VILA REAL
When the number of non-agricultural business firms is considered, the situation
concerning purchase level in view of the LII is 0.32 and of the ELII is 0.40. In what
concerns the activity sector, Agriculture, Public Administration and Personal Services
with a weak LII, and Manufacturing Industry with a moderate ELII, show a similar
behaviour to the whole of the business firms. Energy, Wholesale Commerce and Retail
Commerce (very weak) reached lower values. Construction, Hotels and Restaurants,
Transport and Communications and Banking and Finance (strong and very strong), on
the contrary, registered higher values. The situation regarding the sales level in view of
the LII is 0.60 and of the ELII is 0.71. In what concerns the activity sector, Retail
Commerce and Banking and Finance with a strong LII, and Hotels and Restaurants and
Public Administration with a strong ELII, show a kind of behaviour similar to the whole
of the business firms. Energy, Manufacturing Industry and Transport and
Communications (very weak and weak) present lower values. Construction, Wholesale
Commerce and Personal Services (very strong), on the contrary, register higher values.
In terms of the bivariate analysis, the variables influencing purchase for the whole of the
business firms are the Organization Type and Business Firm Location, regarding both
Zone (A+B) and Zone (A+B+C).When one considers the Retail Commerce sector
separately, one concludes that the variable influencing both Zones integration is the
Business Firm Location. The variables influencing sales for the whole of the business
firms are the Business Firm Size and Business Firm Location, regarding both Zone
(A+B) and Zone (A+B+C). The Respondent’s Origin variable also influences sales
when only Zone (A+B+C) is taken into consideration. When one considers the
Wholesale Commerce sector separately, one concludes that the variables influencing
both Zones integration are the Business Firm Location and the Business Firm Size.
When one considers the Retail Commerce sector separately, one concludes that the
variables influencing both Zones integration are the Business Firm Location and the
Business Firm Size. The Organization Type variable also influences sales when only
Zone (A+B+C) is taken intog consideration. (see tables 8 and 9).
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