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A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Information Management, specialization in Information and Decision Systems This research focuses on Competitive Intelligence (CI) as a precursor of sound decisions that improve and sustain the performance of organisations in an exponentially changing world. The absence of an empirically validated scientific definition is a foundational gap that hinders its art, practice and science. So far, the lack of conceptual consensus and delimitation of the body of knowledge inhibited the establishment of a profession, education, and the advancement of the discipline. Thus, the aim of this study is to lay down the foundations of CI science and the developments of its praxis. A mixed-methods approach was used to derive a scientific definition and provide an empirical validation grounded in the expertise of top subject matter experts. A meta-analysis supported the development of a unified, integrative, thorough maturity model and a set of instruments to guide its implementation and development. Furthermore, the design thinking mindset was identified as appropriate in support of its practice. Overall, the empirically validated scientific definition, the maturity model, the implementation frameworks, and the design thinking mindset are expected to put the CI virtuous cycle in motion catapulting its praxis into a new era. More importantly, they should contribute to improving the performance of professionals, organisations, industries and countries, differentiating CI versus related disciplines, promoting admittance in academe, and mobilising all stakeholders towards developing its practice, education, and theoretical advancement. Este estudo foca-se na Competitive Intelligence (CI) como precursora de decisões acertadas que melhoram a performance das organizações num mundo em mudança exponencial. A ausência de uma definição científica validada empiricamente é uma lacuna fundamental que prejudica a sua arte, prática e ciência. À data, a falta de consenso conceptual e delimitação do seu corpo de conhecimento inibiu a efetuação da profissão, da educação, e do avanço da disciplina. Como tal, o objetivo deste estudo é estabelecer os alicerces da ciência do CI e o desenvolvimento da sua praxis. Uma abordagem de métodos mistos foi usada para derivar uma definição científica e providenciar uma validação empírica fundada no expertise de especialistas de topo nesta matéria. Uma meta-análise suportou o desenvolvimento de um modelo de maturidade unificado, integrativo, e minucioso, e um conjunto de instrumentos para guiar a sua implementação e desenvolvimento. Para além disso, o design thinking enquanto mentalidade foi identificado como apropriado para suportar a sua prática. No compito geral, é esperado que a definição científica validada empiricamente, o modelo de maturidade, os frameworks de implementação, e um quadro mental de design ponham em movimento o ciclo virtuoso da CI catapultando a sua praxis para uma nova era. Mais importante, devem contribuir para melhorar a performance de profissionais, organizações, indústrias e países, diferenciando o CI versus as disciplinas relacionadas, promovendo a sua admissão na academia, e mobilizar todos as partes interessadas para o desenvolvimento da sua prática, educação, e o desenvolvimento teórico.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence As data, information, and their respective provisioning gets more and more ubiquitous, people start to look for - and even demand - transparency and data to support the policies in effect right now that, either directly or indirectly, affects them. There are many expectations related with Open Government Data initiatives, such as improving policymaking, increase in transparency of government spending, advance citizen engagement with the institutions, etc. This master’s proposal aims to offer research that pertains to this theme; including an in depth look into one of the most reputed OGD maturity report (EU Open Data Maturity Report), a systematic literature review of Open Data’s main objectives and goals, the influence on publication of scientific literature as well as the potential socio-economic and transparency impact they may have, in order to proceed to an assessment of the portal quality in Portugal by evaluating the usage of its data on scientific papers and articles; through the usage of bibliometrics and PRISMA methodology. My thesis research drills down on these topics: What are the most used Portuguese OGD portals in academic literature? What are the authors that make the most use of Portuguese OGD portals? What characterizes the authors and the publications?

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Marketing Research and CRM Virtual Fitting Rooms (VFRs) have emerged as a promising technology for the eyewear industry, offering consumers the opportunity to try on glasses virtually before purchasing them. However, little is known about consumers' perception towards VFRs, especially in the context of eyewear. This thesis aims to explore consumers' assessment of VFRs for eyewear using a mixed-methods approach, including an experiment, in-depth interviews, and observation method. The sample consisted of 219 participants from NOVA IMS. The experiment aimed to measure the degree of acceptance of potential privacy issues involved and the willingness to use VFRs. The in-depth interviews aimed to explore the reasons behind participants' assessments towards VFRs, while the observation method was used to analyse the behavior and interaction between the participants and the VFR. The results indicate that concerns regarding potential privacy issues involved in VFRs were higher among the personalized sample. Additionally, younger, and male consumers were more likely to be accepting of potential privacy issues and more responsive to VFRs. Participants were less likely to use VFRs if it required uploading a video but were moderately likely to use VFRs if it required uploading a photo. However, participants were likely to use VFRs if it required entering measurements. Finally, a high proportion of the sample indicated that they would consider or certainly buy after the VFR experience. This study contributes to the literature on consumer’s perception towards VFRs by providing insights of NOVA IMS consumers’ perceptions towards VFRs for eyewear. The findings have important implications for eyewear retailers and manufacturers who are considering the implementation of VFR technology.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence This project thesis aims to examine the impact of digital marketing on slow fashion brands through the implementation of e-commerce. Slow fashion brands have gained significant attention recently due to their commitment to sustainable and ethical production practices. However, their success in the digital age largely depends on their ability to utilize digital marketing tools to reach their target audience effectively. This thesis explores how implementing e-commerce can impact the overall digital marketing strategy of a specific slow fashion brand, Portuguesa. The research uses an approach of a quantitative analysis of data from slow fashion e-commerce websites and Google analytics. The findings show that e-commerce implementation can significantly improve a slow fashion brand's digital marketing performance, particularly regarding online visibility, customer engagement, and conversion rates. The results highlight the importance of aligning digital marketing efforts with e-commerce implementation for the success of slow fashion brands in the digital age. The study also points out that e-commerce implementation supports slow fashion brands' sustainable and ethical values. Overall, the thesis contributes to understanding how digital marketing and e-commerce can be used to promote sustainable fashion and support the growth of a recent slow fashion brand, Portuguesa.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Business Analytics As the world evolves and changes faster than ever before, the ability to properly form and educate future generations has never been more important. Understanding what drives student performance and how it leads to success is a fantastic way to create a better, more understanding school environment. The 236 responses to an online questionnaire were used to empirically validate a developed conceptual model. The PLS-SEM approach was used to analyze the data, and the findings indicate that students who are less motivated and eager to succeed in school perform more poorly. Furthermore, students who are not close to learning resources also perform more poorly. Because program design has a significant impact on student success, implementing adjusted and updated learning techniques is an effective tool to help students in achieving better outcomes. Finally, we can say that feedback has a mediator effect on the impact of program design, and that feedback has a greater impact on those students who are in poorly designed programs.