Editorial

ID: 17197

Authors: Cesar Gonçalves Neto.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 1-1, May-August, 2001. 1 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Factores determinantes do endividamento: uma análise em painel

ID: 17198

Authors: Susana Jorge, Manuel José da Rocha Armada.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 9-31, May-August, 2001. 23 page(s).

Keyword: capital structure , determinant factors , panel data analysis

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

In this paper we analyse, for some of the largest Portuguese companies, the relevance and validity of several factors considered in the literature as determinants of companies' capital structure (represented by the debt ratio): Size, Growth, Business Risk, Profitability, Assets Composition, Non-Debt Tax Shields, Activity Sector and Ownership Control. Using panel data for the period from 1990 to 1995, we present an empirical study in which we seek to describe the effects that these variables have on companies' debt level in each year of the analysis, trying to identify relationships among the variables, either over time or across companies in the same activity sector. We also analyse the particular effects of each company and each year, that are not included in the explanatory variables of the used models. Although we have reached some results identical to those obtained with other methodologies used at an international level, it is a fact that it did not always happened like that. In our opinion, this was due to the specific characteristics of the companies in our sample and, in general terms, to those of the Portuguese (financial) market.

A influência de valores ambientais e organizacionais sobre a aprendizagem organizacional na indústria alimentícia paranaense

ID: 17199

Authors: Edson Ronaldo Guarido Filho, Clóvis L. Machado-da-Silva.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 33-63, May-August, 2001. 31 page(s).

Keyword: environmental values , institutional context , organizational change , organizational learning , organizational values.

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This study has been carried out to evaluate the influence of environmental and organizational values upon organizational learning in companies of the food industry in the State of Paraná, Brazil. As such this research incorporates cognitive, cultural and institutional aspects into the investigation of the nature of this phenomenon as an articulated process in the social context embracing all organizations. Aiming to differentiate among groups of companies with distinctive institutional contexts of reference, regarding the attributes and values of a constructed learning organization archetype, primary and secondary data were collected and processed by means of cluster and variance analyses. The results indicate that companies who possess institutional reference context at an international level showed higher presence of archetype characteristics, revealing the dynamic of the relationship between the plan of action and institutions, in which organizational learning can be understood as recursively constructed means and results.

Proposta de tipologia sobre alianças estratégicas

ID: 17200

Authors: Vasco Eiriz.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 65-90, May-August, 2001. 26 page(s).

Keyword: co-operation between firms , inter-organizational relationships , strategic alliances , strategic partnerships

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article assumes that strategic alliances are a particular form of co-operation between firms, recognises the need to clarify the concept, and suggests elements of distinction with other forms of co-operation and inter-organizational relationships. Contributing for this effort of clarification, the article discusses and recognises some limitations in the literature on types of strategic alliances, and proposes a new typology of strategic alliances. The typology is based on three domains of cooperation which, in turn, are based on different activities. The empirical study was based on a survey to which replied 133 Portuguese industrial firms which participated in the European Union's Europartenariat programme. The main results of this study suggest that: (1) the studied firms have very positive indicators of co-operation; (2) the intensity of strategic alliances is associated with the firms' size; (3) the global intensity of strategic alliances varies according to each industry; (4) the importance of each type of strategic alliance varies according to each industry; (5) the importance of each type of strategic alliance varies according to the type of partner involved in the other side of the relationship.

Reductionism and complex thinking in ERP systems implementations

ID: 17201

Authors: Thomaz Wood Jr., Miguel Pinto Caldas.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 91-111, May-August, 2001. 21 page(s).

Keyword: modas gerenciais , pensamento complexo , reducionismo , sistemas empresariais

Document type: Article (English) Show Abstract

Este artigo contrasta pensamento complexo e reducionismo em processos amplos de transformação organizacional, focalizando a onda dos Sistemas Empresariais (ERP). Implementações de ERP têm representado imensos investimentos para empresas em todo o mundo nos últimos anos, e têm sido promovidas como panacéias gerenciais. Não surpreende que muitas implementações não atendam tais expectativas. Para aqueles que lidam com mudança organizacional, o fenômeno ERP deve soar desconfortavelmente familiar. Este estudo introduz o fenômeno, apresenta um breve resumo de uma pesquisa exploratória de campo envolvendo 28 experiências de implementação, e discute o conceito de reducionismo no âmbito das implantações de ERP. Argumenta-se que, pela aplicação do pensamento complexo, no lugar do tecno-reducionismo e do reducionismo sistêmico, podem-se abrir novas trilhas para explicar o fenômeno.

Uma escala de mensuração da zona de tolerância de consumidores de serviços

ID: 17202

Authors: Alziro César M. Rodrigues.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 113-134, May-August, 2001. 22 page(s).

Keyword: consumer behavior , service quality , services marketing , zone of tolerance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper presents the results of a research oriented to the development of a scale intended to measure the zone of tolerance extension of services consumers. The results of the analyses demonstrate that the scale presents good levels of reliability and validity, and therefore it seems to measure that construct adequately. In this research it is not the consumer assessment of a service that counts, but its expectations related to the service. In methodological terms, it also interests the problem of the measure related to the choice between a direct measure scale and an indirect measure scale. Therefore, two questionnaire versions were developed and tested, both focusing the extension of the zone of tolerance of service consumers. One version with a indirect scale and another version with a direct scale. The results demonstrate clearly that the scale to measure the zone of tolerance presents good reliability levels and validity. The quite high α-Cronbach coefficients indicate a good internal consistency and they contribute to the convergent validity of the instrument. Besides, the careful construction of the scale, based on an exhaustive exam of the literature about pretests, suggests that our scale instrument presents a good internal validity. The measure scale developed in this research can be adequately used to assess the variations of the extension of consumers zone of tolerance related to a precise aspect or to the whole dimension of a service.

