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- From Neglect to Progress: Assessing Social Sustainability and Decent Work in the Tourism SectorPublication . Santos, EleonoraMeasuring social sustainability performance involves assessing firms’ implementation of social goals, including working conditions, health and safety, employee relationships, diversity, human rights, community engagement, and philanthropy. The concept of social sustainability is closely linked to the notion of decent work, which emphasizes productive work opportunities with fair income, secure workplaces, personal development prospects, freedom of expression and association, and equal treatment for both genders. However, the tourism sector, known for its significant share of informal labor-intensive work, faces challenges that hinder the achievement of decent work, such as extended working hours, low wages, limited social protection, and gender discrimination. This study assesses the social sustainability of the Portuguese tourism industry. The study collected data from the “Quadros do Pessoal” statistical tables for the years 2010 to 2020 to analyze the performance of Portuguese firms in the tourism sector and compare them with one another and with the overall national performance. The study focused on indicators such as employment, wages, and work accidents. The findings reveal fluctuations in employment and remuneration within the tourism sector and high growth rates in the tourism sector compared to the national average. A persistent gender pay gap is identified, which emphasizes the need to address this issue within the tourism industry. Despite some limitations, such as the lack of comparable data on work quality globally, incomplete coverage of sustainability issues, and challenges in defining and measuring social sustainability indicators, the findings have implications for policy interventions to enhance social sustainability in the tourism industry. By prioritizing decent work, safe working conditions, and equitable pay practices, stakeholders can promote social sustainability, stakeholder relationships, and sustainable competitive advantage. Policymakers are urged to support these principles to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry and foster a more inclusive and equitable society. This study provides insights for Tourism Management, sustainable Human Resource Management, Development Studies, and organizational research, guiding industry stakeholders in promoting corporate social sustainability, firm survival, and economic growth.
- O desemprego na região de leiriaPublication . Lopes, Ana Sofia; Sargento, Ana; Santos, EleonoraA Região de Leiria parte de uma situação mais favorável em termos de desemprego já que este é inferior (no total da população residente) à média de Portugal Continental numa fase pré pandemia.
- Economic Assessment of Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Applicability of Alternative Nature-Based Technologies in PortugalPublication . Santos, Eleonora; Albuquerque, António; Lisboa, Inês; Murray, Patrick; Ermis, HandeUnderstanding how to address today’s global challenges is critical to improving corporate performance in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. In wastewater treatment systems, such an approach implies integrating efficient treatment technologies with aspects of the circular economy. In this business field, energy costs represent a large share of operating costs. This work discusses technological and management aspects leading to greater energy savings in Portuguese wastewater treatment companies. A mixed methodology, involving qualitative and quantitative aspects, for collecting and analysing data from wastewater treatment plants was used. The qualitative aspects consisted of a narrative analysis of the information available on reports and websites for 11 wastewater management companies in Portugal (e.g., technologies, treated wastewater volumes and operating costs) followed by a review of several international studies. The quantitative approach involved calculating the specific energy consumption (kWh/m3), energy operating costs (EUR/m3) and energy operating costs per population equivalent (EUR/inhabitants) using data from the literature and from Portuguese companies collected from the SABI database. The results suggested that the most environmentally and economically sustainable solution is algae-based technology which might allow a reduction in energy operating costs between 0.05–0.41 EUR/m3 and 15.4–180.8 EUR/inhabitants compared to activated sludge and other conventional methods. This technology, in addition to being financially advantageous, provides the ability to eliminate the carbon footprint and the valorisation of algae biomass, suggesting that this biotechnology is starting to position itself as a mandatory future solution in the wastewater treatment sector
- Does Inbound Tourism Create Employment?Publication . Santos, EleonoraTourism’s share in world employment is greater than that for motor-vehicles and chemicals industries combined, worldwide. Since tourism sector comprises many NACE sectors, it exerts non despicable indirect impacts on the rest of the economy. In addition, tourism offices around the world spend every year millions of euros in tourism campaigns to attract foreign tourists. For many economies, this source of income is vital for the equilibrium of their external balance accounts. Yet, one aspect that is not well studied is the influence of those foreign tourists on job creation on tourism related companies, in the host country, namely in the hospitality industry. Thus, this paper tests whether foreign outdoor tourists have contributed to job creation in Northern Portugal in 2006–2014. Based on data from 4 sources, it employs an OLS estimator to regress the employment changes on the number of new firms, turnover, share of foreigners in outdoor tourism activities, and labor productivity. Results indicate a negative but not statistically significant impact of foreign tourists on employment changes. Such results motivate further empirical investigation.
