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This article sought to analyze the historical evolution, the composition, and the determinants of debt specialization of Brazilian firms traded on Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (B3) from 2004 to 2019 in aggregate terms and in accordance with their financial constraints. This paper differs from the few studies on this topic carried out in Brazil and in other countries by promoting a discussion on the specialization of the debt structure in a context of financial constraints, as they are a relevant idiosyncrasy of emerging markets, such as in Brazil. The relevance of the study is to identify that debt specialization is a feature of only of financially constrained firms and not of the financially unconstrained ones. The impact of the study lies in a better understanding of why Brazilian firms are reducing their debt specialization, unlike other international evidences, such as the U.S. Descriptive statistics and regressions were estimated using the probit and tobit methods for 246 Brazilian firms between 2004 and 2019. The main result is that financial constrained firms are more likely to specialize their debt structure. Despite this propensity, these companies were the ones that most decreased their debt specialization between 2004 and 2019 (-27.77%), compared to the general sample (-27.5%) and unconstrained firms (-19.48%), revealing a behavior contrary to the U.S. scenario in which companies are increasingly specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the influence of agglomeration and spatial sorting on wages in Brazilian cities. The empirical strategy is based on a two‐step estimation. The first step estimates a wage equation with the observed characteristics of workers and firms and location effects. The second step decomposes the location effects into employment density and fixed effects of firm and worker. We estimate an urban wage premium for a developing country with the simultaneous inclusion of worker and firm fixed effects, instrumental variables, and nighttime lights. We find agglomeration effects of 4.3–5.7%, which are larger than those obtained for developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Junior enterprises have been gaining increasing attention in the Brazilian Higher Education Institutions. In addition, these companies are contributing to enhance the training of future professionals. Improvements in future professionals' training must consider education for sustainability. In this context, this paper aims to critically analyze the role of junior enterprises in the training of undergraduate students in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Design/methodology/approach: To discuss the ways for junior enterprises to contribute to students' training with a higher alignment with sustainable development, it is necessary to know the routine of their activities well. Therefore, the strategy used in this research was to use the Delphi process with students who participated/participate in this kind of extracurricular activity in their institutions and are familiar with the SDGs disseminated by the United Nations. Findings: From the rounds of Delphi method debates, eight items were listed and presented an agreement greater than 50% of the participants. Illustratively, three of them are cited here: most participants understand that some current metrics used by junior enterprises require greater alignment with the SDGs; most participants agree that junior enterprises need to better monitor the results of their postexecution projects because in general beneficial impacts on sustainability are observed in the long term; and most of the participants understand that the actions developed by junior enterprises are aligned with corporate sustainability and conscious capitalism. Originality/value: The contribution of junior enterprises to the promotion of sustainability education is practically not addressed in the literature. The findings presented here, resulting from the Delphi process, can greatly contribute for junior enterprises to rethink their actions to better prepare future professionals to act toward sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accounting area, like other professions, has been impacted by the so-called fourth industrial revolution, linked to technological evolution. Given this scenario, it is necessary to constantly update accounting professionals, considering that new technological innovations are presented in the area all the time, impacting work processes and accounting businesses. The objective of this study is to analyze the skills required for the accounting professional in the face of digital transformation in an accounting sector of a family holding company, located in the south of Brazil, which is undergoing an internal restructuring of migration of processes carried out on paper to digital. (cloud accounting). The research is classified as qualitative and descriptive. Interviews were conducted with 7 professionals from the company's accounting area and observations were made from January/2022 to September/2022. The results obtained show that the holding company's respondents have the skills to act in the digital transformation in accounting, with the most demanded skills being communication and digital accounting and the least developed being those of conduct and administration and information management. This study contributes to the understanding of accounting professionals about the skills necessary for the performance of the accounting professional in the digital transformation, seen from the perspective of accountants in the accounting sector of a family holding company, the relationship between the required and required skills and accounting in the cloud (cloud accounting). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to investigate the relationship between the level of debt structure heterogeneity and the cost of debt of publicly and privately held Brazilian companies in the period from 2020 to 2019. Debt structure heterogeneity is a relatively recent topic in the financial literature related to capital structure. As far as is known, the direct relationship between debt heterogeneity and the cost of debt has not yet been addressed in previous studies in the national and international literature. Research that broadens the knowledge regarding factors that attenuate the cost of debt is pertinent, especially in a context such as that of Brazil, in which high funding cost spreads end up compromising the economic viability of many projects and, consequently, the capacity for companies to generate value. The research results have impacts over the financial decision-making process, given the association identified between heterogeneity and debt cost, leading to reflections on the definition of a company's capital structure. Thus, it is closely related with firm value, whose maximization is the object of interest of managers and shareholders. Panel data regression models were estimated in which the dependent variable is represented by the cost of debt and the explanatory variables are represented by the heterogeneity level of companies' debt structure, which in turn is represented by two different proxies, aiming to give greater robustness to the results. The results are original and highlight the role of the debt structure in reducing the cost of debt. It is verified that the greater the debt heterogeneity, the lower companies' cost of debt. This relationship is even more intense for companies that are more susceptible to high agency costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyze whether Brazilian companies listed on the Brasil, Bolsa and Balcão (B3) with greater market power are more tax aggressive. The gap in this research arose from the absence of empirical evidence on the relations between the market power of companies and their tax aggressiveness, when operating in a developing market, and in a country with a code law legal structure. This paper contributes to filling this gap by studying this relation through multiple linear regression and quantile regression analysis. The results indicate that, in Brazil, the greater the company's market power, the more aggressive its tax planning is, when comparted to the industry median. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on whether there would be a factual and legal space for the application of compliance measures in the scope of micro and small businesses. The dissemination in Brazil of measures of corporate non-corruption and intention of a culture of integrity has been more strongly affecting the field of business organizations of greater structural and economic importance. One possible explanation is the fact that the main corruptive business scandals in Brazil, brought to wide public knowledge, have been left over in the locations of large business societies. Thus, there emerged an unconscious ideal of complexibility of compliance measures, in a harmful relation of their impact on the environment of smaller companies, facing greater difficulties, among them financial and structural. Factual and legal support, explained in the article, reflect the very essence of what compliance is and say about its possible application compatibility to less significant companies. Also reflected are the underlying effects of this compatibility relationship, which are Development and new business legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Organizations have published corporate social responsibility reports aimed at spreading their social responsibility. In this sense, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) develops structured models of sustainability reports that help organizations design and disseminate them. The objective of this paper is to analyze the evolution of GRI adherence and the quality of CSR reports provided by Brazilian organizations. Methodology: The data for all the Brazilian organizations that adhered to the GRI, in the period 2000-2017, were collected for a total of 461 organizations and 2,142 observations. Descriptive analyses and tests for the difference in proportions have been processed. Results: The results show that there was a significant increase in the number of Brazilian organizations that joined GRI, with an average annual growth of around 48%. Business organizations are the ones that most publicize social action by GRI, although there are also organizations of other nature. There is a strong predominance of large companies. About the quality of information, it is perceived that about 90% of the statements already follow GRI guidelines, and more than half are not yet subject to an external audit. Although slight, there has been observed a breakthrough in the disclosure of reports that integrate financial and social information. Contributions of the Study: The study about CSR report disclosure in GRI format provides to academic community information on how this disclosure tool has been deemed relevant by business organizations or not in Brazil. The work provides additional contribution by presenting a detailed analysis of the evolution of GRI reporting disclosure by Brazilian organizations. In addition, the study contributes by pointing out that GRI has been established as an important channel for the dissemination of information on social actions and sustainability for Brazilian organizations. Regarding the academic point of view, the research collaborates in advancing the studies related to voluntary disclosure and in deepening the analysis of the quality of GRI reports drafted by organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposed a scale for identifying network archetypes testing it in the production and marketing structure of cassava gum to determine whether the dominant archetype is in the Community, Consortium, Federation or Hierarchy pattern. Also, it verified the relations of cooperation and competition within the network, identifying the dynamics of coopetition, as the hybrid behavior characteristic of the inter-organizational networks. The methodology was quantitative descriptive, being exploratory research that used data collected with a sample of 59 companies participating in the productive sector of cassava gum in the region of Campina Grande - PB, Brazil. The evidence found allows us to conclude that in the analyzed network the community pattern prevails, with few links between the participants, domain of some organizations, and a typology of competition- based coopetition relations. Besides, the proposed method proved useful for the evaluation of these archetypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This research paper identifies and quantifies the main criteria that define Corporate Sustainability (CS) based on data from large Brazilian companies participating in B3 (Brasil , Bolsa , Balcão), the Brazilian stock exchange. The data is derived from the 2015/2016 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) report. Initially, we applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on a sample comprised of sixty companies. Then, we organized and classified the scores for each criterion. Doing so, we are able to create a list of eighteen preponderant CS criteria, with respective components and dimensions. This list can be used as a reference for academic or practitioner studies. Notwithstanding, the main contribution of the present research is to unveil the inefficiency with which the social dimension is managed on CS issues. This gap related to the difficulties of assess and valuate social actions invites new studies on the way these aspects are being addressed on corporate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world where companies have major influence over the economy, politics, and environment, they must be held accountable for their actions. With this in mind, the publication of sustainability reports is in a company’s best interest, since the disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable practices can bring enormous advantages, largely related to a company’s image. The amount of information presented in sustainability reports turns them into valuable sources for research data, allowing analyses related to CSR and management practices, stakeholder relations, language used, among others. However, there is no a paper in the literature that analyzes theses information jointly for the Brazilian companies, and then we decided to explore this theme. This research aimed to identify advances and gaps of CSR practices performed by Brazil companies, through the analysis of 30 sustainability reports published between 2014 and 2015. The main findings indicate that, in general, the analyzed companies are experienced in sustainability reporting; however, there is still room for improvements, including a better mapping and reporting of practices involving the integration of CSR to organizational structure, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is associated with the idea that every organization should integrate environmental, economic and social issues as part of their organizational philosophy. In companies with a higher degree of development in