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies Management After a period of being studied on why they were adopted in the first place, smartwatches have recently begun to be studied on their ability to invoke continuance intention in their users, and this study tries to add to that body of knowledge by making use of the Expectation Confirmation Model to assess the degree to which factors such as achieved physical fitness influenced the desire of a user to continue the use of their device. We conducted a literature review and proposed a total of nine constructs to be added to the ECM, namely complexity, competence, system capability, system transparency, individual mobility, perceived security and privacy, and physical fitness, all derived from previous studies and adapted to our model. The model depicts continuance intention as an outcome measure directly dependent on perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and physical fitness. The model was discussed in the light of propositions for future empirical research. We believe research based on this model could help explain the relationship between the outcome of improved physical fitness with the use of a smartwatch and the continued use of said device, along with other proposed effects, regarding areas such as data security, lifestyle congruence and ease of use of the device.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence In recent years, employee experience (EX), its design, measurement, and management, have been identified as a priority for many organisations. In addition, EX has been linked to other key organisational topics like performance, retention, employer brand and attraction. This study aimed to explore and identify the factors that influence employee experience and, therefore, should be monitored by organisations. Therefore, a Design Science Research (DRS) methodology was selected. As a result, an artefact was developed which was based on scientific and practitioners’ knowledge in an effort to bridge the gap between academia and market practices. This was achieved by consolidating current employee experience literature and adapting marketing and customer experience-related concepts into a framework. It establishes a correlation between organisational practices, employee experience, and each employee’s perceived experience. In addition, this framework is comprised of items that can be integrated into organisational pulse surveys to enable EX measurement. To validate this framework, an evaluation via semi-structured interviews was then conducted with subject-matter experts who exercise senior HR-related roles in organisations operating in Portugal. Afterwards, the expert’s insights were analysed and then used to enrich the proposed framework. This dissertation contributes to employee experience literature as it developed foundational work regarding EX measurement, which can be applied in organisations. In addition, it can serve as a basis for future work regarding employee experience.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Digital Marketing and Analytics We live in a fast-paced world, where information is instantaneously consumed through the speed of the internet, and where brands need to stand out from the others to get their customer’s attention, which incentives the constant evolution of technologies and marketing strategies. Sensory Marketing has proven to be an effective way of capturing the consumers’ senses, and to provide unexpected shopping experiences that attract the attention of new consumers. The exploration of sensorial stimulation has been increasingly used in physical stores, but has been quite left behind when it comes to the online sales environments, especially if we focus on the touch sense. However, it is possible to stimulate the tactile sensation through images, videos and even text descriptions. It is called Haptic Imagery, and it triggers the memories of previous touch experiences, by stimulating the brain to tactile sense, and which can be used to overcome the lack of physical stimulation in digital stores. The aim of this study is to investigate how digital stores can take advantage of Haptic Imagery, to influence the buyer’s product judgement and purchase intention. Moreover, the present research uses the Need for Touch scale (NFT), developed by Peck and Childers (2003), to understand the individual differences between participants’ necessity for touching a product before buying it, and to study its relation to the artists’ willingness to buy their art supplies online. For this purpose, a survey was constructed and distributed among art students from two Art Universities, who are believed to be the right target consumers for art supplies. The main findings of the present study contradict the overarching literature, since the results in relation to product quality perception and purchase intention were not different between the group that saw Haptic Imagery and the one that saw Non-Haptic Imagery. Nevertheless, it was possible to verify that individuals with high NFT felt more frustration for not being able to touch the product, and therefore were less probable to buy it in online stores than individuals with lower NFT values, which confirms the previous findings on the subject and validates the use of Peck and Childers’ NFT scale.

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence While the phenomenon of urbanization takes place, it is critical to adapt cities to the ordinary citizen and not the other way around. The 15-minute city concept proposed in 2016 by the scientist Carlos Moreno comes as a way to achieve that goal by improving sustainable accessibility in urban spaces through proximity-based planning. Ultimately, the goal is to promote space-time efficiency, sustainability, and well-being. Aiming to support this urban ideal, the present study proposes a model to evaluate the municipality of Lisbon against a 15-minute city by employing an innovative accessibility mapping model. The purpose of the model is to investigate Lisbon’s potential to become a 15-minute city and, ultimately, to aid governors and urban planners in supporting its redesign, as well as to inform citizens about nearby services of interest. In this study, a comprehensive investigation was conducted on the most significant 15-minute cityrelated topics, followed by the creation of a framework based on essential urban amenities that must be accessible within a walking or cycling distance of 15 minutes. Afterwards, open geographical data was gathered for the identified services and used to develop an interactive and user-centric app, enabling on-demand analysis and providing presentation-ready reports.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Marketing Research and CRM Digital transformation is the digitalization of earlier analogue machine and material processes, service operations, and organizational tasks to aggregate new value for clients and employees. There is an increasing number of organizations that are taking advantage of digital transformation, competing in the market of the digital economy. The advances of the global market in competitiveness trigger organizations whose ambition is to distinguish themselves to develop more efficient and effective processes, delivering distinctive services or products to their consumers. When the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) processes are automated with Robot Process Automated (RPA), the organization can raise cost efficiency, acquire efficiency advantages, and increase their rank in the market. Additionally, when repetitive and tedious activities are automated, human employees have time and opportunity to enhance their cognitive judgment, creative thinking, and social skills. This research approaches the steps that lead to the elaboration of a framework that can be adopted in BPO processes, aiming to help in the knowledge of which processes are typical in BPO, and which of those processes can be fully automated, semi-automated or cannot be automated with Robotic Processing Outsourcing. Afterwards, are revealed the assumptions that were the base of the artifact elaboration, following the description of each component and stage that constitute the framework. Lastly, it is referred the validation of the framework by experts and the discussion of the obtained results, conclude the utility of the artifact as support to the automation of BPO with RPA.

