Mário Franco is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and SME Administration at the Department of Management and Economics, Beira Interior University, Portugal. He received his PhD in Management from Beira Interior University in 2002. In 1997, he was a doctoral candidate and participated in the European Doctoral Programme in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management in Spain and Sweden. His research focuses on strategic alliances, business networks, innovation and business creation. He is also a member of a Research Center (CEFAGE-UBI) and currently involved in several research projects on SMEs.
O objectivo deste artigo consiste em demonstrar, conceptualmente, a relevância do contrato psicol... more O objectivo deste artigo consiste em demonstrar, conceptualmente, a relevância do contrato psicologico para a performance do funcionamento das redes inter-organizacionais, atraves da sua influencia na emergencia de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional. Varios estudos tem revelado que as organizacoes onde os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional sao mais vincados denotam melhores indicadores de eficacia. Parece evidente pressupor que os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional influenciam positivamente os resultados das redes inter-organizacionais. Mas sera de facto possivel estabelecer alguma relacao entre os resultados das redes inter-organizacionais e os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, associados a eficacia das organizacoes? Para responder a esta questao central e explorada a relacao conceptual entre as dimensoes de cidadania organizacional (harmonia interpessoal, espirito de iniciativa, conscienciosidade, e identificacao com a organizacao) e os resultados associados ao funcionamento de redes inter-organizacionais (beneficios estrategicos e economicos, aprendizagem e conhecimento, inovacao, e transformacoes no meio envolvente). Sao apresentadas proposicoes a explorar atraves de futuras investigacoes dentro desta area de conhecimento.
World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2013
The objective of this study is to identify evidence of collaborative behaviour in territorial coo... more The objective of this study is to identify evidence of collaborative behaviour in territorial cooperation networks. To this end, a qualitative investigation approach was adopted, by means of a case/network study - the Qualifica Association, where the instruments for collecting information were the interview and documental analysis. Based on the empirical evidence obtained, it was concluded that the relationship structure of the network studied is based on behavioural relations and giving effective value to tangible and intangible assets of the territory, and thereby increasing its competitiveness. This study also presents implications for agents involved in a territorial cooperation network and suggests lines of future investigation in this area.
In a pandemic and post-pandemic environment, the consequences for the creative economy have been ... more In a pandemic and post-pandemic environment, the consequences for the creative economy have been brutal and nefarious. Thus, this study aims to measure cities’ creativity performance, through a composite index, reported in the year 2021. In this sense, the results show that culture, the creative economy and enabling environment, as subdimensions of creativity, show that cities suffered a significant setback in their creative performance. However, this is currently being reversed so that creativity continues to contribute to the performance and growth of cities, whereby the formation of networks/partnerships as allies of the creative class and industries that characterise this dimension becomes even more important. This means that the creative class was one of the most affected by the pandemic, given that its activities are sustained mainly by the public, which corroborated recent studies. The study’s main contribution lies in the use of the Composite Index, in which it was concluded...
Leadership has become a complex, difficult subject with various facets for organisations, as it i... more Leadership has become a complex, difficult subject with various facets for organisations, as it involves challenges regarding the best style for leaders to adopt. This study aims to analyse how the different leadership styles, presented throughout the various stages of the entrepreneurial process (discovery, application, implementation, and growth), can influence this type of process in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) context. To this end, qualitative research of an exploratory nature was undertaken, based on four Portuguese SMEs (case studies) from different sectors. Data were collected from interviews with leaders and followers in the four SMEs selected, as well as through documentary analysis. From the content analysis, the empirical evidence obtained leads to the conclusion that there is not just one leadership style followed by the SMEs analysed in the different stages of the entrepreneurial process. However, the transactional style of leadership was identified in t...
