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PurposeThis study aims to analyze the configuration of the board of directors of the five largest banks operating in Brazil, which are members of a financial elite that directly influences the socioeconomic life in Latin America.Design/methodology/approachThis assessment is inspired by Bourdieu's sociological approach and in the discussion on his work in organization studies and economic sociology. It addresses the organization as a field and investigates its associated field of power. The authors conducted qualitative research and relationally analyzed data related to the trajectory and the social properties of the councilors using the statistical technique called multiple correspondence analysis (MCA).FindingsThe results show that forms of social and cultural capital are particularly influential in the production of distinctions among banks' board members. Moreover, councils' priorities and configurations are diverse: some idealized and based on knowledge, others pragmatic and based on customs, others still anchored in a double logic of market satisfaction and family wealth preservation.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the objective power relations among these top agents may be crucial for effectively regulating certain aspects of their activities. Furthermore, understanding how different forms of capital affect the relative position of the board members may help us reduce representative bias in what seems today an inner circle.Originality/valueThis study is relevant because it makes an in-depth analysis of the composition of one of the most influential financial elites in Latin America, combining sociological theory and advanced statistical techniques for qualitative grouping (MCA).

The article addresses how societal inequalities shape market arrangements. While business scholars developed important work about the interplay of organizations and societal economic inequalities, less has been said about the embeddedness of markets in unequal social structures. We argue that this issue may be addressed by cross-fertilizing the sociological approach of Bourdieu and the Strategic Action Fields perspective. To demonstrate our view, we assessed the extreme case of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling markets in Brazil, conducting a qualitative study based on the precepts of abductive analysis and using data from different secondary sources, interviews, and participant observation. We verified the existence of correspondences between the power of strategic action fields and the positions the individuals controlling them occupy in what Bourdieu calls the social space and show how these differences enable inter field connections that tend to reproduce social hierarchies.

Purpose This paper seeks to assess and analyze the relationship between indegree centrality and organizational performance in the automotive industry. In other words, we look at whether the network position is related to the performance of the actors using production, revenue, and profit indicators. Theoretical framework This research uses social network analysis as a method/theoretical approach allied with relational capital. Design/methodology/approach A similarity assessment was carried out. Data were collected from 1359 relations across four specific governance structures between 2011 and 2013. Later, the same measures were implemented in subgroups detected with the Louvain method. The NodeXL, UCINET, and SPSS software were used for the graphs, metrics, and correlations, respectively. Findings The results show a moderate to strong correlation between the actors and the subgroups formed by them, with their respective revenue and the indegree centrality for the three years selected. Our conclusions were that the centrality of an automotive manufacturer is positively related to its performance. Practical & social implications of research This study might help organizations evaluate social network analysis usage as a tool for understanding their opportunities given their network. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature by indicating that in the automotive industry, formed by alliances between different governance structures, the structural position a manufacturer occupies in the network is related to its performance indicators. Resumo Objetivo O presente trabalho busca avaliar e analisar a relação entre a centralidade in-degree e o desempenho organizacional no setor automotivo. Em outras palavras, observamos se a posição na rede está relacionada ao desempenho dos atores por meio de indicadores de produção, receita e lucro. Referencial teórico O uso da análise de redes sociais como um método/abordagem teórica aliada ao capital relacional. Metodologia Foi realizada uma avaliação de similaridade. Os dados foram coletados de 1359 relações em quatro estruturas de governança específicas entre 2011 e 2013. Posteriormente, as mesmas medidas foram implementadas para os subgrupos detectados com o método Louvain. Os softwares NodeXL, UCINET e SPSS foram utilizados para os gráficos, métricas e correlações, respectivamente. Resultados Os resultados mostram uma correlação de moderada a forte entre os atores e os subgrupos formados por eles, com sua respectiva receita e a centralidade in-degree para os três anos selecionados. As conclusões foram que a centralidade de uma montadora de automóveis está positivamente relacionada ao seu desempenho. Implicações práticas e sociais da pesquisa Este estudo poderá ajudar as organizações a considerar o uso da análise de redes sociais como uma ferramenta para entender suas oportunidades propiciadas pela rede. Contribuições Este trabalho contribui com a literatura indicando que no setor automotivo formado por alianças de diferentes estruturas de governança, a posição estrutural que uma montadora ocupa na rede está relacionada a seus indicadores de desempenho.

