Centro de Investigação Aplicada em Gestão e Economia

Abstract The interest in greenwashing has grown in recent decades. However, comprehensive, and systematic research concentrating on the evolution of this phenomenon, specifically regarding its impacts on stakeholders, is still needed. The main purpose of this study is to provide an overview and synthesis of the existing body of knowledge on greenwashing, through a bibliometric study of articles published up to 2021, identifying the most relevant research in this field. Special attention is given to the latest articles that link greenwashing to stakeholders, identifying gaps and future research opportunities. A bibliometric analysis and literature review was performed on 310 documents obtained from the Web of Science database, using the VOSviewer software program. This article identifies the most influential aspects of greenwashing literature (authors, articles, journals, institutions, and keyword networks). The most recent articles on the effect of greenwashing on stakeholders were also analyzed, which made it possible to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for future research. These topics include greenwashing impacts on branding, consumer attitudes and intentions, mainly on purchase behavior, B2B relationships and the definition of taxonomy for greenwashing, considering the different practices. This study offers a thorough analysis on the state-of-the-art, as well as a closer look at the impacts of greenwashing on various stakeholders, providing a list of suggestions for future research.

This study sought to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how authentic leadership can affect employees’ individual creativity through affective commitment’s mediating role. The sample included 177 leader–follower dyads from 26 private, small- and medium-sized enterprises. Followers reported their levels of affective commitment and perceptions of authentic leadership, and leaders assessed each follower’s level of creativity. The results show that authentic leadership has a positive impact on affective commitment and creativity. Moreover, affective commitment fully mediates the relationship between perceived authentic leadership and individual creativity. Organizations can thus increase employees’ affective commitment and creativity by encouraging their managers to adopt more authentic leadership styles. Additional studies with larger samples are needed to determine more clearly not only authentic leadership’s influence on individual creativity but also other psychosocial and personal variables’ effects on that relationship.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of transformational leadership (TL) on employees’ individual performance (IP) through the mediating role of affective commitment (AC). More specifically, it aims to understand how TL relates to employees’ AC, TL relates to employees’ IP, employees’ AC relates to IP and employees’ AC mediates the relationship between TL and employees’ IP. Design/methodology/approach A total of 476 Turkish healthcare professionals participated in this study. The mediation effect of AC in the relationship between TL and employees’ IP was tested by structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that AC mediates the relationship between TL and employees’ IP. In others words, transformational leaders promote employees’ AC which, in turn, increases their IP. Practical implications This study suggests that organizations should select, develop and invest in leaders who adopt a TL style because they build a climate of admiration, loyalty, respect, participation and involvement for employees which will in turn enhance their commitment and performance. Originality/value This study responds to calls for research studies to explore the mediating mechanism in the TL process (Judge et al., 2006), as the mediation effects explain the conditions in which TL is related to the favorable outcomes.

Authentic leadership has become increasingly important in the literature, attracting the attention of many scholars in the last decade. This study adopted an employee-centered perspective to guide its examination of the relationship between authentic leadership and individual performance and investigation of the sequential mediation of employees' affective commitment and individual creativity. An analysis was conducted of data collected from 214 employees working in different business sectors. The results reveal a statistically significant positive relationship between authentic leadership and employees' workplace performance, which are both directly connected and indirectly linked through the two proposed psychosocial mechanisms. The findings thus indicate that authentic leadership reinforces workers' emotional connection with their organizations, thereby increasing their individual creativity and, subsequently, promoting better on-the-job performance. This study presents new and significant results since, on the one hand, it relied on a sequential mediation analysis of variables and, on the other hand, integrated the four main constructs into a single model. The proposed model displays the chain of effects between authentic leadership, affective commitment, individual creativity, and employee workplace performance. Implications for organizational management are discussed.

