Taxes and Women in the Labour Force in a Southern European Country: The Case of Portugal

On looking at the female labour supply in Europe, it is immediately noticed that there is a large variation among countries. One possible explanation for this fact is that different countries have different tax policies, leading to variations in incentive and costs. This has been investigated in papers such as that of Gustafsson (1992a,b) for countries such as Germany and Sweden. The same exercise has been performed by the present authors for a low-income, southern European country, Portugal, which has one of the highest rates of female participation (out of line with neighbouring countries). Female labour supply does not seem to be very sensitive to fiscal policies, as those policies have only a small influence on the take-home wage. This result appears to be independent of the fact that the female labour supply shows a higher elasticity to wages than that which has been reported for other countries. The present authors also show that Portuguese women contribute a much larger proportion of family earnings than do their counterparts in Sweden and Germany, and that the Portuguese fiscal system is rather neutral. Further studies with data from other countries are needed in order to shed more light on the issue of tax harmonization.     

SMEs and Marketing: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper presents a systematic review of recent academic literature analysing the role, organization and management of marketing activities in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). To this end, 310 articles published between 2006 and 2015 in 69 main journals devoted to small firms/entrepreneurship and management/marketing fields were analysed. This review shows that SMEs’ marketing has received great attention in both management and marketing literature in recent years. Findings reveal, on the one hand, the emerging role of networks and information and communication technologies in marketing behaviour by SMEs, and on the other hand a research gap in terms of specific marketing practices. Entrepreneurial marketing has been used as the main conceptual framework in reviewed studies, even if findings overall still point out a distance between the theoretical bases of reviewed contributions and the study of SMEs’ marketing behaviour and practices. Therefore, future research on the role of resources, relationships and networks could benefit from the combination of theories developed within the field of entrepreneurship with other approaches such as the resource‐based view, the dynamic capabilities theory and the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) framework.     

Italian Urban Plans: Diversified Approaches and Methods for Assessing Their Quality

This article poses the difficult task of providing a brief overview of Italian urban planning, difficult to understand for foreign observers because each Region has different legislation and urban planning tools. The paper describes an original methodology that evaluates the quality of the approach differentiated as (1) ‘of the plan’ (reformist, participative, from the territory); (2) ‘in the plan’ (integrated strategic, sustainable); (3) ‘with the plan’ (conformative, methodological, recompositional, systemic-infrastructural); and (4) ‘beyond the plan’ (beyond governance methodologies). The paper also compares aspects of quality present in plans for large, medium and small Italian cities. The conclusions review factors of excellence that may be used in other international scenarios.     

How Do Regulations Affect SMEs? A Review of the Qualitative Evidence and a Research Agenda

The effects of regulations on small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have garnered significant political attention internationally, yet, in the academic literature, these effects remain contested. This article presents findings from a systematic literature review of qualitative evidence on the effects of regulation on SMEs. It sets out the strengths of qualitative approaches in relation to more prominent and influential quantitative approaches. It conducts a thematic synthesis of the qualitative research to develop a conceptual framework that provides a processual, embedded understanding of the effects of regulations on SMEs. The conceptual framework highlights four key, interconnected processes: identification–interpretation; strategization; negotiation; and adaptation. This conceptual framework generates insights into dynamic and potentially indirect effects of regulations in relation to a complex array of influences external to and within the business. On the basis of these insights a new research agenda is proposed.     

Commercial territory design planning with realignment and disjoint assignment requirements

A territory design problem motivated by a bottled beverage distribution company is addressed. The problem consists of finding a partition of the entire set of city blocks into a given number of territories subject to several planning criteria. Each unit has three measurable activities associated to it, namely, number of customers, product demand, and workload. The plan must satisfy planning criteria such as territory compactness, territory balancing with respect to each of the block activity measures, and territory connectivity, meaning that there must exist a path between any pair of units in a territory totally contained in it. In addition, there are some disjoint assignment requirements establishing that some specified units must be assigned to different territories, and a similarity with existing plan requirement. An optimal design is one that minimizes a measure of territory dispersion and similarity with existing design. A mixed-integer linear programming model is presented. This model is unique in the commercial territory design literature as it incorporates the disjoint assignment requirements and similarity with existing plan. Previous methods developed for related commercial districting problems are not applicable. A solution procedure based on an iterative cut generation strategy within a branch-and-bound framework is proposed. The procedure aims at solving large-scale instances by incorporating several algorithmic strategies that helped reduce the problem size. These strategies are evaluated and tested on some real-world instances of 5000 and 10,000 basic units. The empirical results show the effectiveness of the proposed method and strategies in finding near optimal solutions to these very large instances at a reasonably small computational effort.     

