Purpose With its focus on the context of small firm internationalization, this paper aims to assess the important contribution of strategic determinants that influence export performance (EP), considering the mediating effect of competitive strategy. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data from 247 Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting textiles, members of the Portugal’s Textile Association (ATP), this research adopted a quantitative methodological approach, conducting an exploratory and transversal empirical study. Findings The paper finds suggest that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has a positive and significant influence on differentiation and EP. Moreover, the results also highlight the role of intangible resources (IR) in the design of both differentiation and cost leadership strategies, which drives EP. Finally, absorptive capabilities (ACAPs) are highly related with EP. Practical implications The paper provides empirical evidence that EO, IR and ACAPs are predictors of competitive strategies and EP. Moreover, and alongside with firm’s resources, this study validates that competitive strategy does matters for small firm managers and the development of one type of competitive advantage is also a major performance enhancer. Originality/value This study provides fresh insights into entrepreneurship and strategic management literature, as it considers the importance of multiple factors to SMEs business growth. Moreover, this paper presents empirical evidences of the strategies that small firm managers should pursue and policy makers should support. Finally, this is an original study applied to the Portuguese textile industry.

Decision support systems for traffic management systems have to cope with a high volume of events continuously generated by sensors. Conventional software architectures do not explicitly target the efficient processing of continuous event streams. Recently, event-driven architectures (EDA) have been proposed as a new paradigm for event-based applications. In this paper we propose a reference architecture for event-driven traffic management systems, which enables the analysis and processing of complex event streams in real-time and is therefore well-suited for decision support in sensor-based traffic control systems. We will illustrate our approach in the domain of road traffic management. In particular, we will report on the redesign of an intelligent transportation management system (ITMS) prototype for the high-capacity road network in Bilbao, Spain.

This research provides a useful framework for identifying a small firms' propensity to engage in entrepreneurial orientation. We examine the impact of the Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) as a main resource and capability on small firm' growth.

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This chapter assesses the important contribution of entrepreneurial orientation's strategic determinant that influences export performance. Based on survey data from 247 Portuguese small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), findings suggest that entrepreneurial orientation has a positive and significant influence on export performance. This study deepens our understanding and provides novel insights into entrepreneurship and strategic management literature, since it combines multiple factors and has obtained the importance of each construct in SMEs business growth. Moreover, this chapter presents further evidences of the strategies that small firm managers should pursue and policy makers should promote.

Literature reveals the growing interest among researchers [Verdú, A., Lloréns, F. J., & Fuentes, M. (2004). Measuring perceptions of quality in food products: The case of red wine. Food Quality and Preference, 15 (5), 453-469.;Rundle-Thiele, S. (2005). Elaborating customer loyalty: Exploring loyalty to wine retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12(5), 333-344.] to understand the elements involved in the formation of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the consumption of Designation of Origin wines. This study is based on the pan-European Customer Satisfaction Index and develops a model of causal relationships using the covariance-based approach (AMOS 19) in order to determine the relationships existing between the variables and the weight of each variable contributing to customer satisfaction. In this paper, the model was applied to study the satisfaction of 398 consumers of Qualified Designation of Origin Rioja wine (Spain). The results show consumer satisfaction with this Designation of Origin wine is very high and it fulfils their expectations, with higher satisfaction values than those obtained for other Designation of Origin wines, revealing inter-relationships with image, expectations, perceived quality, value and loyalty. The results of this study may be useful for winery managers since they will allow them to value their current position in the market.

Event-driven architectures (EDA) have been proposed as a new architectural paradigm for event-based systems to process complex event streams. However, EDA have not yet reached the maturity of wellestablished software architectures because methodologies, models and standards are still missing. Despite the fact that EDA-based systems are essentially built on events, there is a lack of a general event modelling approach. In this paper we put forward a semantic approach to event modelling that is expressive enough to cover a broad variety of domains. Our approach is based on semantically rich event models using ontologies that allow the representation of structural properties of event types and constraints between them. Then, we argue in favour of a declarative approach to complex event processing that draws upon well established rule languages such as JESS and integrates the structural event model. We illustrate the adequacy of our approach with relation to a prototype for an event-based road traffic management system.

This article provides a brief overview of the field of coordination in multiagent systems, and outlines its relation to current efforts working towards a paradigm for smart, next-generation distributed systems, where coordination is based on the concept of agreement between computational entities. Two examples are provided to visualize the types of mechanisms that can be part of a "technology of agreement". They explain how techniques from the field of organisations can be used to further coordination and agreement in open multiagent systems. This approach requires autonomy of the coordinated systems and their constituting agents, implying also the need for eventual reorganization 2 and self-adaptation -hence the article presents also an architectural strategy to tackle the inherent dynamism in these features.