Internship Report presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence In recent years, the world has witnessed emerging legislation on open data. Some of the main goals include stimulating economic growth with the re-use of the data, addressing societal challenges, enhancing evidence-based policymaking, and increasing efficiency in the public administrations, fostering the development of new technologies, such as AI, along with the enhanced participation of the citizens in political decisions and its transparency (European Commission, Open Data, 2021). Govwise is an Advanced Analytics Platform developed to provide a wide range of data analytics to governmental organizations, via a SaaS model. The goal is to make use of the open data policies, by producing valuable information, tackling the challenges that such a data deluge arises. These challenges constitute the scope of the internship here reported, the whole process is described, starting with the data sources and the respective ETL process, on a more high-level structure, until the production of the analysis and dashboards, that constitute the product of Govwise. The focus will, however, be on the classification model developed to address a major necessity of the company to cluster the portuguese public procurement contracts. These are initially classified with a CPV code (common procurement vocabulary code), which does not satisfy the needs of Govwise. Therefore, the end goal of the model is to generate an alternative classification for contracts and tenders of the portuguese public procurement, the GPV (Govwise procurement vocabulary).

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Digital Marketing and Analytics SaaS companies are transforming their traditional sales processes by taking advantage of their products as the main vehicle to acquire, activate, and retain customers. We focused on the SaaS software evaluation process and value delivery to examine how SaaS products that can be evaluated in self-service, by the users, deliver value along the customer journey. For this, we conducted qualitative research through in-depth interviews with senior executives from companies in different growth stages and geographies and observations to explore the strategies and organizational initiatives to seize the opportunities associated with product-led business models. Our findings evidence two main categories - evaluation and value. Evaluations start top-down, driven by a clear strategic direction from the management team or to address a pressing need that is hindering the business from moving forward, or bottom-up, started by the users with a clear use case, and connected to an urgent, often daily, need. Value, in the product-led model, is now delivered sooner on the customer journey creating a shift to the left in value delivered, now closer to the start of an evaluation, and value captured is going right, now after value is delivered and the product is started to be adopted. A discussion on how sales-led and product-led evaluation and value delivery, across the customer journey, differ is presented. Finally, we offer recommendations to business leaders wanting to move to product-led growth.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Marketing Research and CRM We cannot maintain our Earth’s ecosystems or continue to function as we do if more sustainable choices are not made. If harmful processes are maintained with no change, it is likely that we will run out of fossil fuels, huge numbers of animal species will become extinct, and the atmosphere will be irreparably damaged. The transportation sector is threatening the sustainable balance, being one of the major sources of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Electrical Vehicles (EVs) are evolving, and its technology could be presented as a consistent solution to fight against gas emissions. Therefore, this research will be focusing on understanding the driving factors associated with electric vehicle (EV) purchases, such as consumer social attributes, EV attributes, and policy perceptions. With these findings, this research intends to help all environment participants to accelerate EVs adoption by providing insights on what Portuguese consumer’s value the most. The analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Model (SEM). As data source, information was collected through an online survey performed to Portuguese consumers. The results have proven, with high significance, that attitude acts as a mediator between the factors included in the categories described above and purchase intention. Several factors have shown significance, mostly with attitude towards EV that indirectly influences purchase intention. The following variables have shown significance with attitude: perceived informative policy; perceived convenience policy; perceived green value; perceived behavior control; face-consciousness; charging risk. Additionally, the variables that showed significance with purchase intention: perceived behavior control; charging risk; attitude. Furthermore, a moderating effect was found. Gender seems to moderate the relationship of attitude with purchase intention.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Marketing Intelligence The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global crisis on multi-lateral levels, with the disruption and change in the habitual behaviour of individuals. It becomes imperative to understand how consumer’s respond to behaviour and how these responses help cater to the problems that has come with the pandemic. Therefore this study aims to investigate the effects of the warmth and competence of service providers on consumer’s pro-social behaviour during COVID-19. Using primary data obtained through the distribution of a structured questionnaire that focuses on the study aim and objectives, the study analyses the data using statistical packages to determine whether to either accept or reject the hypothesis based on the outcome of the analysis. The outcome of the analysis will inform the recommendations and conclusions. This study concluded by discussing the implications for the propounded theory, managerial implications, the research implications, the research limitations, and future research suggestions.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence An organisation’s success is as good as its ability to maintain and improve its processes. For the contemporary organisation this might mean the outsourcing of a Business Process Improvement project to a consulting company. The classical BPM lifecycle doesn’t apply to most of these projects, so a new Line of BPM Events is presented in its stead. This thesis is a study of a possible methodology of work for a successful BPI project, with a field work as an extensive example of all the activities inside each step. A BPI project is only successful if the organisation keeps the TO-BE model as their new standard process. To guarantee the success of the implementation of the new process, the whole methodology has into consideration change culture. Organisations are made by people and processes are run by people; therefore the collaborators of the organisation might be the “make it or break it” of the process. If the collaborators are not willing to change their ways, once the consulting team finishes its job in the organisation the collaborators will revert to their old habits, or they might raise problems in the implementation of the changes to begin with. On the other hand, an organisation with a positive change culture might not have these problems. All this will influence the implementation plan and application. The thesis studies a BPI project from beginning to end, including change culture.