Bearing the growing competition between organisations in mind, managers are focused on keeping on... more Bearing the growing competition between organisations in mind, managers are focused on keeping on with the search for strategic alignment and performance monitoring. The literature has shed much light into the field of Management but a guide to monitor the defined strategy via Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is still lacking. Few studies have made their focus the question of which perspectives are the most relevant; it is therefore likely that there are different importance rankings between organisations with and without BSC. Highlighting the need to bring insight into this research field concerning the organizational performance measurement of the BSC, quantitative research was performed, to analyse the different rankings of the four perspectives, comparing organisations with and without BSC. The sample was composed of 107 out of the 250 major export organisations of Portugal. The outcomes confirm that the most relevant perspective is indeed the financial perspective, followed by the cust...
University-industry cooperation is associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology. This... more University-industry cooperation is associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology. This collaboration is an extremely important field of study for the world’s economies, helping companies to become more competitive. The present research aims to explore and analyze the literature related to university-industry cooperation, using a bibliometric analysis as a methodology. This study intends to use an unlike approach to conduct the literature review and map the most relevant research studies, using a rigorous research protocol based on scientific documents published in the Web of Science database, using the keyword “University-Industry Cooperation”. The 256 articles collected are situated in a time base between 1970 and 2020 and were submitted to content analysis in R Bibliometrix. This systematic literature review revealed that companies are increasingly focusing on cooperation with universities. The research of these publications points to a growing trend in publications of ...
This study aims to identify and analyse the success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises... more This study aims to identify and analyse the success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following the lines of dynamic capabilities and resources-based views. To achieve this objective, the multiple case study method was followed, where 10 SMEs/cases in Portugal were selected. From a content analysis of the interviews conducted to the owner-managers of these SMEs, the most important success factors identified were: (1) strategic planning, (2) manager/management capacity, (3) entrepreneurship and innovation, (4) human resources, (5) networks/partnerships, and (6) financing. These factors are considered as drivers of sustained growth and creation of competitive advantage for SMEs in their regions. The results also show that SMEs are oriented towards success, although some evolution is still needed in the way they are managed, where the transition from a “domestic/entrepreneurial” management to a “professional” management and a greater focus on the rarity of their reso...
The agri-food sector has changed significantly over the years, moving from a simple production sy... more The agri-food sector has changed significantly over the years, moving from a simple production system to a more and more industrialized one. For agents/operators involved in this sector, ensuring product quality and environmental externalities has become the key point to gaining a competitive advantage. In this context, corporate social responsibility (CSR) fits perfectly. This study analyzes the influence of CSR practices on the economic performance of a random sample of 130 agri-food companies in Italy. The results of an analysis of multiple linear regression models show that the economic performance (measured through value added and income) of agri-food enterprises seems to be influenced statistically by workplace CSR practices. Analysis of another model, during which we studied the relationship between income and the CSR practices (independent variables), highlights that operating results (economic performance) can be improved by CSR practices regarding the workplace, environmen...
Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2020
This study aims to analyze the influence that interfirm partnership motives can have on the imple... more This study aims to analyze the influence that interfirm partnership motives can have on the implementation of organizational innovation activities. To achieve this aim, a quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted, surveying owners-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in the automotive sector. Based on the empirical evidence, the study concludes that the motives for partnership formation are related to organizational innovation activities, but only partially. Of the four main factors for establishing interfirm partnerships (‘Efficiency’, ‘Innovation and learning’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Technology and competition’), only the motives associated with the latter were shown to have a positive and significant influence on organizational innovation. Implications for theory and practice are also presented.
This study aims to identify the indicators/indices for measuring current cities’ creative perform... more This study aims to identify the indicators/indices for measuring current cities’ creative performance and the individual weight of each in that performance. To do so, a review and compilation of theoretical and empirical indices already developed was undertaken, showing culture, the creative economy, and a favourable environment as inseparable sub-dimensions of creativity. This compilation allowed the construction of a Composite Index for Creativity, using a quantitative methodology, which revealed 17 factors determining cities’ creative performance, for the evaluation of performance in the Portuguese context, which allows monitoring the degree of implementation of some of the targets of the 2020 Strategy. The results illustrate that Portugal follows the European tendency of including creativity in its strategies as an economic factor determining growth. With scientific rigour and quality, the weights of each sub-dimension studied in the Composite Index were determined, this being t...
