Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to estimate retailing efficiency in a 26-store women clothing retail chain and to decompose it in several measures in order to contribute to the performance improvement of this retail service firm, as well as to compare the efficiency of the different decision making units. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses the following measures to estimate efficiency: sigma convergence analysis; efficiency analysis; technical efficiency (TE) analysis; pure technical efficiency (PTE) analysis and scale efficiency (SE) analysis for a set of 26 stores of a women retail service brand operating in Portugal. A cross-section input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to analyse quarterly data sets from 2010 to 2013. Findings - The results show that costs with personnel are slightly increasing when analysed using the sigma convergence method, although there are some geographical differences. Moreover, it is possible to witness that the retail store chain's TE diminishes as the operations outputs do not grow as fast as input savings. On the other hand, there are no SE problems as the levels of SE are larger than pure efficiency levels. Research limitations/implications - The main limitation of the study stems from the fact that the analysis is based on a simple retail chain, which makes it a single case study. Therefore, the generalisation of the conclusions for other firms or for other periods of analysis should be made cautiously. Practical implications - It is shown that some stores have a good TE and other stores have some SE advantage. As such, it is possible to select some stores as benchmarks to deploy internal efficiency throughout the retail chain. Originality/value - The contribution of this paper is based on the application of the sigma conversion and DEA techniques to evaluate efficiency in retail service store.

Abstract
E-government has become a priority for many governments around the world and one of the main change drivers in the provision of new services in the public administration context. As public services are part of a complex network in which citizens are the main players, public authorities are increasingly trying to identify and deploy programmes that promote the modernisation and simplification of public services based on knowledge management. This chapter aims to understand the impact of e-government initiatives on consumer behaviour, as well as the importance of knowledge management for value creation in the public administration context. The Simplex programme, the main initiative in Portugal to develop administrative simplification and e-government, is analysed within two contexts: the central administration and the local municipality of Oporto. This chapter highlights that e-government has been an important factor contributing to both the administrative simplification and the improvement in the quality of public services.

Abstract
The main goal of this article is to appraise the existence of different patterns of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, to identify its relationship with Entrepreneurial Initiative, and recommend entrepreneurship policies that may influence the growth of entrepreneurial action. Without evidence on entrepreneurial ecosystems landscape and what determinants stimulate entrepreneurship in a given environment, policies could become flawed and miss the target. To address research purposes, the analysis was performed using data extracted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Database carried out between 2010 and 2016. To ensure a longitudinal perspective, it was used a balanced panel approach followed by Logistic Regression estimations. The article offers a novel and systematic approach, the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Taxonomy, to overcome a disaggregated perspective on entrepreneurial ecosystems, between individual and context levels. Empirical findings capture four different country profiles, based on two measures: Entrepreneurial ecosystems and entrepreneurial initiative. The results allow to compare the four groups and appraise significant disparities around entrepreneurship determinants, namely, the education factor. While education is commonly recognized as a positive influence on entrepreneurship, the results suggest a contradictory effect. The existence of differentiated profiles and its determinants points outs the importance of developing specific entrepreneurship policy packages attending group specificities.

Abstract
The direct relationship between national cultural practice and entrepreneurship activities is analyzed in this chapter, based on the analysis of 44 countries. Datasets from 2012 and 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report are used to characterize three types of entrepreneurship: Early-Stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA); Necessity-Driven entrepreneurship (NDE) and Opportunity-Driven (ODE) entrepreneurship. Data sets on national cultural values are used to analyze five dimensions of Hofstede's work on cultural values (power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, long/short term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance). For that, the authors use the Values Survey Module 2013, which has been adapted from Hofstede's previous work from 2010 and 2008. The main conclusion is that the three types of entrepreneurship analyzed in this chapter are differently explained by the cultural and expanded models. If the country of origin and the type of economy are useful to explain TEA, they are of no added value to explain Necessity-Driven or opportunity-driven entrepreneurship.

Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to examine how foreign direct investment (FDI) and firm-specific advantages (FSAs) of US multinational enterprises (MNEs) majority-owned subsidiaries affect environmental pollution in host countries. The research results contribute to helping managers and policymakers understand the environmental impact of MNEs activities, and encourage these firms to develop environmentally responsible management (ERM) as an element of their corporate social responsibility practice. Design/methodology/approach Panel data consisting of developing and developed countries spanning the years 2004 through 2014 are used. The dynamic panel generalised method of moments technique is implemented. This method avoids common estimation bias, such as endogeneity, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. Findings This paper finds that the direct environmental impacts of FDI vary significantly between the two groups of countries. The environmental benefits of FDI to the recipient country are achieved through capital and technology transfer. The study also reveals that R&D intensity moderates the relationship between FDI and environmental pollution in both developing and developed countries in such a way that environmental pollution decreases. Research limitations/implications - Future research could explore the environmental impact of MNEs on host countries by considering both equity and non-equity entry modes. The findings offer some support to host government policies offering generous incentive packages to attract R&D investment to improve environmental pollution. This research raises questions as to the reasons corporations operating in developing and developed countries should pursue their ERM practices. Originality/value This research examines both the direct effect of FDI and the moderating effects of FSAs on the relationship between FDI and the environment. Although previous studies have already looked at the relationship between FDI and the environment, the moderating effect of FSAs is very under-developed in this relationship.

Abstract
This paper analyses the relationship among marginal costs per power plant, fossil fuel prices and electricity bidding quantities in the Spanish electricity market. The results of the panel cointegration and Granger causality methods clearly indicate a differential impact of fossil fuel prices on power plants marginal costs, with a positive effect for gas power plants. The biggest negative impact on marginal costs is seen for coal technology. As a consequence of the characteristics of different production technologies, the set of marginal costs across the sample is based on coal power plants, although Endesa and Iberdrola's marginal costs are predominantly based on gas power plants. Operating costs for hydroelectric power plants are very low when compared to the thermal power plants, which is the base technology used by Endesa, since this technology is strongly dependent on the volatility of commodity markets and on the supply chain and production costs management. Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.