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Business Analytics Com o presente trabalho pretende-se estudar se é possível aplicar as metodologias de “Natural Text Language Processing” e “Text Mining” a avaliações obtidas através da internet, usando a informação processada e avaliada, com recurso a “sentiment analysis” no modelo “Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology” (UTAUT2). Refira-se que estudos anteriores focaram-se em usar questionários como fontes de dados para os modelos UTAUT e UTAUT2. No presente trabalho foram utilizadas técnicas de “Natural Language Processing” para determinar a polaridade dos sentimentos reportados em avaliações on-line extraídas de um fórum de anime popular, designado “MyAnimeList” que também possui informação sobre uma grande variedade de séries e filmes de animação japonesa e a avaliação dos mesmos. Os dados respeitantes às informações pessoais e às avaliações foram extraídos e considerados mediante a sua polaridade, sendo analisados posteriormente utilizando métodos de “structural equation modelling” (SEM) e “partial least squares” (PLS). Do estudo efetuado descobrimos que, embora o modelo UTAUT2 passe nos critérios do modelo de medição, possui valor explicativo baixo, necessitando de melhorias para ser completamente aplicável. This study aims to discover whether it’s possible to apply Natural Language Processing and Text Mining to unprocessed raw data available online and use the processed and scored information, using Sentiment Analysis, with the Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model. Previous studies have focused on using surveys and questionnaires as sources of data for the UTAUT and UTAUT2 model. This study uses Natural Language Processing techniques to determine the polarity of sentiments found in online reviews extracted from the popular anime forum, “MyAnimeList”, a website that also holds information on a multitude of animated shows and movies from Japan and reviews on said media. Data regarding user information and review content was extracted and scored, with it being analysed later using structural equation modelling (SEM) and partial least squares (PLS) methods. We found that whilst the UTAUT2 model passed the measurement model criteria, it has a low explaining power, therefore meaning it would require further tweaking to be totally usable.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence As societies develop, higher education plays an increasingly important role in promoting lifelong learning opportunities. Despite this, everyone involved in higher education faces new challenges due to the constantly changing global environment. Therefore, it has never been more important to identify the factors that are essential to students' academic success. An online questionnaire with 164 responses was used to empirically validate a conceptual model that was developed. The PLS-SEM approach was used to analyse the results, and findings suggest that students from various backgrounds still exhibit differences and gaps in their academic performance. Additionally, we can illustrate that when properly implemented, adjusted and updated learning techniques combined with practical classes are an effective tool to help students to achieve better outcomes. Academic achievement will be hampered, however, if a school lacks adequate funding and the top management and other education stakeholders do not share the same values. Finally, we can conclude that the school's facilities can contribute to improving student motivation and engagement and consequently positively impact the student performance.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies Management This dissertation aims to support the project manager in their daily tasks. As we use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in everyday life, it is necessary to include them in business and change traditional ways of working. For the purpose of this study, it is essential to understand challenges and areas of project management and how artificial intelligence can contribute to them. A theoretical overview, applying the knowledge of project management, will show a holistic view of the current situation in the enterprises. The research is about artificial intelligence applications in project management, the common activities in project management, the biggest challenges, and how AI and ML can support it. Understanding project managers help create a framework that will contribute to optimizing their tasks. After designing and developing the framework for applying artificial intelligence to project management, the project managers were asked to evaluate. This study is essential to increase awareness among the stakeholders and enterprises on how automation of the processes can be improved and how AI and ML can decrease the possibility of risk and cost along with improving the happiness and efficiency of the employees.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence Em tempos onde a tecnologia vem sendo cada vez mais presente nas nossas rotinas diárias, a jornada do cliente não mais se atém ao objetivo de simplesmente concretizar uma compra. Se faz necessário compreender quais experiências são vivenciadas ao longo da jornada e como poderão colaborar para a construção de um bom relacionamento entre cliente e empresa, resultando na fidelização do mesmo. Com os avanços tecnológicos, as empresas estão em uma constante busca para oferecer atendimentos mais personalizados, o que as impulsionou ao encontro de uma estratégia de assistentes virtuais que evoluíram de chatbots para influenciadores digitais virtuais nas plataformas disponibilizadas como canais de comunicação com consumidores. Mesmo que estes canais tenham se tornado por muitas vezes o principal ou único meio de entrar em contato com a empresa, a forma como as estratégias do uso de assistentes virtuais são vistas e recebidas pelo público-alvo ainda é um assunto pouco explorado e documentado. O estudo desta tese tem foco na percepção do consumidor sobre as experiências de relacionamento com empresas que usam assistentes virtuais com aspectos humanizados. In times when technology is increasingly present in our daily lives, the customer journey is no longer limited to the objective of simply making a purchase. It is necessary to understand which experiences are lived along the journey and how they can collaborate to build a good relationship between customer and company, resulting in customer loyalty. With technological advances, companies are in a constant search to offer more personalized services, which has led them to meet a strategy of virtual assistants that have evolved from chatbots to virtual digital influencers on platforms made available as communication channels with consumers. Even though these channels have often become the main or only means of contact with the company, the way in which the strategies for using virtual assistants are seen and received by the target audience is still a subject that is little explored and documented. The study of this thesis focuses on the consumer's perception of relationship experiences with companies that use virtual assistants with humanized aspects.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Information Analysis and Management When the government and other public sector entities purchase works, goods or services, it is referred to as public procurement. Although there appears to be an increase in the study of public procurement, there is still a lot to discover that could aid policymakers in their economic decision-making-processes. This thesis adds to past studies by exploring the relationship between public procurement and innovation output at a municipal level in Portugal. A fixed effects model with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors was performed to research the innovation output. The final model suggests that the elasticity of innovation with respect to public procurement in services is negative, which can be explained through many zero or low-innovation outputs in the dataset. Furthermore, the work-related public procurement was shown to be negative but with positive marginal effects while also depending positively on population. Therefore, faster growing municipalities can spend less money on public procurement in works than municipalities that grow at a slower pace to reap the same innovation outcomes.