Sustainability reporting and financial reporting: the relevance of an integrated reporting approach

In the business world, there are issues such as globalisation, environmental awareness, and the rising expectations of public opinion which have a specific role in what is required from companies as providers of information to the market. This chapter refers to the current state of corporate reporting (financial reporting and sustainability reporting) and demonstrates the need for evolution to a more integrated method of reporting which meets the stakeholders’ needs. This research offers a reflection on how this development can be achieved, which notes the ongoing efforts by international organisations in implementing the diffusion and adoption, as well as looking at the characteristics which are needed for this type of reporting. It also makes the link between an actual case of a company that is one of the world references in sustainable development and integrated reporting. Whether or not the integrated reporting is the natural evolution of the history of financial and sustainability reporting, it still cannot yet claim to be infallible. However, it may definitely be concluded that a new approach is necessary to meet the needs which are continuously developing for a network of stakeholders.

Impact of Social Responsibility Programmes in Stakeholder Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of Portuguese Managers’ Perceptions

Investigação no âmbito do Projeto de Doutoramento(PhD), especialidade de Gestão Global, Estratégia e Desenvolvimento Empresarial (ISCTE-IUL - 2012, classificação de “Aprovado com Muito Bom”).

Crowdsourcing innovation: a proposal for a brokering architecture focused in the innovation needs of SMEs

Crowdsourcing is evolving into powerful outsourcing options for organizations by providing access to the intellectual capital within a vast knowledge community. Innovation brokering services have emerged to facilitate crowdsourcing projects by connecting up companies with potential solution providers within the wider ‘crowd’. Most existing innovation brokering services are primarily aimed at larger organizations, however, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) offer considerable potential for crowdsourcing activity since they are typically the innovation and employment engines in society; they are typically more nimble and responsive to the business environment than the larger companies. SMEs have very different challenges and needs to larger organizations since they have fewer resources, a more limited knowledge and skill base, and immature management practices. Consequently, innovation brokering for SMEs require considerably more support than for larger organizations. This paper identifies the crowdsourcing innovation brokerage facilities needed by SMEs, and presents an architecture that encourages knowledge sharing, development of community, support in mixing and matching capabilities, and management of stakeholders’ risks. Innovation brokering is emerging as a novel business model that is challenging concepts of the traditional value chain and organizational boundaries.

A Responsabilidade social empresarial na indústria de elevadores

Dissertação de Mestrado Apresentado ao Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Empreendedorismo e Internacionalização, sob orientação da Mestre Anabela Ribeiro

Gestão e Direção de Obra – Controlo de Prazos e Custos na Construção

O presente relatório de estágio, integrado na unidade curricular de DIPRE, para satisfação integral dos requisitos do grau de MESTRE EM ENGENHARIA CIVIL – ESPECIALIZAÇÃO EM GESTÃO DA CONSTRUÇÃO, aborda a temática de “Gestão e Direção de uma Obra”, explorando aspetos relativos ao controlo de prazos e de custos na construção, com o principal objetivo de prevenir e/ou mitigar os atrasos que, seja pela atual situação económico-financeira do país, seja pela falta de experiência dos intervenientes, continuam a existir. Aborda também, um conjunto de atividades realizadas na reabilitação dos Edifícios de Vila d’ Este – Fase II, destacando-se a aplicação do sistema ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems), formulando e comparando rendimentos de aplicação entre equipas. Este estudo foi elaborado, não só para gerir da melhor maneira possível a aplicação do sistema em obra (reduzindo custos e prazos, sem afetar o modo de colocação do mesmo), mas também para servir de auxílio noutra obra com características semelhantes.