O objectivo deste artigo consiste em demonstrar, conceptualmente, a relevância do contrato psicol... more O objectivo deste artigo consiste em demonstrar, conceptualmente, a relevância do contrato psicologico para a performance do funcionamento das redes inter-organizacionais, atraves da sua influencia na emergencia de comportamentos de cidadania organizacional. Varios estudos tem revelado que as organizacoes onde os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional sao mais vincados denotam melhores indicadores de eficacia. Parece evidente pressupor que os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional influenciam positivamente os resultados das redes inter-organizacionais. Mas sera de facto possivel estabelecer alguma relacao entre os resultados das redes inter-organizacionais e os comportamentos de cidadania organizacional, associados a eficacia das organizacoes? Para responder a esta questao central e explorada a relacao conceptual entre as dimensoes de cidadania organizacional (harmonia interpessoal, espirito de iniciativa, conscienciosidade, e identificacao com a organizacao) e os resultados associados ao funcionamento de redes inter-organizacionais (beneficios estrategicos e economicos, aprendizagem e conhecimento, inovacao, e transformacoes no meio envolvente). Sao apresentadas proposicoes a explorar atraves de futuras investigacoes dentro desta area de conhecimento.
World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2013
The objective of this study is to identify evidence of collaborative behaviour in territorial coo... more The objective of this study is to identify evidence of collaborative behaviour in territorial cooperation networks. To this end, a qualitative investigation approach was adopted, by means of a case/network study - the Qualifica Association, where the instruments for collecting information were the interview and documental analysis. Based on the empirical evidence obtained, it was concluded that the relationship structure of the network studied is based on behavioural relations and giving effective value to tangible and intangible assets of the territory, and thereby increasing its competitiveness. This study also presents implications for agents involved in a territorial cooperation network and suggests lines of future investigation in this area.
In a pandemic and post-pandemic environment, the consequences for the creative economy have been ... more In a pandemic and post-pandemic environment, the consequences for the creative economy have been brutal and nefarious. Thus, this study aims to measure cities’ creativity performance, through a composite index, reported in the year 2021. In this sense, the results show that culture, the creative economy and enabling environment, as subdimensions of creativity, show that cities suffered a significant setback in their creative performance. However, this is currently being reversed so that creativity continues to contribute to the performance and growth of cities, whereby the formation of networks/partnerships as allies of the creative class and industries that characterise this dimension becomes even more important. This means that the creative class was one of the most affected by the pandemic, given that its activities are sustained mainly by the public, which corroborated recent studies. The study’s main contribution lies in the use of the Composite Index, in which it was concluded...
Leadership has become a complex, difficult subject with various facets for organisations, as it i... more Leadership has become a complex, difficult subject with various facets for organisations, as it involves challenges regarding the best style for leaders to adopt. This study aims to analyse how the different leadership styles, presented throughout the various stages of the entrepreneurial process (discovery, application, implementation, and growth), can influence this type of process in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) context. To this end, qualitative research of an exploratory nature was undertaken, based on four Portuguese SMEs (case studies) from different sectors. Data were collected from interviews with leaders and followers in the four SMEs selected, as well as through documentary analysis. From the content analysis, the empirical evidence obtained leads to the conclusion that there is not just one leadership style followed by the SMEs analysed in the different stages of the entrepreneurial process. However, the transactional style of leadership was identified in t...
Bearing the growing competition between organisations in mind, managers are focused on keeping on... more Bearing the growing competition between organisations in mind, managers are focused on keeping on with the search for strategic alignment and performance monitoring. The literature has shed much light into the field of Management but a guide to monitor the defined strategy via Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is still lacking. Few studies have made their focus the question of which perspectives are the most relevant; it is therefore likely that there are different importance rankings between organisations with and without BSC. Highlighting the need to bring insight into this research field concerning the organizational performance measurement of the BSC, quantitative research was performed, to analyse the different rankings of the four perspectives, comparing organisations with and without BSC. The sample was composed of 107 out of the 250 major export organisations of Portugal. The outcomes confirm that the most relevant perspective is indeed the financial perspective, followed by the cust...
