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Social networks have become a significant part of people’s daily lives, particularly in the purchasing process. In this context, digital influencers have played an essential role in shaping consumers’ opinions. In this sense, studying the role of social networks and influencers in the online product purchase decision process was considered pertinent. We selected two technology adoption models to fulfill this purpose: the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). We conducted an exploratory study using a quantitative approach, with data being collected through a questionnaire distributed online. The statistical analysis of the empirical model employed a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. Analyzing the 135 responses allowed us to conclude that social networks are relevant in consumers’ purchase decision process. This research highlights the importance of the credibility of influencers, emotional connections with audiences, and the dynamics of the media in shaping consumer behavior. It highlights the strong influence of digital influencers on purchasing decisions and makes a methodological contribution with a rigorous empirical model. This study also suggests avenues for future research in order to deepen the understanding of influencer and social media marketing strategies.

Objective: This study examines the asymmetric impact of both internal (military, education, and health expenditures) and external (trade opening and foreign direct investment) factors that contribute to poverty reduction. Methodology: To find an asymmetric relationship between the proposed variables, we used a non-linear ARDL co-integration approach for the period ranging from 1981-2019. Findings: The findings of the study confirm the asymmetric impact of internal (education, military, health expenditures, quality of governance) and external (foreign direct investment, openness) factors on poverty. The finding confirms that ignoring nonlinear or asymmetric properties of macroeconomic variables may mislead inferences. This study has policy implications for government officials to reduce poverty. Novelty: theeconomic theory of poverty is studied from different perspectives by using internal and external factors that have direct and indirect effects on poverty. Furthermore, for in-depth analysis, a nonlinear approach is used to determine which factor has a strong contribution to eliminating poverty. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-07 Full Text: PDF

It is often argued that the core of organizational success is efficient collaboration. Some authors even posit that efficient collaboration is more important to organizational innovation and performance than individual skills or expertise. However, the lack of efficient models to manage collaboration properly is a major constraint for organizations to profit from internal and external collaborative initiatives. Currently, much of the collaboration in organizations occurs through virtual network channels, such as e-mail, Yammer, Jabber, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Zoom. These are even more important in situations where different time zones and even threats of a pandemic constrain face-to-face human interactions. This work introduces a multidisciplinary heuristic model developed based on project risk management and social network analysis centrality metrics graph-theory to quantitatively measure dynamic organizational collaboration in the project environment. A case study illustrates the proposed model's implementation and application in a real virtual project organizational context. The major benefit of applying this proposed model is that it enables organizations to quantitatively measure different collaborative, organizational, and dynamic behavioral patterns, which can later correlate with organizational outcomes. The model analyzes three collaborative project dimensions: network collaboration cohesion evolution, network collaboration degree evolution, and network team set variability evolution. This provides organizations an innovative approach to understand and manage possible collaborative project risks that may emerge as projects are delivered. Organizations can use the proposed model to identify projects' critical success factors by comparing successful and unsuccessful delivered projects' dynamic behaviors if a substantial number of both project types are analyzed. The proposed model also enables organizations to make decisions with more information regarding the support for changes in observed collaborative patterns as demonstrated by statistical models in general, and linear regressions in particular. Further, the proposed model provides organizations with a completely bias-free data-collection process that eliminates organizational downtime. Finally, applying the proposed model in organizations will reduce or eliminate the risks associated with virtual collaborative dynamics, leading to the optimized use of resources; this will transform organizations to become more lean-oriented and significantly contribute to economic, social, and environmental global sustainability.

Due to constant change in the marketplace, it can be difficult for companies to secure the material, human, and technological resources necessary for competitive innovation activities. In this sense, and to overcome these constraints, the open innovation model is a quite successful approach, where the sharing of resources among companies allows the formation of an innovation ecosystem. However, the execution time of these projects can be negatively affected if the performance of each work team is not taken into account. In this work, the application of the agile approach in open innovation projects is proposed as a way to reduce the uncertainty both in the execution time of the projects and in the respective implementation costs. In this sense, a methodology for optimal team assignment for agile teams in open innovation projects according to their performance on each project task is developed to determine the optimal team assignment that leads to the shortest project execution time. This methodology will support decision making in the project management of open innovation projects, especially in the selection of the internal and external work teams that will participate in a given innovation project. The application of the proposed methodology is illustrated with an example describing and analyzing the different steps of its application. The results show that with the proposed methodology it is possible to take into account the performance of each team when calculating the project execution time and that the project execution time varies depending on the assignment of the agile teams to the project tasks. It is also shown that it is possible to determine the optimal assignment with the shortest project execution time.