This article assesses the influence of criticisms of female representations in advertising practices in the brewing industry in Brazil between 2012 and 2017 from the perspective of Strategic Action Fields. Unlike existing analyses, the object of the study was conceived as a set of interconnected fields and the role of governance units in the dynamics of social change was emphasized. An analysis of the content of 213 advertisements for the country's largest beer brands, 99 lawsuits filed against the brewing industry in the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (CONAR) and media reports was carried out. The results indicate that the loss of symbolic effectiveness of sexist advertising practices was driven by episodes of conflict that had wide media repercussions and affected the dominant companies in the brewing industry. These factors made it possible for criticism to circumvent the conservative performance of CONAR, the established governance unit in the fields of advertising in Brazil.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a influência de novas tecnologias na estrutura relacional do campo da indústria automotiva. Estamos usando uma construção dos componentes fortemente conectados (Strong Connected Component- SCC) como proxy de um campo de ação. Trata-se de uma simulação fundamentada nos dados extraídos de 7.211 registros de patentes tetraédricas – patentes com prioridade registrada simultaneamente na China, EUA, Europa e Japão. Adotamos uma forma descritiva da ação estratégica num campo modelado como uma rede. A partir desta rede apresentamos os dados em painéis e buscamos identificar alterações estruturais dos grupos e da métrica nodal da intermediação. Também realizamos análise semântica para simular o padrão de escolhas dos atores acerca de concepções tecnológicas concorrentes e apresentamos os dados em painéis que identificam o padrão de escolha tecnológica antes e depois da entrada do Google. As estruturas relacionais analisadas nesta pesquisa nos mostraram que a formação de grupos hierárquicos em SCC evidencia a ação estratégica das montadoras em estabilizar o campo da inovação tecnológica. Encontramos evidências de ação relacional como forma de enquadrar a ação de concorrentes e suas escolhas. Identificamos uma participação marginal dos atores da Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicações (TIC), e que a inovação desse campo é sobretudo arquitetural.

Entrevista com Frédéric Lebaron sobre a sociologia econômica de Pierre Bourdieu.

The relatively good recycling performance in Brazil is associated to material recovery chains involving a huge number of informal waste collectors. Over the past decades, social activists have supported grassroots recycling cooperatives and these organizations have spread around the country becoming consecrated in the National solid waste policy as a legitimate form to organize recycling. This article analyses the emergence of “solidarity recycling” in Brazil, addressing the cultural and political relations and processes that have led to its legitimation. Cross-fertilizing Bourdieu’s sociological approach and the strategic action fields perspective, a qualitative, retrospective, and longitudinal study was conducted using secondary and primary data from various sources. Evidence shows that the emergence of solidarity recycling has resulted from both structural convergences and strategic actions unfolding across multiple fields, indicating the complementarity of the used approaches and the importance of accounting for the interconnection of arenas.

This article critically investigates the controversies involved in the entrepreneurial process of an IT venture using the Actor-Network Theory (ANT). While ANT and other processual approaches have been used to assess entrepreneurship, little emphasis has been placed on addressing the controversies involved in the entrepreneurial process. To overcome this bias, we used the Cartography of Controversies (CC), an ANT's applied method, to highlight the impacts of conflictual relationships on the organizing process of an IT venture. We based our analysis on a pluralistic corpus of primary data, including interviews, focus groups, field journals, and other documents. We found five main critical issues related to the entrepreneurial process, being them: sociodemographic biases, reproduction of economic and cultural inequalities, conflicts among organizational elites, disputes between owners and workers, and overdependence of startups on larger technological firms. In line with the ‘ANT and After’ literature, we demonstrated how the critical use of ANT sociological approach avoids excessively aggregated categories often present on other critical studies. Finally, we conclude that the critical use of ANT can contribute to more sophisticated and well-built forms of criticism, orienting the research empirically and considering the critical capacities of the actants themselves.