The prominence of social responsibility disclosure in Portuguese companies’ web pages

This study investigates Portuguese companies’ use of the Internet to communicate social responsibility information, and the factors that affect this use. It examines the characteristics of companies that influence the prominence of social responsibility information on the Internet. Firm-specific factors that explain SRD by companies operating in a European country in which capital market fund raising is not regarded to be an important source of financing are analysed. The results are interpreted through the lens of a “political economy” framework which combines stakeholder and legitimacy theories perspectives, according to which companies disclose social responsibility information to present a socially responsible image so that they can legitimise their behaviours to their stakeholder groups and influence the external perception of reputation. Results suggest that a theoretical framework combining stakeholder and legitimacy theories may provide an explanatory basis for SRD by Portuguese companies. However, this study does not provide us with enough evidence to determine that the prominence given to CSR activities by Portuguese companies in their websites is linked to relationships with their stakeholders

Expectativas dos stakeholders para as fusões e aquisições: um estudo de caso: aquisição do Finibanco pelo Montepio

Dissertação apresentada ao ISCAP para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Auditoria Orientada por: Prof. Doutora Alcina Dias

Corporate brand identity management – proposal of a new framework

The term “corporate brand” has been widely used in literature since the eighties. According to Balmer (1998) this concept tends to be used as an alternative to the concept of corporate identity. The author argues that the use of branding principles to discuss corporate identity has tended to align the area more closely with marketing. However, the literature on brand management (Aaker, 1991; Kapferer, 1991 and de Chernatony and McDonald, 1992), gives little attention to the corporate brand” (p. 985). Based on the concepts of corporate brand, brand identity and B2B relationship, the authors are interested in eliminating this gap in literature by designing a framework of corporate brand identity management. The aim of this investigation is to investigate the impact of B2B relationships in corporate brand identity management. The methodology used is quantitative analysis of surveys and scale development. The originality of this paper is to investigate the influence of the relationship between brands in corporate brand identity. This investigation is very important to help the decisions of the corporate brand managers and academics. According to literature, namely on corporate brands (Balmer 2002b, Hatch and Schultz, 2001, 2003) and on brand identity (Kapferer, 1991, 2008, Aaker, 1996, de Chernatony, 1999) the authors developed a corporate brand identity management framework considering relationships between brands a context variable with definite impact on identity management as stated by Hakansson and Snehota (1989, 1995). These authors consider that organisations´ identity management is pursued under a relational perspective with impact on identity management. Most researchers on identity and corporate brand emphasise the importance of external influences (Kennedy, 1977; King, 1991; de Chernatony, 1999; Balmer and Gray, 2000; Balmer, 2002a). Those influences concern legislation, concurrence, political issues... and stakeholders’ perceptions and reputations (due to the holistic approach demanded by corporate brands). In this context the authors claim the importance of another influence: B2B relationships. This decision is inspired in sociological studies (Mannheim, 1950; and Tajfel and Turner, 1979) regarding individual identity. These authors claim that individuals form their personality by interacting in the social field. The authors argue that corporate brand identity also develops itself under a relational approach. The relationships selected to pursue this investigation are the ones that are developed by Portuguese universities and investigation centres that cooperate by developing investigation. Those centres are administrative and financially autonomous

A perspective on LCA application in site remediation services: critical review of challenges

The remediation of contaminated sites supports the goal of sustainable development but may also have environmental impacts at a local, regional and global scale. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has increasingly been used in order to support site remediation decision-making. This review article discusses existing LCA methods and proposed models focusing on critical decisions and assumptions of the LCA application to site remediation activities. It is concluded that LCA has limitations as an adequate holistic decisionmaking tool since spatial and temporal differentiation of non-global impacts assessment is a major hurdle in site remediation LCA. Moreover, a consequential LCA perspective should be adopted when the different remediation services to be compared generate different site’s physical states, displacing alternative post-remediation scenarios. The environmental effects of the post-remediation stage of the site is generally disregarded in the past site remediation LCA studies and such exclusion may produce misleading conclusions and misdirected decision-making. In addition, clear guidance accepted by all stakeholders on remediation capital equipment exclusion and on dealing with multifunctional processes should be developed for site remediation LCA applications.

