RCAAP Repository

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article aims to understand the controversies present from the insertion of a disruptive technology in a new business model, Uber, in the urban mobility market of Belo Horizonte-MG. Originality/value: The actor-network theory allows us to describe innovation as technical and social, as well as to identify the sociomaterialities that enact and multiple realities from controversies in dispute. The proposal is original in investigating how a disruptive innovation is built as a “fact”, accompanying its stabilization processes. Design/methodology/approach: The research was operationalized from the actor-network theory itself, using cartography to follow the actors in their controversies. The data came mainly from newspapers, postings on social networks and legal materials accessed through the internet (from December 2014 to July 2017). For the presentation of the results, the mandala of actors who dispute positions in controversies and the hierarchical tree of the controversies were used. Findings: The arrangement was marked by several controversies that deal with the legitimacy of the application, the labor relations established by the innovation and the quality of the services provided, each supported by different actors, positions and arguments. Four types of technology identified in this arrangement were identified: 1. user technology; 2. service provision; 3. economic issues; and 4. Uber driver. It is understood, therefore, that the technology has multiple dimensions and is enacted of different forms, and that this arrangement has not yet stabilized.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study sought to explore the association between the constructs individual absorptive capacity and entrepreneurial intention in successors of rural properties in a cooperative system. Originality/value: The contribution presented expands the field of entrepreneurship studies and family succession, as well as it brings elements for the management of rural properties. Empirically, the results offer new elements for managers of cooperatives and other similar organizations to formulate strategies to assist in the preparation of the successors’ dilemma. Design/methodology/approach: The design of the adopted method followed a quantitative approach, of descriptive level, of the type survey, and transverse section. The study included 84 successors of rural properties, who were participants in a Skills Development Program for the continuity of young people in the management of properties. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the constructs of individual absorptive capacity and entrepreneurial intention. The statistical analysis used the Kruskal-Wallis with the Dunn post hoc adjusted by the Benjamini-Hochberg FDR method, Spearman correlation, and modeling structural equations with estimation by Partial Least Squares. Findings: The main conclusion of the study suggests that the successors with greater perceived behavioral control assimilate and transform more knowledge with applicability potential in the succession management in rural properties.

ABSTRACT Objective: To propose a theoretical model based on nine drivers of service innovation (organizational culture, strategies, research and development, employees, technological trajectory, institutional trajectory, competitors, consumers, and suppliers) in order to comprehend the phenomenon. Originality/value: Given its recent empowerment and the manufacturing focus it has initially received, service innovation still lacks models that seek to comprehend the phenomenon within an encompassing and particular framework. The originality of this study arises from this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The method consists of a multiple case study. We used semi-structured interviews with strategic hospital managers and documental research with an analysis of accounting balances, organograms, and other documents. We addressed the cases from a systemic perspective in order to permit comparison within the same structure. Results: The model permitted us to recognize that the analyzed hospitals were having difficulty innovating, as shown by some characteristics found through the drivers that were proposed by this study. More specifically, the hospitals follow a unidimensional and outdated concept of innovation; that is, they consider innovation in services to be the adoption of technologies from the industry, as shown by Barras (1986). There are also no strategic innovation programs.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study analyzes the influence of the interactive and the diagnostic use of Management Control Systems (MCS) and slack time on process innovation in incubated companies. Originality/value: Organizational characteristics are associated with processes innovation in organizations with contemporary configuration. The study brings evidence to the contrasting findings of the MCS literature with slack time and process innovation. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted with managers of companies listed on websites of incubators associated with the Associação Nacional de Entidades Promotoras de Empreendimentos Inovadores (National Association of Entities Promoting Innovative Enterprises), obtaining a sample of 106 valid responses. To analyze the data, the Structural Equation Modeling technique was applied to analyze the data. Findings: The results indicated that the interactive use of MCS promotes slack time at work, and the diagnostic use inhibits its creation. However, slack time was not significantly associated with processes innovation, which reveals a dysfunctional role of the slack. The interactive use of MCS had a significant influence on processes innovation. It is concluded that the interactive use prevails when the purpose is to promote processes innovation, as it favors contacts between different hierarchical levels and learning, while the diagnostic use highlights its relevance by inhibiting the creation of slack time, understood as a dysfunction for not leading to processes innovation. This denotes that the interactive and the diagnostic use of MCS are complementary in incubated companies.