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”).

Satisfaction towards human resources practices and repatriates’ retention: an empirical examination in the portuguese companies context

This paper examines the relationship between the level of satisfaction towards Human Resources Management practices among repatriates and the decision to remain on the home company after expatriation. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of 28 Portuguese repatriates who remain and 16 organisational representatives from eight companies located in Portugal. The results show that (1) compensation system during the international assignment; (2) permanent support during the international assignment and; (3) recognition upon the return of the work and effort of expatriates during the international assignment are the most important HRM practices for promoting satisfaction among repatriates. Moreover, it is at repatriation phase that repatriates show higher dissatisfaction with HRM support. These findings will be discussed in detail and implications and suggestions for future research will be proposed as well.

Constructing and validating a scale of employee satisfaction with HRM practices in the healthcare context

The concept of HRM perceptions is a growing interest in the literature, as one of the antecedents of HRM outcomes. Regardless, not only the cognitive aspect of perception is interesting in this field (what you think) but also the affective perspective is of interest (how you feel about it). In this study we propose a scale for assessing satisfaction with the perceptions of the HRM practices. A 24 item Likert-type scale was developed considering literature review, to assess subjects’ satisfaction with Human Resources Practices in a healthcare setting. Talked reflections were held and a survey encompassing all workers from a Hospital was conducted later, with a sample of 922 subjects. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed; reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha. The scale presents good psychometric properties with alpha values that range from .71 to .91. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that the scale presents a very good fit with CFI= 0.94, AGFI= 0.88, and RMSEA= 0.07. The present study represents a first approach in the usage of this scale and despite having a large sample, respondents originate from a single institution. This study presents a pertinent scale towards measuring a seldom explored construct of the worker-organization relationship. The scale is parsimonious and results are promising. There seems to be very little research on how subjects feel about the HRM practices. This construct, very much in line with more recent studies concerning worker perceptions can be especially interesting in the context of the worker-organization relationship.

Give some to get some - Analysing the relationship between worker satisfaction with human resources management and perceived individual performance in a Portuguese hospital

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the satisfaction with HRM practices in an organization and the workers' perceived performance. We are interested in learning if indeed workers that are more satisfied with the organization’s practices will also perceive themselves as more hardworking than others, thus confirming the happy-productive worker hypothesis, from an individual perception standpoint. Data originates from a large Portuguese hospital, with a sample of 952 clinical and nonclinical hospital workers. Data was originally explored using SPSS software and later tested in AMOS software where a multiple regression model was constructed and tested. Results indicate that overall satisfaction with HRM practices are related with the workers’ perceived performance; most of the HRM satisfaction subscales also relate, except for pay and performance appraisal, that do not seem to be good predictors of the workers perceived performance. The present study is based on a single large public hospital, and thus, these findings need to be further tested in other settings. This study offers some clues regarding the areas of HRM that seem to be more related with the workers’ perceived performance, and hence provide an interesting framework for managers dealing with healthcare teams. This study contributes to the happy-productive worker hypothesis research, by including seldom used variables in the equation and taking a different perspective. Results provide new clues for investigation and practice regarding the areas of action in HRM that seem to be more prone to elicit perceived effort from the workers.

Resident's perceptions on impacts of hosting the “Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture

. Residents tend to have high expectations about the benefits of hosting a mega‐event. So, it was not surprising that the nomination of Guimarães, Portugal, as the 2012 European Capital of Culture (2012 ECOC) had raised great expectations in the local community towards its socio‐economic and cultural benefits. The present research was designed to examine the Guimarães residents’ perceptions on the impacts of hosting the 2012 ECOC approached in two different time schedules, the pre‐ and the post‐event, trying to capture the evolution of the residents` evaluation of its impacts. For getting the data, two surveys were applied to Guimarães` residents, one in the pre‐event phase, in 2011, and another in the post‐event phase, in 2013. This approach is uncommonly applied to Portugal data and it is even the first time it was done to a Portuguese European Capital of Culture. After a factor analysis, the results of t‐tests indicate that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the samples from the pre‐ and post‐2012 ECOC on two positive impact factors (Community’ benefits and Residents’ benefits) and one negative impact factor (Economic, social and environmental costs). Respondents also showed a negative perception of the impacts in all dimensions, except Changes in habits of Guimarães residents. 

A Communication Intervention for Training Southern European Oncologists to Recognize Psychosocial Morbidity in Cancer. I - Development of the Model and Preliminary Results on Physicians' Satisfaction

BACKGROUND: The detection of psychosocial distress is a significant communication problem in Southern Europe and other countries. Work in this area is hampered by a lack of data. Because not much is known about training aimed at improving the recognition of psychosocial disorders in cancer patients, we developed a basic course model for medical oncology professionals. METHODS: A specific educational and experiential model (12 hours divided into 2 modules) involving formal teaching (ie, journal articles, large-group presentations), practice in small groups (ie, small-group exercises and role playing), and discussion in large groups was developed with the aim of improving the ability of oncologists to detect emotional disturbances in cancer patients (ie, depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders). RESULTS: A total of 30 oncologists from 3 Southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, and Spain) participated in the workshop. The training course was well accepted by most participants who expressed general satisfaction and a positive subjective perception of the utility of the course for clinical practice. Of the total participants, 28 physicians (93.3%) thought that had they been exposed to this material sooner, they would have incorporated the techniques received in the workshop into their practices; 2 participants stated they would likely have done so. Half of the doctors (n = 15) believed that their clinical communication techniques were improved by participating in the workshop, and the remaining half thought that their abilities to communicate with cancer patients had improved. CONCLUSIONS: This model is a feasible approach for oncologists and is easily applicable to various oncology settings. Further studies will demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for improving oncologists skills in recognizing emotional disorders in their patients with cancer.

