PRESENTATION

Dear readers,

In this issue, we present eight articles. The first one, a theoretical essay, has as a purpose the use of the Ivory Tower metaphor to discuss and question the false dichotomy between theory and practice, as well as the insufficient pragmatic and performative solution towards the market logic, and to problematize the concept of praxis as a possibility through critical approaches. It was prepared by Valderí de Castro Alcântara, Josiel Lopes Valadares, Alex dos Santos Macedo, and Mônica Carvalho Alves Cappelle. The authors argue that the organizational science linked to the instrumental logic makes no place for praxis; the traditional theory does not allow thinking about the relation between theory and practice through praxis, because it polarizes such categories and gives primacy to practice by demanding performance and productivity from theory; based on the Ivory Tower metaphor, it is necessary to make criticisms for the sake of praxis and not for the sake of the practice understood just as technical and instrumental utility.

The second paper was prepared by Vinicius Carvalho de Vasconcellos and Elaine Rabelo Neiva. Its objective was to analyze if the perceptions about policies and practices on human resources management (HRM), well-being at work and expectations of the future organizational act as antecedents of career expectations in the organization. 305 professionals from a government agency completed an online questionnaire with scales validated in Brazil. Data were analyzed through structural equations models. The results support the relations theoretically conceived or found in previous qualitative surveys. In practical terms, all data suggest that improving HR policies and practices can increase the well-being at work and expectations of organizational future, fostering positive career expectations in the organization.

"Meanings of volunteer work: a study with members of a lutheran institution" was the title of the paper presented by Pietra Borchardt e Mônica de Fatima Bianco. It extends the discussion on volunteering, by entering the management of religious institutions that are supported by the help of volunteers. The study found eight meanings of work: identification with the Lutheran ethics; integrity and image of the institution; unit; conditions and willingness to participate; incentive from others; relation to the profession; the pleasant relationship between a board of directors; and monitoring, support, and recognition. It was realized that the experiences and interaction with others shape the individual and his or her relationship with the church and that the meaning of work has a different relationship to each religion.

Alexandre Ripamonti and Eduardo Kazuo Kayo prepared a paper with the objective to study the Brazilian bond and stock markets for testing the stock market development theory of Demirgüc-Kunt and Maksimovic (1996). The authors test the substitution hypothesis of stock market development, from debt to stocks, in a context of improved corporate governance, by analyzing the data with co-integration techniques. The findings show that the substitution hypothesis is rejected, as the bond market has a positive and significant association with stock market improvements. The findings also show that improving the quality of corporate governance could lead own and borrower capital sources to be complementary and not substitutes, suggesting that Brazilian stock market reform has created a virtuous development cycle.

With the purpose to understand the criteria a priori (prior to the decision) that executives took into account when adopting the strategy of operating with franchising and the key motivations for this decision, Helder de Souza Aguiar, Sergi Pauli, Abraham Sin Oih Yu, and Paulo Tromboni de Souza Nascimento developed the paper "Modeling the new franchise creation decision: the relevance of behavioral reasons". Ten companies of different industries and different life cycle stages involved with the franchise model were scrutinized using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the literature on decision theory and franchising. Results reveal that behavioral factors significantly influence decision makers when choosing the franchise model.

Telmo Jose Magalhães da Silva, Pedro Lucas de Resende Melo, Karen Esteves, and Giancarlo Gomes present a paper with the objective to identify the role played by Franchisee Associations (FAs) regarding their relationship with franchisors, understand conflict procedures alongside with franchisors (by means of FAs), and identify FA's abilities to play a relevant governance role in franchisee-franchisor relationships. Results reveal that there is a strong sense of trust only among some of the network members, as well as a partial cooperation among them. Concerning the governance, one may point out that the rules and the penalties that compose their policies are well known and applied. The influence of the leaders that form the association's board of directors and the voting process in FAs are determining factors for conflict resolution.

Innovation in creative economy micro-enterprises is the theme discussed by Mariana Bianchini Galuk, Aurora Carneiro Zen, Bruno Anicet Bittencourt, Guilherme Mattos, and Daniela Callegaro de Menezes. It is an exploratory qualitative research study on four micro enterprises that are part of the creative industries. The theoretical approach was about innovation in creative organizations. The analysis of innovation evolved three categories identified in the literature - organization, technology options and customers. It was found that the four organizations assessed have some features that differ from traditional sectors of the economy, both in the type of innovation and in the way the innovation process is managed.

The last paper of this issue, prepared by Gustavo Henrique Silva de Souza, Paulo da Cruz Freire dos Santos, Nilton Cesar Lima, Nicholas Joseph Tavares da Cruz, and Álvaro Guillermo Rojas Lezana, has the objective to verify whether there is difference of entrepreneurial potential between successful entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who have failed, and whether there are variables that may work as a means of prediction to the success or failure of the entrepreneur. The paper brings up an innovative approach to the entrepreneurship researches, which main content is in the empirical operationalization of success and failure on business for the testing of specific hypothesis and the identification of the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial potential. Results show that the successful entrepreneur has higher scores in Entrepreneur Potential Scale than the entrepreneur who failed, in which the main convergence between entrepreneurial potential and business success is the setting business goals. In the sample surveyed, the gender showed being a strong predictor of business success, indicating that men have 2.8 times greater chance of success in business than women.

Good reading,

Silvio Popadiuk
Post-doctor by University of Toronto.
Doctor and Master in Business Administration by Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo (FEA-USP).
Professor at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (UPM), and academic editor of Revista de Administração Mackenzie.
Rua da Consolação, 930, Prédio T, térreo, Consolação, São Paulo - SP - Brasil - CEP 01302-907
E-mail: [e-mail]

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Sep-Oct 2016