Inserção de um agente indutor da relação universidade-empresa em sistema de inovação fragmentado

ID: 17203

Authors: Marcos Cerqueira Lima, Francisco Lima Cruz Teixeira.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 135-155, May-August, 2001. 21 page(s).

Keyword: IEL , local innovation systems , science and technology policy , university-enterprise relationship

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The objective of this work is to explore the context in which the Instituto Euvaldo Lodi has induced University-Enterprise relations within the local Science and Technology System in Bahia, Brazil, between 1996 and 1998. In order to do so, the authors analyses a few relevant aspects of the Brazilian Innovation System and its Bahia sub-system. Such analysis takes into account three basic points of view: that of the productive sector (i.e., how the intra-firm work is organized and how inter-firm exchanges affect the system), that of the State (financial support and public policies) and that of the research and higher education institutions. Against this background, the authors describes the IEL programs for bridging university knowl-edge and entrepreneurial practice in Bahia, aiming at creating better conditions for technological innovation. Among the main conclusions of this dissertation is the realization that, in spite of the limited potential of innovation in technologically fragmented environments, the bridging work of agents such as IEL may promote specific interactions between enterprises and universities, creating an environment in which information exchange, cooperative projects and consulting activities may be stimulated.

O discurso e a prática: o que nos dizem os especialistas e o que nos mostram as práticas das empresas sobre os modelos de gestão de recursos humanos

ID: 17204

Authors: Beatriz Maria Braga Lacombe, Maria José Tonelli.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 157-174, May-August, 2001. 18 page(s).

Keyword: human resource management for competitive advantage , people management models , strategic human resource management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The globalization of markets has put enterprises under a lot of pressure to increase their competitiveness and human resource management has been greatly impacted by such changes. The main objective of this paper is to compare some of the results obtained in a research project conducted with 100 enterprises in the Great São Paulo area, Brazil, as well as the ideas voiced by 14 experts (academics and consultants) from all over the country, about what defines and which are the main functions of the human resources area, with the concepts and trends most discussed in the national and international literature. The main interest of this work is to verify the existence of a gap between discourse and practice. The research data suggest the formation of three groups of enterprises: (1) those who still maintain an operational approach to the human resources area; (2) those that adopt a strategic approach and (3) those who get closer to the management for competitiveness approach. The study also shows great diversity among the experts thinking, which enhances even further, in our opinion, the found heterogeneity of the human resources practices.

Carga de trabalho e rotatividade na função de frentista

ID: 17205

Authors: Mário César Ferreira, Odaléa Novais Freire.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 175-200, May-August, 2001. 26 page(s).

Keyword: ergonomics , public customer service , turnover , work load

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The article approaches the interrelation between work load and systematic turnover in a social-technical scenario of a gas station public customer service. The Francophonic focus on the study of this theme articulates three complementary analytical dimensions: public attendance service; discrepancy between prescribed task - real work; and the physical, cognitive and psychic compounds of the work load. The results suggest a preliminary understanding of turnover, which contrasts to the institutional argument of the worker's non adaptability, emphasizes the multifunctional role of the employee and the cognitive overload required to the execution of the function.

Evolução da cadeia de suprimentos da indústria automobilística no Brasil

ID: 17206

Authors: Luis Felipe Roriz Scavarda, Sílvio Hamacher.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 201-219, May-August, 2001. 19 page(s).

Keyword: automotive industry , globalization , supply chain

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The paper describes, characterizes and analyses the effects of the transnational companies' global strategies on the evolution of the automotive industry's supply chain. In order to achieve this goal, it analyses the evolution of this chain with the help of statistic data provided by the Brazilian associations for vehicle manufacturers and for the auto-part industry under the theoretical frame of reference of supply chain management and taking into consideration the present state of the global production mechanism. It will be shown that this evolution embraces periods that the chain presented a high level of nationalization of its products and projects, while in other periods this level was only partial or almost null. In the context of the changes during the 90´s, the paper examines the ways global strategies, like global sourcing, follow sourcing, carry over, and the adoption of global platforms are acting on the operation of the automotive assemblers and the auto-parts industry in Brazil, and on the relevance of this country in the global supply chain.

Researching privatisation: some notes about public policy evaluation

ID: 17207

Authors: Luciana de Oliveira Miranda Gomes.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 221-239, May-August, 2001. 19 page(s).

Keyword: privatisation , public policy evaluation , theoretical framework

Document type: Article (English) Show Abstract

The objective of this paper is to present a literature review about public policy evaluation, with specific reference to privatisation. The basic research goal - still in process - is to evaluate the purpose and reach of public policy objectives relating to privatisation, particularly in relation to their socio-economic outcomes at regional and community levels. In order to achieve this objective, the author discusses some approaches to privatisation produces in United Kingdom over the last ten years. Indeed, she presents some key concepts that underline her reflections and submits some key methodologies about researching public policy evaluation. Finally, the author presents the gap in this theoretical framework discussing that public policy evaluation does not contemplate the social environment in which this policy should be directed. In this way, she proposes further research that will contribute to improving state of the art about public policy evaluation.

Sobre os autores

ID: 17208

Authors: Revista de Administração Contemporânea.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 5, n. 2, p. 241-246, May-August, 2001. 6 page(s).

Document type: Other (Portuguese)