Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Florinda Matos et al.
O<strong>the</strong>r remarkable result is that innovation has increased at <strong>the</strong> group level. The company has an
innovative area that is active in some ways. There are several levels <strong>of</strong> innovation: <strong>the</strong> elementary
level (incremental type) or disruptive innovation. Innovation is at <strong>the</strong> product level but also at <strong>the</strong> level
<strong>of</strong> equipment and processes. The company does not register <strong>the</strong> patents or trademarks, so <strong>the</strong>
competition <strong>of</strong>ten copies <strong>the</strong> innovations. In <strong>the</strong> future, <strong>the</strong> company is considering starting to register
trademarks and patents.
The report <strong>of</strong> best practices for each function increases company performance. When it is necessary
to replace an employee, <strong>the</strong> company tries to find ano<strong>the</strong>r employee with similar experience. The goal
is that <strong>the</strong> company will not be affect by <strong>the</strong> leave <strong>of</strong> one employee, as <strong>the</strong>y work as team sharing
multitasks.
In subjects considered as intellectual property (times <strong>of</strong> manufacturing, new products, new processes)
<strong>the</strong>re is a permanent information trace.
The company is quality certified with safety and food hygiene.
The environmental policies, focused on sustainability, are a constant concern <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> company.
The company monitors <strong>the</strong> social area in <strong>the</strong> region where it acts to try to reduce <strong>the</strong> social problems
that can have an effect on <strong>the</strong>ir business.
Currently <strong>the</strong> company's partnerships are restricted to <strong>the</strong>ir economic group and to an educational
institution in <strong>the</strong> region.
Most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> company's staff studied at <strong>the</strong> higher education institution.
The company has been awarded (for about 4 years), for recognition <strong>of</strong> best practices in integrating
and accepting people in temporary work. The monitoring <strong>of</strong> competition and market studies are made
by o<strong>the</strong>r companies in its group.
The company has a specific area for complaints. All complaints are dealt with individually.
The company has a fixed set <strong>of</strong> products; however, it will launch new products to evaluate customer
behavior.
The company operates only in <strong>the</strong> Portuguese market. There are no international projects, since <strong>the</strong>
domestic market is sufficient. Possible strategies for internationalization are always dependent on <strong>the</strong>
policies defined by <strong>the</strong> economic group in which <strong>the</strong> company operates.
Whenever <strong>the</strong>re is a new idea, it is validated in <strong>the</strong> market in two ways: through <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> sales
and through customer feedback.
Any product, before being placed on <strong>the</strong> market, is tested for <strong>the</strong> presentation and
behavior/positioning on <strong>the</strong> shelf.
The new products are <strong>the</strong> result <strong>of</strong> listening to <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> customers, internal groups/sets <strong>of</strong> ideas
and <strong>the</strong> ideas <strong>of</strong> some internal employees.
5. Summary <strong>of</strong> conclusions
The data analysis shows that <strong>the</strong> company has its organizational routines focused on customer
relations, in a perspective <strong>of</strong> Total Quality Management (TQM).
Through training, <strong>the</strong> company creates a team culture. As <strong>the</strong> interviewee said: "The important thing is
<strong>the</strong> team as a whole and not individual people." It is <strong>the</strong> team culture that is able to fill any gaps that
occur at <strong>the</strong> individual level. This team culture, combined with an emerging leadership and very flat
organizational structure, is a key determinant <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> stability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> company. This stability is also
promoted through organizational commitment.
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