With the pressing challenges of water scarcity and pollution, achieving sustainable water management is imperative for promoting long-term development. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the socio-economic and cultural factors that shape the sustainability of water management strategies in Brazil and Portugal. This study highlights various factors that influence water management, including robust legal frameworks, socio-economic disparities, cultural practices, agricultural water usage, knowledge sharing, public participation, climate change resilience, water scarcity risks, industrial water consumption, and urbanization. By conducting a SWOT analysis of water management strategies, this research synthesizes information through an extensive literature review, encompassing the legal frameworks, policies, and implemented strategies in both countries. Additionally, it investigates comparative studies among Brazil, Portugal, and other European nations to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences in water management practices. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with water management strategies in Brazil and Portugal, thereby guiding the development of tailored policies and strategies that foster sustainability in water resource management. Additionally, the research highlights the role of digital transformation in optimizing water management practices. By integrating socio-economic, cultural, and digital factors, this study contributes to effective and sustainable water management in Brazil and Portugal, ensuring responsible utilization and preservation of water resources.

Purpose The Internet has changed the nature of purchasing, proof of this being the proliferation of e-commerce sites which have seen their activity grow more quickly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the authors aim to investigate the impact of the consumer's hedonic motivations, price, access to information and trust on the online purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative, transversal study of a conclusive nature was carried out. Based on information gathered through a questionnaire administered to a sample of 750 online purchasers, a structural equation model was estimated. Findings The results showed that the intention to continue purchasing in online shops is partly explained by access to information online, hedonic motivations and trust in e-commerce sites. It stands out that online information generates trust, and the perception of online prices does not influence loyalty but has a positive influence on hedonic motivations. Research limitations/implications Although some constructs were ignored, for example, the integration of channels, experiential marketing and the fear of fraud, including unauthorised use of personal details, the study shows that easy access to useful information about products, prices, promotions is an important antecedent of online purchase. Practical implications Online shop managers should pay special attention to e-commerce websites, and the information provided there should explore consumer's hedonic motivations for adventure. Furthermore, it is fundamental to create trust in order to maintain the interest in online shopping. Originality/value The estimation of the structural model in the context of online shopping includes the influence of utilitarian motivations (price and access to information), which offer a rational experience and also include emotional motivations (hedonic adventure motivations) on the intention to buy online. The results also revealed that it plays an important role to promote online trust and online loyalty.

Purpose When a company practices greenwashing, it violates consumers' expectations by deliberately deceiving them about their environmental practices or the benefits of their products/services. This study investigated the effects of greenwashing on corporate reputation and brand hate. Furthermore, this study explored the mediating effects of perceived environmental performance and green perceived risk. Design/methodology/approach A survey design using cross-sectional primary data from 420 Portuguese consumers who identified and recognized brands engaged in greenwashing was employed. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Findings This study's findings show that consumer perceptions of greenwashing may damage brands. The results show that greenwashing has a negative effect on corporate reputation through perceived environmental performance and green perceived risk. Additionally, greenwashing has a positive direct effect on brand hate and a negative effect on green perceived risk. Therefore, reducing greenwashing practices can improve consumers' perceptions of corporate environmental performance, buffer green perceived risk, and ultimately enhance corporate reputation. This can lead to positive relationships with customers. Originality/value Based on signaling and expectancy violation theories, this study develops a new framework highlighting the detrimental effects of greenwashing on brands. The combination of these theories provides the right framework to understand how greenwashing may lead to extreme feelings like brand hate and negative perceptions of corporate reputation, thus advancing the current research that lacks studies on the association between these constructs.

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between authentic leadership (AL), affective commitment and individual performance. More specifically, this study aims to understand how AL influences employees’ affective commitment, how AL influences individual performance, how affective commitment influences individual performance and how affective commitment mediates the relationship between AL and individual performance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 212 Portuguese employees participated in this study. A quantitative methodology was used. Baron and Kenny’s linear regression method and Sobel test were used to test the mediation relationship. Findings The results reveal that affective commitment mediates the relationship between AL and employees’ performance. In others words, leaders’ authenticity promotes employees’ affective commitment, which, in turn, increases their individual performance. Practical implications This research has practical implications for human resource management in organizations, particularly in selection processes and training of leaders and managers. Practitioners looking to increase employee commitment and performance can do so by augmenting the AL. Originality/value This study enriches the knowledge about the relevance of emerging areas such as AL theory and responds to the need to understand underlying mechanisms linking AL with workers’ commitment and performance (i.e. testing the construct’s nomological network).