Issues in Ecological Risk Assessment: The CRAM Perspective

In 1989, a Committee on Risk Assessment Methodology (CRAM) was convened by the National Research Council (NRC) to identify and investigate important scientific issues in risk assessment. One of the first issues considered by the committee was the development of a conceptual framework for ecological risk assessment, defined as "the characterization of the adverse ecological effects of environmental exposures to hazards imposed by human activities." Adverse ecological effects include all biological and nonbiological environmental changes that society perceives as undesirable. The committee's opinion was that a general framework is needed to define the relationship of ecological risk assessment to environmental management and to facilitate the development of uniform technical guidelines. The framework for human health risk assessment proposed by the NRC in 1983 was adopted as a starting point for discussion. CRAM concluded that, although ecological risk assessment and human health risk assessment differ substantially in terms of scientific disciplines and technical problems, the underlying decision process is the same for both. Therefore, CRAM recommended that the 1983 risk assessment framework be modified to accommodate both human health and ecological risk assessment. CRAM defined an integrated health/ ecological risk assessment framework consisting of the four components: Hazard Identification, Exposure Assessment, Exposure-Response Assessment, and Risk Characterization. CRAM further provided recommendations on the scope of issues to be addressed in ecological risk assessment, critical research needs, and mechanisms for providing more detailed guidance on the scientific content of ecological risk assessments.     

Understanding Business Process Management: Implications for Theory and Practice

This paper presents an empirically validated framework of business process management (BPM) to enable the pursuit of BPM theory. Phase 1 of the research focused on the development of an initial framework of BPM, derived from a synthesis of current literature. This comprised five key themes, subsequently categorized as ‘application components’ of BPM. The empirical validation of the framework was approached through case‐based research, utilizing semi‐structured interviews with managers of a large financial services organization, to explore the dimensions of the framework. The results suggest that, in addition to confirming the five ‘application components’ of the initial framework, three additional ‘conceptual components’ are important. These concepts differentiate BPM from other process management activities, and suggest that developing a prerequisite ‘process mindset’ is a fundamental component of a BPM approach.     

Integrating the Data Envelopment Analysis and the Balanced Scorecard approaches for enhanced performance assessment

This article presents the development of a conceptual framework which aims to assess Decision Making Units (DMUs) from multiple perspectives. The proposed conceptual framework combines the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method with the non-parametric technique known as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) by using various interconnected models which try to encapsulate four perspectives of performance (financial, customers, internal processes, learning and growth).The practical relevance of the conceptual model has been tested by using it to assess the performance of DMUs in a multinational company which operates in two business areas. Various models were developed with the collaboration of the directors of the company in order to conceive an appropriate and consensual framework, which may provide useful information for the company. The application of the conceptual framework provides structured information regarding the performance of each DMU (from multiple perspectives) and ways to improve it. By integrating the BSC and the DEA approaches this research helps to identify where there is room for improving organisational performance and points out opportunities for reciprocal learning between DMUs. In doing so, this article provides a set of recommendations relating to the successful application of DEA and its integration with the BSC, in order to promote a continuous learning process and to bring about improvements in performance.     

VALIDATION OF EXPERT SYSTEMS- WITH APPLICATIONS TO AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING EXPERT SYSTEMS*

This paper proposes a set of definitions for the concepts “validation” and “assessment” applied to expert systems (ESs). It develops a framework for this validation and demonstrates the framework on existing accounting and auditing ESs to elicit some of the research issues involved in ES validation. Validation is critical to the design and implementation of decision-making ESs. In a setting where objectivity is sought and variance is avoided, validation ascertains what a system knows, knows incorrectly, or does not know. Validation ascertains the system's level of expertise and investigates the theoretical basis on which the system is based. It evaluates the reliability of decisions made by the system. The validation framework developed in this paper is research methods. It is designed to reflect the unique aspects of ESs (in contrast to other types of computer programs) and can be used by ES developers as a basis from which to perform validation and by researchers as a framework to elicit research issues in validation.     