Life (dis)satisfaction and the decision to migrate: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

This paper provides empirical evidence of the impact of life satisfaction on the individual intention to migrate. The impacts of individual characteristics and of country macroeconomic variables on the intention to migrate are analyzed jointly. Differently from other studies, we allow for life satisfaction to serve as a mediator between macroeconomic variables and the intention to migrate. Using the Eurobarometer Survey for 27 Central Eastern European (CEE) and Western European (non-CEE) countries, we find that people have a higher intention to migrate when dissatisfied with life. The socio-economic variables and macroeconomic conditions have an effect on the intention to migrate indirectly through life satisfaction. The impact of life satisfaction on the intention to migrate for middle-aged individuals with past experience of migration, low level of education, and with a low or average income from urban areas is higher in CEE countries than in non-CEE countries.

Can location-based mobile marketing enhance the customer experience and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty?

This study intends to explore the impact of customer experience on customer satisfaction and loyalty by trying to understand how location-based mobile marketing might enhance the customer experience. Primary data was collected from 201 smartphone users in 24 countries. Results have indicated that targeted location-based marketing positively influences customers’ experiences. Besides, the analysis has also shown a favorable impact on customers’ satisfaction and self-perceived loyalty. This suggests that location-based mobile marketing has the potential to positively add value to a customer’s experience and should therefore be considered an important tool in marketing communications.

Work satisfaction and affective commitment of classical musicians: The European Union Youth Orchestra

This work project investigates career paths in the music field, by testing the application of general career and social theories for musicians. Using a sample from the European Union Youth Orchestra’ Alumni, the Boundaryless Career Theory, Intelligent Career Framework and Social Identity Theory were analysed through the impact on individual outcomes - musicians’ Overall work satisfaction and Affective commitment to the orchestra. Results suggest support for the three theories, and show their applicability for classical musicians’ careers.

Paradox of choice: The influence of assortment size on customer satisfaction

Recently researchers showed that more choice is not always better. Choosing from large assortments can be overwhelming, raising expectations and decreasing overall level of consumer satisfaction. Author contributes to existing overchoice studies by using real assortment of online stores to find influence of assortment size on customer satisfaction. 90 students participated in the main experiment, where they chose a smartphone case for their friend. Results of the study show that large assortment size leads to higher expectations, higher choice difficulty and higher level of satisfaction. This research does not show overchoice presence and author suggests future studies could focus more on assortment variety and more personal characteristics of consumers, like preference uncertainty.

Young adults' preferences and satisfaction levels in Duty-free shopping in airports

This study aims to explore and understand what young adults’ duty free shoppers (18-26 years old) want and are getting from travel retail shopping on airport environments and to evaluate their satisfaction levels with the service. It has important managerial contributions since it is an important target in a fast growing market. An online survey was conducted with 188 young adults and its results show that young adults’ are somewhat satisfied with the overall service on duty free stores mainly in what concerns quality of the products and physical evidence of the stores. Results also show that the majority of buyers within this segment are price driven and strongly influenced by promotions associated with price reductions, and do not seem very satisfied with respect to that. Keywords: Young

Consumer satisfaction with water, wastewater and waste services in Portugal

While the concept of consumer satisfaction is a central topic in modern marketing theory and practice, citizens' satisfaction with public services, and especially water and waste services, is a eld that still remains empirically rather unexplored. The following study aims to contribute to this area by analysing the determinants of user satisfaction in the water, wastewater and waste sector in Portugal, using a unique survey of 1070 consumers undertaken by the Portuguese Water and Waste Regulator ERSAR. I perform an analysis of the relation between overall service satisfaction and attributespeci c service satisfaction with an ordered logit model. I then explore if subjective consumer satisfaction can be re ected by ERSAR's technical performance indicators. The results suggest that overall consumer satisfaction is driven by consumer's satisfaction with speci c service aspects but unrelated to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Furthermore, I show that there is no monotonic association between ERSAR's technical performance indicators and consumers' levels of satisfaction.

Satisfaction with Life Scale among adolescents and young adults in Portugal: extending evidence of construct validity

The paper presents three empirical studies designed to extend the test of the construct validity of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) among Portuguese students. In the first study, the responses of 461 elementary and secondary education students were submitted to a principal component analysis. A solution of one single factor was chosen, accounting for 55.7 % of the total variance, with Cronbach alpha coefficient and inter-item correlation above .70 and .20, respectively. The second study used a sample of 317 undergraduate students and registered a similar factor solution for SWLS (/pq = 0.99), which accounted for 65.6 % of the total variance (Cronbach alpha .89 and inter-item correlation above .20). A test–retest analysis registered coefficients of .70 (T2) and .77 (T3) and no significant statistically differences between T2, T3 and T1. The third study used a sample of 107 foster care youths from elementary and secondary education. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate adequate fit indexes for the one-factor solution (v2/df = 2.70, GFI = .96, CFI = .96), which showed convergent validity, reliability and homogeneity. In conclusion, there is psychometric evidence for the one-factor structure of the SWLS in Portugal.