This study sought to explore the impact of green human resource management on organizational identification and employees’ eco-friendly behavior, as well as the mediating role of organizational identification in the relationship between green human resource management and employees’ eco-friendly behavior. To achieve the study objectives, a cross-sectional quantitative study was developed, for which the data were obtained through a structured questionnaire containing the measures of the study variables. Data were collected from 235 employees from several Portuguese tourism organizations participating in the study. The Harman test and bootstrapping were applied previously to the assessment of the results. The mediation study’s hypothesis was evaluated using Baron and Kenny’s linear regression method, and subsequently complemented using the Sobel test. The findings showed that the implementation of green HRM practices in tourism organizations has a positive impact on employees’ eco-friendly behavior and on organizational identification, with the latter mediating the relationship between green human resource management and employees’ eco-friendly behavior. The study is breaking new ground because it incorporates the impact of green human resource management on organizational identification and employees’ eco-friendly behavior in a single research model, thus expanding knowledge on the subject, namely in the tourism sector in Portugal.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between perceptions of authentic leadership (AL) and affective commitment (AC) both directly and indirectly through the mediating effect of happiness at work. Design/methodology/approach Empirical research has analyzed the data from a questionnaire administered to a sample of 543 employees belonging to various public and private organizations in Cape Verde. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model. Findings It was found that the perceptions of AL explain employees’ happiness at work. Perceptions of AL also predict AC both directly and through the mediating effect of happiness at work. Practical implications The findings suggest that AL predicts happiness at work, which, in turn, explain employees` emotional bond to the organization. These results provide evidence that the quality of working environment created by leaders plays an important role in the extent to which employees develop a better emotional bond at work. So, the organizations, particularly in Cape Verde, should focus on training leaders with authentic characteristics. Originality/value In addition to verifying the direct relationship between AL and AC, this study introduced the mediating effect of the happiness, providing a model that depicts the chain effect between AL, AC and happiness, integrating these concepts in a single study.

Purpose The incompatibility between the sphere of work and the family is a reality that plagues many workers today. The difficult articulation of these two domains leads to the experience of the phenomenon called work–family conflict (WFC). This paper aims to assess the impact that WFC may have on employee engagement and performance, as well as on their turnover intention. It is also intended to test the mediating effect of engagement on the relationship between WFC and performance, and between WFC and the turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach One hundred and sixty-seven employees from various Portuguese organizations were surveyed. Respondents reported their perceptions of own WFC, engagement, performance and turnover intention. Findings The results revealed that employees who feel a higher WFC have lower levels of engagement and greater intention to leave the organization. The WFC showed no relation to performance. Engagement takes on the mediating role in the relationship between WFC and the turnover intention. Practical implications The relevance of this study is related to the implications that it may bring to companies in the context of implementing work–family balance strategies to reduce the referred conflict. Originality/value This study contributes to WFC literature by attempting to integrate in the same model four concepts in a single study to provide a model that depicts the chain of effects between WFC, engagement, individual performance and turnover intention, which has never been done in the Portuguese context.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how authentic leadership (AL) can affect individual performance through creativity and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)’s mediating roles. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 177 leader-follower dyads from 26 private and small and medium-sized organizations. Followers reported their perceptions of AL, and leaders assessed each follower’s level of creativity, individual performance and OCB. Findings The findings show that AL has a positive impact on OCB (i.e. altruism, sportsmanship, civic virtue, conscientiousness and courtesy), employee creativity, and individual performance. Creativity partially mediates the relationship between AL and individual performance. Some dimensions of OCB, namely, altruism, civic virtue and courtesy, also play a mediating role in this relationship. Research limitations/implications Additional studies with larger samples are needed to determine more clearly not only AL’s influence on individual performance but also other psychosocial variables affecting that relationship. Practical implications Organizations can increase employees’ creativity, OCB and individual performance by encouraging managers to adopt more AL styles. Originality/value This study is the first to integrate AL, creativity, OCB and individual performance into a single research model, thereby extending previous research. The study also used a double-source method to collect data (i.e. leader-follower dyads) to minimize the risk of introducing common-method variance.

