(Non) - Demand driven servitization: strategic implications for suppliers from incorporating their customers up front

Double Degree. A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Master’s Degree in Management from NOVA – School of Business and Economics and a Masters Degree in International Business, Strategy and Innovation from Maastricht University

Hotel industry: An answer to the emerging trends on the global demand side of tourism

This dissertation studies essentially how Millennials are changing the hotel industry, in the sense that new trends are emerging with this generation and hotels need to respond accordingly, in order to survive within their competitive industry. Emphasis is also given to Asian travellers, as the enlargement of these countries’ middle class populations is predicted, therefore making Asian travellers a valuable target for the hotel industry. To successfully target this segment, hoteliers need also to consider the cultural differences and aspirations that come together with the Asian travellers, and appropriately adapt their offer to them. I will then redirect this study to the city of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, to analyse if Lisbon’s four and five-star hotel managers are aware of the new market trends, and to understand how they are changing their hotels in order to make them more attractive to Millennials and Asian travellers. Using a sample of 12 hotels (four and five-stars ratings), I have concluded that, although there is a notable undergoing process of adaptation to these guests, there is a long way ahead in order for Lisbon’s hotels to entirely please and retain millennial guests.

An agent-based simulator to estimate domestic energy use

Throughout recent years, there has been an increase in the population size, as well as a fast economic growth, which has led to an increase of the energy demand that comes mainly from fossil fuels. In order to reduce the ecological footprint, governments have implemented sustainable measures and it is expected that by 2035 the energy produced from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar would be responsible for one-third of the energy produced globally. However, since the energy produced from renewable sources is governed by the availability of the respective primary energy source there is often a mismatch between production and demand, which could be solved by adding flexibility on the demand side through demand response (DR). DR programs influence the end-user electricity usage by changing its cost along the time. Under this scenario the user needs to estimate the energy demand and on-site production in advance to plan its energy demand according to the energy price. This work focuses on the development of an agent-based electrical simulator, capable of: (a) estimating the energy demand and on-site generation with a 1-min time resolution for a 24-h period, (b) calculating the energy price for a given scenario, (c) making suggestions on how to maximize the usage of renewable energy produced on-site and to lower the electricity costs by rescheduling the use of certain appliances. The results show that this simulator allows reducing the energy bill by 11% and almost doubling the use of renewable energy produced on-site.

Do hospitals react to random demand pressure by early discharges?

This project tries to assess whether hospitals react to random demand pressure by discharging patients earlier than expected. As a matter of fact, combining an unpredictable demand for medical services with limited and, to some extent, fixed medical resources, generates strong incentives to discharge patients earlier than expected when demand is high − increasing the risk of readmission and decreasing the benefit from treatment. This work was conducted as a way to determine whether those incentives actually affect discharging decisions. Analysis of Portuguese hospitals data shows that hospital utilization levels at the time of admission, prior to the admission and post admission do have a negative impact over the length of stay in hospital, although this impact is quantitatively irrelevant. More than that, larger utilization levels have a positive impact over the probability of being discharged at certain days of the week, indicating that an early discharges problem may exist.

Inovcity- Structure of trials evaluation

In 2007, the UK government commissioned the Energy Demand Research Project to conduct a large scale experiment of smart metering technologies to test the impacts from many different forms of feedback to residential consumers. A full evaluation of the results was completed in 2011. In Portugal, EDP is also conducting smart meter trials in a project called InovCity in the city of Évora whose results will be evaluated during 2012. In this work, the case of Great Britain is studied as a reference on how an evaluation of trial results should be conducted. I also discuss potential limitations of the experiments, implications for national roll-out decisions, and finally draw some lessons that can be applied to the Portuguese case.

EDP inovcity: Electricity feedback with smart meters through TV

In this work project I propose an innovative service – Electricity Feedback with Smart Meters through TV – to be considered as an additional test in the residential electricity use feedback trials currently being conducted in EDP’s InovCity project. My proposal is based on relevant past and current research studies, both Portuguese and international, which explain and support the proposed operationalization and characteristics of this new service. Furthermore, a careful analysis about the segmentation framing, the best market entry strategy and the consequences of adopting a joint venture with cable TV operators, is also provided. Finally, I present a SWOT analysis and highlight critical issues affecting the effectiveness of feedback which require further research.

Estimating demand for primary health care services

Primary health services exist with the purpose of providing basic health care to every person at a cost they can afford. But is it fully available to everyone? The objective of this work project is to estimate the demand for primary health care services having into account that in some regions the citizens are not using as much health care as they would like due to supply side constraints. Using the number of consultations as proxy for demand, and applying an econometric tool called switching regression, the demand for primary health care services will be estimated.

Historic and potential technology transition paths of grid battery storage: Co-evolution of energy grid, electric mobility and batteries

Scarcity of fuels, changes in environmental policy and in society increased the interest in generating electric energy from renewable energy sources (RES) for a sustainable energy supply in the future. The main problem of RES as solar and wind energy, which represent a main pillar of this transition, is that they cannot supply constant power output. This results inter alia in an increased demand of backup technologies as batteries to assure electricity system safety. The diffusion of energy storage technologies is highly dependent on the energy system and transport transition pathways which might lead to a replacement or reconfiguration of embedded socio-technical practices and regimes (by creating new standards or dominant designs, changing regulations, infrastructure and user patterns). The success of this technology is dependent on hardly predictable future technical advances, actor preferences, development of competing technologies and designs, diverging interests of actors, future cost efficiencies, environmental performance, the evolution of market demand and design and evolution of our society.