terms of CSR, sustainable practices are integrated into management systems. When focusing on Latin America, this integration may be at its first steps, but there is a vacuum in the literature in this field. Based on this reality, this paper aims to evaluate the integration between CSR practices and management systems in companies in Brazil based on experts’ perceptions. Employing a conceptual model covering how stakeholder demands are incorporated in organizational practices using a continuous improvement approach, we performed a survey with experts in the area. Results revealed opportunities for improvements in all CSR practices evaluated, most of which were considered by the experts to have been implemented only superficially. In a comparative analysis, two practices stood out in relation to the others: reporting of CSR results to stakeholders and evaluation of the performance of CSR activities using pre-established indicators. Practices associated with planning of CSR activities are the most superficially implemented, adversely affecting CSR performance. The authors believe that the findings of this study could be useful for business managers and academics as guidance towards improved CSR efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper tackles the question whether firms in a middle-wage country offshore production to save labor costs or if they onshore tasks that were offshored from high-wage countries. To distinguish which is the empirically more relevant case, I analyze the effect of importing intermediate inputs on the labor composition using matched employer–employee data and information on trade transactions from the universe of Brazilian firms. Propensity score matching indicates that an intermediate import expansion at the extensive margin leads to employment growth, higher intensities in routine and non-routine manual tasks and an increased share of intermediates exports. These findings thus point out that Brazil's intermediate imports predominantly represent onshored tasks. This result holds regardless of whether intermediate imports from high- or low-wage countries are considered. In line with theoretical considerations, the data show that Brazil's comparative advantage is in medium-complex and routine manual intensive production stages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As a derivative of Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM), classification RBM (ClassRBM) has been an effective classifier. However, there are still many disadvantages in training ClassRBM. For example, the prediction accuracy with the generative objective function (GenF) is not high, and the training process with the discriminative objective function (DisF) and the hybrid RBM (HDRBM) are time-consuming. In this paper, we propose an alternate method between Generative Objective and Discriminative Objective (ANGD) to train ClassRBM after examining the training process of GenF and DisF. At each iteration step of ANGD, the parameters of ClassRBM are firstly updated by maximizing GenF when the training accuracy can be improved, then modified by maximizing DisF. This process is repeated until some stop criterion is met. ANGD achieves a good prediction accuracy with a relatively less training cost because it utilizes the complementation of GenF and DisF. The comparative experiments on five datasets show that ANGD beats GenF, DisF and HDRBM. As a whole, the accuracy of ANGD is the best and the stability is acceptable, and the training cost of ANGD is also the best on the datasets with a large size. The training efficiency of ANGD is the best among the four methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some countries admit the presence of pacts that allow to change the relations and balance of power control exercised by the shareholders. Known as shareholder agreements, these pacts are contracts between two or more partners whose goal is to agree on the direction of the relationship between its members. Empirical results suggest that shareholder' agreements play an important role in low legal protection markets because they inhibit the ability of the majority shareholder to extract benefits in detriment of minority shareholder. This paper aims to analyze the effect of shareholders' agreements in the market value of Brazilian companies from 1999 to 2013. The sample is composed by 472 companies, including 86 companies with shareholder' agreements. The empirical strategy comprises the fixed effects method on a panel data model. The results show that the effect on firm value is positive as the degree of protection of minority shareholders is higher. However, the regressions tested with the indirect ownership structure have not been able to provide evidence to that effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present how silence has been studied by management researchers or by those of related fields (e.g., Organizational Psychology or Organizational Communication). It is important to study silence in organizations due to its pervasiveness and various consequences for employees (e.g., stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, and cognitive dissonance), for organizations (e.g., absenteeism, higher levels of turnover, and lower levels of productivity), and for the society (e.g., no reporting of illegal or unethical behavior by organizations). A bibliographical research is carried on based on Brinsfield, Edwards e Greenberg's (2009) waves of research of voice and silence in organizations, focusing on silence. From the first wave (1970-1980) it is presented the Spirals of Silence and the MUM Effect. From the second wave (1980-2000) it is presented the whistleblowing, principled organizational dissent, organizational justice, issue selling, organizational citizenship, and the deaf-ear syndrome. From the third wave (from 2000 onwards) it is presented the organizational silence, employee silence, job withdrawal, and organizational learning and knowledge transfer. The research, especially in the case of the third wave, has evolved from conceptual and qualitative research designs to a more quantitative approach, what has been questioned by some researchers calling for the need of theoretical and methodological approaches beyond the positivist conception of most papers. The Brazilian research on silence, despite its small volume, contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon as it fits into the current agenda, seeking to build bridges between the knowledge obtained abroad and its relationship with the local culture (case of the whistleblowing), questioning the one-sided approach on a certain topic (case of the organizational silence) or trying to understand the silence as a necessary pause to understanding and learning. Finally, other bibliographical studies about silence may be carried on considering other Latin languages, as well as the Brazilian research may take into account the local culture and its characteristics to develop new studies on the subject, considering also other theoretical and methodological approaches to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underpricing is a strategy used by companies in IPOs - initial public offerings to attract new investors and increase the liquidity of the new shares. This paper aims to identify whether Brazilian companies that went public between 2002 and 2007 adopted the strategy of underpricing, providing positive returns in the short, medium and long term to investors. The sample was composed of 82 companies that listed in any of Differentiated Levels of Corporate Governance (DLCG) of BM&FBovespa. The