Verallgemeinerte DEA-Modelle zur Performanceanalyse

Dyckhoff and Allen derived a generalisation of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in order to measure ecological efficiency. This approach distinguishes between inputs and outputs of an activity on the one hand and their impact on the relevant evaluation criteria—referred to as efforts and benefits—on the other hand. Thereby, the current framework of the DEA for analysing the relative performance of productive units is fundamentally extended. The relevance of this framework is not limited to ecological aspects because many essential problems of DEA application can be solved. Against this background, the paper presents a formalisation of the generalised DEA, applies it to the well-known basic DEA models, and concretises these models for linear effort and benefit functions.     

Spatial Planning and the Traditional Settlements Management: Evidence from Visibility Analysis of Traditional Settlements in Cyclades,Greece

ABSTRACT

Traditional settlements constitute part of the cultural heritage and their preservation is an important priority, acknowledged in the present study as a multidisciplinary, multi-scale and complex issue. This study quantifies the visual impact of traditional settlements in Cyclades that arise from structures which are considered to create pressure on the island landscape and negative visual impact. These structures disrupt the landscape continuity; they are both incongruous with the dominant local scale and incompatible with the forms and shapes that are appropriate on the Cyclades islands. This paper examines these issues in the context of the management of insular traditional settlements within the Greek spatial planning framework.     

Diagnosing Customer Value: Integrating the Value Process and Relationship Marketing

The concept of value and, more specifically, customer value is of increasing interest to both academics and practitioners. This paper undertakes a substantial review of past and current literature on value and categorizes this considerable body of research into nine streams of literature. Building on the emerging relationship marketing paradigm, it then proposes a framework for relationship value management. Nine core streams of value literature are identified and discussed: consumer values and consumer value; the augmented product concept; customer satisfaction and service quality; the value chain; creating and delivering superior customer value; the customer's value to the firm; customer‐perceived value; customer value and shareholder value; and relationship value. To date, the core focus of most of this literature has been on the nature of value from the perspective of the organization and its customers – the customer–supplier relationship. However, it is argued that the emergence of the relationship marketing paradigm has emphasized the role of other stakeholders in building relationships. An existing multiple stakeholder model of relationship marketing, the six markets model, is introduced and is integrated with key concepts from the value literature to produce a conceptual framework for relationship value management.     

Multidimensional Approach for Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment: Framing the Territorial Impacts in Two Municipalities in Portugal

This study presents a new multidimensional methodology for tsunami vulnerability assessment that combines the morphological, structural, social, and tax component of vulnerability. This new approach can be distinguished from previous methodologies that focused primarily on the evaluation of potentially affected buildings and did not use tsunami numerical modeling. The methodology was applied to the Figueira da Foz and Vila do Bispo municipalities in Portugal. For each area, the potential tsunami‐inundated areas were calculated considering the 1755 Lisbon tsunami, which is the greatest disaster caused by natural hazards that ever occurred in Portugal. Furthermore, the four components of the vulnerability were calculated to obtain a composite vulnerability index. This methodology enables us to differentiate the two areas in their vulnerability, highlighting the characteristics of the territory components. This methodology can be a starting point for the creation of a local assessment framework at the municipal scale related to tsunami risk. In addition, the methodology is an important support for the different local stakeholders.     

Airline corporate planning— a conceptual framework

In the current economic recession, efficient planning is of paramount importance. This paper constructs a conceptual framework for the long term corporate planning of an airline: the framework suggested is an integrated approach rather than the divisional one that is widespread in the industry. The paper attempts to identify the long-term objectives of an airline, the various types of constraints under which it must operate, and the decision variables that are under its control.     

