Abstract

Abstract
A good relationship between companies and customers is a crucial factor of competitiveness. The improvement of service levels has become a key issue to develop and maintain a loyal relationship with customers. This paper proposes a method for promotions design for retailing companies, based on knowledge extraction from transactions records of customer loyalty cards, aiming to improve service levels and increase sales. At first, customers are segmented using k-means and then the segments' profile is characterized according to the rules extracted from a decision tree. This is followed by the identification of product associations within segments, which can base the identification of the products most suitable for customized promotions. The research reported is done in collaboration with an European retailing company.

Abstract
The paper reports on the final results of the European DELLIISS project (www.delliiss.eu) which objective was to establish an Executive Master degree in Innovative Service Systems (EMISS) targeting professional people. The paper explains the systematic process that has been followed for building the content of the EMISS curriculum, including: (1) the collection of the requirements, their prioritization through Think Tanks with professional attendance, and the identification of the associated skills card for this new service systems architect job profile; (2) the elaboration of a knowledge map structuring the components of knowledge available in the ICT, service science, and innovation scientific domains; and finally (3) the definition of the learning trajectories and the associated program content proposed for the EMISS Executive Master, a new diploma that is offered from January 2011 by 6 European Institutions. © 2011 IEEE.

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the implementation of a web-based platform integrating benchmarking and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the Portuguese secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach: The benchmarking platform is designed around a set of key performance indicators that are displayed using benchmarking graphs. These indicators are also aggregated through the methodology of DEA to provide a summary measure of performance. Findings: The benchmarking platform developed enables schools to perform internal and external evaluation through a standard model that is based on indicators of school activities. It encourages schools' efforts of continuous improvement and increases society awareness regarding schools' context and results obtained. Practical implications: The benchmarking platform can be useful for schools and general public. For the general public, there is a tool that allows the construction of user-defined rankings online and benchmarking tools that allow the comparison of performance of a specific school with others. In addition to these features, schools have in the BESP platform a repository of historical data, and the possibility to see a set of graphs that show for some indicators their evolution over time. Originality/value: This paper describes a breakthrough in the Portuguese education context. The BESP platform is the first in this context to combine DEA and benchmarking tools in a web-based environment, designed to enable real-time performance assessments. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Abstract
This paper explores the possibilities presented by DEA to assess quality of life and evaluate the performance of city managers in what concerns the promotion of urban quality of life. Using the data provided by the Urban Audit program, from the European Union, we defined the city profile regarding quality of life for 206 cities. Two approaches are presented: the construction of a composite indicator of quality of life and the assessment of local management performance, contextualised by the GDP per capita to measure the ability of local authorities to promote quality of life given the economic condition of the country. The results identify the cities with urban best practices and present a model of intervention for the cities considered inefficient, based on benchmarking principles.

Abstract
The territory alignment problem is part of a bigger procedure, the territory design, which consists of assigning small geographic regions to larger areas following the most relevant criteria for planning. This chapter aims to briefly update the review of the existing literature on the territory alignment problem, its applications and solution approaches, and to illustrate the most recent tendencies by means of a hybrid meta-heuristic developed by the authors. The approach is based in GRASP and Tabu Search meta-heuristics. The algorithm was integrated in an interactive and user-friendly Geographic Information System application, named MultiACE, also developed in the context of this study. This application was embedded in the ArcGIS software. This chapter also illustrates the potential of the proposed approach as a practical and readily implementable management decision aid in the context of a current case that involved the maintenance team of a Portuguese regional office of a worldwide equipment company. © 2012, IGI Global.