Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies

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Publications

The link between intellectual capital and business performance: a mediation chain approach

Publication . Campos, Susana; Dias, José G.; Teixeira, Mário Sérgio; Correia, Ricardo Jorge

Purpose – This study focuses on intellectual capital (IC) as a driver of better business performance. Recent studies suggest that a set of variables may mediate this relationship. This research discusses the mediating role of dynamic capabilities, network competence, technological capabilities, absorptive capabilities and innovation performance between intellectual capital and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model is tested using a sample of 533 Portuguese firms by means of a structural equation model. Findings – It confirms that intellectual capital impacts business performance. Moreover, this only happens indirectly through the mediating chain defined by the variables dynamic capabilities, network competence, technological capabilities, absorptive capabilities and innovation performance. Originality/value – This study analyzes new mediator variables between the dimensions of the intellectual capital and Portuguese business performance.

2022Journal article

Restricted access

Academic Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions

Publication . Correia, Maria Patrocínia; Marques, Carla Susana; Silva, Rui; Ramadani, Veland

Research on the entrepreneurship ecosystem, based on different data and scales, limits the acceptance of a single definition. This conceptual limitation and the still recent research and higher education institutions have come to be seen as ecosystems associated with entrepreneurship. The aim of this study is to contribute to the field of knowledge, identify current and emerging thematic areas and trends and reveal the scientific roots of research on entrepreneurial ecosystems and their relationship with higher education institutions. A bibliometric analysis was developed to analyse a final sample of 110 articles published between 2011 and 2022. In order to develop the analysis, Bibliometrix R-Tool was used and the metadata of two databases (Web of Science and Scopus) was retrieved and merged. The software creates a reference co-citation's map, which allowed emphasize the state of the art and indicate three thematic clusters: (i) the importance of the higher education context for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, (ii) the evolution and challenges of entrepreneurship education and (iii) academic entrepreneurship ecosystems. The paper concludes by suggesting future research focused on the importance of building an integrated approach to entrepreneurial ecosystems and higher education institutions on a context regional scale.

2024Journal article

Open access

Differences of gender in oral and written communication apprehension of university students

Publication . Loureiro, Marlene; Loureiro, Norberto; Silva, Rui Jorge

Oral and written skills are increasingly considered to be essential tools in the job market for the success of any worker, and are thus called soft skills. Nevertheless, most graduates who enter the labor market experience di culties in the apprehension of communication, not only with regard to writing, but also in oral communication. These di culties are also noticeable in the classroom, for instance when students need to participate by expressing their doubts when they have to present research work within the curricular units they attend, or when they have to write their answers in assessment tests. In this paper, we explore the communication skills of students fromdi erent graduate degrees (n = 345) in order to understand how they prepare for oral and written communication. We made use of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), validated by McCroskey, Beatty, Kearney, and Plax (1985), in order to understand students’ oral communication apprehension. To understand the levels of written communication apprehension, we applied the Daly–Miller Writing Apprehension Test (DMWA). We thus analyzed the communicational skills and the communication apprehension of students from social and human sciences courses in order to understand how they prepare for oral and writing communication, and whether there were di erences between genders and between di erent graduate courses regarding communication apprehension. The main results of this research confirm that the students experienced di culties with and fear of communication, especially for oral communication. Furthermore, the results indicate that female students showed more significant levels of anxiety with regard to oral and written communication than male students. This exploratory study also makes it possible to distinguish areas of communication apprehension according to the di erent genders, and even with regard to the degree courses students belonged to.

2020Journal article

Open access

Building competitive advantages and business success: the role of learning orientation, reward systems and entrepreneurial orientation

Publication . Correia, Ricardo Jorge; Dias, José G.; Teixeira, Mário Sérgio; Campos, Susana

Purpose – The complexity of the firm’s external environment, with its constant changes, forces managers to develop novel strategies that can meet new strategic needs. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of reward systems (RSs) in strategic management, as well as their relationship to learning and entrepreneurial orientation (EO), commonly referred to as the driving force behind growth, competitive advantages (CAs) and improved performance. It also focuses on the study of the relationship between EO and business performance (BP), the introduction and testing of the possible antecedents of this relationship and potential mediating factors. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model was tested on a sample of 1,190 Portuguese firms using a structural equation model. Findings – It is shown for the first time that learning orientation (LO) is an antecedent of the RSs and, subsequently, of EO. Additionally, the CAs of differentiation and cost leadership play a mediating role in the relationship between EO and BP. Furthermore, RSs are also a driving force behind both CAs. Originality/value – This study makes several empirical and theoretical contributions, addressing the gap in the literature about the role of RSs in strategic management. It tests the relationship between LO and the firm’s performance by taking the mediating effects of RSs, EO and CAs into account. Additionally, we discuss LO as an antecedent strategic variable of human resources practices, in particular, RSs. Finally, we broaden the scope of our research by examining these issues in the context of Portuguese SMEs fromdifferent industries.

2023Journal article

Restricted access

Effects of leadership and reward systems on employees' motivation and job satisfaction: an application to the Portuguese textile industry

Publication . Leitão, Mariana; Correia, Ricardo Jorge; Teixeira, Mário Sérgio; Campos, Susana

Purpose – This study explores the perception of employees in textile industry firms in Northern Portugal regarding the influence of leadership and reward systems (RS) on their motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and job satisfaction (JS). Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was addressed to the employees of 12 firms, obtaining a sample of 256 valid responses, for which a structural equation model was estimated. Findings – The results showed that leadership and RS influence JS only through the mediating effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Originality/value – This study makes empirical and theoretical contributions, testing the relationship between leadership and employees’ JS and how this relationship can be mediated by RS, and motivation – both intrinsic and extrinsic. Moreover, this study was conducted in Portugal, country where these issues have not been researched jointly before.

2022Journal article

Restricted access