- Brand and Competitiveness in Health and Wellness TourismPublication . Santos, Eleonora; Crespo, Cátia; Moreira, Jacinta; Castanho, Rui AlexandreHealth and wellness tourism is growing worldwide, triggering a resurgence of competition in this segment and a clear need for the supply to develop new products and services, increasingly creative and exclusive, capable of attracting tourists. Thermal waters in Portugal are considered very rich in terms of chemical composition, which makes their use highly important in various wellness and rejuvenating therapies like balneotherapy, thermalism, etc. This enables the country to pursue a differentiated wellness-related experience product, which is a key determinant of customer loyalty and can play an important role in regional development. Natural resources contribute to the strengths of territories and can be leveraged by marketing tools such as brands. This article intends to draw inferences about the effect of the brand on the competitiveness of the wellness tourism supply, across NUTS II regions of the continent, during the period of ten years, with a special focus on the recent period of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a sample of 10 spas in Portugal, retrieved from SABI database, we analyze the evolution of four competitiveness indicators: market share, productivity, return on investment and talent retention, for 2010–2020, by clusters of firms with and without brand. The correlation analysis between brand and competitiveness indicators suggests a strong positive and significant relationship between brand and market share, in the Centro and Lisbon regions, starting in 2017 and increasing over time. Finally, some recommendations on tourism management are made to improve the competitiveness of the supply.
- Corporate Governance and Company Performance: A Comparative Analysis Across Sectors in PortugalPublication . Santos, Eleonora; Moreira, Jacinta; Ribeiro, NeuzaThe assessment of the implementation of the corporate governance practices is important because it contributes to the efficient use of resources and, thus, increases corporate performance. However, the practice of CG in Portugal is below European standards due to several issues related to weak legal protection, concentrated ownership structures, and limited information transparency. Using a panel data of 17 firms listed on PSI20, this chapter investigates the impact of the internal CG mechanisms on corporate performance, in 2014-2018. Results show that the size of the audit committee impacts positively on firm performance. However, the number of independent members of audit committee decreases corporate performance in firms operating in services, and ownership of related parties increases corporate performance. Also, fewer leveraged firms are likely to exhibit better performances. This research provides understanding of the relationships between internal mechanisms of CG and corporate performance by comparing results across groups of sectors.
- Regional Disparities in Inflation Persistence: Unpacking the Dynamics of Price Growth in PortugalPublication . Santos, EleonoraThis paper investigates the degree of inflation persistence across regions in Portugal by analyzing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rates for NUTS II regions. The study employs the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test to determine whether the CPI data for Portugal is stationary or non-stationary. The results of the ADF test reveal that the IPC data for Portugal is non-stationary, indicating that inflation exhibits persistence in the long run. The study further assesses the persistence of inflation by estimating an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model for each region. The Ljung-Box test is used to test for autocorrelation in the time series data, and the Hurst exponent is calculated to evaluate the presence of long-term memory in the time series data. The study finds that there is significant autocorrelation in the time series data for all regions, supporting the presence of persistence in inflation at the regional level in Portugal. The Hurst exponent also shows that the time series data for each region exhibits a high degree of persistence in inflation. Finally, the study applies the ARIMA model to each CPI division's data and uses the Ljung-Box test to test for autocorrelation in the time series data. The results show that some CPI divisions exhibited higher levels of persistence compared to others. For example, the "Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels" division exhibited high persistence, while the "Communication" division exhibited low persistence. This study contributes to the existing literature by exploring regional inflation persistence in Portugal and its implications for policymaking. The results provide insights into the inflation persistence patterns across regional levels in Portugal, by emphasizing the need to consider regional differences in inflation dynamics when formulating effective policy interventions. Understanding the persistence of inflation is crucial for policymakers to ensure price stability and sustainable economic growth.
