Value creation through quality and innovation – a case study on Portugal

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 928-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Santos ◽  
Sergio Gomes ◽  
Vitor Braga ◽  
Alexandra Braga ◽  
Vanda Lima ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the best way to create value in Portugal through quality and innovation and also to check what needs to be improved. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was applied to population of 152 companies, with the research and development (R&D) management certified by Portuguese Standard NP 4457. The final sample was 66 companies, which correspond to 45 percent of the population. Statistical analysis of the data collected was performed using IBM SPSS Statistical Software. Findings The authors highlighted the main reasons/motivations that led companies to implement the NP 4457, which were, among others, competitive advantage and creating value. The systematization of information and the generation and management of ideas were highlighted as the main advantages. The lack of methodologies for innovation management and knowledge management was the difficulty experienced in the implementation of NP 4457. Portugal needs to increase patent registration and it also needs to know how to take advantage of the investment made in R&D, in order to decrease the unit cost of knowledge. Portuguese engineering should be more about product design than production processes. The involvement of top management must be greater. Originality/value This investigation contributes to the innovation and quality body of knowledge, since it explores the complementarity between the two concepts as sources of value creation. This case study is one of the first Portuguese empirical research works about value creation through quality and innovation in Portugal. It also allows to know in detail the Portuguese business reality in terms of innovation management.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasja Steenkamp ◽  
Roslyn Roberts

Purpose This paper aims to explore how advanced integrated report preparers internalise and operationalise material value creation information to manage the generation of such information for the integrated report. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a qualitative approach using in-depth semi-structured interviews to examine how information about material value creation matters in six South African organisations are managed. Findings The findings will be useful to integrated reporting adopters as to how they might implement appropriate processes and systems to determine, communicate, collect and process information about matters that substantively affect their value creation. Originality/value The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by providing insight on how material value creation matters are determined, communicated internally and information about such matters generated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 434-446
Author(s):  
Maria Jakubik

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case about the emergence of human capital (HC) during the master thesis as a work-based learning project. Design/methodology/approach The case study uses data from 107 master’s students 2007–2011 and feedback from 91 managers as business advisors 2007–2016. Findings The findings show direct contributions of higher education (HE) to intellectual capital (IC) in organisations through the enhanced HC of managers. Originality/value The case contributes to the emerging new, fifth stage of IC research by demonstrating how HC develops beyond the boundaries of an educational institution; how it influences an organisation’s IC and how 91 business advisors, as external stakeholders, assessed the achievements and value creation of HE.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Mendez ◽  
Mercedes Vila-Alonso

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to know, from a three-dimensional perspective (operational, emotional and behavioral), the process of “putting down roots” related with the implementation of Kaizen until it becomes sustainable. The research aims to know how this “putting down roots” process is carried out, what transformations occur, what elements are involved and what role they represent in achieving sustainability. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a methodology based on the case study has been used, an interpretive approach to reality has been adopted as a paradigm and the Grounded Theory has been applied as an analytical technique. Findings The results suggest the existence of a transformation process that leads to creating new habits, beliefs and feelings, a phenomenon that the authors identify as a three-dimensional learning process (operational, emotional and behavioral). Practical implications This type of learning is perceived as a transition toward an organizational culture that ensures the roots of the Kaizen principles, which is essential for its sustainability and which favors the creation of talent and the well-being of employees, two challenges that the Kaizen of the twenty-first century must face. Originality/value The document includes innovative contributions to the Kaizen sustainability phenomenon, as it is dealt with from a three-dimensional perspective that underlies the inhibitors and enablers known in the current literature.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Matzler ◽  
Franz Bailom ◽  
Stephan Friedrich von den Eichen ◽  
Thomas Kohler

PurposeThis article aims to examine the concept of business model innovation and to discuss the design of the key elements. Based on a detailed case study of Nespresso, it seeks to outline how business model innovation can be implemented successfully.Design/methodology/approachBased on a theoretical conceptualization of a business model, the authors conduct an in‐depth case study to draw conclusions for a successful implementation of a business model innovation.FindingsA business model innovation comprises five components: an innovative, unique positioning, a consistent product and service logic, an appropriate value creation architecture, an effective sales and marketing logic and a profit formula that works. Success is based upon a unique, innovative and coherent design of the business model's components.Originality/valueBased on Nespresso's business model, this paper illustrates what a business model innovation is, what its components are and how they should be designed to create and capture value.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio Ronzoni ◽  
Edwin Torres ◽  
Juhee Kang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the theory and implementation of dual branding. The authors explore whether dual branding is a positive choice for two hotel brands belonging to the same firm and operating under the same roof, in this case, a Wyndham and a Wyndham Garden branded property. Design/methodology/approach A case study methodology was employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers regarding their decisions and implementation of a dual branding strategy. Findings The authors reveal the organizational, operational, technical, marketing, financial, economic and technological challenges experienced before, during and after the dual branding transition. Moreover, they reveal the results of the implementation and its consequences to the hotel and its customers. A conceptual model is presented with the goal of assisting and facilitating the investigation, analysis, choice and implementation of dual branding by hoteliers. Originality/value The present research expands the existing body of knowledge, bridges the theory and practice of branding in the lodging sector, advances dual branding theory and provides insightful implications for scholars and managers alike.