University-industry cooperation is associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology. This... more University-industry cooperation is associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology. This collaboration is an extremely important field of study for the world’s economies, helping companies to become more competitive. The present research aims to explore and analyze the literature related to university-industry cooperation, using a bibliometric analysis as a methodology. This study intends to use an unlike approach to conduct the literature review and map the most relevant research studies, using a rigorous research protocol based on scientific documents published in the Web of Science database, using the keyword “University-Industry Cooperation”. The 256 articles collected are situated in a time base between 1970 and 2020 and were submitted to content analysis in R Bibliometrix. This systematic literature review revealed that companies are increasingly focusing on cooperation with universities. The research of these publications points to a growing trend in publications of ...
This study aims to identify and analyse the success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises... more This study aims to identify and analyse the success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following the lines of dynamic capabilities and resources-based views. To achieve this objective, the multiple case study method was followed, where 10 SMEs/cases in Portugal were selected. From a content analysis of the interviews conducted to the owner-managers of these SMEs, the most important success factors identified were: (1) strategic planning, (2) manager/management capacity, (3) entrepreneurship and innovation, (4) human resources, (5) networks/partnerships, and (6) financing. These factors are considered as drivers of sustained growth and creation of competitive advantage for SMEs in their regions. The results also show that SMEs are oriented towards success, although some evolution is still needed in the way they are managed, where the transition from a “domestic/entrepreneurial” management to a “professional” management and a greater focus on the rarity of their reso...
The agri-food sector has changed significantly over the years, moving from a simple production sy... more The agri-food sector has changed significantly over the years, moving from a simple production system to a more and more industrialized one. For agents/operators involved in this sector, ensuring product quality and environmental externalities has become the key point to gaining a competitive advantage. In this context, corporate social responsibility (CSR) fits perfectly. This study analyzes the influence of CSR practices on the economic performance of a random sample of 130 agri-food companies in Italy. The results of an analysis of multiple linear regression models show that the economic performance (measured through value added and income) of agri-food enterprises seems to be influenced statistically by workplace CSR practices. Analysis of another model, during which we studied the relationship between income and the CSR practices (independent variables), highlights that operating results (economic performance) can be improved by CSR practices regarding the workplace, environmen...
Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2020
This study aims to analyze the influence that interfirm partnership motives can have on the imple... more This study aims to analyze the influence that interfirm partnership motives can have on the implementation of organizational innovation activities. To achieve this aim, a quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted, surveying owners-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in the automotive sector. Based on the empirical evidence, the study concludes that the motives for partnership formation are related to organizational innovation activities, but only partially. Of the four main factors for establishing interfirm partnerships (‘Efficiency’, ‘Innovation and learning’, ‘Market opportunities’, ‘Technology and competition’), only the motives associated with the latter were shown to have a positive and significant influence on organizational innovation. Implications for theory and practice are also presented.
This study aims to identify the indicators/indices for measuring current cities’ creative perform... more This study aims to identify the indicators/indices for measuring current cities’ creative performance and the individual weight of each in that performance. To do so, a review and compilation of theoretical and empirical indices already developed was undertaken, showing culture, the creative economy, and a favourable environment as inseparable sub-dimensions of creativity. This compilation allowed the construction of a Composite Index for Creativity, using a quantitative methodology, which revealed 17 factors determining cities’ creative performance, for the evaluation of performance in the Portuguese context, which allows monitoring the degree of implementation of some of the targets of the 2020 Strategy. The results illustrate that Portugal follows the European tendency of including creativity in its strategies as an economic factor determining growth. With scientific rigour and quality, the weights of each sub-dimension studied in the Composite Index were determined, this being t...
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