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The objective of this article is to explain how cognitive conflict happens and what are its contributions to the decision-making processes of management teams in small enterprises (SE). Originality/value: Although SEs are important and numerous, the cognitive conflict in their management team and the strategic decision making of this team are understudied. This article helps to feel this gap with contributions and implications which are helpful for research and practice related to those themes. Design/methodology/approach: The descriptive methodological approach was adopted based on qualitative methods and multicase study (Eisenhardt, 1989). Data were collected with interviews and analyzed within and cross-case procedures, according to Miles and Huberman’s (1994) recommendations. Four cases of SE were studied. Findings: The strategic decision processes were considerably determined by cognitive conflicts. Such conflicts questioned decision possibilities and highlighted aspects related to intuition and improvisation, both normally useful and present in the strategic decision processes of SE. Cognitive conflict inhibits improvisation because its occurrence creates useful questionings in decision making preparation. Those questionings generated deepness in discussion and analysis for decision making in the studied SEs.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper analyzes the publications on the “authentic leadership” construct, based on systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis techniques, and aims to identify and analyze data regarding the chronology of publications, the identification of the most prolific journals and authors, research approaches, and the existence of authentic leadership measurement/assessment tools and its applications, besides analyzing the construction of these tools. Originality/value: Of the 431 articles analyzed, those dealing with reviews of literature do not present bibliometric data associated with the analysis of the construct measurement instruments. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was performed systematically, using the query “authentic leadership” on the Academic Search Premier (Ebsco), Scopus, and Web of Science databases, with no starting date delimitation, with the deadline of December 2018, which resulted in the identification of 1390 articles. After eliminating duplicates and three filters, 431 documents remained for analysis. Findings: Three specific construct measurement/assessment tools were identified: the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI), and the Authentic Leadership Integrated Questionnaire (AL-IQ). There is a predominance of quantitative studies from 2008, with a wide application of ALQ. Instruments of quantitative measurement of authentic leadership did not emerge, only tools that evidence the presence of authenticity of leaders.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The ability of individuals to recognize the value of external, corporate-applicable information is critical to organizational absorptive capacity. This study aims to define and operationalize the recognize the value construct, identify its antecedents and predictive power. Originality/value: It analyzes how this construct occurs at the level of the individual, workgroups and processes, besides indicating its relationship with the other predictors present in the literature. The theoretical bases can be classified by Cohen and Levinthal (1990) and Zahra and George (2002). The first one considers absorptive capacity as a stock of knowledge, the second one, as dynamic capacity. Design/methodology/approach: We adopt the Structural Equation Modeling technique to test a variance model, with four predictors of general recognize the value. We use a non-probabilistic sample consisting of 283 individuals who answered an electronic questionnaire. Findings: The results are satisfactory, as the model shows a 40% prediction power of how recognize the value occurs. The work processes were found to show higher predictive power (β = 0.417), meaning that that processes of recognize the value are enablers of the organizational recognize the value of new information. The other hypotheses were also supported, but with comparatively minor effects. The study is limited to the identification and analysis of the effects of predictors and does not contemplate its consequences, whose research is suggested.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of reward strategies on the success of crowdfunding campaigns. Originality/value: The study contributed to the knowledge of crowdfunding reward strategies. Through a comparative analysis approach, the study demonstrated differences in the effect of tangible, symbolic and collective rewards on the success of crowdfunding campaigns. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs the approach of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to analyze the CF campaigns of catarse.me, a Brazilian crowdfunding platform. Findings: Tangible rewards, such as something special and purchase me, have a positive effect on the success of crowdfunding campaigns. Symbolic and collective rewards, such as collectible tokens, pursuit of pleasure, and top it up, cannot replace the material incentives of tangible rewards. The main findings show the opportunities for combinations of reward strategies on collective fundraising. Based on the study, entrepreneurs are able to plan a reward strategy for crowdfunding campaigns. Results are applicable to reward-based crowdfunding and cannot be generalized to other platforms around the world.