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies Management Technology in education, as in most pillars of society, represents a trend for the new era. Often referred to as Smart Education, the integration of technology into learning environments with the goal of enhancing the experience for students and teachers has been of growing interest to learning institutions. The emergence of a heterodox theory of learning, connectivism, has come to prioritize the incessant search for new and accurate information and, consequently, the capacity of the learner to build knowledge through the connection of nodes within the chaos of contradictory opinions. Being connectivism associated with the reality of an e-learning context, it remains challenging to adapt it into a setting of presential university classes. The model developed in this paper is a proposition of how to fill this gap, hence answering the question of how to put connectivism into practice in a campus environment. The framework, which combines the students’ self-research, and online interaction with their peers through social media platforms, culminating in physical classroom discussions, reflects the connectivism principles and is beneficial for the majority of students. Unlike most connectivism-inspired class dynamics, here, the professor’s role is critical, with the responsibility of moderation and capacity to assess whether the students have been successful in building knowledge through their connections. Although the aim of the study is to apply connectivism principles in a physical campus, the relevance of work-oriented social media platforms in this model is undeniable.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence Along with the more and more popularization and commercialization of online e-games, it is of great significance to analyze the current situation and future potential development of e-sport, since through e-sports games nowadays, players can break through the boundaries of the digital virtual scene and enjoy the privileges of competitive sports and the immersive experience of e-sports in the real scene. Meanwhile, it is looking for a commercial outlet within the pan-entertainment wave. This research focuses on identifying the real influential factors through the statistics and information management domain that have a significant impact on the users’ willingness to e-sport, further determining the potential consumption intention while also positively contributing to the e-sports market. 255 samples are collected from a designed questionnaire, followed by the statistical data mining methods to determine the real influential factors. Afterward, this study applies the ANOVA & linear regression model to identify the quantitative relationship between different variables. The third step is to conduct the PLS to subdivide the more significant variables from real influential factors that are identified and explained. The findings of this work indicate that in the future, E-sports will undoubtedly benefit from diversified game genres, viewership, enjoyment of gaming motivation and promotion of regional policies. With today's fast-paced world, it will become an effective method of unwinding and reducing stress from work life.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Marketing Intelligence O mercado digital está em constante evolução, e o e-commerce tornou-se imprescindível durante o período de pandemia de Covid-19. A maioria das empresas aprendem a trabalhar com suas especificidades na prática, o que ocasiona desperdício de investimento, tempo e facturamento. No processo de aprendizagem deste modelo de negócio empresas aprendem que para obter sucesso na conversão de vendas não é somente ter uma ótima usabilidade da plataforma, bons atendimentos e serviços e produtos de qualidade. Contudo, aumentou da preocupação com o investimento em crescimento digital que contempla uma série de elementos estratégicos de marketing digital de performance. Esta dissertação tem como principal objetivo identificar as estratégias de marketing digital de performance de maior impacto na conversão de vendas no e-commerce de acordo com a experiência de marketeers visando maximizar resultados, otimizar o uso do investimento e diminuir o tempo de digital growth de empresas portuguesas. Este estudo propõe um modelo teórico que identifica os determinantes do impacto na venda e na intenção dos marketeers a continuar a investir em meios digitais, especificamente nas técnicas de Search Engine Marketing (SEM) com comparativo de efeito do uso de Search Engine Optimization (SEO) , Search Engine Advertising (SEA) conhecido ou Paid Media (Anúncios online pagos) e o Reconhecimento de marca (Brand Awareness). Com base em um estudo com recolha de dados por questionário online quantitativo, com 335 respostas válidas. Os resultados deste estudo demonstram que a tendência é a unificação de diversas estratégias de marketing digital de performance para o sucesso de vendas em um e-commerce. Através da análise quantitativa dos resultados obtidos, é possível verificar que a estratégia de SEO tem maior impacto positivo na venda, na efetividade de campanhas de Paid media e SEO tem impacto positivo no Reconhecimento da marca. The digital marketplace is constantly evolving, and e-commerce has become indispensable during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most companies learn how to work with its specifics in practice, which leads to wasted investment, time, and billing. In the process of learning this business model companies learn that to be successful in converting sales is not only to have a great platform usability, good customer service and quality services and products. The main objective of this dissertation is to identify the digital marketing performance strategies that have the greatest impact on sales conversion in e-commerce according to the experience of marketeers to maximize results, optimize the use of investment and reduce the time of digital growth of Portuguese companies. This study aims a theoretical model indicating determinants of impact on sales and marketeers' intention to continue investing in digital media, specifically in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) techniques with comparative effect of the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Advertising (SEA) known or Paid Media (paid online ads) and Brand Awareness. In this study it is proposed a theoretical model of the determinants of e-commerce sales, in the marketeers’ perspective. The model was empirically tested through a survey. Based on a study with data collection, 335 valid answers, it was used a structuram equation model method (SEM/PLS).This study results show that the trend is the unification of various digital performance marketing strategies for sales success in an e-commerce. Through quantitative analysis of the results obtained, SEO strategies have a greater positive impact on sales, paid media campaign effectiveness and SEO has a positive impact on Brand Recognition.