Paper aims This paper aims to understand how the social skill of managers influence the diffusion of operational capabilities in food and auto parts manufacturing networks. Originality There are taken-for-granted beliefs that its diffusion is based on replicating or transferring resources and practices from one site to another. This study is one of the first ones to discuss operational capability and socially skilled actors. Research method Two polar cases were analyzed through the Strategic Action Fields perspective based on a qualitative perspective and 17 in-depth interviews. Main findings Results demonstrate that diffusion of capability among various actors in subsidiaries will depend on a series of multidimensional factors that influence this process as the stability, state, and relationship between fields. Moreover, members tend to adopt a logic (perception of the world) that reflects the point of view of the group, and from this, the actors construct their narratives, recognize the legitimacy and justify their actions. Implications for theory and practice These perspectives have scarcely been explored in Operations management till today and shall open a new dialogue between Operations Strategy and Organization Studies. It offers practical guidance for diffusing and deploying operational capabilities.

This paper aims to analyze the strategic action field involving companies which stand out in patent filing in the wind energy sector. Based on the information on patents and the market, the field was classified, identifying the actors, the process of mobilization for the emergence of the field and governmental participation.

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to analyze the network structure of automotive companies linked by cross-shareholding, joint ventures, manufacturing contracts and alliances, from 2004 to 2012. The study also explored how the network structure affects the competition in the field.Design/methodology/approach – The sample involved 3695 dyads. Based on this data, it was possible to build and assess networks using Gephi and UCINET software. The study considered network analysis metrics such as centrality, group and network densities temporally. Thus, associated with a contextual and longitudinal analysis, the construction of sociograms allowed visualization of the interactional structure and the automakers’ position in the field.Findings – Results showed that the internationalization and growth of automakers and suppliers are made possible through these relationships among companies (cross-shareholding, joint ventures, manufacturing contracts and alliances). Connections may generate greater power, access to resources and market opportunities. It also enhanced the elaboration of inferences about how these resources influence the competition in the field.Originality/value – The increasing importance of this relational resource shapes the industry competitive structure, which is composed of cooperative and competitive relationships found in meso-level orders. Objetivo – O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a estrutura da rede de empresas automotivas por meio das participações acionárias cruzadas, joint ventures, contratos de manufatura e alianças, de 2004 a 2012. O estudo também explora como a estrutura da rede afeta a concorrência e a disputa de posições no campo.Metodologia – A amostra envolveu 3695 díades. Com base nos dados foi possível construir e avaliar a composição das redes usando os softwares Gephi e UCINET. Além de uma análise contextual e longitudinal, as métricas de análise de rede, como a centralidade, os grupos e a densidade, serviram de método de análise.Resultados – Os resultados mostram como as relações (participações acionárias cruzadas, joint ventures, contratos de manufatura e alianças) entre as empresas sustentam a internacionalização e crescimento de diversas organizações automotivas. As ligações também geram maiores possibilidades de acesso a recursos e oportunidades de mercado. Também são elaboradas inferências sobre como esses recursos influenciam a concorrência e domínio de posições privilegiadas no campo.Contribuições – A estrutura relacional molda e influencia a estrutura competitiva do campo. No campo, os relacionamentos cooperativos e/ou competitivos são capazes de gerar novas ordens e formas de controle.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Neste ensaio, exploramos as distinções teóricas e complementaridades metodológicas existentes entre abordagens que conceitualizam as estruturas sociais com base nas noções de campos e redes. Essas perspectivas se opõem tanto à visão atomizada quanto à supersocializada da ação e buscam superar a dicotomia entre estrutura e agência, mas possuem diferenças conceituais importantes. Aspectos epistemológicos e conceituais são discutidos, evidenciando que apesar de ambas serem consideradas relacionais, elas evitam a reificação da teoria de maneiras distintas. Apontamos que a forma como a noção de campo é utilizada por autores como Pierre Bourdieu e Neil Fligstein é articulada em um referencial teórico relacional, no qual a definição da estrutura é inseparável da de agência e do poder, possibilitando a superação de limitações da abordagem de redes. Enfim, argumentamos que o uso das técnicas de análise de redes pode ser orientado pelas teorias de campos. In this essay, we explore the theoretical distinctions and the methodological complementarities between approaches that conceptualize social structures as fields and networks. These perspectives oppose to both the atomized and over socialized views of action and aim to overcome the dichotomy between structure and agency. Initially, epistemological and conceptual aspects are discussed in order to explicit the differences between the approaches. We point that the way the notion of field have been used by authors as Pierre Bourdieu and Neil Fligstein is articulated in a relational framework in which the definition of structure is inseparable from the ones of agency and power, allowing to the overcome of limitations of the view of structures as networks. Finally, we argue that the use of network analysis techniques may be orientated by field theories. 12/23317-7

