Luís Miguel Pacheco

Capital structure determinants of hospitality sector SMEs

The main objective of this article is to study the capital structure determinants of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality sector and how this can influence their level of indebtedness. Using panel data methodology and considering a sample of 43 Portuguese hotels, the authors study the capital structure determinants between 2004 and 2013. The study examines the indebtedness level in light of the two main theories – the Trade-off theory and the Pecking Order theory. The hospitality sector was chosen because of its importance in the Portuguese economy and because this particular sector has hardly been studied. In addition to total indebtedness, the authors extend the literature by analysing the differences between short-term and long-term indebtedness. The results obtained suggest that profitability, assets tangibility, firm dimension, total liquidity and risk are key factors affecting the capital structure of hospitality sector SMEs, while growth, other tax benefits and age were not deemed relevant. These results allow us to conclude that Trade-off and Pecking Order theories should not be considered in isolation to explain the capital structure of hospitality sector SMEs.

Internationalization vs family ownership and management: the case of Portuguese wine firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the firms’ ownership and control structure and their export performance. The literature is traditionally focused on the relationship between firms’ performance and internationalization, with the relationship between ownership and control structure with internationalization being much less studied, particularly in the context of family firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus their study on the Portuguese wine firms due to their increasing importance in the Portuguese economy and in the promotion of the country’s exports and image abroad. They used a balanced panel data sample of 82 firms for the period from 2011 to 2015 and applied a random effects model and a Tobit specification. Findings The degree of family involvement shows a negative and significant relationship with internationalization, meaning that family firms that intend to internationalize should be open to receive external managers with international experience and increase their internal competencies to enhance internationalization. Originality/value This paper extends the literature since assesses, at the light of the agency theory, the presence of differences in the internationalization degree and export intensity between family firms that are managed and controlled by the owners and family firms that are managed by non-family members, with an application to a less studied sector and country.

Residential and Stock Market Effects on Consumption across Europe

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explain private consumption as a function of income and wealth with data from European Union countries. To examine how the developments in housing and stock markets may have affected consumption behaviour, we adopt two econometric procedures. First, we use the Stock–Watson procedure to account for wealth effects on consumption over the long run. Second, through an error-correction model we measure wealth effects on consumption over the short run. We found significant albeit mixed values for the long-run elasticities of consumption with respect to real residential and equity prices. We also found strong evidence that consumption exhibits error-correction behaviour in the short run, with the value of the error-correction term signifying that household consumption takes several quarters to completely respond to changes in the markets.

Fiscal Federalism, EMU and Shock Absorption Mechanisms: A Guide to the Literature

Fiscal federalism theory seeks to establish the optimal organization of a government, confined by certain geographic boundaries. The implications of that theory for the monetary unification process are shortly inquired. The literature measuring the redistribution and stabilization effects of the tax and transfer systems in different monetary unions is surveyed. The prospects of evolution to integration models with a federalist countenance are briefly analysed and it is given special attention to the projects of creation of a European Fiscal Transfers Scheme. That mechanism would provide the European economies with some degree of stabilization in substitution for the loss of the adjustment mechanisms. However, after analysing the different proposals for the creation of such mechanism we conclude that, given the shocks persistence, they easily become redistribution mechanisms.

O financiamento das empresas do setor industrial na Província de Benguela, em Angola

O objetivo deste artigo e conhecer e analisar as formas de financiamento e produtos financeiros mais utilizados pelas empresas industriais da Provincia de Benguela, em Angola. Pretende-se ainda compreender a aceitabilidade e a aptidao para a utilizacao de formas de financiamento alternativas e compreender quais as dificuldades das empresas no acesso ao credito. O metodo utilizado e quantitativo e exploratorio, em que um inquerito foi enviado as empresas industriais da Provincia de Benguela, questionando sobre as diferentes formas de financiamento das organizacoes. Os resultados permitem concluir que o autofinanciamento e a principal fonte de financiamento das empresas industriais, seguindo-se o credito bancario. Os emprestimos e subvencoes do Estado sao residuais. Os resultados apresentam dois factores preponderantes quando as empresas pretendem financiar-se: o quotidiano da empresa e a estrutura financeira da empresa. Apesar de tratar-se de um estudo exploratorio, os dois factores encontrados sao um contributo para o estudo sobre o financiamento das empresas industriais na Provincia de Benguela, merecendo atencao por parte de investidores, gestores e detentores de capital.

An analysis of online reviews of upscale Iberian restaurants.

