Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to present an original framework to investigate how the country-of-origin influences the quality perception of a service by breaking down this construct in three sub-dimensions and further verifying their impact both, individually and collectively. Originality/Value: Despite the growing importance of the service sector, both the research in international services marketing and the studies on the Country-of-origin are very limited if compared with those performed on the manufacturing sector and, to our knowledge, none of them used this construct multidimensionally. The development of an original framework with three sub-dimensions: Country-of-Know-How (COK); Country-of-Personnel (COP); and, Country-of-Tangibles aims to fulfill these gaps. Design/methodology/approach: Our framework was empirically tested with four experiments and a survey. Data were gathered from 718 Brazilian students in three Universities located in two different states in Brazil. Findings: The results obtained indicate that COO can significantly affect consumers’ evaluation of perceived service quality and that this construct can be segmented since we have indeed verified clear effects of all sub-dimensions.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this article is to verify the mediating effect of a proactive market orientation capability in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and service innovation in micro and small companies in the food-away from home sector. We analyzed the mediating effect of a marketing capability (proactive market capability) because, according to Morgan et al. (2009), a capability is an ability developed from a strategic orientation, and capabilities and orientations together contribute to organizational performance. Originality/Value: The article verifies the mediating effect of a specific marketing capability, the proactive market orientation (PMO) in the proposed relationship. Most studies on market orientation (OM) treat the construct as a business strategic orientation, but few studies investigate market orientation based on the perspective of dynamic capabilities (Hou, 2008). Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was carried out using a non-probabilistic sampling technique for convenience with 168 establishments. The research was carried out in micro and small companies of the food-way from home sector of Curitiba PR, and the respondents were the managers and owners of the establishments. Findings: The results indicate the existence of the mediating effect of PMO in the relationship between EO and service innovation.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Purpose: The objective of this study is to examine the mediating effects of technology on the relationship between green supply chain management and performance of the Brazilian chemical industry. Originality/Value: The pressure for sustainable environment has emerged in companies, the incorporation of technologies as part of the manufacture of products. However, incorporating technologies into manufacturing does not always represent a reduction of the environmental burden. They can cause environmental externalities. The article makes it easier to understand the role of these technologies in the management of the green supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: It was considered of descriptive nature of the quantitative type. The data were collected through a semistructured questionnaire with a sample consisting of 160 Brazilian chemical companies. Processed by structural equation modeling, it generated an empirical theoretical model composed of three main constructs: technology, green supply chain management and environmental performance. Findings: The application of the theoretical empirical model revealed that the technology partially mediates the relationship between green supply chain management and the environmental performance of Brazilian chemical companies. There was evidence that technologies provided tangible competitive advantages, although several of them could only be achieved in the long term. The study suggested implications of theoretical nature, such as having an integrated managerial vision between company and environment; and of practical nature in which new ways of designing products can reduce environmental externalities, often without any technology being used to so.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Purpose: For this work I established as research objective the examination of antecedents (i.e., similarity of structural position, competence and sociability) and the consequences (i.e., formation of work group) of dyadic identification among students on a Business Administration course at a private University. Originality/Value: Identification has been examined anthropomorphically in the relationship between employee and organization or between employee and work team. However, organizations and teams are not human beings. I propose to investigate identification at the dyadic level, indeed among people, to transcend that barrier. Design/methodology/approach: I employed the sociometric survey as a method. Data were collected in two phases, with an interval of 12 months (t0 and t1). I tested the hypotheses by means of the LR-QAP non-parametric technique. Findings: The results allowed me to point out that structural equivalence and similarity of deferences for competence and for sociability, influence dyadic identification. In examining the work groups’ training on completion of the course, I confirmed the hypothesis on the influence of dyadic identification, but also found that such groups are mainly formed by students who share the same contacts and are very similar in sociability (fun) and slightly similar in terms of competence deferences. Structural equivalence, deferences of competence, and deference to sociability con­stitute a structural-deferential basis for social judgment and construction of social profiles and categories that enable comparison between peers and subsequent identification in a non-anthropomorphic way.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Objective: This article proposes the study of leadership as cultural practice, adding the cultural dimension to research on leadership as practice. Originality/Value: While the advances of practice-based studies are considerable in organizational learning and strategy, research on leadership as practice is scarce. Within the field of leadership as practice, in which no research has integrated the cultural dimension, this article formulates and discusses leadership as cultural practice, because it understands that culture is a fundamental element in not only orienting how organizational practices are constructed, but also in how leaders make and base their decisions, as well as act and interact. Design/methodology/approach: The first step of this research is the review of the studies on leadership as practice. The second is to bring these studies closer to those dealing with cultural leadership and culture as practice. The third step is to discuss the implications of the proposal of leadership as cultural practice. Findings: The results of the research allow to enlarge and improve the study of leadership, considering it not only as practice, but also as cultural practice. Implications for future research are discussed.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study proposes to map the barriers to scaling the microfinance industry in the U.S., as it pertains to home maintenance and improvement for low-income households. The selected context of analysis is the American city of Baltimore, due to the city’s high need for housing repair and large percentage of residents with limited access to finance. Originality/Value: Most research has discarded microfinance as a viable option for a housing market solution in the U.S. This paper discusses how the market of microfinance for housing repair could improve its financial sustainability seizing the smaller dollar value of repair loans, relative to housing purchase, and the high and recurring need for repair. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted on how microfinance for housing repair works in Baltimore City, leveraging secondary government and private research, along with interviews with lenders and borrowers. Data were analyzed through PESTEL framework, describing the macro-environmental context. Findings: The market for Housing Microfinance (HM) loan products in Baltimore matches the academic literature. Similar market demands exist as they relate to an increasingly aging housing stock. Lender supply of financing seems “healthy”, but it is mostly from philanthropic or government sources favoring “affordability” over financial sustainability.