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article aims to explain the relationships between sales capabilities, which are split into personal selling and sales force management, both from the manager’s point of view, and financial/customer performance in market-oriented firms. Originality/value: This research is the first that explores in-depth sales capabilities and demonstrated that these capabilities need a previous strategic orientation. It checks different types of performance that can be the result of these two capabilities. We applied the research in to two types of companies, providing a number of contributions to the theory and practice of marketing. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a survey with 223 companies that were divided according to their activities: software/service developers and companies that only offer services in information technology and communication sector. Findings: First, the two sales capabilities (personal and managerial) induce different performance, even when they are influenced by the same strategic orientation. Second, the mediation effect reinforces that sales force management capability is stronger than personal selling capability. Third, in service companies, it is important to develop personal selling capabilities. Lastly, they show that software/service companies present a differentiated behavior of service companies.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The study analyzes the occurrence of learning through expe­rience and the development of collective skills as a result of a program aimed to build a culture of innovation. Originality/value: The study contributes to the theoretical discussion about innovation as a social process of experiential learning. From the practical point of view, it shows that the deliberate application of a method and a process in the construction of the innovation culture stimulates the learning of individual and collective abilities favorable to innovation, as well as behavioral and organizational changes. Design/methodology/approach: Participant observation was used to compile the report, and an ex post facto survey based on in-depth interviews was used to evaluate the results. The analysis was based on the phenomenological semiotics with the support of Atlas.Ti® software in the process of description, reduction and interpretation, to apprehend the awareness of the subjects’ experience. Findings: The following results were obtained: 1. the occurrence of collective learning by the construction of solutions based on the combination of ideas of subjects with different perspectives and abilities, and by the deliberate application of a method and a process; 2. building a new collective sense for innovation, as a constantly moving realization, requiring concrete behavioral changes, and a new look at reality. The study also pointed out that the theoretical approach that considers innovation as a social process of experiential learning contributes to the understanding of how the construction of the innovation culture takes place, and that this is part of the process of building innovation itself.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article aims to describe and analyze the relationship between human resources practices and organizational commitment in a large public urban sanitation company. Originality/value: It has been found that most human resources practices significantly influence organizational commitment, showing that the affective and normative commitment is the most affected and, on a weaker scale, there is the continuance commitment. Design/methodology/approach: The survey was conducted with 349 employees whose formulated hypotheses were verified by multiple regression. Findings: The results indicated a predominance of affective commitment of employees, greater agreement with the practice of human resources associated with benefits and disagreement with the career planning regarding the policies related to the internal selection process, self-development, compensation policy and the promotion process. The multiple regression analysis allowed to confirm the hypotheses postulated, revealing a more significant positive relationship between human resources practices with the types of affective and normative commitment when compared to the continuance commitment. Organizational commitment of the affective type proved to be positively influenced by the human resources practices associated with career planning and benefits, while the commitment of the normative type was positively more induced by the human resources practice related to training and development. Despite the fact that the article revealed results that contribute to the academy, future research must be carried out to improve the relationship between the constructs treated in this study.

ABSTRACT Purpose: We aimed to identify the effects of predictors of work-related well-being in the Brazilian Psychology literature. Originality/value: Researchers have focused on employee well-being to optimize working conditions and work performance in organizations. Despite a long research tradition about well-being, the predictors of employee well-being are not clear in the Brazilian literature. Design/methodology/approach: First, in the literature review, we selected five studies using the descriptor “well-being” in the Brazilian portal of Electronic Journals in Psychology (Periódicos Eletrônicos em Psicologia [PePSIC]) and applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. Next, we compiled those studies’ evidence to perform a meta-analysis using the software Jamovi 0.9.5.12 and the plugin MAJOR Meta-analysis 1.0.0 R. Findings: The prediction of employee well-being - performed by means of intra-individual variables, connections with organizations and labor (O&L), and macro variables - was clear about the positive and negative impacts of variables on well-being. However, further research studies are necessary, especially those in the interface with Administration and other areas, in order to optimize the generalization of the effects we found. In summary, this study contributes to the field of study by presenting preliminary evidence to elaborate high impact, evidence-based policies and practices on people management, including a possible interdisciplinary association between Psychology and Administration.