Institutional factors governing the deployment of remote experiments: lessons from the rexnet project

Remote labs offer many unique advantages to students as they provide opportunities to access experiments and learning scenarios that would be otherwise unavailable. At the same time, however, these opportunities introduce real challenges to the institutions hosting the remote labs. This paper draws on the experiences of the REXNET project consortium to expose a number of these issues as a means of furthering the debate on the value of remote labs and the best practices in deploying them. The paper presents a brief outline of the various types of remote lab scenarios that might be deployed. It then describes the key human and technological actors that have an interest in or are intrinsic to a remote lab instance, with a description of the role of each actor and their interest. Some relationships between these various actors are then discussed with some factors that might influence those relationships. Finally some general issues are briefly described.

The role of cultural mega events in the enhancement of city’s image attributes: differences between engaged and attendee participants

In a time of fierce competition between regions, an image serve as a basis to develop a strong sense of community, which fosters trust and cooperation that can be mobilized for regional growth. A positive image and reputation could be used in the promotional activities of the region benefiting all the stakeholders as a whole. Mega cultural events are frequently used to attract tourists and investments to a region, but also to enhance the city’s image. This study adopts a marketing/communication perspective of city’s image, and intends to explain how the image of the city is perceived by their residents. Specifically, we intend to compare the perceptions of residents that effectively participated in the Guimarães European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2012 (engaged residents), and the residents that only assisted to the event (attendees). Several significant findings are reported and their implications for event managers and public policy administrators presented, along with the limitations of the study

From quality gurus and TQM to ISO 9001:2015: a review of several quality paths

A revision of several paths for the Quality journey is presented: from Quality Gurus and Total Quality Management (TQM) models to the ISO 9000 International Standards Series. Since ISO 9001:2008 is now in the revision process to the expected ISO 9001:2015 version, an analysis is made of he proposed changes and the underlying reasons and the impacts foreseen on the more than 1.3 Million certified organizations. This revision should be a step towards TQM and reflect the changes of an increasingly complex, demanding and dynamic environment, while assuring that complying organizations are able to provide conformity products and services that satisfy their customers. Major benefits are expected such as less emphasis on documentation and new/reinforced approaches: consideration of Organizational Context and (relevant) Stakeholders, Risk Based thinking and Knowledge Management.

Risk Acceptance in the Furniture Sector: Analysis of Acceptance Level and Relevant Influence Factors

Risk acceptance has been broadly discussed in relation to hazardous risk activities and/or technologies. A better understanding of risk acceptance in occupational settings is also important; however, studies on this topic are scarce. It seems important to understand the level of risk that stakeholders consider sufficiently low, how stakeholders form their opinion about risk, and why they adopt a certain attitude toward risk. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine risk acceptance in regard to occupational accidents in furniture industries. The safety climate analysis was conducted through the application of the Safety Climate in Wood Industries questionnaire. Judgments about risk acceptance, trust, risk perception, benefit perception, emotions, and moral values were measured. Several models were tested to explain occupational risk acceptance. The results showed that the level of risk acceptance decreased as the risk level increased. High-risk and death scenarios were assessed as unacceptable. Risk perception, emotions, and trust had an important influence on risk acceptance. Safety climate was correlated with risk acceptance and other variables that influence risk acceptance. These results are important for the risk assessment process in terms of defining risk acceptance criteria and strategies to reduce risks.

The CONCERTO methodology for model-based development of avionics SW

20th International Conference on Reliable Software Technologies - Ada-Europe 2015 (Ada-Europe 2015), 22 to 26, Jun, 2015, Madrid, Spain.

The role of cultural mega events In the enhancement of city’s image attributes

In a time of fierce competition between regions, an image serve as a basis to develop a strong sense of community, which fosters trust and cooperation that can be mobilized for regional growth. A positive image and reputation could be used in the promotional activities of the region benefiting all the stakeholders as a whole. Mega cultural events are frequently used to attract tourists and investments to a region, but also to enhance the city’s image. This study adopts a marketing/communication perspective of city’s image, and intends to explain how the image of the city is perceived by their residents. Specifically, we intend to compare the perceptions of residents that effectively participated in the Guimarães European Capital of Culture (ECOC) 2012 (engaged residents), and the residents that only assisted to the event (attendees). Several significant findings are reported and their implications for event managers and public policy administrators presented, along with the limitations of the study.