Political, religious, sports and business leaders across the world have been under scrutiny regarding allegedly unethical behaviors. The current study analyzes the use of responsible leadership in management research. Using a sample of 64 articles published in SSCI-indexed journals over 10 years (2006-2016), we carried out a bibliometric analysis to understand the intellectual structure of the responsible leadership literature. The results of authorship, citation and co-citation, and factor analyses reveal the most prolific authors and the most notable journals writing and publishing on responsible leadership. The most cited works are theoretical, using Western frameworks and cultures, and focus on the concept of responsible leadership; only a few empirical/case study articles appear. Also, the most prevalent links are between theoretical works and highlight the conceptualization, understanding, and roles and parameters of responsible leaders. Six distinct factors emerge, denoting the groups of studies devoted to the evolution of leadership, transformational leadership, stakeholder theory and leadership, conceptualization and understanding of the topic, and roles of responsible leaders. These various research topics show the central tenets of responsible leadership, as well as the existing gaps in the existent literature.

Purpose This study sought to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how managers' coaching skills can affect individual performance through the mediating role of affective commitment. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 198 employees from diverse organizations. Based on an online survey, respondents assessed their managers' coaching skills and reported their own individual performance and affective commitment to their organization. Findings The findings show that managers' coaching skills have a positive impact on individual performance and affective commitment, with the latter mediating the relationship between the first two variables. Research limitations/implications Additional studies with larger samples are needed to understand more fully not only the impact of managers' coaching skills on individual performance but also other psychosocial variables affecting that relationship. Practical implications Organizations can increase employees' affective commitment and individual performance by encouraging managers to integrate more coaching skills into their leadership styles. Originality/value This study is the first to integrate managers' coaching skills, affective commitment and individual performance into a single research model, thereby extending previous research on this topic.

Purpose This paper aims to address the immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis in the Portuguese tourism and hospitality industry by examining whether some specific characteristics make people more vulnerable or more immune to unemployment. Design/methodology/approach Using an extensive micro-level data set of personal and job-related attributes containing all unemployed individuals in the Portuguese tourism and hospitality industry, a logit model with 56,142 observations is estimated to assess how each characteristic contributed to the unemployment odds during the COVID-19 crisis (until the end-July 2020), relatively to the pre-COVID period. Findings The most vulnerable workers to COVID-19 unemployment seem to be older, less educated, less qualified, women and residents in regions with a higher concentration of people and tourism activity. Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis is generating a new type of unemployment by also affecting those who were never unemployed before, with more stable jobs and more motivated at work, while reducing voluntary disruptions. Practical implications Public effort should be made not only to increase workforce education but especially to reinforce job-specific skills. The COVID-19 crisis has broken traditional protective measures against unemployment and separated workers from their desired occupations, which justifies new and exceptional job preservation measures. Policy recommendations are given aiming at strengthening worker resilience and industry competitiveness in the most affected sub-sectors and regions. Originality/value This study extends the current understanding of worker vulnerability to economic downturns. Herein, this paper used a three-level approach (combining socio-demographic, work-related and regional factors), capturing the immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis and focussing on the tourism and hospitality industry (the hardest-hit sector worldwide).

Measuring social sustainability performance involves assessing firms’ implementation of social goals, including working conditions, health and safety, employee relationships, diversity, human rights, community engagement, and philanthropy. The concept of social sustainability is closely linked to the notion of decent work, which emphasizes productive work opportunities with fair income, secure workplaces, personal development prospects, freedom of expression and association, and equal treatment for both genders. However, the tourism sector, known for its significant share of informal labor-intensive work, faces challenges that hinder the achievement of decent work, such as extended working hours, low wages, limited social protection, and gender discrimination. This study assesses the social sustainability of the Portuguese tourism industry. The study collected data from the “Quadros do Pessoal” statistical tables for the years 2010 to 2020 to analyze the performance of Portuguese firms in the tourism sector and compare them with one another and with the overall national performance. The study focused on indicators such as employment, wages, and work accidents. The findings reveal fluctuations in employment and remuneration within the tourism sector and high growth rates in the tourism sector compared to the national average. A persistent gender pay gap is identified, which emphasizes the need to address this issue within the tourism industry. Despite some limitations, such as the lack of comparable data on work quality globally, incomplete coverage of sustainability issues, and challenges in defining and measuring social sustainability indicators, the findings have implications for policy interventions to enhance social sustainability in the tourism industry. By prioritizing decent work, safe working conditions, and equitable pay practices, stakeholders can promote social sustainability, stakeholder relationships, and sustainable competitive advantage. Policymakers are urged to support these principles to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry and foster a more inclusive and equitable society. This study provides insights for Tourism Management, sustainable Human Resource Management, Development Studies, and organizational research, guiding industry stakeholders in promoting corporate social sustainability, firm survival, and economic growth.