ABSTRACT Purpose: In this study, the notion of absorptive capacity (AC) and its configurations were adopted as a reference with the general goal of understanding the development stage of processes and routines of the acquisition, transformation and application of knowledge in the context of a public research company. Originality/value: One of the mobilizing factors in the agricultural sector in Brazil is the generation of new products and processes. In this case, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (Embrapa) has played a role, especially in the absorption, internalization and generation of agricultural knowledge and innovations. In its processes, it involves its decentralized units and scientific and technological partners through research and development (R&D) processes. Identifying and systematizing the most effective forms and configurations in processes and routines associated with the dynamic of knowledge appropriation in a diverse and dynamic environment such as Embrapa constitutes a major challenge for scholars. However, recent studies have highlighted the growing diffusion of the debate on the AC construct. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, a case study was conducted involving Embrapa and three of its R&D projects. The study found evidence of intra-organizational and interorganizational alliances, as well as resulting important innovations. Findings: The principal contribution was identifying, in a public research company, the presence of routines and processes similar to those observed in the configurations of AC analyzed in the literature and the consolidation of routines and processes of knowledge absorption at the intra-organizational and interorganizational levels.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the attractiveness of the markets in the inland of Brazil to franchise chains based on the characteristics of institutional environment, referring to the socioeconomic, geographical, and human resources dimensions. Originality/value: Interiorization is a theme that has been hardly explored in franchise chains’ growth strategies. This paper contributes to this debate through the institutional theoretical perspective, contributing to the clarification and ordering of the decision-making factors for the regional expansion of franchises. For regional development, it calls for municipal management to direct actions aimed at socioeconomic development and human resources. Design/methodology/approach: The quantitative method using secondary data - from Brazilian Association of Franchising (Associação Brasileira de Franchising [ABF]), Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers (Associação Brasileira de Shopping Centers [Abrasce]), Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística [IBGE]) and Google Maps - was employed in this study for the analysis of franchise location and for municipalities. The sample comprised 458 municipalities with a populaion of above 50 thousand inhabitants. The statistical techniques used were factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings: The results show that the socioeconomic and human resources factors of the municipalities are essential for the attractiveness of franchises chains to the inland of the country. In turn, the geographical distance of the inland municipality in relation to the state capital did not present adherence to the model as an explanation for the attraction of franchises.

ABSTRACT Purpose: To understand how learning, the constituent elements of strategizing and organizational routines act in the process of product development, from the perspective of dynamic capabilities (DC), in a company of the food sector. Originality/value: To the extent that the learning-practice-routine trinomial is addressed, the results of this research present new and enlightening insights for the understanding of how dynamic capabilities are developed. Additionally, by considering the role of practitioners in the constitution of routines and by identifying how they relate to practices and praxis, evidence advance knowledge on the subject. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative approach through the selection of a company that has worked overtime in the development of new products. The data were collected through non-participant observation, documentary analysis, and narrative interview. Data analysis occurred through narrative analysis. Findings: Through the appropriation of practices and the institutionalization of praxis, the strategic routines are enacted by practitioners, who accumulate and generate learning capable of developing DC. Thus, the learning-practice-routine trinomial allows to reveal how the DC are developed. In addition, the important role that practitioners play in this process was evidenced in the sense that, without them, routines are not enacted and, consequently, there is no development of DC.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article aims to explore how the grounded theory (GT) was used in empirical research in the area of Organizational Studies. GT is a research strategy widely used in Business Administration studies both nationally and internationally. However, studies have little to do with how this research strategy is applied in practice and how researchers deal with difficulties that arise during the research process. Originality/value: This article presents how methodological issues not provided for in the research design proposed by the GT were overcome during the data collection and analysis phases. Design/methodology/approach: The article is based on research that aimed to understand the aging of executive women. In this article, the main codes, categories, and subcategories that emerged during the develop ment of the field research were exposed. In addition, we present the pro gress of theoretical sampling and the use of specific GT techniques, such as the flip-flop technique and the progress of the research question. Findings: As a practical implication, the article contributes to researchers who intend to use the GT, insofar they can take the step by step of using the method, as well as anticipating possible difficulties to be faced in the design of the research.