analysis was performed for the entire sample, per segment of corporate governance and per year of IPO using the technique ANOVA. As a proxy for stock performance were used Initial Returns (IR), Abnormal Return (AR), Buy-and-Hold Market-Adjusted Returns (BHAR), Monthly Average Market-Adjusted (MMAR) and Market Value / Book Value (VM / VP). It was found that Brazilian companies that listed during the study period were used in the strategy of underpricing (5.79% depreciation on average), they had a negative stock performance in the long run, but there were no statistically significant differences between the different levels of governance and the years analyzed. The main contribution of this paper to show that IPOs represent traps for uninformed investors who buy the shares at a price below fair value (with underpricing), but instead of selling them in the short term, adopt a mistaken strategy of waiting for the increase in share value over the long term, which does not occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new global economic order is creating an inflection point in the global economy. BRIC countries have experienced a shift in global wealth, resulting in an increase in their economic and political clout on a global scale. Reflecting these recent trends and changes, the Brazilian economy was ranked 6th in the world in 2012. Companies doing business in Brazil need to understand the nature of its economy and design strategies and policies to maximize their earnings in the Brazilian market. Brazil's booming oil & gas industries, agribusiness, services, and manufacturing industries offer a high potential for companies willing to face Brazil's many challenges, such as shortages of qualified labor force, and high taxes. Brazil's booming middle class also poses a number of challenges for companies that need to tailor their offerings to a young and evolving middle class. At the same time, Brazil is also building a sophisticated and vibrant middle class that will increasingly demand products and services that resemble offerings found in traditional developed markets. Still, market efficiency and productivity enhancers will have to be addressed in order to make the Brazilian economy more competitive. This paper addresses Brazil's core issues permeating its quest towards sustainable growth. The paper addresses the different dimensions of Brazil's economic and social environments, paying heed to recent developments and driving forces shaping Brazil's economy and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyzed the distribution, methodological procedures, evolution and the thematic of scientific publications about decision-making in accounting, as well as its authors In the time horizon analyzed (between 1998 and 2011), we focused on the main international accounting journals where we identified 63 papers on decision-making in accounting. We made a bibliographic and bibliometric research in these 63 articles that were written by 125 authors, linked to 123 universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper analyzes the exchange rate exposure of a sample of non-financial Brazilian companies from 1999 to 2009. The results confirm the importance of using nonlinear models to address companies'' exchange rate exposure. The results indicate that when compared to the linear model commonly used in literature, the nonlinear model leads to an increase in the number of firms exposed to exchange rate fluctuations, which allows a more accurate analysis of the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on the value of firms. In addition, the paper shows that exporters and companies that hold foreign currency denominated debt are more likely to be exposed to exchange rate fluctuations and that the nonlinearity of companies'' foreign exchange exposure is associated with the use of foreign currency derivatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper addresses neglected questions about the long-term co-evolution of capabilities and networks at the heart of latecomer innovation systems, examining the case of Petrobras, the Brazilian oil company between the late-1960s and the early-2000s. The paper demonstrates the existence of accumulative, non-recursive, and self-reinforcing relationship between capabilities and networks. The firm’s capabilities at a particular time enabled and constrained the forms of networks that were possible, while increases in capabilities functioned as “entry tickets” to participate in new network forms. In turn, knowledge networks at any time helped to consolidate emerging levels of capabilities, and also reach higher capability margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to discuss the incorporation of environmental criteria into product development, highlighting the contributions of human resource management factors. The literature review is complemented by two case studies carried out in Brazilian companies. It is possible to conclude that the more environmentally-friendly products are developed with excellence, the more this type of product development interacts with human resource management factors. Finally, the main ways for continuing the analysis of this paper are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to determine whether the internationalization of a company's operations has an impact on its management control systems. Using the case study methodology, the paper analyzes eight cases of Brazilian companies with international activities. The research was guided by the premise that, as the geographical scope of a company's operations enlarges, its administrative complexity also grows--demanding the adoption of new and more sophisticated controls systems. The literature on management control (see Anthony & Govindarajan, 1998; Dyment, 1987; Gomes and Amat, 2001; Merchant, 1998; among others) provides a relatively similar treatment to the subject of management control of internationalized companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses profitability-liquidity relationships on accounting and market levels for 872 shares of publicly-traded Brazilian companies, observed between 1994 and 2013. On the market level, the assumption is that share liquidity is able to reduce some of the risks incurred by investors, making them more willing to pay a higher price for liquid shares, which would lower expected market returns. On the accounting level, the basic hypothesis argues that a firm's holding more liquid assets is related to a conservative investment policy, possibly reducing accounting returns for shareholders. Under the assumption of financial constraint, however, more accounting liquidity would allow positive net present value investments to be carried out, increasing future accounting returns, which would positively affect market liquidity and share prices in an efficient market, resulting in a lower market risk/expected return premium. Under the assumption of no financial constraint, however, more accounting liquidity would only represent a carry cost, compromising future accounting returns, which would adversely affect market liquidity and share prices and result in a higher market risk/expected return premium. Among the hypotheses, the presence of a negative market liquidity premium was verified in Brazil, with shares that traded more exhibiting a higher expected market return. On the margins of the major theories on the subject, only two negative relationships between excess accounting liquidity and market liquidity and accounting return, supporting the carry cost assumption for financially unconstrained