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Research Project
Centre for Business and Economics Research - University of Coimbra
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Publications
Virtual reality for safe testing and development in collaborative robotics: challenges and perspectives
Publication . Bermúdez i Badia, Sergi; Silva, Paula Alexandra; Branco, Diogo; Pinto, Ana; Carvalho, Carla; Menezes, Paulo; Almeida, Jorge; Pilacinski, Artur
Collaborative robots (cobots) could help humans in tasks that are mundane, dangerous or
where direct human contact carries risk. Yet, the collaboration between humans and robots is severely
limited by the aspects of the safety and comfort of human operators. In this paper, we outline the
use of extended reality (XR) as a way to test and develop collaboration with robots. We focus on
virtual reality (VR) in simulating collaboration scenarios and the use of cobot digital twins. This is
specifically useful in situations that are difficult or even impossible to safely test in real life, such as
dangerous scenarios. We describe using XR simulations as a means to evaluate collaboration with
robots without putting humans at harm. We show how an XR setting enables combining human
behavioral data, subjective self-reports, and biosignals signifying human comfort, stress and cognitive
load during collaboration. Several works demonstrate XR can be used to train human operators and
provide them with augmented reality (AR) interfaces to enhance their performance with robots. We
also provide a first attempt at what could become the basis for a human–robot collaboration testing
framework, specifically for designing and testing factors affecting human–robot collaboration. The
use of XR has the potential to change the way we design and test cobots, and train cobot operators, in
a range of applications: from industry, through healthcare, to space operations.
Análise do impacto das facetas da inteligência emocional (traço) e da confiança nos colegas no desempenho de tarefa
Publication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Rebelo, Teresa
Objetivo – Com base na relevância da inteligência emocional (IE) para prever
o desempenho individual no trabalho, este estudo examina as ligações entre as
facetas da IE (traço), a confiança nos colegas e o desempenho de tarefa em um
trabalho de engenharia de software.
Referencial teórico – Especificamente, este trabalho se baseia no modelo de cascata de
Joseph e Newman para levantar hipóteses sobre o impacto sequencial das facetas de IE
(traço) no desempenho de tarefa. Ele também testa empiricamente o efeito mediador
da confiança nos colegas no vínculo entre a regulação emocional e esta variável critério.
Metodologia – Ele segue um desenho de investigação preditivo com duas fases de
coleta de dados. Na primeira fase, as facetas da IE e a confiança nos colegas foram
respondidas pelos participantes. A segunda fase foi implementada seis meses depois
para coletar as avaliações do desempenho de tarefa dos funcionários facultadas
pelos supervisores diretos. Foi obtida uma amostra final de 102 funcionários que
pertencem a uma única função de engenharia de software.
Resultados – Os resultados das análises de equações estruturais deram suporte ao efeito
sequencial esperado entre as facetas da IE em estudo (i.e., das facetas da avaliação das
emoções dos outros e da avaliação das próprias emoções na faceta de regulação emocional).
Estes também demonstraram que o efeito da regulação emocional no desempenho de
tarefa é inteiramente indireto por meio da variável de confiança nos colegas de trabalho.
Implicações práticas e sociais da pesquisa - Os gestores devem constituir e
desenvolver uma força de trabalho com indivíduos com alta IE (traço), porque
estes serão mais capazes de atingir níveis melhores de desempenho de tarefa, por
meio do desenvolvimento de confiança em relação a seus colegas.
Contribuições – De acordo com o nosso conhecimento, este é o primeiro estudo
que dá enfoque na interação entre as facetas da IE (traço) e a confiança nos colegas
na determinação do desempenho de tarefa no trabalho.
Can employees capitalize upon their role breadth self-efficacy and innovative work behaviour to enhance their prospects of promotion?
Publication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Rebelo, Teresa
By acknowledging the role of assessing employees’ promotability in talent development and retention,
along with the need to improve the understanding about its antecedents, this paper examines the impact
of employees’ role breadth self-efficacy on this criterion. Specifically, it builds upon the integration of
previous theoretical developments regarding the motivational virtues of role breadth self-efficacy at
work, with the core assumptions of Spence’s signalling theory to empirically test whether innovative
work behaviour acts as an underlying mechanism of the link between role breadth self-efficacy and
promotability. Relying upon a time-lagged design with multisource data (employees and respective
supervisors), evidence obtained from a sample of N = 185 software engineers supported the indirect
effect of role breadth self-efficacy on supervisors’ ratings of employees’ promotability, via employees’
innovative work behaviour. The main theoretical and applied contributions of these findings are pre sented and discussed in the context of human resource management.
Unfolding the impact of trait emotional intelligence facets and co-worker trust on task performance
Publication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Rebelo, Teresa
Purpose – Building upon the relevance of emotional intelligence (EI) in predicting
individual performance at work, this research paper examines the links between
trait EI facets, co-worker trust, and task performance in a software engineering job.
Theoretical framework – Specifically, it draws upon the Joseph and Newman
cascading model to hypothesize that trait EI facets impact on task performance in
a sequential way. It also empirically tests the mediating effect of co-worker trust
on the link between emotion regulation and task performance.
Design/methodology/approach – This study follows a predictive design with
two data collection phases. In the first phase EI facets and co-worker trust were
self-rated by the participants. The second phase was implemented after six months
to collect the employees’ task performance ratings from direct supervisors. A final
sample was obtained of 102 employees, all of whom were project software engineers.
Findings – The results from structural equation modelling provided support for the
expected sequential effect between the EI facets under study (from appraisal of others’
and one’s own emotions to emotion regulation). They further showed that the effect of
emotion regulation on task performance is fully indirect and occurs via co-worker trust.
Research Practical & Social implications – Managers should build and develop a
workforce of individuals with high trait EI, since they are more able to achieve stronger
levels of task performance by developing feelings of trust towards their co-workers.
Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to focus
on the interplay between trait EI facets and co-worker trust in determining task
performance at work.
The bandwidth dilemma applied to trait emotional intelligence: comparing the contribution of emotional intelligence factor with its facets for predicting global job satisfaction
Publication . Rodrigues, Nuno; Rebelo, Teresa
Building upon the relevance of emotional intelligence (EI) in influencing key attitudes at work, the current study aimed to
compare the contribution of the trait-EI factor with its specific facets for predicting overall job satisfaction. Relying on a
concurrent design, results from a sample of 228 software engineers from a multi-national firm showed that trait-EI global factor
remained a significant and non-redundant predictor of this attitudinal criterion, even when the big five are also taken into
consideration. Results also revealed that corresponding facets of self-emotions appraisal, other-emotions appraisal, use of
emotion, and regulation of emotion, when residualized (i.e., their factor variance is partialed out), do not outperform the
contribution of the higher-order trait-EI factor and the big five in the prediction of overall job satisfaction. Theoretical and
practical implications of these results are discussed.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
6817 - DCRRNI ID
Funding Award Number
UIDB/05037/2020