Editorial

ID: 30599

Authors: Herbert Kimura.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 1-2, May-June, 2014. 2 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Race Relations and Organizational Studies in Brazil

ID: 30600

Authors: Alexandre Reis Rosa.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 240-260, May-June, 2014. 21 page(s).

Keyword: diversity management , organizational studies , race relations

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This theoretical essay discusses the issue of race relations in Brazil and explores its interfaces with studies on diversity management in organizations. Therefore, it seeks to problematize this field's appropriation of American studies, pushing to the background – or even ignoring – studies on race relations developed in Brazilian anthropology and sociology. This questioning helps us realize that organizational studies in Brazil have been displaced in this debate, either by the assumption that our diversity management should follow Anglo-Saxon parameters, or by the distance that the area has maintained from Brazilian studies that address racial minorities and their dynamic relations. The final part of the paper retrieves two important works produced under Brazilian studies on race relations and, from them, examines this debate's contributions to the study of Brazilian organizations. The paper concludes by drawing researchers' attention to the need to rescue the Brazilian debate as a way of contextualizing diversity management in Brazil.

The effect of signaling quality in a service context

ID: 30601

Authors: Gabriela Solalinde, Cristiane Pizzutti.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 261-284, May-June, 2014. 24 page(s).

Keyword: perceived behavior control , price , responsiveness , signaling quality

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Signaling theory states that signals are firms’ actions that communicate information about the quality of a product. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of signal quality in a service context, through the investigation of the signaling effects of price and responsiveness in a service context. Perceived behavior control, regarded as an individual's perception of the ability to perform a behavior, was proposed as a moderator between signaling variables and perceived quality. Two experimental studies with factorial and inter-subject designs were conducted in order to test the hypotheses formulated from the literature review. Results from both experiments show that signaling quality through price and responsiveness can affect perceived quality. The second experiment supports the hypothesis of perceived behavior control moderation between price as a signaling variable and perceived quality, but not between responsiveness and perceived quality. These results and their implications are discussed in the final section of the paper.

Relationships between differentiation strategies, innovation and Management Control Systems

ID: 30602

Authors: Ilse Maria Beuren, Ieda Margarete Oro.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 285-310, May-June, 2014. 26 page(s).

Keyword: differentiation strategy , management control systems , product innovation , textile companies

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between product differentiation strategies, innovation and Management Control System designs, which consist of social network dimensions, innovative organic cultures and formal controls in Brazilian textile companies. The research is characterized as descriptive and was conducted through a survey of a sample of 101 companies associated with the Brazilian Association of Textile Industry. These companies’ managers answered a questionnaire extracted from Chenhall, Kallunki and Silvola (2011). Descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to examine this study's replicated hypotheses. The results show consistent evidence of connections between product differentiation strategies, innovation and MCS design; a relationship confirmed by the use of formal controls and product innovation. However, the research did not confirm that companies which adopt differentiation strategies achieve higher levels of product innovation. Social networks were seen to encourage innovative organic culture, but did not reinforce the relationship with product innovation. The results and conclusions are consistent with Chenhall et al. (2011), except for the relationship between differentiation and innovation, in which no statistical significance was observed.

Motivations for entrepreneurship: necessity versus opportunity?

ID: 30603

Authors: Gláucia Maria Vasconcellos Vale, Victor Silva Corrêa, Renato Francisco dos Reis.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 311-327, May-June, 2014. 17 page(s).

Keyword: entrepreneurship , motivation , necessity , new undertaking , opportunity

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Most research purports to show the prevalence of either need or opportunity as the driving motive for entrepreneurship. Some has suggested that there is no such dichotomy; other motives can interfere, with interaction among them. This paper delves into such matters insofar as it brings to bear a qualitative research associated with a quantitative one, both targeted to identify the motives underlying the genesis of new undertakings. While the first procedure suggests the presence of multiple motives, the second - built from generated references - ratifies the occurrence of such motives. Results suggest that underlying motives bypass the binary conundrum of need versus opportunity and go deeper, in order to include: opportunity, personal attributes, labor markets, job frustration, family pressures, and external influences.

Microfranchising value perception and structural elements

ID: 30604

Authors: Pedro Lucas de Resende Melo, Felipe Mendes Borini, Julio Araujo Carneiro da Cunha.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 328-350, May-June, 2014. 23 page(s).

Keyword: entrepreneurship , franchising , microentrepreneur

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

A microfranchise requires investment of up to R$ 50 mil. There are currently 336 franchise chains operating in this format in Brazil. The importance of this type of business is justified by lower income classes’ increased purchasing power. However, it is a franchise model that has not been extensively studied. The purpose of this article is to identify whether there are differences between conventional franchises and microfranchises related to value perception and structural elements of the franchise system. This means assessing whether conventional franchises differ from microfranchises in regards to franchisees’ perception of support value and perceived brand value. We analyzed 1090 conventional chains and chains which operated through microfranchising using data published during the period 2007-2012. Additionally, we performed three case studies with microfranchisees. OLS regression showed that there are differences in the perception of franchise brand value and but not in the perception of support to the franchisee.

Path Dependence and Path Creation in Volunteer Partners, a non-governmental organization

ID: 30605

Authors: Claudia Bitencourt, Talita Oliveira.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 351-367, May-June, 2014. 17 page(s).

Keyword: critical events , path creation , path dependence

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Path dependence (PD) is not able to satisfactorily explain organizations’ strategic choices. There are some moments in which an organization needs to innovate and seek new solutions. This approach characterizes path creation (PC), apparently in opposition to PD principles. This article aims to analyze critical events and future prospects at the Volunteer Partners NGO, based on PD and PC. Field research was conducted through a case study based on semi-structured interviews with key organization stakeholders, followed by content analysis. The sub-categories analyzed in order to explain PD and PC are, respectively, initial moments, current processes, results and future prospects, social relations, and innovation. The main results indicate that strategic choices are influenced by the organization’s history and future prospects, with a variation of intensity in every project, event and partnership. Thus, regarding PD we highlight organizational history, deliberate strategies, choice patterns and risk of imprisonment. Aspects relevant for analyzing PC included emerging strategies, technical capabilities, engagement and visibility.

Resenha: - Sustentabilidade: O Que É, O Que Não É - (Leonardo Boff - 2012)

ID: 30606

Authors: Jorge Alfredo Cerqueira Streit.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 368-370, May-June, 2014. 3 page(s).

Document type: Book Review (Portuguese)

Resenha: - Handbook de Administração Pública - (César Madureira, Maria Asensio (Orgs.) - )2013

ID: 30607

Authors: Magnus Luiz Emmendoerfer.

Source: Revista de Administração Contemporânea, v. 18, n. 3, p. 371-371, May-June, 2014. 1 page(s).

Document type: Book Review (Portuguese)