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Information Management, specialization in Information Technologies The disruptive development of information and communication technologies over the last two decades has revolutionized the mobile phone industry, exponentially increased the number of mobile phone users, and encouraged companies to make various services available through a mobile phone. Mobile payment is one of the fastest growing services, enabling users to perform financial transactions over a mobile phone. The exponential growth of mobile payment has affected a number of sectors including finance and technology, thus reinforcing the need for a deep understanding of the impact of the continued use of mobile payment services. With this dissertation we contribute to a better understanding of the determinants of continuance intention to use mobile payment at the individual level. For this reason, were developed four studies, one literature review, and three empirical studies. In the first study (Chapter 2) we conducted a literature review of existing studies on individual continuance intention to use an information system. In Chapter 3 we assessed the continuance intention to use m-payment employing two theoretical models, the DeLone and McLean information system success model (D&M ISSM) and the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) in an African context. The impact of task technology fit (TTF) and overall trust on ECM to explain the continuance use of mpayment is analysed in Chapter 4. In the last study, Chapter 5, we assess the impact of culture on continuance intention to use m-payment, combining the ECM and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. This dissertation provides several contributions for research and practice, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and implications for service managers, service providers, users, and researchers. The literature review applies meta-analysis and weight analysis from 115 empirical studies from continuance intention to use an information system (IS). The findings reveal that the factors with strongest influence on continuance intention to use an IS are affective commitment, attitude, satisfaction, hedonic value, and flow. Moreover, sample size, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation moderate the relationship of perceived usefulness on continuance intention. Power distance, masculinity, and indulgence moderate the relationship of satisfaction on continuance intention. From the first empirical study we examine the influence individual performance drivers on continuance intention to use m–payment in an African context. We find that the most important predictors of continuance intention to use m-payment are individual performance, use, and satisfaction. The second empirical study integrates TTF and overall trust theories and evaluates their relationships for continuance intention to use mobile payment. Findings show that use, individual performance, overall trust, and the moderation role of satisfaction are the most important constructs to explain continuance intention. The last empirical study assesses the impact of culture on m-payment continuance intention. The findings reveal that the relationships between confirmation on satisfaction and perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness on continuance intention are moderated by uncertainty avoidance. O desenvolvimento disruptivo das tecnologias de informação e comunicação nas últimas duas décadas revolucionou a indústria da telefonia móvel, aumentando exponencialmente o número de utilizadores de telemóveis, encorajando desta forma as empresas a disponibilizar diferentes serviços através de um telemóvel. O serviço pagamento móvel é um dos serviços que se encontra em um rápido crescimento permitindo aos utilizadores efetuar transações financeiras através de um telemóvel. O crescimento exponencial do serviço de pagamento móvel tem afetado diferentes sectores, tais como finanças e tecnologia, reforçando a necessidade de uma compreensão profunda do impacto da utilização contínua dos serviços de pagamento móvel. Com o desenvolvimento desta dissertação, esperamos contribuir para uma melhor compreensão dos determinantes da intenção de continuar a usar o serviço de pagamento móvel a nível individual. De forma a concretizar este objetivo foram desenvolvidos um total de quatro estudos distintos. No primeiro estudo (Capítulo 2) realizámos uma revisão bibliográfica dos estudos existentes sobre a intenção de continuar a utilizar um sistema de informação. No capítulo três, avaliámos a intenção de continuar a utilizar o serviço de pagamento móvel, empregando dois modelos teóricos, o DeLone and McLean information system success model (D&M ISSM) e o expectation-confirmation model (ECM) num contexto africano. O impacto do task technology fit (TTF) e o overall trust no modelo ECM para explicar o uso contínuo do serviço de pagamento móvel foi analisado no capítulo quatro. No último estudo, capítulo cinco, avaliámos o impacto da cultura na intenção de continuação da utilização do serviço de pagamento móvel, combinando as dimensões culturais de Hofstede e o modelo ECM. Esta dissertação apresenta várias contribuições para a investigação e para a prática, contribuindo para o avanço do conhecimento, provocando implicações para gestores de serviços, prestadores de serviços, utilizadores e investigadores. O estudo da revisão bibliográfica aplicou meta-analysis e weight analysis a partir de 115 estudos empíricos de intenção continuar a utilizar um sistema de informação (SI). Os resultados revelam que os fatores com maior influência na intenção de continuação da utilização de um SI foram o compromisso afetivo, atitude, satisfação, valor hedónico, e flow. Além disso, o tamanho da amostra, individualismo, prevenção da incerteza, e orientação a longo prazo moderam a relação entre perceção da utilidade e intenção de continuar, distância do poder, masculinidade e indulgência moderam a relação entre satisfação e intenção de continuar. Para o primeiro estudo empírico, examinámos a influência dos fatores de desempenho individual na intenção de continuação da utilização do m-pagamento num contexto africano. Verificámos que os preditores mais importantes da intenção de continuar a utilizar o serviço de pagamento móvel são o desempenho individual, uso e a satisfação. O segundo estudo empírico integrou as teorias da TTF e da confiança geral e avaliou as suas relações para a intenção de continuação da utilização do pagamento móvel. Os resultados mostram que o uso, desempenho individual, confiança geral, o papel de moderação da satisfação são os fatores relevantes para explicar a intenção de continuar a utilizar o serviço de pagamento móvel. O último estudo empírico avalia o impacto da cultura sobre a intenção de continuação do pagamento móvel. Os resultados revelam que as relações entre confirmação, perceção de utilidade com satisfação, perceção de utilidade com intenção de continuar são moderadas pela prevenção da incerteza.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence Nowadays, governments encourage people to be an entrepreneur and start their businesses. Because small and medium enterprises play a critical role in economic growth as well as social subjects. However, statistics show a larger number of start-ups eventually fail due to several reasons. Among all, the cause of this failure could be a lack of correct evaluation of the idea at the early stage. Therefore, this study is seeking the most crucial criteria of the idea evaluation process to aid entrepreneurs to take the right assessment and prevent failure. The study uses a mixed method, which consists of narratives and systematic review, and then follows a series of qualitative interviews with start-up coaches, business investors, and both successful and failed start-up founders to have comprehensive opinions about the explored criteria. In the conclusion, the study suggests a framework of idea evaluation that is consists of the 16 most significant idea evaluation criteria which distributed among four stages. This framework could be considered as a feed for future studies to use artificial intelligence for assessing start-up ideas at the early stage.

