Revista Galega de Economía

The Regional Firm Density and the Growth of Firms in the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry

Rolando Vaz — 2024-05-16

This paper focuses on the relationship between the regional firm density and the growth of firms in the Portuguese textile and clothing industry to investigate how their geographic clustering influences said growth. Despite the concentration of this industry in the Northern region of Portugal in only four poles, our results show that the location of firms in the cluster is not relevant for growth when the whole industry is considered. However, disaggregate analysis shows that the clothing industry does exhibit both location externalities and cross-location effect, while textile manufacture exhibits neither. In addition, our empirical evidence reveals that the growth of firms located in the cluster is positively correlated with external finance. This result suggests that location becomes a solvency signal for firms, and, specifically, this might help to explain why textile manufacturers firms are located in the cluster. These findings are relevant for entrepreneurs and Portuguese policymakers, as it jeopardizes the optimal allocation of scarce resources in the Portuguese textile cluster.

Demographic regression and local finances: the case of the Galician municipalities 2001-2019

Xoaquín Fernández Leiceaga — 2024-11-21

The demographic regression that affects Galicia, although somewhat unique, forms part of a more general picture, with varying economic and social consequences, among which may include greater pressure on local finances. We studied the situation by groups of municipalities, differentiated according to demographic dynamics, for the years 2001, 2010 and 2019. The results were surprising: spending per inhabitant showed higher growth where the demographic regression was more intense and it was substantially higher in both current and capital expenditures, in virtually all sectors. This was not only because of the evolution of transfers but also owing to the very intense convergence in tax revenues which seemed to indicate a change in the traditional fiscal culture. Municipalities with demographic regression presented better results and were able to overcome hurdles by establishing higher levels of tax pressure.

You Get What You Pay For: Human Capital Impact on Organizational Performance in Portugal

Ligia Portovedo — 2024-11-27

The neoliberal trend in human resource management has been to increase corporate profits by cutting personnel expenses. Mean while, corporate leaders continue to give official speeches clamming that people are their greatest asset. By applying a longitudinal approach to the organizational scope of the phenomenon, we explored the possible relationship between investment in human capital and organizational performance in Portuguese companies from 2010 to 2016. Our findings indicated that a 1% increment in investment in human capital increased gross value added by 0.63% the same year, and by 0.65% if the increase remained consistent over 2 years. The organizational context in which behaviours occurred, represented by the life cycle stage variable, also positively impacted performance, especially when investment in human capital was made in stage 4- decline. Our findings led us to conclude that cutting personnel expenses is detrimental to company performance and contributes to poorer business results.

Does Cooperation with Universities and Knowledge Intensive Business Services Matter? Firm-level Evidence from Spain

Andrés Barge Gil — 2024-11-07

This manuscript contributes to the literature on firm cooperation with universities and Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) by framing the analysis according to the literature on causal effects, comparing the effect of each of the agents and exploring which firms benefit the most from cooperation with a specific partner. The results have shown that the bias-adjusted effect is around a 27-30% increase in sales from new products for both types of partners. After covariates and fixed effects are used, it is considered unlikely that this effect is driven by time-varying unobservable factors. Moreover, we have seen that firms that benefit the most from cooperation with universities are different from those firms that benefit the most from cooperation with KIBS.

Acceptance and Use of Technology: The Influence on Consumption in the Colombian Banking Sector

Campo Elías López-Rodríguez — 2024-11-07

This body of research aims to identify the relationship between elements of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the behavioral intention to use technology and the actual consumption of it among users in the Colombian banking sector. A factorial analysis and a structural equation model were used to analyze the impact of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on behavioral intention and the actual consumption of technology in a sample of 556 consumers from the Colombian banking sector. The results suggest that effort expectancy and facilitating conditions predict behavioral intention and actual use of technology in the studied population, whereas social influence and performance expectancy do not. In conclusion, financial entities are advised to understand consumer behavior to maintain relevant, competitive, and profitable relationships with their clients in a dynamic financial environment.

Exploring Marketing Maneuverability's Role in Linking Entrepreneurial Orientation and Marketing Performance

Andi Setiawan — 2024-10-03

Based on the Resource-Advantage theory (R-A theory), this study attempts to develop a solid framework for marketing maneuverability (MM), which could be used as a lever to optimize the role of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and improve marketing performance (MP). This study develops MM in an effort to improve the MP of Madurese hairdressing salons, classified as small-medium enterprises (SMEs), in Central Java, Indonesia. In addition, MM strengthens the influence of service encounter value (SEV) and market penetration advantage (MPA) on marketing performance (MP). As a result, MM could help SMEs implement SEV and MPA, leading to enhanced MP. This study further explores the application of the R-A theory by verifying that MM improves MP due to its ability to align EO, SEV, and MPA.

Fostering customer engagement behaviour with gamified loyalty programmes: a study from the “value get, value give” perspective

Sara Catalán — 2024-09-19

This study applies the “value get, value give” framework to explain how gamified loyalty programmes create value for firms. This study proposes a model which has been tested and whose aim is to analyse whether the perceived value offered by a gamified loyalty scheme generates enough customer satisfaction and whether this subsequently transforms into customer engagement behaviour that adds value to firms. Data from 134 active users of the gamified loyalty programme ‘Más Renfe’ belonging to Renfe, the Spanish leader in rail transport for passengers and goods, were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings show that hedonic and financial value increase user satisfaction, whereas preferential treatment and personalisation value do not. In addition, greater satisfaction with loyalty schemes facilitate customer engagement behaviour. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of real gamified loyalty programmes in promoting engagement behaviour that creates value for companies.

Markets vs mechanisms and its respective impacts on healthcare system

David Cantala — 2024-09-03

Real life mechanisms used to assign doctors to hospitals inherit properties from matching theory, it enhances the welfare of interns and allows to implement interns to hospital in a stable way. We briefly review matching theory, then discuss the advantages and drawbacks of these centralized markets vs decentralized ones using the property of assortative matchings as main analytical tool.

The Determinants of Education-Job Matching for Portuguese Graduates

Daniela Olo — 2024-06-14

This paper deals with the determinants of education-job match for higher-education graduates, using a logistic regression model to identify explanatory variables related to sociodemographic, academic trajectory and institutional characteristics. The empirical analysis is based on an anonymous online questionnaire administered to a sample of graduates, from 2014 to 2019, in Portuguese institutions, of which about five hundred observations were made. Although the boundaries between universities and polytechnics are less obvious today, there are still some differences between the two higher-education subsystems regarding education-job match. The main ones are related to the field of study, gender, and the need to move away from home to study and work. Factors that improve the probability of education-job matching, common to both subsystems, were also found, such as having i) studied ‘social sciences, commerce, and law’ and ‘engineering, manufacturing and construction’, ii) attained good final grades, and iii) participated in extracurricular activities involving complementary training.