firms, were verified. In terms of this paper's contributions, there is the analysis, unprecedented in Brazil as far as is known, of the relationship between liquidity and return on market and accounting levels, considering the financial constraint hypothesis to which the firms are subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interorganizational collaborative relationships represent potential sources of competitive advantage, especially in the context of critical processes management in supply chains. Collaboration between companies can be critical to minimize the risk of opportunistic behavior between partners and to influence the optimal use of complementary resources between economic agents. The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of the relationship between supply chain collaboration and competitive performance, evaluating the effect of information systems and technology as moderators of the relationship between collaboration and performance. Using structural equation modeling to analyze data from a sample of 368 Brazilian companies, it was found that collaboration positively influences the company's competitive performance and information systems and technologies act as moderators in the relationship between collaboration and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to test a new conceptual model based on the relationship between quality management (QM), environmental management maturity (EMM), adoption of external practices of green supply chain management (GSCM) (green purchasing and collaboration with customers) and green performance (GP) with data from 95 Brazilian firms with ISO 14001. To our knowledge, such links and relationships are not simultaneously identified and tested in the literature. The results indicate the validation of all of the research hypotheses. This paper highlights that an improvement in green performance will require attention to quality management, environmental management maturity, and green supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies in literature discuss the drivers to implementing environmental management systems and some of them appraise the characteristics of companies that are implementing these systems and related practices. The goal of this paper is to characterize groups of Brazilian companies with similarities in terms of their adopted environmental management practices. To achieve this objective, a cluster analysis was applied to identify and characterize groups of companies with similar environmental management practices. The practices considered for clustering were: organization of environmental management, adopted procedures, information policy, consumption of natural resources, waste treatment, and additional environmental actions (those not classified in the previous categories). Overall results showed that companies with the best environmental performance belong to the group of largest companies and most of them are in the industrial sector. Environmental practices with the best performance in this group comprised the consumption of natural resources and waste treatment. The environmental practices with the worst performance in all groups were in the additional environmental actions category, comprising the use of renewable energy sources, the development of projects to obtain carbon credits, and the adoption of Green Seal certification for neutralizing carbon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to conduct a literature survey from a structured process, proposed by Gerber et al. (2013), through the selection of scientific articles on the issue of improving the financial performance of organizations which have adopted the Balanced Scorecard. The key research question is to evaluate the perception of improved financial performance. As a result, four articles aligned to the research topic were obtained. Systemic analysis highlights the existence of gaps on the subject that offer the proposition of new research studies designed to evaluate the contribution of the BSC to the financial performance of organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes to conduct a multi case study of the evaluation of the capabilities and strategic resources of seven private institutions of higher education in Brazil. For this, we conducted an exploratory study of qualitative nature, by means of documental and bibliographic data collection, and interviews with managers from seven private higher education institutions nationally recognized. The results showed there is a tendency of the formation and growth of large educational groups but these groups also face various challenges, with competitive disadvantages that must be observed, indicating the need for innovation in the sector. The data collected and processed of the interviews showed that the choice of the correct strategies represent an important turning point to ensure success in a scenario increasingly demanding and competitive, listing a number of features that can help in building a diffused look of private higher education in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In organizations, moral awareness is the understanding of ethical issues involved in decisions and behaviors. Identifying the degree of moral perception helps implement programs to mitigate inadequate social values and codes of ethical conduct . The moral sense represent the individual history and context of the people. Authors examined throughout the article come in one of generational characteristic elements of context and therefore one of the causes of behavior. The aim of the paper is to investigate the occurrence of differences in moral perception among generations in organizations. The survey used 3, 211 questionnaires (secondary data) applied between 2011 and 2012. The results show that the variable "generation" is not decisive for the ethical decisions and allows us to understand that the literature on behavioral standardization of generations on the one hand, points to an important phenomenon from another, original fiction, its use as structured models should be parsimonious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a survey of 241 Brazilian companies, which sought to investigate whether effective knowledge management contributes to strategic orientation, innovativeness and business results. Data collection was undertaken via self-reporting electronic questionnaires with 54 questions, using 10-point rating scales to measure agreement with the variables that composed the four constructs under study. The Structural Equation Modeling technique was used for data analysis. The research approach is based on the Resource Based View of the Firm, and it presupposes that knowledge is one of the main resources of the organization, and that it is used to leverage the other resources. The results support the conclusion that effective knowledge management contributes positively to strategic orientation. However, it was not possible to verify the positive contribution of these constructs upon the others when only direct relations were analyzed. When mediated by strategic orientation, knowledge management presented statistically significant direct and indirect effects on business results. The impacts of knowledge management and organizational innovativeness were found to be robust and significant when aligned with a strategic orientation that allows the company to anticipate and respond to market conditions. The evidences show that knowledge management permeates the relationships among the other constructs, corroborating the argument that knowledge is a resource that