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Finding ways to downscale microfinance is one of the current challenges facing commercial banks, especially in developing countries. As banks have a poor knowledge of microfinance, operating in this market will require capacity-building, innovative business models and new technological architectures. This paper discusses how one particular architecture – the Brazilian model of correspondent banking (CB) – is helping banks cope with these challenges. Since the model was created, in 2000, it has allowed banks to downscale financial services outside their traditional branches and establish successful partnerships with local microfinance institutions (MFIs). The authors focus on one particular case involving a partnership between an accredited MFI (Banco Palmas) and two major banks (Banco do Brasil e Caixa Econômica Federal), to make the argument that the Brazilian CB model represents an innovation at the “meso level”, defined by Helms (2006) as the infrastructure comprising a network of service providers necessary to the operation of MFIs.

This paper investigates how corporate sustainable practices can be supported by information management models and information and communication technology (ICT) applications. The empirical work is based on a single case study, a Brazilian company that is applying the concept of a sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC) to put forward a triple bottom-line strategy. Our results suggest that (a) implementation and use of the SBSC, (b) integration of the triple-bottom line concept within the SBSC, and (c) the place occupied by the eco-efficiency indicator at the heart of the strategic map represented three key factors that helped to enhance sustainability management. Moreover, the development of a sustainability-oriented culture and the strong business intelligence (BI) platform put in place enabled successful implementation of the SBSC in this particular company.

In the corporate context, a combination of constant technological innovation and increasing competitiveness makes the management of information a considerable challenge, which requires decision-making processes that are built on reliable and timely information, gathered from internal and external sources. Although the volume of available information is increasing, this does not automatically mean that people are able to derive value from it. In the IT field, after years of important investments in order to put in place a technological platform that supports all business processes and that strengthens the efficiency of the operational structure, most organizations are supposed to have reached a level where the implementation of IT solutions for strategic purposes becomes possible and necessary. This context explains the emergence of the domain generally known as “business intelligence” (BI), seen as an answer to the current needs in terms of information for decision making through intensive utilization of information technology. The objective of this research project is to examine the meaning and role of BI in a particular context, that of developing countries - specifically, in Brazil. If the management of IT is a challenge even to companies in developed countries, what can be said about organizations struggling in unstable contexts such as those of developing countries?

The multilevel framework proposed in this chapter is particularly useful for research involving complex and multilevel interactions (i.e., interactions involving individuals, groups, organizations and networks at the community, regional or societal levels). The framework is influenced by three theoretical perspectives. The core foundation comes from the structurationist view of technology, a stream of research characterized by the application of structuration theory to information systems (IS) research and notably influenced by researchers like Orlikowski (2000) and Walsham (2002). In order to extend the framework to encompass research at the community/societal levels, concepts from social shaping of technology and from contextualism have been integrated. Beyond sharing a number of ontological and epistemological assumptions, these three streams of thinking have been combined because each of them offers particular concepts that are of great value for the kind of studies the authors wish to put forward: investigating the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) from a structurationist standpoint at levels that go beyond the organizational one.

This research has investigated the implementation of ERP as mediation process that is, as an interactive process developed between the organization’s members and external consultants. The adoption of a mediation lens helps identify how global and local skills have been combined in ERP projects, and how these different arrangements have affected the project results. Underlying our analysis were two main questions: (1) How do patterns of mediation emerge, and what kinds of elements influence their emergence? and (2) What kind of association can be established between patterns of mediation and project results? Our conclusions point towards certain drivers. The local firm’s position regarding the head office and the meaning attached to each project have directly influenced the way external consultants are perceived by the local firm’s members, and these perceptions influence team members’ and consultants’ roles. Team members’ and consultants’ roles, in turn, contribute to reinforcement or transformation of established mediation patterns.