Resumo em Inglês:

This paper examines the discourse configurations on the environmental theme in business organizations and its relevance to the understanding of the inclusion of ecological discourses in the discourses of organizational members. A case study into a Brazilian telecommunications company offers empirical evidence. It begins with the understanding that organizations adopt several strategies in an attempt to disseminate a certain environmental discourse. As these efforts share space with other pressures, a fragmented discourse emerges. In this paper, the pressures of the environmental theme on organizations are discussed in order to understand this process. The second part of the argument focuses on the context of the case study - Brazilian organizations - and, afterwards, the third part deals with ecological discourses in their insertions in organizational interests. The data of the case study were collected through documental research and 40 semi-structured interviews. The analysis was applied based on Discourse Analysis. In conclusion, an ambiguous discourse configuration was shown that offer elements for the understanding that philanthropy, legal obligation and organizational competitiveness need to be used together to offer legitimacy to the theme of environmental responsibility in business organizations

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper probes into the social process of sense making in changing organizations, trying to observe how participant individuals interpret contextual events and configure their notion of time. This notion of time then interacts with the dynamics of the lives of individuals and contributes to the adaptation to the new reality they are facing. The study was conducted in eight organizations and data were collected by means of 133 in-depth interviews with participants in the change processes. Results indicate that individuals establish a reference to central events in their attempt to make sense out of changes and in their effort to adapt to the new situation. In accordance with Lewis and Weigert (1981), the results also indicate the dominance of institutional time over interaction time as well as over self time. Finally, the results suggest that such configurations of time are influenced by official organizational rhetoric and by actions in change management

Resumo em Inglês:

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the logistics sophistication of Brazilian shippers on the acquisition pattern of 3PL (third-party logistics) service providers. The conceptual model of logistics sophistication and the major dimensions and variables relating to the acquisition pattern were defined and a questionnaire was sent to 218 Brazilian shippers listed on the Revista Exame ranking. Based on the 93 questionnaires returned, the analyses conducted indicate that the most sophisticated shippers are durable goods manufacturers and that they contract 3PL services providers for inventory management and higher value added services. In essence, these results indicate that the most sophisticated shippers seek 3PL service providers capable of managing logistics trade-offs such as inventory levels vs. asset utilization levels. These implications on the selection criteria of 3PL service providers are also discussed.

Resumo em Inglês:

Loyalty has been a hot topic in marketing management, not only for academics, but also for managers. In that sense, the main goal of this paper is to identify the variables that discriminate loyalty groups. Therefore, seven hypotheses have been proposed which might have an impact on loyalty groups. Based on discriminant analysis, the paper analyzes and discusses the data, and presents a conclusion that the more important variables on loyalty in the supermarket are affective commitment, satisfaction with its environment and value provided by supermarket experiences. Moreover, the results also indicated that the theoretical model achieved a variance in the loyalty construct of canonical R-squared = 0.78. It could be considered a good value to the final model. Final considerations and study limitations conclude the paper.

Resumo em Inglês:

Allen and Ng (1999a) proposed a conceptual framework of how consumers' choice of services may be influenced by the human values that they endorse. The aim of this study is to observe which implications cultural differences had on holiday destination choice. The sample consisted of 793 participants (52% Brazilians, 48% Australians; 51% Male; average age = 25y; Education 52% High School), who answered a questionnaire containing: the vertical-horizontal individualism-collectivism Values Scale, the Meaning and Judgment Scale, a Holiday Destination Measure, a Consumption Behavior Measure, and demographics page. The main effect of the country on cultural patterns between Brazil and Australia was observed. The individualist Australians preferred a piecemeal judgment and placed more importance on tangible attributes. Brazilians, who scored higher on collectivism, used affective judgment more. These and other results are discussed in terms of the validity of the model for individuals who endorse cultural values other than individualism.