leverages the diverse value-generating activities in organizations. Even though numerous studies explore the constructs presented here, the originality of this study lies on the simultaneous analysis of all of them, oriented by a methodology that allows its replication in other cultures and conditions. In addition, the managerial implications of the study point out that the strategic nature of knowledge management and its practices must be considered before the application of isolated practices to achieve specific objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was analyzing the strengths and improvement priorities of the services offered by SESC -- Roraima, according to the perceived quality of its stakeholders. We conducted a structured descriptive survey with 30 entrepreneurs (presidents of the unions that compose the federation of trade) and 334 employees, all of them users of SESC from Roraima. Using Importance Performance Analysis, the results show that investment priorities should be to improve the parking lot, staff readiness and infrastructure in general. Front desk services and fitness center service are considered as strength by entrepreneurs and employees. The paper presents a list of actions that, if implemented by the searched organization, can improve the perception that stakeholders have about the quality of its services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify how the relational capabilities of managing international alliances differ according to those developed in national alliances. Thereunto, these paper investigates the internationalization process of a Brazilian company in the pharmaceutical sector, in order to identify the consolidation of strategic alliances, to analyze the strategic partnership formed by this company to operate in domestic and foreign market, in terms of its main characteristics and ways of management, to identify the relational management capabilities developed (technological, human, based in managing systems and cultural) by means of specific routines (coordination, learning, sensing and transformation) and to compare the results. The research is classified as qualitative with a single case study, characterized as field research, documentary, ex post facto. In conclusion, it was observed that there is parity between the characteristics of the observed alliances and the literature, and that there are differences between national and international alliances, regarding to relational capabilities, although small ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the applicability on Brazilian multinational Companies (MNCs) in two typologies developed to explain the internationalization of emerging market's enterprises. Using Fundação Dom Cabral 2011 data about companies with the higher transnationality index, information was gathered though documental research. This article builds a systematic classification on Brazilian MNCs upon the springboard perspective and the generic internationalization strategies. Results show that the "world-stage aspirant" group prevailed on the Springboard typology. Concerning the generic internationalization strategy, the sample was distributed among all strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand the process of strategic alignment of Information Technology (IT) in a Brazilian steel industry, ArcelorMittal Tubarão Company, analyzing how it is practiced in the mentioned company vis a vis the theoretical concepts. Based on Souza and Joia (2009) model, we sought evidences about the elements that support the IT strategic alignment with business strategy. The research was conducted between October 2009 and February 2011, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with IT managers as well as operational managers, IT users in the organization, and they were treated by means of content analysis. The main findings indicate a trend of align the organization's practice with the elements of theoretical model chosen, particularly regards the fundamental aspect of change organizational mindset about the role of IT in Business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the trajectory of consolidation of the Human Resources field and the models of People's Management found in Brazil, as well as the perspective of impacts of the increasing number of young practitioners in labour market. For that, it starts from an historic approach, which contemplates the perspective of human resources management into the organisational scenario, and also the process of consolidation of human resources practices in Brazil, especially after the regulations grounded through the Labour Acts Consolidation. It handles the landscape of the field on national current times, especially related to the models of human resources management found in various types of organisations (empiric, bureaucratic-legal, technical and strategic). After that, it discusses about the trends in people's management, and its relation to young practitioners, especially members of called Generation Y. Among these trends, it highlights the changes in the profile of careers, job contracts and relationships between organisations and workers, beyond the diversity of generations working together at organisations. For illustrate these discussions, the author used data from researches elaborated by PROGEPFIA, which contemplates themes such as "the best enterprises to work" and "the best enterprises to start a career", showing the point of view of young practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe and analyze, via a qualitative case study, how the pedagogic project from a management educational program enables the formation of managers to work at a sustainable business environmental. It was established a debate between the themes sustainable business and managerial education in the context of a Brazilian business school with international approach. It is considered that the business environment undergoes transformations that imply rethinking the relationship among man, organization and world; the economic paradigm; and how to produce and create value, not only for the present, but also for the future generations. In relation to the managerial role, it is assumed that there is an ongoing transition that goes beyond the typical administrative functions such as planning, organizing, leading and controlling, and encompasses the field of influence, of adaptation to different contexts, of unpredictability, of thinking beyond mental fences, and of interaction with paradoxes. Data was collected via triangulation, by the articulation of semi structured interviews with eleven professionals from the school's managerial and technical board, and documental analyses and nonsystematic observation. The evidences show the school's efforts to enable its pedagogic projects on a basis of assumptions of education oriented to sustainability, by arranging the experiential learning environment, characterized like a collaborative, collective and interdisciplinary, and by promoting education by reflexive, conscientious and autonomous persons, with a large view of the facts and responsibility for their actions. However, the business schools is involved in a paradoxical situation, by attending the corporative world demands that insist in managerial practices that are not sufficient for the business model of sustainable environmental, in view that the corporative universe continues to operate with an economical and short term utilitarian logic, which is contrary to long term sustainable logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyze under the accountant