Purpose: Human beings spend about a third of their day working, so it is very important that they are integrated into a good community work environment. When the setting is teleworking in a family and housing context, it is important to keep a good environment and also a good physical, psychological and ergonomic aspects to attain job performance. The purpose of this paper is to characterize teleworking carried out in Portuguese communities in the context of the state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A survey questionnaire was used, which analyzed general information about teleworking and the individual’s adaptation process and the difficulties they faced during the teleworking period. The sample consists of 359 individuals aged 18 years or over, who were teleworking in their homes and in a family environment. Findings: The results show that adapting to teleworking was easy or very easy and that it happened very quickly. The main difficulties encountered by the individuals were the lack of professional interaction/communication with coworkers, the lack of resources related to support infrastructures, such as the internet or a printer, and the reconciliation of teleworking with family life/household chores/dedication to children and time/schedule management. Originality/value: This study hopes to contribute to the increase of the scientific knowledge in the teleworking field and to allow companies to rethink the teleworking strategies to optimize resources and costs and to improve the organization’s productivity without harming the quality of life and well-being of their workers.
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.
As an integral part of financial inclusion, adequate and correct financial knowledge provides individuals with tools to achieve better financial performance throughout their lives. Financial knowledge also contributes to agents exhibiting financial behaviors. As there is consensus in the literature regarding the benefits of financial literacy, we decided to investigate the importance of several indicators that generally appear to explain this literacy in a set of twenty OECD countries, considering financial literacy, financial knowledge, and financial behavior. Using estimation through corrected heteroscedasticity, the results show that the completion of higher education contributes positively and significantly to financial literacy and financial knowledge and behaviors. Inequality in access to health and education, as well as the level of household debt, negatively impacts financial literacy and knowledge. Still, on the other hand, progression in human development contributes to progression in literacy and financial behavior. In terms of average income, it can be seen that it contributes to literacy and financial behavior, but surprisingly, public spending on education does not impact financial literacy.
26 November 2021 in Journal of Family Business Management
Purpose: Risk is part of corporate activity and a consequence of the businesses' demands, the market and the changes in companies and their surroundings. The way that risk is managed is different between family and non-family businesses. The paper aims to compare the different risk types experienced in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic among family and non-family businesses and to analyze whether operational, legal, strategic and image risks influence financial risks.Design/methodology/approach: The nature of the study is quantitative and based on a questionnaire survey that analyses the perception of risks by 1,090 family businesses and 557 non-family businesses.Findings: The results show the existence of statistically significant differences in the perception of financial and legal risks between family and non-family businesses, where the former being the businesses that give more importance to these risks. The perception of operational, legal, strategic and image risks have a positive influence on the perception of financial risk in family and non-family businesses.Originality/value: The results obtained in the study are important because they allow an understanding about the differences in risk management between family and non-family businesses, which can lead to greater corporate sustainability and increased financial performance.
25 December 2020 in Thunderbird International Business Review