VINE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giuliani

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to observe Intellectual Capital (IC) dynamics “in practice” through a temporal lens by considering IC as an on-going process, and thus taking into consideration its life cycle and how it changes over time. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal case study has been investigated by adopting a participant observation approach to understand how the dynamics of IC are understood in practice. Findings – This study spotlights three main conceptions of IC dynamics (value creation, IC activities and organizational change) which, although generally proposed in literature as separable concepts, do co-exist and interact, in practice as is reflected in the related managerial tools. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations of this study are twofold. The first is related to the methodology adopted and in particular, to the participant observation approach. The second is related to the specifics of the case study undertaken. This paper contributes to the literature on “Intellectual Capital in action” and “Intellectual Capital in practice” by enriching the understanding of IC dynamics. Originality/value – By comparison to the extant literature in which the IC dynamics concepts are considered separately, this study combines the three different concepts and examines them in vivo, adopting a longitudinal perspective.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Kia Onn Wong

PurposeThis paper examines the methodical and highly efficacious manner in which China deployed its comprehensive AI (artificial intelligence) strategy to significantly stymie the spread of COVID-19 across the country.Design/methodology/approachThis study deploys a case-study approach, supported by the literature on existing and emerging AI and related technologies.FindingsThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed to the world the remarkable progress China has made in AI and its accompanying ecosystem. More importantly, this outlier event demonstrates the surgical, hybridised manner in which China has utilised these emerging technologies in containing its spread (i.e. “AI Epidemiological Targeting”) and set itself on the path to unleashing their full potential (i.e. “AI Symbiosis Paradigm”). Nonetheless, China still needs to harness its rapidly advancing AI prowess in identifying COVID-19's pathogenesis and developing a proven vaccine.Originality/valueThis study presents a pioneering effort to analyse the deployment of AI and its ecosystem in the “war” against COVID-19.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourdes Pérez ◽  
Jesús J. Cambra-Fierro

Purpose – Research suggests that asymmetry has a negative impact on value creation and value distribution and assumes that the smaller partner has an inferior position and must defend itself from value misappropriation. However, industries are plagued with a range of business relationships of varying degree of imbalance. Ambitious and growth-oriented small firms enter relationships with larger counterparts, tolerate the imbalance and learn to achieve successful outcomes. In spite of the increasing importance of asymmetric partnerships, there are still many research and conceptual lacunas. Design/methodology/approach – Ideas and conclusions of this paper are based on the authors’ experience as well as on evidence from a qualitative case study conducted at a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and one of its key larger partners. Findings – Findings reveal that asymmetric partnerships may offer a clear route to value creation and innovation for firms. Moreover, both partners can fully appropriate the value jointly generated. Originality/value – Asymmetric partnerships, generally characterized by large dissimilarities between firms, offer the possibility of moving beyond the zero-sum game, where firms obtain value at the expense of their partners. By examining the development and dynamic aspects of these partnerships, we found a novel concept, “dual-value appropriation”, and addressed the issues of how and under which conditions dual value emerges to explain the success of asymmetric partnerships.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Jacques Fonseca ◽  
Laura Tonon Zuanazzi ◽  
Rodrigo B. Castilhos ◽  
Guilherme Trez

PurposeThis study aims at understanding how consumers engage with and perceive value in “spectacular” versus “spontaneous” designs of tourist experiences. Building on the idea that experiences unfold over time through consumers' interactions with multiple touchpoints composed of assemblages of material and interpersonal elements, how these designs can be conducive to various dimensions of the consumer experience value is shown.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative comparative “embedded case study” (Yin, 2018) of the tourist experiences at In Vino (pseudonym), a traditional winery located in the Vale dos Vinhedos (Valley of the Vineyards) in southern Brazil, was conducted. Based on initial archival research into relevant and noteworthy experiences, two distinct tourist experiences for In Vino were designed. Both experiences were implemented, and participant observations and interviews with participants were conducted.FindingsThe two experiences effectively lead visitors to unique and separate interpersonal, temporal and materially engaging experiences. Both generated educational, entertainment, esthetic and escapist value when well executed, and the comparative analysis by the authors helped in outlining a potential combination of the characteristics of spectacular and spontaneous designs that can enhance authenticity value for tourists.Practical implicationsThis study provides practical information to help companies develop positive consumer experiences in tourism by employing different combinations of temporal, material and interpersonal elements to emphasize different types of value. It also suggests guidelines for what to do and what to avoid in order to create this value.Originality/valueThis paper shows that it is the very union of elements from two apparently antagonistic types of encounters that provides positive values in tourism-related experiences. It also extends the notion of authenticity as an outcome that can potentially be perceived in both types of experiences. Finally, it introduces guidelines on how to manage the different values in order to help companies offer a positive tourist experience.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Löfving

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the choices made in manufacturing decision categories by subcontractor small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and determines if subcontractor SMEs make homogenous manufacturing choices. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was used to develop theoretical propositions. A multiple case study with 19 subcontractor SMEs was conducted. Findings – Factors that might lead to homogenous choices in the manufacturing strategy decision categories were formalised into four theoretical propositions. The propositions were based on new institutionalism factors as well as SME factors. The findings reveal that there is considerable heterogeneity across the subcontractor SMEs in the various manufacturing decision categories. However, there are similarities between some manufacturing choices. This can partly be explained by the proposed factors and partly by other factors, such as SME characteristics and process choices. Research limitations/implications – The study reinforces the need for more research that is focused on manufacturing decisions and choices in SMEs. All cases were of Swedish SMEs belonging to three different industries, potentially limiting the generalisability of findings to other industries or countries. Practical implications – This study highlights the importance of the different choices made considering manufacturing and the factors influencing those choices. This provides guidance for managers when they make manufacturing choices in various decision categories. Originality/value – By addressing new institutionalism, SME characteristics and decision categories in the same study, the author provides new insights into the categories of manufacturing decisions.


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