This paper proposes a qualitative model to overcome the limitations of conventional failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), which does not consider risk mitigation capabilities when prioritizing risks. Failure to consider these capabilities can lead to unrealistic risk estimates, especially when the level of uncertainty is high. In the proposed model, the original applicability of conventional FMEA was retained along with the three conventional risk variables, namely, severity, occurrence, and detectability. In addition, a fourth variable was added to account for risk mitigation capabilities. A case study in the project selection of aircraft repairs was used to demonstrate the implementation of the model and its applicability. The results show that the inclusion of mitigation options leads to more realistic risk scenarios, suggesting that the original FMEA approach may lead to non-conservative risk estimates.

Introduction: Currently, and in a competitive context, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increasingly depend on the quality of their services, not only to satisfy their different stakeholders, but also to attract funding. In this way, HEIs tend to incorporate Internal Quality Management Systems (IQMS) into their strategy with a view to the continuous improvement of their performance. This work intends to analyze the applicability of an HEI, based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model, through its implementation in a public Portuguese HEI. Objectives: Contribute to a critical analysis of the applicability of an IQMS in the organizational performance of an HEI, based on the EFQM model, and implemented in a published HEI. Methods: A number of advantages and difficulties were obtained. For the difficulties obtained, it was proposed a set of suggestions for its overcoming. Results: A number of advantages and difficulties were obtained. For the difficulties obtained, it was proposed a set of suggestions for its overcoming. Conclusions: The application of the SIGQ in the HEI under study, proved to be beneficial, due to a set of perceived advantages, among them, the increase of the organizational efficiency. For each one of the disadvantages identified in the study, a set of solutions was proposed for its mitigation, thus allowing to reinforce the potential of applying the EFQM model in an HEI.

Introduction: The strong international competitiveness motivated by globalization with the purpose of reaching an increasingly demanding public, makes cost reduction and quality increase a primary need across all sectors. The generic drug industry where price is the primary weapon in consumer reach is no exception and creates a strong need in the application of Lean methodologies to optimize the production. Objectives: Reduce of changeover times by the application of lean methodologies structured by a proposed model. Methods: This study started with a review of the bibliography of the Lean’s origin and the several methodologies ending with the application of a proposed application model. The implementation was based on a detailed study of the setups resulting in a set of solution proposals dedicated to the main problems applying several lean tools. Results: Reduction of change times by 20% and waiting times by 24.5% within 3 months. Conclusions: The application of Lean methodologies revealed a great utility in the identification of causes and in the creation of solutions. The implementation of this model, although in an initial phase, allowed not only reduction of the times of changes, but also other improvements such as the reduction of the number of waits. However, this application, due to being inserted in the pharmaceutical industry, is limited by some procedures that cannot be changed.

The development of an enterprise under current conditions requires an integrated approach and an appropriate financing system. The purpose of this study is to justify the replication model of financing the integrated enterprise development. The research methodology suggests that each enterprise has its own development “genome”, which makes it possible to apply the replication of its directions based on a justified financing system of such an integration. The proposed replication model is augmented by regression analysis, which made it possible to carry out scenario forecasting of alternative options for the company’s development. The conduction of the study is based on 16 textile enterprises. The formed map of the integrated enterprise development enabled the determination of their points to replicate resources in four directions (environmental and economic, innovative, informational, and organizational). The interaction of companies on the basis of strengths diffusion (exchange of potential) with the application of financial netting is considered an alternative to replication. The research proved that an alternative option can solely be recommended for developed companies and requires the identification and minimization of risks. The strong link between the level of integrated and overall development of companies was acknowledged. Asymmetry of business development in the context of a replication model of its integration enables the achievement of high results while minimizing financial resources. Enterprises implementing the replication model of integration considerably improve their prospects and increase overall development performance. The application of the replication model of financing integration under the crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic fosters efficient use of financial resources and the overall enterprise development.