Discrimination against women in employment

The operation of the Equal Pay Act and recent pressures to end all discrimination against women in employment makes discussion of such discrimination timely. This article begins by examining the forms which discrimination may take place and presenting evidence of the extent to which it is happening. This is followed by a summary of relevant legislation and legislative proposals and an examination of the effects to date of the Equal Pay Act. In the last part of the paper a conceptual framework is suggested for approaching some of the economic problems raised by discrimination. It is suggested that while much light could be shed by economic analysis still remaining to be done, some of the most fundamental points lie in the field of the behavioural scientist rather than the economist.     

大气污染府际间合作治理联盟的达成与稳定——基于演化博弈分析

地方政府的大气污染治理模式主要有属地治理和合作治理模式,合作治理逐渐成为当前大气污染治理的共识。从演化博弈的视角,分析地方政府在大气污染治理中的行为演化路径与稳定策略,探究地方政府间达成并巩固合作治理联盟的因素。比较有中央约束和无中央政府约束下地方政府属地治理和合作治理四种演化博弈结果表明：在属地治理背景下,无论中央政府是否对地方政府进行约束,地方政府均倾向于“搭便车”行为,而中央政府对地方政府的约束在属地治理中面临失灵;在合作治理场景中,地方政府的稳定策略均向达成合作治理或均不治理的方向演进,但在中央政府约束下,地方政府的稳定策略能快速有效得向合作治理的方向演进。为实现大气污染的有效治理,地方政府间必须形成有效的合作治理联盟,合作收益是达成大气污染合作治理联盟的必要条件,而合作成本与中央政府约束的程度决定了合作治理联盟的稳定性。     

Workplace autonomy and industrial democracy: The equity solution

The time has come to begin thinking about a conceptual shift in management thought. Once again, turbulence is developing in the environment and a new framework is developing to manage people. This framework calls for new forms of partnership between workers and management, including an expansion of employee rights, autonomous workgroups, and employee ownership. This article proposes that a new definition of corporate citizenship is needed.     

Human resource development in technology-driven small and medium size firms: case study of a small Korean firm

 The purpose of this study was to suggest a conceptual framework for the dynamic skill formation process based on relevant environments. First, after categorizing the types of task at the work-flow level, such as regular maintenance tasks, nonregular maintenance tasks, regular improvement tasks, and nonregular improvement tasks, this study identified conceptually how these tasks are related to the ways by which individuals learn (single-loop learning/double-loop learning versus OJT and Off-JT). This study also tried to apply the above conceptual model to the Korea context (e.g., Company W) for external validity. Company W is well known among Korean small firms for its innovative human resources management. The study shows that, generally, Company W gained a competitive advantage using the dynamic conceptual model of the skill formation process suggested in this study. OJT, On the job training; Off-JT, off the job training.     

Town Centre Management: Outlook from Portugal

In the last two decades, the Portuguese Government has responded to the decline of centres of commerce. In this paper, we analyse the three different experiences of town centre management (TCM) schemes developed in Portugal since the turn of the millennium. The first two stages were developed using public sector initiatives and their impacts were limited. The third stage is still under way and is composed of private projects created by local business owners. Taking Lisbon as a case study for this third stage we conclude that these projects have become a pro-active means of intervention in Portuguese town centres.     

Logistics and procurement outsourcing in the healthcare sector: A comparative analysis

As outsourcing ventures become more complex, opportunities for synergies and efficiencies increase, but also create longer and more fragmented supply chains which could have disastrous consequences, particularly in a healthcare context. This study investigates the implications of outsourcing on healthcare supply chains by comparing two alternatives: outsourcing from public-to-private and outsourcing from public-to-public. A conceptual framework, adapted from previous literature, has been employed to provide a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon and consider the implications of logistics and procurement outsourcing on the healthcare supply chain structure and performance. The study presents a European cross-country comparison, analysing both the National Health Service (NHS) outsourcing in England (public-to-private outsourcing) and the Regional Health Service (RHS) outsourcing in the Tuscany region (Italy) (public-to-public outsourcing). Specificities and commonalities of the two outsourcing experiences provide suggestions for managers and policy-makers and enhance the current knowledge of outsourcing in the public healthcare sector.