Resumo: Este artigo analisa como diferentes perspectivas teóricas da análise organizacional se apropriam da noção de “campo”. Tomam-se como referência as bases filosóficas e as propostas que motivaram a utilização desse conceito pelas ciências sociais, associando-o a uma abordagem relacional específica, que é ilustrada pela sociologia de Pierre Bourdieu. Com base na identificação da gênese e atentando especificamente para o formato dos conceitos científicos dessa abordagem, as ferramentas teóricas do institucionalismo sociológico na análise organizacional e da abordagem dos Campos de Ação Estratégica são discutidas. Conclui-se que a superação de limitações comumente associadas ao neoinstitucionalismo passa pela reconfiguração de suas ferramentas conceituais. Aponta-se, particularmente, a relevância da adoção de um conceito de campo mais amplo, flexível e articulado com conceitos relacionais de agência e de poder. Abstract: This paper analyzes how different approaches of organizational analysis use the notion of ‘field’. The philosophical grounds and proposals that motivated the usage of this concept in the social sciences, associated to a specific relational approach illustrated by the sociological approach of Bourdieu, are taken as a reference. Identifying the genesis and paying particular attention to the configuration of scientific concepts in this approach, theoretical tools of sociological institutionalism in organizational analysis and the strategic action field approach are discussed. The paper concludes that overcoming limitations commonly associated to neoinstitutionalism involves reconfiguring its conceptual tools. A broader and more flexible concept of field, intrinsically articulated with conceptions of action and power, is considered to be particularly relevant.

Important research efforts have been developed to account for power in the analysis of supply chains. This paper argues that further gains may arise by considering organizations as social constructions mediated not only by power relations, but also by cultural representations intrinsically intertwined to it. Its purpose is to discuss the dynamics of stability and change in supply chains based on the Strategic Action Fields (SAFs) approach. A theoretical essay was elaborated discussing some of the main implications of this perspective to the study of supply chains and presenting propositions to enable the construction of research objects and guide empirical studies in the area. Propositions emphasize how ongoing cultural-political relations circumscribed to different fields, including the organization, with its internal disputes.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) O artigo aponta para importância da geração de tecnologias adequadas às propostas das organizações solidárias. Para tanto, exploram-se as complementaridades de vertentes críticas, focadas em análises mais amplas, e construtivistas, mais microanalíticas, dos estudos sociais da tecnologia para evidenciar como as soluções tecnológicas ao mesmo tempo constroem e são construídas pela sociedade. Guiado por essas referências, defende-se a relevância da conjunção entre as propostas dos movimentos da Economia Solidária e das Tecnologias Sociais e propõe que o fortalecimento das organizações solidárias por meio de tecnologias adequadas pode ser potencializado pela criação de referências metodológicas para o projeto e adequação dessas tecnologias. 08/01931-0