The sustainable financial behavior and financial well-being have been a key concern among the developing societies; thereby encompassing the various psychological factors which play a role in influencing individual's positive financial behavior and financial well-being, this study is conducted. Research focusing on the psychological aspect of human financial behavior and well-being is scarce, focusing more on the cognitive side such as financial literacy and numeracy. The aim of this research study is to find the role played by the non-cognitive factors such as self-esteem, self-control, optimism and deliberative thinking, in forming the financial behavior and financial well-being of the young adults. A sample of 429 university students from public and private sector was collected via an online and field survey using purposive sampling technique. The survey contained measures for demographics, self-esteem, optimism, deliberative thinking, self-control, general financial behavior and financial well-being. SPSS and PLS-SEM tools were used for the exploration of the relationships among dependent and independent variables. The results of PLS path analysis demonstrate that among the non-cognitive factors, self-control and deliberative thinking show a significant association with both financial behavior, and financial security. Self-esteem plays no significant role in forming the financial behavior of the young adults when all the variables are taken together but it exhibits a significant association with financial well-being (financial security and financial anxiety). Optimism on the other hand exhibits no significant association with both financial behavior and financial well-being (financial security and financial anxiety). The results of this study complement the previous studies and also put forth new outcomes. This research is unique as it is the first of its kind conducted in a consumption-oriented economy like Pakistan. In addition to the previous studies which have often established the link of self-esteem with general well-being, this study goes further by analyzing the association between self-esteem and financial well-being and by the identification of the role played by non-cognitive factors like self-esteem, optimism, deliberative thinking and self-control together on the financial behavior and financial well-being of the individuals using PLS-SEM approach.

Introduction: The great demand of the markets has led to situations in which the production systems are characterized by the production of several batches but of small size. This new paradigm requires that adequate techniques be developed, both in terms of planning and in terms of Statistical Process Control (SPC), since there may be situations where it is not possible to collect enough data to properly estimate the parameters of the process (mean and variance). Objectives: Implementation of Statistical Process Control techniques in a wine industry in order to improve its final product. Methods: Whenever there is not enough data to properly estimate the parameters of the process, the suggested approach, is to adopt the developments proposed by Charles Quesenberry. In this case, the statistic of the sample at time i is transformed through the estimations of the process parameters using the information obtained (data) until the instant (i-1). The univariate study of process capability is performed through the capability indices QL and QU. Thus, in this paper, two situations of statistical control are addressed, one in which a univariate study is done, based on Q charts, and another in which the multivariate study is made, based on the MQ charts. Results: This study comprised the implementation of the SPC) of a wine brand that has low production volumes, in the process of bottling wine, which is considered a critical step since some care is needed, such as avoiding the occurrence of microbiological contaminations or oxidation of the wine. Conclusions: Whenever it is not possible to apply traditional control charts the use of the control Q charts (univariate analysis) and the control MQ charts (multivariate analysis) are the most appropriate choice not only for the control of one or more products but also for several sets of quality characteristics.

Currently, sustainability is considered a priority by society, with the household appliances being one of the economic sectors involved in achieving sustainability. However, the existence of several issues (e.g., energy and water consumption, reliability, initial cost, and illuminance, among others) together with the diversity of brands and models on the market, make the consumer’s decisions regarding sustainable options difficult, according to their concerns and related to each sustainability dimension (economic, environmental, and social). By combining evolutionary algorithms (EA) with multicriteria techniques, it is possible to achieve sustainable solutions for the consumer based on their requirements. In this paper, a method is presented to support the consumer by obtaining a set of sustainable household appliances on the market that suit their preferences, concerns, and needs. By using a case study to apply the approach developed here, a set of sustainable appliances from the market is obtained, where several benefits are achieved (e.g., energy and water consumption savings, avoidance of CO2 emissions) during the lifecycle of each appliance, chosen from the appliance’s industry.