Purpose Hospitality employees’ attitudes and behaviors play a crucial role in enhancing customer satisfaction and service quality and ultimately firms’ success; therefore, organizations must have skilled, customer-oriented staff. More research is required to help hospitality managers gain insights into the best strategies to promote and retain customer-oriented employees. This study specifically sought to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the ways that authentic leadership (AL) can affect employees’ customer orientation and turnover intention, including exploring affective commitment’s (AC) potential mediating role. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 350 employees from different hospitality organizations in Portugal. Data were collected using anonymously completed structured questionnaires available online or in a paper-and-pencil format. Findings The results demonstrate that AL has a positive effect on customer orientation and a negative effect on turnover intention. Moreover, they indicate that AC mediates the relationships between AL and both customer orientation and turnover intention. All hypotheses received empirical support. Practical implications Hotel managers can increase employees’ AC and customer orientation by engaging in AL behaviors. Similarly, management can avoid having employees voluntarily leave their jobs using more AL styles and strengthening employees’ affective bonds to their organization. Originality/value Prior hospitality studies have rarely focused on AL. This study is the first to analyze AL’s effect on customer orientation and AC’s role as a mediator variable in the relationships between AL and customer orientation and turnover intention, thus integrating all these variables into a single research model.

Burnout should be seen as an important phenomenon influencing the services provided by police forces, due to its high exposure to stressful events. The study sought to examine the impact of burnout on performance and turnover intention of Portuguese police forces, as well as to analyze the moderating effect of compassion satisfaction (CS) on this relationship. Data were collected in 2021 from 1.682 Portuguese police officers, using individual surveys. The results showed that (1) burnout is negatively related to performance; (2) burnout is positively related to turnover intention; (3) CS, although it has a positive effect on performance, does not assume a moderating role, as expected, in the relationship between burnout and performance; (4) CS assumes a moderating role in the relationship between burnout and turnover intention. That is, when a person who still suffers from burnout feels CS, it decreases the intention to leave the organization. The implications and the bearings of this study are discussed and presented regarding the theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives in order to better support both the comprehension of burnout in police officers and offer the best practical recommendations.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of affective well-being (AWB) in the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and affective commitment. Design/methodology/approach The sample included 226 employees from diverse Portuguese organizations. Based on a survey, respondents reported their perceptions of own PsyCap, AWB and affective commitment to their organization. Findings Results from structural equation modeling suggested presence of mediation by AWB in the relationship between PsyCap and affective commitment. Practical implications Managers are encouraged to gain from this finding by emphasizing more on the emotional health of individuals to increase their attachment with the company. Originality/value Though there are several studies indicating the positive consequences of PsyCap on employees, studies on how PsyCap affects affective commitment through AWB is scarce. These results advance the broaden-and-build theory by suggesting that the relationship between PsyCap and affective commitment is much more complex.

Research related to blockchain is rapidly gaining importance in the higher education. This opportunity collaborates with a proposal for a review of papers on the main blockchain topic. The bibliometric analysis included 61 peer-reviewed articles published in the Scopus database during the period of 2016 to 2021. This paper offers the identification of gaps in the literature enabling studies on the subject in higher education. The article identifies the main applications of blockchain technology in higher education around the world, as well as suggests future investigations. For further scientific investigation, we propose the operationalization of each of the researched approaches, especially combining the blockchain relationship, artificial intelligence, digital innovation, digital maturity, and customer experience in higher education.