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Context: there is little empirical evidence of the relationship between the implementation of lean techniques (such as the pull system) and their real effect on supply chain performance. Objective: the purpose of this paper is to describe the process of implementing the pull production logic in the supply chain, reporting the historical evolution of indicators, such as inventory levels and lead times over 23 months of intervention. Methods: an action research project was carried out describing chain intervention steps in 2017-2019, divided into phases as follows: planning, data collection, implementation of the action, analysis and evaluation of the results. Results: the main contribution was to demonstrate that the production shift from push to pull had a positive impact on lead time, inventory, and planning routines indicators. Inventory levels were reduced by more than 30% and lead times were down approximately 40%. In addition, sales forecast assertiveness increased. Conclusion: this paper may provide a reference for organizations that want to make similar changes in their supply chains and significantly change the planning routine of their suppliers and distributors by implementing the pull logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: recently, the strategy as practice approach has sought to overcome the micro/macro dichotomy existing in its literature, as well as to better integrate the dimensions of praxis, practice and practitioner. To fill this gap, the aim of the paper is to discuss potential methods to guide empirical studies of strategy as practice (SAP). Method: the paper proposes a method based on an extensive literature review. Phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and narratives are discussed, and their components are presented in the context of strategy as practice studies. Results: the presented method articulates four approaches. Phenomenology is used to enhance the understanding of strategist experiences. Grounded theory is considered a method to develop theories about the studied phenomenon. Ethnography is used to contextualize the daily practices of strategists. Narratives are the path to access the stories of the strategists. Conclusion: the proposed method may be useful to overcome micro/macro dichotomy existing in strategy as practice literature and to integrate praxis, practice and practitioner dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic fraud committed by higher education students is a problem with institutional and social ramifications, with undesired effects on labor market efficiency and compromising societal trust in organizations, and is especially serious for future managers. This paper studies the attitudes business and economics students have towards academic fraud, their perceptions of the frequency and gravity of the various types of fraud by committed by fellow students, and their opinions on factors that motivate or inhibit it. The paper proposes a new four-dimensional framework for analyzing fraud and proposes two new indicators to evaluate predisposition to commit fraud (PCF) and to evaluate predisposition to denounce fraud (PDF). Empirically, 1,276 students from Portuguese universities were surveyed using a new projective questionnaire, which was answered in person in the classroom. Results show that the highest incidence of fraud is associated with written exam assessment and that denunciation is almost non-existent. Buying and selling academic work is seen as the most condemnable fraudulent behavior. Higher PCF is found among the worst students and those less committed to their course or university. The primary reason for ethical misconduct is related to academic achievement and the main factor preventing it is dissuasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a literature review of word-of-mouth communication, a theoretical framework is proposed and tested, in which word-of-mouth (WOM) is considered the main construct, satisfaction and loyalty are the antecedents and WOM valence (i.e., positive, negative and mixed) is the moderator. This theoretical model is tested using data obtained from a meta-analysis. After reviewing 664 studies, a total of 90 are submitted to the analyses, since they have the relationships of interest and the required statistics (i.e., correlations between constructs or statistics for group differences). The analyzed subset of studies produced 119 independent samples and 36,673 respondents. The results showed a significant association of satisfaction and loyalty with WOM. More specifically, WOM valence introduced a significant moderating effect. This moderating effect is proposed in this paper as the following empirical generalization: considering satisfaction and loyalty as correlates of WOM, satisfaction is the variable that has a stronger relationship with positive WOM, while loyalty is the one that is more closely associated with negative WOM, which might be expressed as SAT→WOM(+), LEA→WOM(-). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men and women have been historically embedded in differentiated social networks. The female trajectory has been conditioned by the presence of strong ties. Such circumstances may have led to peculiar repercussions on women's roles as entrepreneurs. Despite their relevance, studies piecing together gender, entrepreneurship, embeddedness and social networks are relatively new. This paper, drawing on both theoretical insights and quantitative empirical research, attempts to shed light on the phenomenon of female entrepreneurship as it stands against male entrepreneurship. The results suggest that both women and men are embedded in different social networks, and that each of them use their ties in a different way, in so far as their businesses creation goes. Women are relatively more prone to using closer ties to gather information and support. This article offers four contributions. First, at the theoretical level, some new insights offered on the universality versus peculiarities of entrepreneurial behavior. Contributions are also offered, on methodological grounds, including the use of some indicators of embeddedness to analyze and compare the two entrepreneurial groups. At the practical level, by revealing some little-known aspects of the feminine entrepreneurial dynamic, it provides ideas for the formulation of public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the limits of the unidisciplinary approach to public administration and organizational studies and the development of the inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary approaches in the field. The adopted methodological strategy is structured in two stages. The first consists of a theoretical analysis of the subject in which discipline is conceptualized, the advantages and the limitations of uni-, inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary approaches are theoretically explored, and an analysis of the fields of public administration and organizational studies is carried out. The second stage consists of an empirical study in which the advantages and the limitations of the uni-, inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary approaches are investigated. The empirical study is conducted in the divisions of Public Administration and Social Management, and Organizational Studies of the National Association of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Admnistration Meeting (EnANPAD). It can be concluded that these EnANPAD divisions prioritize, with some difficulty, the unidisciplinary approach, and present interand multidisciplinary approaches without systematization. Thus, the divisions are unable to benefit from possibilities or overcome limitations of the various approaches to disciplinarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]