Are there nonlinear relationships between the profitability of Portuguese service SME and its specific determinants?

Using quantile regressions, this paper examines the possibility of significant nonlinear relationships between the profitability of Portuguese service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and its specific determinants. The results lead to the conclusion that there is a significant nonlinearity between specific determinants and profitability in Portuguese service SMEs. In the lower quantiles of the distribution of profitability of Portuguese SMEs, it is found that profitability on the one hand is catalysed by size, long-term debt and managerial control, and on the other hand, it is restricted by risk and research and development intensity. In the upper quantiles of the profitability distribution of Portuguese service SMEs, liquidity and research and development intensity serve as catalysers of profitability, while long-term debt restricts the level of profitability.     

Taxes and labor supply: Portugal, Europe, and the United States

I relate hours worked with taxes on consumption and labor for Portugal, France, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. From 1986 to 2001, hours per worker in Portugal decreased from 35.1 to 32.6. With the parameters for Portugal, the model predicts hours worked in 2001 with an error of only 12 min from the actual hours. Across countries, most predictions differ from the data by 1 h or less. The model is not sensible to special assumptions on the parameters. I calculate the long run effects of taxes on consumption, hours, capital and welfare for Portugal. I extend the model to discuss implications for Social Security. I discuss the steady state and the transition from a pay-as-you-go to a fully funded system.

From disruptions to struggles: Theorizing power in ERP implementation projects

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation projects often fail to achieve their objectives. These often problematic projects are frequently the setting for intense and growing power struggles. Existing studies (e.g., Boonstra, 2006; Shepherd, Clegg, & Stride, 2009) have provided researchers with insights about issues of power in these projects. However, existing research has yet to provide a comprehensive picture of power in these projects or insights on how this picture changes with the passage of time. Clegg's (1989) circuits of power framework provides a useful tool for developing this needed comprehensive picture. We use the circuits of power framework as a tool for categorizing existing literature on power in ERP implementations. More importantly, we draw on this framework to provide a comprehensive view of power in the particular context of these projects. Specifically, we analyze the power relations during the implementation of an ERP in an organization. We do so by identifying how disturbances to the circuits of power – power struggles – arise and intensify during the implementation of the ERP. In this way, our work makes both a theoretical and an empirical contribution to the study of power in ERP implementation projects.     

Institutional Change of Accounting Systems: The Adoption of a Regime of Adapted International Financial Reporting Standards

Richard Mattessich, New York: Garland Publishing (New Works in Accounting History), 2000, £43.00, xii +179pp. ISBN: 0-8153-3445-1     

Labor productivity and vocational training: evidence from Europe

In this paper we show that vocational training is an important determinant of productivity growth. We construct a multy-country, multi-sectoral dataset, and quantify empirically to what extent vocational training has contributed to increase the growth rate of labor productivity in Europe between 1999 and 2005. We find that one extra hour of training per employee accelerates the rate of productivity growth by around 0.55 % points.     

Multidimensional configurations of the organizational climate construct

This study describes the creation and validation of a multidimensional model which assesses the level of employee satisfaction based on international theoretical models. It utilizes data collected from a sample of 518 public and private company employees during the year 2009 in the city/state of São Paulo, Brazil. In the first stage of the study, 15 independent dimensions were theoretically obtained. In the second stage, five different multiple dimensions were confirmed using structure equation modeling (SEM) technique, thus characterizing general configurations of the organizational climate construct denominated motivation, management philosophy, leadership, people management and nature of work. It is hoped that the model can contribute by enhancing managerial best practices of an organization by attending a major demand for those listed on stock markets, since these companies must periodically provide information on job satisfaction of their employees to maintain or achieve higher levels of corporate governance.     

New Multilateralism in Action for Peace: A Case Study of the US-led Operation Unified Assistance in the Asian Tsunami Disaster1

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in December 2004, the ensuing multinational relief, humanitarian, and rebuilding efforts of the Operation United Assistance (OUA) are new examples of international cooperation to sustain and rebuild Asian communities in the post-9/11 security environment. An analysis of the cooperative efforts in light of differing theoretical perspectives provides a forum for debate on the nature of cooperation in the international arena and the implications for ethnic and civil wars in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Once described and explained by multiple theories, the relief operations can then be used to predict and perhaps even prescribe future international cooperation in natural disasters and conflict resolution in civil war environments. As a case study, this paper also examines international security strategies and the implications for economic prosperity and political stability in sovereign but weak nation states.     

Economic performance and international trade engagement: the case of Portuguese manufacturing firms

By combining economic and financial data for Portuguese manufacturing firms with data on their exports and imports, we uncover some aspects of the relationship between international trade engagement and firms’ performances. In line with recent theoretical and empirical developments in the international trade literature: (i) we testify that Portuguese international trade is highly concentrated, especially on the import side, and both in inter- and intra-sector terms; (ii) we corroborate previous studies and theses according to which two-way traders outperform only importers, only exporters and above all domestic firms; (iii) we find that the greater the diversification of markets and goods (especially with regard to imports), the better the performance achieved by internationalised firms; (iv) we notice that the higher the intensity of firms’ international trade (especially imports), the better their performance; (v) we also present evidence that destination markets for exports and origin markets for imports are also important in explaining firm’s performance.     

A proposed method to evaluate the quality of services using Fuzzy sets theory

This paper seeks to provide the services sector with a focus on the assessment of quality and for this purpose, a technique that may able a quantitative approach to evaluating quality is proposed. The use of the fuzzy sets theory to process data was used, thus allowing a more flexible and suitable insight into the characteristics of the service sector. An extension of the technique for order performance by similarity to the ideal solution was used. This informs managers of the distance from the company $\prime $ s current level of quality, if compared to a company of perfect quality by means of an overall evaluation. The same technique was used to detect changes in the level of quality during the period surveyed by using a stratified assessment. Finally, a practical application of the approach proposed is presented.     

Chaotic Exchange Rate Dynamics Redux

This article generalizes the results shown in De Grauwe, Dewachter, and Embrechts (1993) in a more sophisticated framework. In their model, the speculative dynamics resulting from the interaction between chartists and fundamentalists are incorporated into a Dornbusch-style model to generate a chaotic nominal exchange rate. Here the model of Obstfeld and Rogoff (1995, 1996) replaces the Dornbusch model, and chaotic solutions are still shown to be possible for sensible parameter values.