RAUSP Revista de Administracao da Universidade de Sao Paulo最新文献

Many factors have been discussed in the literature as the causes for setbacks in the Brazilian ethanol supply chain, such as the low price of petroleum and the high price of sugar in the financial crisis in 2008. However, there is an important gap that was not explored yet, how do drivers choose to refuel their cars? Do the supply chain managers know their consumers? Based on that, this paper aims to demonstrate how the ethanol supply chain stakeholders perceive consumers’ preferences and compare them to the factors that are taken into consideration by Brazilian flexible-fuel vehicles drivers when choosing types of fuel gasoline or ethanol. For that, we illustrated the case by using a sample of announcements collected from Brazilian news media featuring the supply chain managers’ view and the survey taken by drivers to understand the consumer's actions. Our results indicate that there is a significant difference between the actual preferences of fuel consumers and the perceived consumers’ preferences by the stakeholders. This disparity is probably the (or one of the) main cause of the second setback in the Brazilian supply chain (2009–2012). Based on these results we point out the strategic implications in managing this supply chain and also the role of public policy in improving the diffusion of ethanol in Brazil.

The objective of the research described in this paper was to analyse the implications of the merger between Itaú and Unibanco banks on the Intellectual Capital (IC) of the Itaú Unibanco S/A Bank. The methodology comprised a qualitative and quantitative case study, in a descriptive approach, based on interviews (formal and informal) and questionnaires applied to 225 top managers (directors, superintendents, regional managers and commercial general managers) originated from these two banks. The research was complemented with direct observation and documental analysis. The following results were found after the merger: (i) improvements were noted in all analysed indicators on the constituent elements of the IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital), (ii) Itaú Unibanco S/A Bank created, developed and acquired knowledge and know-how, and (iii) these factors influenced corporative IC, supporting improvements in processes, systems, technology, brands, products and mainly in people, corporate image and the relationship of the company with the market, promoting significant financial results.

This research contributes to the understanding of the level of financial education of high school students from public schools, as well as verifying how their financial knowledge has been generated, providing a view of the gaps in financial education with which these students are able to attend undergraduate courses later. The objective of the research was to determine the level of financial education of high school students from public schools, according to individual, demographic and socializing aspects. The research methodology was characterized as descriptive regarding procedures such as survey and the approach of the quantitative nature of the problem. The research population included 4698 high school students from 14 public schools in the city of Blumenau. In the data processing, the Kruskal–Wallis and chi-square tests were used. The results indicate that there is an effective financial education among young high school students, which can be noticed in findings such as: some of the young are not obliged to explain to parents where they are spending their financial resources; students have acquired, largely, their financial knowledge with parents and relatives, and in day-to-day practices, but there is little dialog in the family on financial matters. The financial knowledge coming from the school is low, requiring an improvement in the quality of this knowledge at this stage or in the future, including undergraduate courses. Finally, potential workers may cause social problems through their inability to manage their resources and/or the expenses of their families.

Although the relation between the organizational learning capability, organizational innovation and performance has often been studied, there is little empirical evidence to support this perspective in small and medium-sized enterprises. This study aims at analyzing the influence of organizational learning capability in innovative performance and organizational performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. The research was conducted under the quantitative approach, descriptive and causal, and cross-sectional survey. The sample was composed of 92 enterprises in the textile industry. The data were analyzed through the technique of Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that the organizational learning capability influences the innovative performance of small and medium-sized enterprises, however, the influence of the learning capability in organizational performance was not significant. The study provides evidence for these relations and shows that they are significant and positive in the context of small and medium-sized textile enterprises, context in which the empirical literature is particularly scarce. For future research it is suggested to evaluate contingency factors for innovative and organizational performance. Other studies could analyze the differences in innovation between manufacturing and service sector.