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The objective of this investigation is to analyze the influence of the conspicuous consumption of fast fashion products on Instagram on the identity construction process of female fashion consumers. Originality/value: Filling a gap in the literature relating to conspicuous consumption and identity construction, this investigation analyzes the consumption dynamics, investigating relevant phenomena on a current and relevant online social network: Instagram; and explaining, in an analysis by categories, the continued dissatisfaction of consumers with the goods that drive and determine the dynamics of fast fashion consumption. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology was qualitative, triangulating data from participant observation, interviews, and online focus groups. Eleven women were interviewed, and three focus group sessions were conducted, with a total of sixteen participants. The data were analyzed through content analysis with categories before and subcategories that emerged afterwards. Findings: The findings show the conspicuous consumption of fast fashion products on Instagram as creators of sense, self-concept, and self-image, following and demonstrating the lifestyle of consumers. The satisfaction resulting from people’s approval, the goods used for compliance in social groups, and the continued dissatisfaction with their possession are observed, which drives fast fashion consumption. The constructed identities are presented as contextual, fluid, and fragmented.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The objective of this study was to verify the difference in levels of satisfaction among retirees residing in Brazil and Portugal. Originality/value: The world aging process creates challenges in the sense of providing well-being for those who have decided to retire, considering the importance of this moment in people’s lives. Despite this, there are many gaps in studies on well-being in retirement, especially cross-cultural studies. Design/methodology/approach: This is a cross-sectional, quantitative study involving 1,441 retirees, 997 Brazilians and 444 Portuguese, who responded to the Retirement Satisfaction Inventory (RSI) and sociodemographic issues. For the analyses of the data, we performed multi-group confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency and validity analyses, invariance verification and comparison of latent means of the instrument factors between the two countries. Findings: The results pointed to a consistent instrument structure for the two countries, which made it possible to compare them. There were no significant differences between countries in the factors related to satisfaction with individual resources and social relationships. However, in the third factor of the instrument - satisfaction with collective resources - the participants in Portugal presented a mean significantly higher than the Brazilian participants. At the end, the conclusion of the measure of satisfaction in retirement is concluded, and the differences in public service offerings between Brazil and Portugal are discussed, pointing to the specific needs of the retired population.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper analyses the viability of stock trading as a mechanism to promote corporate governance, addressing its effects on abnormal returns, information, and firm performance. Originality/value: The study indicates that competition among institutional investors is important to raise stock price efficiency. Policies that allow capital inflow, increase in liquidity, and a link between managers’ salaries and stock performance are beneficial to reinforce the stock market efficiency. Design/methodology/approach: Hypotheses testing using panel data regressions of 233 stocks between December 2009 to December 2017 from Thomson Eikon, Economatica and ComDinheiro. Findings: The results indicate that the number of institutional investors is not related to abnormal returns. On the other hand, the number of institutional investors increases the amount of firm-specific information into stock prices, rising stock market price efficiency. This relationship is stronger among the preferred stocks (PN), but this mechanism is still not valid to increase firms’ operational performance. Despite the possible increase in stock price efficiency, the investors cannot adopt such a mechanism to exercise governance if there is no remuneration linked to performance.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This research seeks to identify how entrepreneurs’ personality traits can influence the capital structure of micro and small private businesses in Brazil, which are important for the economic growth and the subsistence of their owners. Originality/value: The study of the behavioral dimension of business decisions can help financial agents to better understand client behavior, including the adoption of mechanisms that identify possible risky or inefficient decisions made by managers based on their personality traits. It can also assist the government and institutions supporting micro and small private businesses in developing strategies to reduce the mortality of such companies. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model involves 19 expected relationships that evaluate the relationships between the optimism, risk tolerance, sense of control (external and internal), attitude towards debt, and entrepreneur gender constructs. The sample includes 625 micro and small entrepreneurs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed. Findings: Results showed that attitude towards debt and gender were the most significant constructs and had a direct influence on the capital structure, while optimism and internal locus of control exerted a negative indirect influence, while risk tolerance had a positive indirect effect. Female managers demonstrated higher optimism and internal locus of control than male managers, but they had a worse attitude towards debt.