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Risk Analysis and Management In the past few decades, substantial progress has been made in portfolio optimization, especially with the emergence of machine learning. Therefore, it is essential to find the models that not only achieve the best results but also simplify the process. This project aims to demonstrate that to achieve optimal portfolios cannot be based only on traditional statistical methods. Therefore the Random Forest regression model, a machine learning model, was chosen to predict stock prices to complement the Markowitz model, a classical portfolio selection model. To evaluate the efficacy of the modified model compared to the classical model the following methodology was adopted: data was collected (from 2012 to 2019 from 10 companies and it was divided in 15 periods) and treated; some common technical indicators were extracted; one stock price was predicted per period; expected returns and partially estimated volatility were derived from the predictions and introduced in the classical model; 15 portfolios were constructed by each model; and finally, a performance analysis was conducted. The results obtained show that the 1-day predictions were quite accurate, almost 90%, and the modified model’s portfolios’ outperformed the classical model’s portfolios for most periods analyzed.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Information Analysis and Management The “Network Society” is an analytical concept developed by the sociologist Manuel Castells. The author applies this term to describe a new form of social organisation, global and dynamic, which was emerging in the end of the 20th century. The Network Society is underpinned by microelectronics, driven by software and based on flows of information. Castells explains its influence at many levels, namely in communication and the economy. Since its introduction in the 1990s, it has framed much of academic research and policy-relevant worldviews when it comes to define and understand the contemporary digital ways. By 2021, the world has become more digitally dependent than ever and the connectivity between different societal realms achieves an increasing relevance. This work inquiries how Castells’ concept of Network Society was received by academic communities. The main goals are to uncover how it has evolved in terms of meaning and appropriation. Considering the multifaceted nature of this concept, we investigate a possible theoretical road which might have led to its emergence. Afterwards, a peer-reviewed paper analysis is applied and bibliometric evidence is used to map the field structure of academic work related to the Network Society. We aim at unpacking a specific concept and pursue its evolution. We embrace a rather different approach from those commonly undertaken in bibliometric research, which refer to the study of authors or disciplines. We find that two moments can be distinguished in what concerns the use of the string “Network Society” as an indicator. From 2000 to 2009, three communities are identified in terms of intellectual structure: one dedicated to the Social Sciences in general, another one to studies of power, control, and surveillance, and finally one devoted to Geography. From 2010 to 2020, a change in discourse happens, a greater focus on digital and decision-making matters takes shape and a branch dedicated to the online sphere comes into prominence. The 2000s display a stronger impact in terms of citations, whereas the “take-off” in production itself takes place in the 2010s. The Network Society moves in a multidisciplinary panorama but Sociology and Communication disciplines remain at the core research areas. Castells assumes a central position in this body of literature but authorship is heterogeneous and fragmented, i.e., the term is almost exclusively appropriated by researchers without strong links outside their closed circles. The most impactful papers are related to governance and policy-making. The concept seems to be portrayed as a tool for analysing global but also local and specific issues.

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies Management The globalization supported with internet evolution is creating a new open door for many traditional industries. One of them is the shipping industry. Online platforms are transforming this industry in an industry available 24/7 and worldwide for clients as well, since the vessels never stop. With containers distributed all around the world and all countries needing to import cargo to achieve some primary internal demands, the shipping industry is reinventing its way of working, creating ecommerce platforms. In this specific project, the goal will be to create a conceptual model of an ecommerce shipping platform for a Portuguese Shipping Company, being an opportunity to reinforce its presence in the national market and to expand to international market. This conceptual model was created based in the platforms existent in the market and validate with published articles. This model was discussed with the stakeholders to adapt it to the reality of the market. An analysis was performed in order to determine the best solution to implement this platform, looking for the cost and the adaptability. Of course, results will show that the cost and adaptability do not go in the same direction, and could be a point to analyse while looking for a better solution in long-term. A globalização em conjunto com a evolução da Internet abre novas portas para diversas indústrias tradicionais. Uma delas é a indústria do Transporte Marítimo. As plataformas online estão a transformar esta indústria numa indústria disponível para clientes de todo o mundo 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana, sendo que os navios nunca param. Existem contentores distribuídos pelo mundo inteiro e todos os países necessitam de importar mercadoria para responder a alguma necessidade primária que tenham e a indústria do transporte marítimo tem-se reinventado na forma como trabalha criando plataformas de e-commerce. Neste projeto especificamente, o objetivo será criar um modelo conceptual de uma plataforma de transporte marítimo para e-commerce para ser utilizada numa empresa portuguesa de transporte marítimo, sendo uma oportunidade para reforçar a sua presença no mercado nacional e, ao mesmo tempo expandi-la para o mercado internacional. Este modelo conceptual foi criado baseado nas plataformas já existentes no mercado e validado através dos artigos publicados. O modelo foi discutido com os stakeholders de forma a adaptá-lo à realidade do mercado em questão. Também foi analisada qual seria a melhor solução a ser implementada na perspetiva de custo e de adaptabilidade, sendo que os resultados mostram diferenças entre a perspetiva do custo e da adaptabilidade, tornando-se um ponto a analisar quando for estudada qual a melhor solução a longo prazo.