Price policy definition is one of the most important decisions in management as it affects corporate profitability and market competitiveness. Despite the importance that prices take in organizations, it appears that this element has not received proper attention by many academics and marketers since it represents, according to estimates, less than 2% of the papers on leading journals in the field. Thus, the aim of this study was to propose and test a theoretical model showing the impacts of pricing policy on corporate profitability. To this end, 150 companies in the metal-mechanic sector situated in the Northeast of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil were studied, integrating customer value-based pricing strategies, competition-based pricing strategies and cost-based pricing strategies with price levels (high and low) and performance with respect to profitability. The results indicate that the profitability of the surveyed companies is positively affected by value-based pricing strategy and high price levels while it is negatively affected by low price levels. Such findings indicate that pricing policies influence the profitability of organizations and therefore, a more strategic look at the pricing process may constitute one aspect that cannot be overlooked by managers.

Considering the scientific practices related to Research & Development in biotechnology and, based on the assumptions of Actor Network Theory (ANT), this study aimed to describe the main translations that influenced the composition of an actor-networks, reflecting on the organizing practices in a scientific laboratory Research & Development of Northeast Biotechnology Network (Brazil). The methodological procedures were based on the historical approach of biotechnology under study from an ethnographic posture. The composition of the corpus was organized in the form of reports, observing the historical passages. The history of biotechnology has been reported between the plots of design, patenting and commercialization practices, highlighting the creation of heterogeneous actors’ networks. Finally, he emphasized the influence of laboratory scientist's leadership in the way of organizing of scientific practices.

The aim of this study was to evaluate to what extent the similarity of informational status of intra-organizational actors relates to behavioral (knowledge sharing) and structural antecedents (structural holes) in a knowledge-intensive organization. The study was operationalized through the analysis of 462 dyads (22 * (22 − 1)) that comprise social relationships in a development organization of technology for telemedicine. The results indicate that the similarity of independent variables was associated to similarity in informational status, but there is no interaction between them. It is concluded that the equal status can be achieved even when two actors have different bases for its construction, whether through knowledge sharing practices or through structural holes. This conclusion relativizes what is called Matthew effect in status research.

This study aimed to present theoretical categories on the phenomenon of the implementation of performance improvement methods in organizations. The method used was Grounded Theory, following the procedures presented by Strauss and Corbin (2008). In this way, the study was conducted based on the principles of theoretical sampling, and the data collection and analysis were conducted in alternate sequences, and it was composed by 05 (five) sample groups. The theoretical sample was composed of 26 (twenty-six) interviews conducted in 12 (twelve) companies. The participants were managers who have had experience with implementation of assessment and performance improvement methods. Thus, the substantive theory “A phase of change and learning” was built up. It consisted of 09 (nine) categories besides the core category. According to the results, the phenomenon of implementation of performance improvement methods is understood as a phase of change and learning that involves behavioral and structural aspects of the organization. It is concluded that these aspects should be considered from a systemic perspective, in order to integrate structure, technologies, behaviors and processes that are part of the phenomenon of implementation.

Subsidiaries conduct innovation activities in foreign markets either to capture valuable knowledge that is necessary to adapt their products to local markets or to create valuable knowledge for headquarters. For emerging market multinationals, most studies have overlooked the determinants of successful reverse knowledge transfer from subsidiaries located in emerging and developed markets. This paper analyzed the responses of a survey administered to 78 Brazilian multinationals that own subsidiaries in developed and emerging markets. We found that knowledge complexity developed at the subsidiary, its autonomy and embeddedness in the foreign market determine the successful reverse knowledge transfer to headquarters of emerging market multinationals. This paper contributes to previous studies of reverse knowledge transfer by underlying the main drivers for emerging market multinationals.

The aim of this paper is to carry out an empirical investigation into the relationship between innovation and the productive performance of Brazilian businesses measured by Work Productivity and Total Factor Productivity. Data taken from the Research of Innovation and estimated cross section models and panel data was used. The results suggest that innovation produces an incipient impact on competition in the national industry, reflected in the small magnitude of coefficients associated with the diverse indicators of innovation.