Seeking to reduce the number of inconsistencies in their processes, many organisations choose to implement the ISO 9001:2015 quality management standard. Their aim is to improve operational performance while, at the same time, they cope with increased pressures from the market to present innovative products and solutions and from the stakeholders to implement new organizational methods. This work intends to investigate how organisations can leverage ISO 9001:2015 in implementing the ISO 56002:2019 innovation management standard, given that both standards have a high degree of compatibility with each other. For that purpose, meetings were held with senior managers and quality managers of three Portuguese SMEs to discuss the existing potential challenges and gaps in the integration of both management systems. The results point to the existence of a significant set of practices in the field of quality that can support and facilitate the formalization of integrated management systems. Nevertheless, generalization of the results should be avoided, and more research is needed, since the integration of management systems is often conditioned by cost and time related issues. Furthermore, it is disputable whether a company can simultaneously reach a high level of efficiency (brought about by implementing a quality management system) and a high level of innovation (made possible by the implementation of an innovation management system) thus jeopardizing the implementation of an integrated management system.

Purpose: There is a scarcity of empirical evidence in the literature on the chain of causality involving tax incentives for Research and Development (R&D) activities and their subsequent transformation into innovation. This study aims to assess the influence of R&D tax incentives on the organizational attributes of Portuguese firms to identify how they are converted into innovation.Design/methodology/approach: A structural research model consisting of 339 companies that benefited from the Fiscal Incentive System supporting R&D in Enterprises, during the period from 2013 to 2016, was developed. This was done to assess the role of R&D tax incentives on the organizational attributes that form the innovation capacity. The model was validated using the multivariate statistical technique of structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimation (partial least squares structural equation modeling – PLS-SEM).Findings: The results found suggest that although it is not possible to unequivocally identify the mechanisms used to convert tax incentives into innovation, it is possible to conclude that they play an important spillover effect for the construction and strengthening of organizational attributes. These form the basis of innovation capacity, to the extent that they positively influence the firms’ total assets, equity, liabilities, number of employees and sales. Hence, contributions are brought to both the literature on tax incentives and the general literature on innovation.Originality/value: For policymakers, the evidence points to the fact that in addition to the incentives provided, novel mechanisms need to be established to help firms develop their absorptive capacity. The objective is to effectively convert the incentives received into innovation through the organizational attributes analyzed. From the firms’ point of view, the results found suggest that tax incentives act as a catalyst for making R&D investments. Additionally, there is an influence on employability, which effectively enhances the chances of innovation in the long run. Tax incentives received by Portuguese firms also have the effect of promoting economic dynamism – by enhancing the following: investments in infrastructure, the hiring of employees and the increasing of sales, generating positive externalities for both firms and society.

The main objective of the present research is to identify the knowledge flows responsible for promoting the innovation capacity of Portuguese companies. Specifically, we intend to identify which variables influence Portuguese innovation capacity from a macro and micro perspective, so that we can establish possible ways to promote open innovation (OI) in Portugal since Portuguese companies have little maturity in terms of open innovation when compared to companies in other countries of the European Union. To achieve this goal, the methodological design used consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a literature review was conducted to identify the main variables associated with innovation performance. After identifying the most influential variables in the literature, in a second phase, data were collected through three distinct databases, namely Pordata, the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority, and SABI. To identify the most influential variables in the Portuguese innovation capacity, the multivariate multiple regression technique based on the ordinary least square (OLS) method was applied. The results of the present research bring empirical evidence that researchers dedicated to R&D from non-profit institutions (i.e., inbound OI) and researchers from firms (i.e., outbound OI) exert a significant influence on innovation capacity so the development of an optimal strategy for the strengthening of open innovation by Portuguese firms should take into account the use and combination of these two specific knowledge flows. In this sense, the originality of this research lies in the fact that it is the first attempt to understand the possible implications of the determinants of innovation capacity on open innovation, from an exploratory study concerning the flows of knowledge.

In this work, a comparison between start-up companies’ performance is made based on the way they use the Portuguese R&D tax credit program. From the analysis of the results, it is possible to verify that companies that benefit from this program have a distinct behavior from those that do not, either in what regards financial performance, the weight of the intangible assets in the company or in what regards the quality and value added of the jobs created. It is also possible to find that beneficiary companies mix the tax credits with the use of European, national and regional grants, thus mixing the funding available to support their Research, Development and Innovation activities.

This paper aims to explore the challenges of maintaining and modernizing legacy systems, particularly COBOL-based platforms, the backbone of many financial and administrative systems. By exploring the DOGE team’s initiative to modernize government IT systems on a relevant case study, the author analyzes the pros and cons of AI and Agile methodologies in addressing the limitations of static and highly resilient legacy architectures. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the state of the art about legacy system modernization, AI integration, and Agile methodologies. Then, the gray literature was analyzed to provide practical insights into how government agencies can modernize their IT infrastructures while addressing the growing shortage of COBOL experts. Findings suggest that AI may support interoperability, automation, and knowledge abstraction, but also introduce new risks related to cybersecurity, workforce disruption, and knowledge retention. Furthermore, the transition from Waterfall to Agile approaches poses significant epistemological and operational challenges. The results highlight the importance of adopting a hybrid human–AI model and structured governance strategies to ensure sustainable and secure system evolution. This study offers valuable insights for organizations that are facing the challenge of balancing the desire for modernization with the need to ensure their systems remain functional and manage tacit knowledge transfer.