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies Management Defect detection in software is the procedure to identify parts of software that may comprise defects. Software companies always seek to improve the performance of software projects in terms of quality and efficiency. They also seek to deliver the soft-ware projects without any defects to the communities and just in time. The early revelation of defects in software projects is also tried to avoid failure of those projects, save costs, team effort, and time. Therefore, these companies need to build an intelligent model capable of detecting software defects accurately and efficiently. This study seeks to achieve two main objectives. The first goal is to build a statistical model to identify the critical defect factors that influence software projects. The second objective is to build a statistical model to reveal defects early in software pro-jects as reasonable accurately. A bibliometric map (VOSviewer) was used to find the relationships between the common terms in those domains. The results of this study are divided into three parts: In the first part The term "software engineering" is connected to "cluster," "regression," and "neural network." Moreover, the terms "random forest" and "feature selection" are connected to "neural network," "recall," and "software engineering," "cluster," "regression," and "fault prediction model" and "software defect prediction" and "defect density." In the second part We have checked and analyzed 29 manuscripts in detail, summarized their major contributions, and identified a few research gaps. In the third part Finally, software companies try to find the critical factors that affect the detection of software defects and find any of the intelligent or statistical methods that help to build a model capable of detecting those defects with high accuracy. Two statistical models (Multiple linear regression (MLR) and logistic regression (LR)) were used to find the critical factors and through them to detect software defects accurately. MLR is executed by using two methods which are critical defect factors (CDF) and premier list of software defect factors (PLSDF). The accuracy of MLR-CDF and MLR-PLSDF is 82.3 and 79.9 respectively. The standard error of MLR-CDF and MLR-PLSDF is 26% and 28% respectively. In addition, LR is executed by using two methods which are CDF and PLSDF. The accuracy of LR-CDF and LR-PLSDF is 86.4 and 83.8 respectively. The standard error of LR-CDF and LR-PLSDF is 22% and 25% respectively. Therefore, LRCDF outperforms on all the proposed models and state-of-the-art methods in terms of accuracy and standard error.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence The pandemic leads the world today and changed the consumer behaviour in numerous ways. The consumers were almost forced to change their habits immediately. Regarding the world economy, the pandemic is heading towards a global recession since March 2020. In this master thesis the objective is to study the impact of coronavirus in the consumer behaviour, more precisely in the supermarket goods. It is presented an empirical study within a real e-commerce usage context. Data were analysed with SEM/PLS method. The results indicate that behavioural intention and risk have a positive and significant impact on behavioural use, i.e., they are determinants of intention to use retail e-commerce platforms. Atualmente, a pandemia lidera e mudou o comportamento do consumidor de inúmeras maneiras. Os consumidores foram quase forçados a mudar imediatamente os seus hábitos. Relativamente à economia mundial, a pandemia está a caminhar para uma recessão global desde Março de 2020. Nesta dissertação, o objetivo é estudar o impacto do coronavírus no comportamento do consumidor, mais precisamente nos produtos de supermercado. É apresentado um estudo empírico dentro de um contexto real de utilização do comércio eletrónico. Os dados foram analisados com o método SEM/PLS. Os resultados indicam que a intenção comportamental e o risco têm um impacto positivo e significativo na utilização comportamental, ou seja, são determinantes para a intenção de utilizar plataformas de comércio eletrónico de retalho.

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Marketing Intelligence A utilização intensiva dos recursos naturais e aumento da poluição têm originado mudanças climáticas e sociais, ao mesmo tempo que originam mudanças no comportamento dos indivíduos. A procura por padrões de consumo mais equilibrados e sustentados por parte dos indivíduos, com o denominado consumo verde, possibilita às organizações que estão alinhadas com esta corrente uma importante estratégia de posicionamento de mercado. No setor de turismo a aplicação dos princípios de sustentabilidade é um importante fator de diferenciação de mercado. Neste trabalho foram identificados os preditores do consumo verde, aplicando-se a teoria do comportamento planejado ao setor hoteleiro, mas contemplando um conjunto adicional de variáveis consideradas por outros autores como preditivas. Para tal foi elaborado um questionário e distribuído online, tendo-se obtido uma amostra final 357 participantes. Para análise o comportamento planejado, os dados foram analisados com recurso a um modelo SEM-PLS. Os resultados permitiram alçaram o objetivo geral traçado e em especial comprovam a influência da atitude com relação ao comportamento verde e a relação direta desta com a crença de comportamento verde. Infere-se, portanto, que as atitudes sustentáveis do consumidor no momento de escolha são um produto das crenças dos consumidores que buscam empresas e hotéis que adotam práticas sustentáveis. O preditor menos representativo estava associado aos comportamentos gerados pela preocupação ambiental. The high demand for natural resources and increased pollution have led to climate and social changes, making green consumption an important market positioning strategy. Therefore, consumption patterns have been reformulated in order to reduce impacts on the environment. In the tourism sector, the application of sustainability principles is not new but still represents a significant market differentiation factor. In this work, the predictors of green consumption were identified by applying the theory of planned behavior in the hotel sector. For this, an adapted online questionnaire was applied to 421 volunteers, that resulted on a valid sample of 357 participants. After the analysis, it was possible to observe through the correlations estimated through an SEM-PLS analysis that there is a high correlation between behavioral beliefs, as the attitude towards behavior, so that sustainable attitudes are a product of the beliefs of consumers who seek companies and hotels that adopt sustainable practices. Furthermore, it was verified that the predictors related to the intention of hiring the hotels had different factors, as observed in the correlations, with the most representative predictor being attitude towards green behavior and the least representative of behaviors generated by environmental concern.