- Business Plan Globetrot Plus Blockchain B2C Artificial Intelligence Solution for Tourism IndustryPublication . Syed, Hassan; Castanho, Rui Alexandre; Santos, Eleonora; García, Pablo Juan Cárdenas; Franco, MaraTravel is the ideal outcome for online diffusion. Unlike buying in most industries, the travel trade implicates the exchange, not physical inventory; however, it demands information. The tourist must select from many imaginable products, services, and fees that may differ with the minor adjustment of any parameters. Suppose, for example, a one-way airplane ticket. That ticket, for the same seat on an equivalent airplane, could be significantly more or less costly should the consumer decide to take delivery of the product (i.e., departure date or time) only a few hours earlier or later. The price for the same effect could likewise vary if the tourist was to complete the acquisition a day before or later. The special dynamics of travel shopping and buying are ideally fitted to the Internet, and the result of this creative medium has been nothing less than stunning. In this regard, the article is based on direct and indirect methods—being the literature review the most used technique. Contextually, in this study, it is possible to verify that the AI-combined Blockchain solution may seem a bit advanced at this stage; however, with further innovations, entering the applied field will certainty make this concept a reality.
- The Productivity Puzzle in Cultural Tourism at Regional LevelPublication . Santos, Eleonora; Lisboa, Inês; Moreira, Jacinta; Ribeiro, NeuzaThe distribution of labour productivity of tourism firms across regions has not received considerable attention until now. To address this concern, an empirical analysis at firm level is used to calculate the labour productivity across seven Portuguese NUTS II regions. Using data from 2,866 firms’ financial reports obtained from SABI database, over four years, this paper analyses the regional inequalities and its consequences in terms of economic and tourism development. The findings show that, at the national level, the mean labour productivity has increased around 1.9% on average, from 2015 to 2017 and dropped 3.9% in 2018. At the regional level, the results suggest that firm performance regarding productivity is not related to the dynamics observed in neighbouring regions but to the resources and conditions available in each region separately. Such results confirm the assumption of spatial inequality in the distribution of labour productivity among cultural tourism firms. The results presented in the article can be of significant use to further understand the productivity dimension of tourism production at regional level. Finally, by identifying the areas where tourism management need to be improved, this paper provides suggestions on measures to increase regional productivity, and thus, regional competitiveness.
- FDI and Firm Productivity: A Comprehensive Review of Macroeconomic and Microeconomic ModelsPublication . Santos, EleonoraThis paper reviews the literature on foreign direct investment (FDI), productivity, and technology upgrading, with a focus on macroeconomic and microeconomic models. It compares the performance of various models used to study FDI and its effects on firms’ productivity, via skill and technology upgrading, offshoring, institutional quality, and other related factors. This review highlights the differences and similarities between macroeconomic and microeconomic models, their empirical strategies, and their ability to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms through which FDI affects productivity and other variables. The empirical literature on the impact of FDI on the productivity of local firms is derived from association studies, which use a neoclassic production function and an augmented Solow-type equation. These models have been shown to be inadequate in capturing the dynamic and complex nature of FDI and the associated externalities, particularly vertical externalities. This paper identifies three criticisms of the literature on pecuniary externalities, including a lack of models that focus specifically on the mechanism of forward linkages, inadequate measures to assess linkage effects, and the failure to include crucial determinant factors in empirical models. Overall, this paper calls for more comprehensive and nuanced models that incorporate the dynamic and complex nature of FDI and its externalities.