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has gained importance with the emergence of new online tools and the hospitality sector is at the core of this phenomenon. In this study, we use a data set of client reviews for Michelin starred restaurants located in Portugal and Spain to analyze the reviews in terms of overall satisfaction and four specific attributes. By employing statistical tests and regression analysis we find that the “food” and “service” attributes show a greater correlation with overall satisfaction than other criteria, and those attributes are common across restaurant segments and countries. These results have implications for the restaurant industry, highlighting the most important determinants of overall satisfaction. Some areas would benefit from small improvements and investments, which could make a difference in terms of rating and might bring a competitive advantage.

The Use of the Recognition Heuristic as an Investment Strategy in European Stockmarkets

Purpose – People often face constraints such as a lack of time or information in taking decisions, which leads them to use heuristics. In these situations, fast and frugal rules may be useful for making adaptive decisions with fewer resources, even if it leads to suboptimal choices. When applied to financial markets, the recognition heuristic predicts that investors acquire the stocks that they are aware of, thereby inflating the price of the most recognized stocks. This paper aims to study the profitability against the market of the most recognized stocks in Europe. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors perform a survey and use Google Trends to study the profitability against the market of the most recognized stocks in Europe. Findings – The authors conclude that a recognition heuristic portfolio yields poorer returns than a market portfolio. In contrast, from the data collected on Google Trends, weak evidence was found that strong increases in companies monthly search volumes may lead to abnormal returns in the followingmonth. Research limitations/implications – The applied investment strategy does not account for transaction costs, which may jeopardize its profitability given the fact that it is necessary to revise the portfolio on a monthly basis. Despite the results obtained, they are useful to understanding the performance of recognition heuristic strategies over a comprehensive time horizon, and it would be interesting to depict its viability during different market conditions. This analysis could provide additional information about a preferable scenario for employing our strategies and, ultimately, enhance the profitability of recognition heuristic strategies. Practical implications – Through the exhaustive analysis performed here on the recognition heuristic in the European stock market, it is possible to conclude that no evidence was found for the viability of exploring this type of strategy. In fact, the investors would always gain better returns when adopting a passive investment strategy. Therefore, it would be wise to assume that the European market presents at least a degree of efficiency where no investment would yield abnormal returns following the recognition heuristic. Originality/value – The main objective of this paper is to study the performance of the recognition heuristic in the financial markets and to contribute to the knowledge in this field. Although many authors have already studied this heuristic when applied to financial markets, there is a lack of consensus in the literature.

Gestão do Risco nas “PME de Excelência” Portuguesas

Resumo O objetivo deste artigo e analisar a percecao e sensibilidade ao risco das “PME de excelencia” portuguesas e constatar quais os beneficios que retiram da gestao do risco. E tambem objetivo investigar se as empresas entendem a gestao do risco como algo de positivo e se apresentam maturidade na identificacao e tratamento do risco. O metodo de analise utilizado e quantitativo e exploratorio. Numa primeira fase, foi efetuado um inquerito as empresas e realizada uma analise descritiva dos resultados. Numa fase posterior, foi efetuada a analise fatorial de componentes principais. Os resultados apresentam quatro fatores com relevância na analise do risco empresarial, nomeadamente, os fatores relacionados com os riscos de funcionamento, competitividade, adaptacao e mercado. As empresas associam o risco de funcionamento a caracteristicas internas, o risco de competitividade a condicoes de diferenciacao e concorrencia, o risco de adaptacao ao ambiente que as rodeia e o risco de mercado a variaveis financeiras.

ADMINISTRAÇÃO DE TESOURARIA E ENDIVIDAMENTO MUNICIPAL: SITUAÇÃO DOS MUNICÍPIOS PORTUGUESES

A aplicacao do Programa de Assistencia Economica e Financeira no periodo de 2011 a 2014 impos a necessidade de garantir o cumprimento das metas orcamentais, tornando o controle da execucao orcamental e dos deficits publicos elementos criticos. O controle do endividamento municipal e uma componente fundamental dessa consolidacao. Este artigo assenta no estudo do impacto direto da administracao de tesouraria na reducao dos deficits municipais portugueses. A pratica de uma administracao de tesouraria eficiente, recorrendo a boas politicas de financiamento, a reducao de tempos medios de pagamento e das dividas a fornecedores, resulta na melhoria da liquidez e da capacidade de assumir e satisfazer compromissos, contribuindo para o melhoramento da situacao municipal global. A analise da situacao orcamental dos municipios portugueses revela situacoes dispares, embora globalmente, no quadrienio analisado, se verifique uma correcao dos desequilibrios.