perspective the determining factors for early mortality of micro and small enterprises in the city of Florianopolis, Brazil. In order to learn more about the aspects that lead companies to succumb, it was conducted a quantitative research. For data collection, a questionnaire was applied to 141 accountants from the metropolitan region of Florianopolis. It was possible to identify that most of the factors cited by the specialized literature is equally important from the accountant perspective. Even so, two factors cited in the specialized literature were not crucial under the perspective of the accountant to the failure of MSE, namely, the education level of the entrepreneur and the tax burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersed in a set of interactions between different stakeholders in the market, the business can contribute to a new pattern of sustainable consumption. With this, the purpose of this study is to identify the contribution of Wal-Mart Brazil to sustainable consumption in retail supermarkets in Recife/PE under the perspective of social interactions presented by Michaelis (2003). With focus exploratory and qualitative approach to research conducted in the form of a case study considers sustainable consumption as a background of search, to recognition of relations between the actors selected, thus we identify a positive contribution of the company in eight criteria reviewed with most other developing for a change in the sector. Among the findings, we feature the need to add the third sector organizations to network influences, considering the influence and importance this actor to social interactions. With this, the greatest contribution of paper is at show the possibility of implementation of sustainable consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of the use of derivatives and the direction and magnitude of the premium coverage related to each type of derivative instrument on firm value for a sample of non-financial Brazilian companies traded in the period from 2004 to 2007. The results indicate that the use of derivatives is related to a significant and positive impact on companies' market value. The evidence shows that the use of derivatives is associated with a "premium coverage". Thus, it can be concluded that firms adopting risk management practices using derivatives have a higher market value, in the Brazilian market, compared to firms that do not use these financial instruments (hedging premium). Results also indicate that, when the analysis focuses on the type of instrument used, the risk management with different types of derivatives instruments generates an impact of heterogeneous magnitude on firm value. Swap and future/ forward contracts have a positive and statistically significant impact. As for the options, although positive, the impact was not statistically significant. Therefore, the results not only confirm the expectation that the use of derivatives has a statistically significant positive effect on firm value, but also show that there is a relevant difference in effects associated with different derivatives types. Together, the results support the fact that investors are willing to pay a higher value for firms that actively manage financial risk in more volatile environments such as Brazil, and this willingness varies according to the instrument type used and the possible combination of these financial derivatives. In future research, an analysis of the causes of the heterogeneous impact of different derivative instruments should be performed to better understand the mechanisms by which risk management policy creates value for firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to assess the perception of managers about the importance attached accounting information and its use in business. For this we used a field research in the city of Teófilo Otoni, MG, with a sample of micro and small companies linked to the retail trade. We conclude that the accounting is view as a mere executor of tax and labor obligations,, so managers do not perceive the importance of accounting information. We also acknowledge that managers with higher levels of education, understand the relevance of accounting, but not keep the accountant if there is a simplification in the collection of taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The born global phenomenon has been made apparent, mainly in high technology sectors, which requires new theoretical understandings about the role of nascent and small international companies. This article analyzes the relationship between a company's external environment in its country of origin, internal organizational factors and the factors relating to how some technology-based firms (TBFs) internationalize. A survey was applied to Brazilian TBFs. At the end of the data collection period, the first database generated 214 responses. Out of these, 85 (39.7%) were obtained from companies involved in some kind of business abroad. However, only 54 questionnaires were considered valid for this research. The data were analyzed using logistic regression statistical techniques. The results show that external factors influence the internationalization of TBFs more as compared to internal factors. Integration in the value chain and an entrepreneur's ability to manage internationally are the factors that best distinguish the internationalization of born-global TBFs. Thus, this paper contributes to the discussion of the internationalization process of born-globals and TBFs, filling the gap regarding the importance of external, internal and entrepreneurial factors in these companies' internationalization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Electric energy prices in Brazil are higher during 3h of peak consumption on working days; however, consumers could use a generator system for partially reducing the electricity costs from utility company during peak hours. The process of sizing a generator system begins developing the so called load capacity curve, using acquired building electricity consumption data. The local utility company supplies this data only for the last month of operation; consequently, data are unavailable for the rest of the year. In order to overcome the difficulty, this paper develops two methodologies to estimate the curve for every month of the year. The first one uses the frequency of occurrence of the measured values of the load power in each bin and the last one the monthly values of load power and energy consumption, as supplied by the local utility monthly bills. In order to validate the methodologies, monthly utility bills and consumption data of electric energy measured at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, every 15min over a four year period, have been used. Finally a generator system was sized, minimizing the electrical energy cost supplied by it, when the generator meets partially the building load. