved, although they shift toward the low labor cost country.

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