Repositório IC-Online
Repositório Científico da Instituição
Entradas recentes
Innovative capabilities: Their drivers and effects on current and future performance
Publication . Lisboa, Ana; Skarmeas, Dionysis; Lages, Carmen
This study investigates the role of a firm's orientation, both customer and competitor, in driving innovative capabilities and the impact of those capabilities on a firm's current and future performance. The study's contribution is threefold in that it (1) examines market-related exploitative and explorative capabilities in conjunction with product development exploitative and explorative capabilities in terms of their strategic drivers (firm orientation) and performance outcomes; (2) disentangles the effects of exploitative and explorative capabilities on current and future performance; and (3) examines the role of innovative capabilities within the particularly relevant, but understudied, context of exporting. The findings suggest that, although customer orientation relates to both exploitative and explorative capabilities, competitor orientation relates only to exploitative capabilities. Exploitative capabilities affect current performance, whereas explorative capabilities affect future performance. These findings are of crucial relevance to export managers in their quest to identify, extend, and create new market opportunities.
The effects of season and wrack subsidy on the community functioning of exposed sandy beaches
Publication . Gonçalves, Sílvia; Marques, João C.
Seasonality is an important component of the climate, known to influence several biological events that can be reflected in community structure and organization. However, sandy beach macrofaunal community ecological studies are frequently based on snapshot sampling events, neglecting this important dimension and its effects. In the present study, the effects of seasons and wrack subsidies on macrofaunal communitie’s function of two similar exposed sandy beaches of Portugal was monitored for approximately 18 months by sampling all the beach area, from the shoreline to the base of the dunes. The study assessed the beach physical environment, community density and composition, trophic structure, secondary production of key species and the potential relationships between biological data and environmental parameters. Seasonality, particularly temperature variations, and the interaction between seasons and the beach zones (supralittoral vs. intertidal areas) had a strong influence on the communities, promoting a differential utilization of the beach by several species. Seasons also shaped the density of trophic groups, with consequences in community composition and function. Differences between beaches were observed on wrack subsidy, community composition and relative contribution of the dominant species, but the trophic structure was stable and dominated by scavengers. Talitrus saltator was the most productive key species, and the contribution of the resident key species regarding secondary productions and standing stocks was different between beaches. Wrack quantity and deposition frequency on the beach had a positive influence on several faunal descriptors such as density and number of species of various functional groups. The present study also highlights the clear dependence of macrofauna of exposed sandy beaches on the wrack subsidies brought ashore by the tides, illustrating their role on community organization regarding several wrack-associated species and not only scavengers.
Entrepreneurial orientation, exploitative and explorative capabilities, and performance outcomes in export markets: A resource-based approach
Publication . Lisboa, Ana; Skarmeas, Dionysis; Lages, Carmen
Innovation is critical to the growth and success of a firm. In an attempt to renew themselves and compete effectively in the global marketplace, firms must possess both technical and non-technical capabilities. Yet, the extant literature has mainly focused on technology and product development capabilities, disregarding other possible capability domains. This study investigates the role of market-related exploitative and explorative capabilities, together with product development ones, in the context of exporting. Drawing on the resource-based and organization learning theories, we examine the internal process through which entrepreneurial orientation influences performance in export markets and develop a model of entrepreneurial orientation–exploitative and explorative capabilities–advantage–performance relationships. The results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation is a precursor of exploitative and explorative product development and overseas market-related capabilities. The findings also suggest that product development explorative capabilities and overseas market-related exploitative capabilities have a positive effect on new product differentiation, which in turn enhances market effectiveness. Implications for scholars and practitioners are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Complexity control of high efficiency video encoders for power-constrained devices
Publication . Correa, Guilherme; Assunção, Pedro; Agostini, Luciano; Cruz, Luis da Silva
The emerging High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard is expected to require much more processing power than its predecessors due to the higher algorithmic complexity of new coding tools and associated data structures. This paper proposes a novel complexity control method for the near future HEVC encoders running on power-constrained devices. The proposed method is based on a decision algorithm that dynamically adjusts the depth of the Coding Units (CU) defined by quad-tree structures. New evidence about the relationship between CU depth and coding complexity is used to selectively constrain the CU depth in order to not exceed a predefined complexity target. The experimental results show that the encoder computational complexity can be downscaled by up to 60% at the cost of negligible loss of rate-distortion (RD) performance. The proposed method finds application in the near future multimedia portable devices using HEVC codecs1.
Hierarchical frequency control in multi-microgrids: The participation of electric vehicles
Publication . Gil, Nuno; Issicaba, D.; Rocha Almeida, P. M.; Lopes, J. A. Peças
The operation and planning of Low Voltage (LV) and Medium Voltage (MV) distribution networks have been changing over the last decade. Due to the presence of Distributed Generation (DG) and microgeneration, an active role has been attributed to these networks in grid operation. For this accomplishment, different conceptual approaches were developed. In [1], a hierarchical control structure was defined, considering that DG units, onload tap changer transformers, static var compensators and loads can be controlled by a hierarchically higher entity, the Central Autonomous Management Unit (CAMC). The CAMC is also responsible for the management of specific LV networks, the MicroGrids (MG), which in turn have autonomy to manage their loads and microgeneration units through an entity called MicroGrid Central Controller (MGCC). A MV grid with these characteristics plus some storage devices would then be called a Multi-MicroGrid (MMG), being, among other functionalities, able to operate isolated from the upstream network. The recent appearance of a new type of load to the system, the Electric Vehicle (EV), expected to be largely integrated in the electricity grids in the upcoming years, has a great potential for adding controllability to the MMG. In this paper, an EV control droop (see [2]) will be introduced to improve the MMG performance when EVs operate as active elements. EV controllers are then able to receive setpoints from the CAMC and also actively update the droop settings in order to deal with different events that may occur on the MMG, for instance when moving from interconnected to islanded mode of operation. The performance of the MMG with controllable EV will be compared with a MMG without the participation of EV. Additionally, multiple philosophies for setting the droops will be tested, considering that EV may inject power into the grid as storage devices or just act as controllable loads. Simulation results were obtained exploiting a dynamic simulation platform developed using the EUROSTAG and MATLAB environments.