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Environmental Management Systems (or EMSs) have become an important tool for those organizations looking to manage their environmental issues such as pollution prevention, legal compliance, and minimizing the impacts their activities cause to the environment. Indeed, the benefits of having an EMS and ISO 14001 certification are mainly realized by large organizations, as small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have smaller turnover rates and thus a correspondingly smaller return on the costs of certification. This paper presents the results of a study aimed to check the views of small and large companies in the Southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina on which should be the 17 requirements of an EMS that best suits the needs and realities of small businesses, according to ISO 14001. Given its objectives, this study is classified as exploratory research. As to its approach, this study represents quali–quantitative research, as it utilizes techniques and methods which are both quantitative and qualitative. With respect to the nature of this study it is classified as applied research, using bibliographic and field research as procedural techniques. The survey was conducted in two phases, the first of which researched the view of small businesses and the second, the view of big businesses. A T-test for independent samples was used to examine the hypothesis test. The small companies pointed out nine requirements with high levels of importance while the large companies pointed out only seven requirements. The results of both samples showed similar views, but with some differences for each set of companies surveyed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The sugar and alcohol sector has great relevance to Brazil's economy and, also, has been the center of new renewable energy possibilities. Besides ethanol itself, cogeneration is a recent advance which changed rules on production and sales of electricity in the country. The objective of this paper is to propose a master production planning model -- with mixed linear integer mathematical formulation -- considering products and byproducts of a alcohol and sugar factory. Not only production, sales and stocks decision are considered, but also alternatives of harvest methods with different efficiencies of straw, which can be used to cogenerate energy. Results were tested with data of a factory of western São Paulo, showing that it might be interesting to use less efficient methods of harvest to increase global results through byproducts. Preliminary results brought interest of refining data and parameters, having special attention to the decision support tool created. Future works include considering other process variables affected with straw portion on harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 subprime crisis led to a global wave of bailouts and other political-economic measures by governments. These moves were seen as the rise of a new statism. Emerging giants, such as Brazil, introduced new growth policies and reinforced state-crediting of corporations. This article briefly discusses key institutional, structural and ideological lineages and dilemmas in post-2008 statism and capitalism in Brazil. Neo-mercantilist capitalism is visible, for example, in the new ‘National Champions’ strategy aiming to create export-focused, leading global-sector corporations via mergers orchestrated by key politicians, capitalists and state financial institutions. Changes after a bailout–merger in the paper industry suggest that, after the 2008 financial crisis, in Brazil as elsewhere the use of public funds has had multiple and complex impacts, including the saving of corporations, the concentration of power in those best connected in the political economy, and further exacerbation of class-based inequalities in economic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main objective of this paper is to analyze if the presence of important Brazilian institutional factors, such as the access to sources and different financing lines of credit, affects the economic and statistical significance of the information asymmetry, main assumption of the pecking order theory, in the determination of Brazilian firms' capital structure. In order to do so we used control variables, variables representing institutional factors and information asymmetry in a panel data regarding Brazilian firms in industrial sectors traded in Bovespa, in the period 1997-2007. The most important result found is that the variables size, tangibility, profitability and risk are important determinants of capital structure of the analyzed firms, also the significant participation of different lines in the indebtedness of these firms. In response to the objective of the research, it is observed that the information asymmetry does not lose economic and statistical significance in the proposed model, after inclusion of variables representing institutional factors, which highlights the importance of information asymmetry in determining the capital structure of Brazilian firms. The negative sign found supports the pecking order theory, where these companies would be less in debt due to the possibility of raising funds by issuing shares. It is emphasized that the proxies used to represent the attribute information asymmetry constitute a limitation of the research, being suggested, for future works, the use of other variables, to check consistency of the results found, as well as the analysis of the influence of information asymmetry on the cost of Brazilian firms' capital, in order to verify if companies considered with less information asymmetry can borrow resources at more attractive interest rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses knowledge transfer among clustered firms and its relation to the competitiveness of a tourism destination in southern Brazil. It is assumed that knowledge is a strategic resource transferred among clustered firms. Research methods used were secondary data analysis followed by a survey conducted with 49 respondents. Findings show that the access to resources is more evident for the third sector and public administration than to firms. Besides, it was found that the knowledge transfer happens in different ways, but especially through the periodic meetings among the tourism firms. It was demonstrated that there is a better access and communication and information exchange among tourist firms, but the data have not connected knowledge transfer to destination competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present paper investigates five episodes of currency collapse from the perspective of non-financial firms operating in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. We focus on two aspects: wealth and income transfers from borrowing firms to lenders and firm heterogeneity. At the firm level, we find that the currency collapses are preceded and associated with sharply rising financial transfers from firms to lenders. The debt and income structure is central in explaining the asymmetric firm dynamics. Most affected are firms with high levels of unhedged foreign-currency debt. At the country level, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico display three contrasting examples. Argentina has a large currency mismatch, Brazil balances the currency denomination of debt and income (natural hedge), and Mexico occupies an intermediate position. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many studies have been conducted in corporate finance regarding long-term investment and financing decisions. However, short-term asset investments play a significant role in the balance sheet of companies. Moreover, financial managers dedicate significant amounts of time and effort to the subject of working capital management, balancing current assets and liabilities. This paper provides insights regarding the key factors of working capital management by exploring the internal variables of a number of companies. This study used data from 2,976 Brazilian public companies from 2001 to 2008, and found that debt level, size and growth rate can affect the working capital management of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]