J. Cadima Ribeiro

Does Gender Affect Visiting a World Heritage Site

ABSTRACT The city of Guimarães in Portugal is a place of strong symbolic and cultural significance, and the nomination of its historical center as a World Heritage Site in 2001 enhanced its tourism potential. This study presents the results of a survey conducted in 2010 and 2011 to capture the profile and motivations of tourists visiting Guimarães as a cultural tourism destination. The study addressed two main issues: whether males and females have similar or different preferences in choosing the city as their destination, and whether there are gender differences in the perception of the attributes of Guimarães. A better understanding of the gendered nature of the destination is a valuable cue for shaping products and services according to visitors’ preferences. The results suggest that both men and women are aware of the main elements responsible for the citys World Heritage status. That the destination is a Heritage Site that also offers the opportunity to tour the region has a significant positive effect on male tourists’ choice of Guimarães. Regarding the perceived attributes of the city, results indicate minor gender differences with one exception: Women expressed more apprehension than men regarding the perceived security of the destination.

Discussing the posthosting evaluation of a mega sporting event: The perception of Warsaw Residents toward UEFA EURO 2012:

The aim of this paper is to identify Warsaw residents’ perceptions and attitudes toward the UEFA EURO 2012 tournament. The investigation focused on how residents of Warsaw perceived the impacts of the tournament one year after the event. A questionnaire survey was applied using a stratified sampling method to 480 residents of Warsaw. The results of the survey and ordered logit regressions show that although the residents did not perceive that the economic benefits of the tournament were spread uniformly, a large majority valued the tournament’s role in promoting Warsaw as a tourist destination and enhancing the international identity of the city. Whereas residents generally displayed positive attitudes toward EURO 2012 in terms of lifting their pride and bringing the community closer together, they also noted some negative impacts of the event. The opinions expressed about the tournament depended on the age, education, and income of the responders. A majority of the residents agreed that the positive impacts of EURO 2012 outweighed the negative.

The legacy of European Capitals of Culture to the “smartness” of cities: The case of Guimarães 2012

ABSTRACT The objective of the paper is to examine the extent to which the legacy of European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) increases the “smartness” of cities. A qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews and desk research was used to assess the impact on the smart citys dimensions hypothesized by Giffinger et al. (2007). The research revealed that this kind of mega-event reinforces the smartness of the city in which it is hosted in terms of attributes such as living, economy, people and environment. No significant legacy is observed with respect to the mobility dimension.

Social entrepreneur and gender: what’s personality got to do with it?

Purpose Research on economic entrepreneurship identifies a gender gap that is favorable to men. In the social entrepreneurship arena, the existing evidence is slightly fuzzy, as this gender gap is less preeminent. This paper aims to identify how gender differences in social entrepreneurial ventures creation are explained by different personality traits, by analyzing the extent to which female and male social entrepreneurs exhibit the same personality traits and whether potential differences are able to explain the differences in predisposition for the creation of new social entrepreneurial ventures. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature on gender differences and personality traits in social entrepreneurship details the main theoretical developments and builds the hypotheses. Based on the Big Five model, the investigation uses a hypothesis testing quantitative approach. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire that was e-mailed and applied to the social entrepreneurs engaged in the creation of social ventures in Portugal. Findings The data gathered suggest that both female and male social entrepreneurs have personalities characterized by high levels of openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion and emotional stability. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the two groups and logistic regression, the investigation reveals that women and men who launch a new social venture only differ in one personality dimension – agreeableness – wherein women scored more highly. No significant differences are found in the other personality traits. Research limitations/implications The research assumes that most aspects of human personality structure are represented in the Big Five model. Practical implications The knowledge about whether gender differences are explained by different personality traits is critical to public entities that might design appropriate public policies to stimulate social entrepreneurship. Also, social entrepreneurs’ capacity building programs should be delineated in accordance with a deeper understanding about gender and personality traits differences. Social implications The knowledge of the factors that affects the creation of new social ventures has an important potential contribution on social value creation and the promotion of gender equality. Originality/value This paper links two important topics – gender and entrepreneurs’ personality traits – scarcely explored in the social entrepreneurship literature. Thus, the paper adds new empirical evidence to support (or not) the belief that personality and gender matter in the decision to launch a new social venture.