Analysis of a controversial decision process: the case of the pumped hydro storage power plant Atdorf in Germany

Based on the report for the unit “Métodos Interactivos de Participação e Decisão A” (Interactive methods of participation and decision A), coordinated by Prof. Lia Maldonado Teles de Vasconcelos and Prof. Nuno Miguel Ribeiro Videira Costa. This unit was provided for the PhD Program in Technology Assessment in 2015/2016.

What do broadband consumers want? Design and execution of a questionnaire on demand for bundled services on the Portuguese telecomunications market

The report addresses the question of what are the preferences of broadband consumers on the Portuguese telecommunication market. A triple play bundle is being investigated. The discrete choice analysis, adopted in the study, base on 110 responses, mainly from NOVA students. The data for the analysis was collected via manually designed on-line survey. The results show that the price attribute is relatively the most important one while the television attribute is being overlooked in the decision making process. Main effects examined in the research are robust. In addition, "extras" components are being tested in terms of users' preferences.

The role of information systems in business process redesign : a case of Turkish electricity market

This study is specifically concerned with the effect of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) on the Business Process Redesign (BPR). Researcher’s experience and the investigation on previous researches imply that BPR and ERP are deeply related to each other and a study to found the mentioned relation further is necessary. In order to elaborate the hypothesis, a case study, in particular Turkish electricity distribution market and the phase of privatization are investigated. Eight companies that have taken part in privatization process and executed BPR serve as cases in this study. During the research, the cases are evaluated through critical success factors on both BPR and ERP. It was seen that combining the ERP Solution features with business processes lead the companies to be successful in ERP and BPR implementation. When the companies’ success and efficiency were compared before and after the ERP implementation, a considerable change was observed in organizational structure. It was spotted that the team composition is important in the success of ERP projects. Additionally, when the ERP is in driver or enabler role, the companies can be considered successful. On the contrary, when the ERP has a neutral role of business processes, the project fails. In conclusion, it can be said that the companies, which have implemented the ERP successfully, have accomplished the goals of the BPR.

Strategic planning of electricity systems: Integrating renewable energies

Tese de Doutoramento - Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Industrial e Sistemas (PDEIS)

Analisis De Mercados De Energía Eléctrica Competitivos Con Participación De Energía Eólica. Competitive Electricity Markets Analisis with Wind Power Generation.

La utilización de energía eólica es un hecho cada vez más común en nuestro mundo como respuesta a mitigar el creciente aumento de demanda de energía, los aumentos constantes de precio, la escasez de combustibles fósiles y los impactos del cambio climático, los que son cada día más evidentes.Consecuentemente, el interés por la participación de esta nueva forma de generación de energía en sistema eléctrico de potencia ha aumentado considerablemente en los últimos años. La incorporación de generación de origen eólico en el sistema eléctrico de potencia requiere de un análisis detallado del sistema eléctrico en su conjunto, considerando la interacción entre parques y unidades de generación eólica, plantas de generación convencional y el sistema eléctrico de potencia. La integración de generación de origen renovable en el sistema eléctrico de potencia convencional presenta nuevos desafíos los que pueden ser atribuidos a características propias de este tipo de generación, por ejemplo la fluctuación de energía debido a la naturaleza variable del viento, la naturaleza distribuida de la generación eólica y las características constructivas y método de conexión de los distintos modelos de turbinas eólicas al sistema.La finalidad de este proyecto de investigación consiste en investigar el impacto sobre un mercado de sistema eléctrico competitivo causado por el agregado de generación de origen eolico. Como punto de partida se pretende realizar modelos de plantas de generacion eolica para luego incorporarlos a los modelos de sistemas eléctricos y realizar estudios de de despacho económico, flujo de cargas, análisis transitorio y estudios dinámicos del sistema.

Investigation into the feasibility of a West of Ireland Pumped Storage System

Ireland’s remote position on the tip of Europe ensures that the country is vulnerable to uncertainty of supply. The reliance on conventional sources of electricity has ensured that escalated prices and high carbon emissions have been witnessed whilst opportunities that inherent resources provide, such as the wind, have not been capitalised upon. The intermittent nature of the wind make it difficult to maximise its potential as in many cases the highest wind speeds are highest when demand is low. The West of Ireland’s combination of wind speeds and unique topography makes it suitable for and innovative wind powered pumped storage system, which can essentially regulate the wind generated electricity and integrate further penetration of renewable energy. In addition, its location along the Atlantic Ocean provides further scope for innovation as seawater can be integrated into the system design. The construction of such an unprecedented project in combination with increased interconnectors has the potential to make Ireland a rechargeable battery for Europe. However, such ambitious plans are at the very early stages and are in direct contrast to current events in the Irish energy market. This study focuses on the feasibility of West of Ireland pumped storage systems. Entailed within this is an extensive desk study, a detailed site selection process and a feasibility study of grid connection. To increase opportunities to identify the best possible site, the feasibility study was focused on the Galway and Mayo areas solely.