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The focus of this research is to investigate if user-generated content (UGC) generated in the Booking platform can support quality management improvement within the hospitality industry by increasing customer satisfaction and eliminating defects more efficiently. Hence, it contributes to understanding how data-driven companies can rely on customer data to focus on innovation and performance improvement to meet customer requirements, eliminate defects and increase customer satisfaction.

Following the literature review, information was collected from the digital platform Booking, encompassing 15 hotel industry companies in Portugal Porto and Braga regions, selected due to their high number of customer reviews. This data was organized and categorized, eliminating all unnecessary information for the research and building an Excel database. The database was subsequently analysed with SPSS and Voyant software, performing statistical analysis, hypothesis testing and text-mining techniques to analyse the comments. After these analyses, applying quality tools allowed for more in-depth conclusions.

The research results highlight that customers' most relevant requirements in the Portuguese hospitality industry are breakfast, parking and a swimming pool. It was also possible to realize that the location is an attractive requirement, the bathroom is a must-be requirement and breakfast is a performance requirement. The results also allowed us to answer the most critical research question: “Is user-generated content a valuable aid to quality?” the answer is yes since it was possible to use the data to find improvements and faults/failures in the services.

The results of this study represent an essential step towards a complete understanding of how to take advantage of UGC within the hospitality industry by establishing a solid base of techniques, methods and quality tools for UGC analysis that can be applied in future research on different industry sectors.

This study aims to explore the conditions of successful implementation of Quality 4.0 in higher education institutions (HEIs) and the key factors affecting it, as well as the role of the Triple Helix collaborative (THC) framework in enhancing the integration of Quality 4.0 principles and Industry 4.0 technologies.

A survey-based strategy was adopted, adopting questionnaires distributed amongst researchers chosen based on their publications related to the aforementioned fields.

The successful integration of disruptive technologies, Quality 4.0 and THC in HEIs heavily relies on educators' continuous learning and professional development. Faculty members must acquire digital skills and competencies to effectively adopt disruptive technologies and implement Quality 4.0 principles in their teaching practices. HEIs should provide opportunities for faculty members to engage in ongoing training programmes, workshops and communities of practice that focus on enhancing their technological proficiencies, pedagogical strategies and collaborative skills.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported study linking the concepts of Quality 4.0 and the Triple Helix of Innovation in HEIs.

This study aims to conduct a pertinent assessment of the concept of business competitiveness and how Portugal can progress in that field, for the sake of becoming a more sustainable and wealth-creator economy.

The research was elaborated with 65 in-depth interviews with expert persons from the Portuguese business ecosystem, who were asked to reflect on the state of the economy and competitiveness of the country.

There is much room for improvement in almost all areas of activity, in particular by promoting an innovative, value-adding and exporting private sector and a lighter and more efficient public sector. The conclusions point to modernisation of the Portuguese economy as a way of making it more competitive in a highly competitive and demanding global scenario.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time that a reflection with experts of the local Portuguese economy has been carried out, especially after a difficult period of COVID.