Search

Social partners (trade unions and employers' associations [EA]) and their representativeness can shape labour institutions and economic and social outcomes in many countries. In this paper, we argue that, when examining social partners' representativeness, it is important to consider both affiliation rates and dissimilarity measures. The latter concerns the extent to which affiliated and non‐affiliated firms or workers are distributed similarly across relevant dimensions, including firm size. In our analysis of the European Company Survey, we find that affiliation density and dissimilarity measures correlate positively across countries, particularly in the case of EA in which we focus. This result also holds across EA when we use more detailed, firm population data for Portugal. We conclude that higher affiliation densities do not necessarily correspond to more representative social partners as they can involve greater dissimilarity between affiliated and non‐affiliated firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic had an enormous impact on the tourism sector. Economies with a large weight of external tourism were especially affected, as was the case with the Azores region. This paper aims to analyse the level of this crisis and the resilience of tourism recreation companies specializing in canyoning in the Azores region, and whether these reactions led to more sustainable business models. The adopted methodology considered the analysis of recent statistical data on tourism and the available information on COVID-19 pandemic-related impacts. In parallel, questionnaires were applied to all tourism recreation companies in Portugal, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the canyoning providers in the Azores region. Results show that all companies survived the crisis, and some have made significant changes to their business models. Furthermore, some degree of success was observed in how services adapted to new demand characteristics, given the small size of most of these businesses and the specialization of their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyze the degree of transparency reports (TR) transparency and its relation with the audit firm size, fees, either from audit services, or from other services, and with the human capital. Design/methodology: In this study we considered 282 audit firms, and our final sample includes 268 transparency reports from 2013 through 2017. For the period under analysis, audit firms financial information, human resources information and TR were collected. TR report information was divided in four types of information: Mandatory Information I, Mandatory Information II, Voluntary Information and Extra Information. These indexes measure the fulfillment of each information on the total of information considered in each index. Non-parametric tests were applied to analyze the behavior of each index for the different years, whereas the Generalized Linear Models were performed to study the impact of various factors on each disclosure index. Findings: Our results show a high level of transparency regarding Mandatory Information I, but a lower accomplishment regarding all other information. In general, the auditor experience, the number of auditors, the number of clients that are public-interest entities (PIE) and the percentage of extra audit services have a significant impact on the information disclosed in the TR. Originality/value: Our paper contributes to the current literature by assessing the influence that human capital has on the information disclosed in the transparency reports, also it covers a 5-year period and the compliance with the new disclosures added by Regulation No. 537/2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a more nuanced analysis of employee promotion decisions; specifically, how they are affected by firm size, gender and stages within the business cycle. Drawing on data from Portugal, we find that during times of adverse macroeconomic conditions, promotion prospects in all firms decline. Within large firms, women are more likely to be promoted during economic downturns, reflecting the 'glass cliff' hypothesis. In small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), overall promotion rates are less affected by adverse economic conditions, however, women are less likely to attain promotions. Our results emphasize the importance of market volatility and firm heterogeneity in promotion and importantly, reveal differing forms of gender discrimination. In large firms women are, in effect, afforded greater responsibility for the effects of market volatility whilst SMEs invest more confidence in male employees to manage during crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to study how firm-specific factors affect the financial performance of tourism-related young small and micro-sized firms located in Algarve, Portugal, that started their activity during the last years of the debt crisis in Europe. The sample included 106 Portuguese small and micro-sized firms in the hospitality sector, established between 2012-2014, which remain active in 2019, and financial data from 2015 to 2018 was analyzed. Descriptive statistics, group statistics, correlations, and regression model analyses were applied. The dependent variable representing profitability was the return on assets ratio (ROA). The independent variables were short-term, long-term, and total debts, slack resources, sales growth, tangibility, and size of the firm. A negative relationship between performance and long-term and short-term debts was found, confirming the theory that the most profitable firms tend to borrow less as they do not need external capital. Also, a negative relationship between ROA and tangibility was found, which means that as the level of tangible assets lessens, more intangible assets there are. These results give some hints to help tourism-related small and micro-sized firms located in Algarve to take innovation, flexibility, and digitalization strategies, particularly important during a pandemic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature has shown that research-based spin-off firms usually exhibit lower death risks than other start-ups. However, few studies have focused on the survival determinants of these particular firms. From a matched employer-employee data set this paper fills in this gap by providing evidence using a sample of RBSOs created in Portugal from 1979 until 2007 and observed until 2012. Specifically, we use duration analysis – both accelerated failure time models and proportional hazard models - to investigate if firm characteristics and location characteristics play a role on these firms' survival. Results from the Weibull model show a positive impact of variables such as firm size and age on these firms' survival probability as well as the location of spin-offs in municipalities with high entry rates and low exit rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article studies the impact of a switch from free to charged highway provision on firm numbers and private sector employment in a panel of Portuguese municipalities covering the period 2007–2013. It exploits the fact that tolls on certain highways in Portugal were unexpectedly introduced in reaction to the sovereign debt crisis to establish causality. Findings suggest that the price of highway tolls in terms of forgone employment and firm formation may be substantial. Comprehensive analyses of effect heterogeneity reveal that the effects differ across municipalities, sectors and firm size classes. The negative effects of highway tolls are strongest in the municipalities traversed by the newly tolled highways and seem to decrease with distance from these highways, whereas distance to Lisbon aggravates the negative effects of the tolls. We also find that larger firms and manufacturing firms are more strongly affected by the tolls than smaller firms and firms in the service sector and that the negative effect on firm numbers is strongest immediately after the introduction of the tolls, whereas the negative effect on employment increases with the duration of the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the relationship between company size and performance for small and medium-sized Portuguese companies. Using dynamic panel estimators, we conclude that performance is related positively to size. This relationship suggests the greater relevance of scale effects, diversification and the greater ability of larger companies to cope with market changes. Furthermore, our empirical results show that performance is persistent, not showing discontinuity, suggesting that small and medium-sized Portuguese companies are relatively successful in coping with possible scenarios of aggressive competition. Debt and level of fixed assets influence performance negatively, and separation of management and ownership influence performance positively. Liquidity, risk and ownership control are not relevant in explaining the performance of small and medium-sized Portuguese companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a comprehensive data set of Portuguese manufacturing firms, we show that the firm size distribution is significantly right-skewed, evolving over time toward a lognormal distribution. We also show that selection accounts for very little of this evolution. Instead, we propose a simple theory based on financing constraints. A calibrated version of our model does a good job at explaining the evolution of the firm size distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the productive structure of Portugal in the period 2013–2017, using indicators of localization and specialization applied to 308 Portuguese local authorities. From an empirical approach using a threshold model, the following indicators are used: (i) localization quotient; (ii) specialization coefficient; (iii) Theil entropy index; (iv) rate of industrialization; and (v) the density of establishments by business size. The selected period 2013–2017 is due to the available data concerning firms located per local authority, and the choice of threshold model is justified through the possibility of assessing the non-linear effects of specialization and diversification on productivity, considering, in simultaneous terms, different regimes per business size. Estimation of the threshold model identified a positive, statistically significant relation between industrialization and productivity. Similarly, the terms of interaction between exports and diversification, and between the former and higher education institutions, shows a catalyzing effect of productivity. In addition, the most specialized micro-firms affect productivity significantly and positively, while the least specialized have the opposite effect. Small, less specialized companies have a significant and negative effect on productivity, contrasting with less specialized, medium-sized companies, which affect productivity positively. For large firms, the impact on productivity is negative for both high and low levels of specialization, reinforcing the need to fill existing gaps in strategic diversification, as well as the vertical and horizontal integration of the activities of production chains with high value added. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]