Business associations are little explored entities, which have an important function on businesses growth. Their internationalisation function has previously been highlighted as crucial for enterprises competitiveness. The footwear sector plays an important role in the Portuguese industrial structure. Particularly, internationalisation has proven to be crucial for the footwear enterprises’ growth. APICCAPS is a major business association in the Portuguese footwear sector, which focus on improving its associates’ competitiveness and promote the industry’s growth, mainly through the promotion of internationalisation. This preliminary investigation aims to assess what are APICCAPS roles, beyond the internationalisation process. It intends to explore how associates perceive its roles, if there is a homogenous view between them, and if there is a fit between associates’ current and future needs and APICCAPS’ current and future roles. To do so, this investigation resorts to a questionnaire made to enterprises, and interviews conducted with managers of APICCAPS and a few associates. Based on the data gathered, the results of this preliminary study are not conclusive. However, it seems that internationalisation is the most valued role, for enterprises, and the primary role of APICCAPS. As the business association adapts its intervention areas’ focus, according to its associates’ needs, enterprises showed that they recognize the importance of the remaining roles for the industry’s growth. Moreover, the data suggests that APICCAPS can anticipate its associates’ future needs.
Date of Award | 18 Jul 2023 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Ana Lourenço (Supervisor) |
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- Business associations
- Footwear industry
- APICCAPS
- Mestrado em Economia Empresarial
Why business associations matter: assessing the role of APICCAPS in the footwear sector in Portugal
Alves, C. S. (Student). 18 Jul 2023
Student thesis: Master's Thesis