Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this article is to describe and to analyze how the consolidation in the international markets of Brazilian construction companies occurred. The methodological procedures had been classified as descriptive conclusive research and data was collected under a qualitative orientation. A study of four companies was conducted: Andrade Gutierrez, Mendes Júnior, Norberto Odebrecht and Queiroz Galvão. A theoretical model with four analytical levels was considered: the macro context, the institutional environment, the industry and the firm. The results indicate that consolidation in international markets occurred largely as a result of factors concerning strategic management in response to the institutional processes and the appropriateness of the sector's competitive conditions. In theoretical terms, this article makes progress when understanding internationalization processes is concerned in that it proposes a model that integrates knowledge from the fields of study of administration, organizations and international business. Although the model may be refined in future research, we believe that it reflects an important step toward the development of a broad theoretical frame of reference capable of covering the wealth and diversity that are typical of international activity.

Resumo em Inglês:

This article is based on the assumption that the construction of scientific knowledge is a social process characterized by the recursive dynamic between the social and intellectual dimensions. In light of this statement, we investigated how the construction of the institutional perspective is delineated in the context of organizational studies in Brazil from 1993 to 2007. The study is based on documentary research of articles published in scientific journals and at academic events. For this purpose, we analyzed social networks and used bibliometric indicators in order to map the cooperation relationships between researchers and intellectual framework, based on the cited authors. The results show the influence of social relationships in the process of constructing scientific knowledge. The findings reveal that the expansion of the field is based on the growing elaboration of a social organization with close links to the activities of continuant and transient researchers. These circumstances denote the stratification both of production and the relationships between authors, since continuant and transient researchers are responsible for the intermediation of relations and the consolidation of production in the academic field that is being analyzed. The findings also reveal a secondary dynamic of the activities of researchers located on the margin of the network and the presence of Brazilian researchers among the most cited authors, an indication of a legitimized local intellectual base.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this study is to research a sales manager's social network and demonstrate that sales managers who are central in closure structures of an advice network achieve high sales performance. Considering the results obtained and the discussion provided in the hypotheses presentation, we argue that sales managers must have accurate perceptions of their network. Two different networks were analyzed: friendship and advice; and we also considered two different views of network structure that claim to make an impact on performance and, to explore this claim, we examined whether sales managers, in order to improve sales performance, develop either a highly cohesive network or one containing structural holes. Census data was collected from over 500 personnel of an agricultural input retailer with 23 divisions. Estimates from a sample of 101 sales managers demonstrated, in the advice network, how important a highly cohesive structure is to a sales manager's performance. These results suggest that firms should encourage contacts among their personnel to disseminate and share technical and commercial information. By stimulating cohesive structures of contacts for the purpose of receiving advice, firms create an environment for sales managers to develop relationships of trust in which social norms prevail.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents a comprehensive and integrated set of validation procedures to assess the satisfactoriness of measurement models of multifaceted constructs. The validation framework is then applied to a new measurement model of the economic domain of export performance, a construct for which agreement has not yet been reached in the literature concerning the appropriate representation of its complex nature. A sample of 414 large Brazilian exporters of manufactured products was collected, and five competing measurement models of the construct were proposed and comparatively assessed. Insights into the nature and structure of the construct are drawn. In the best fitting of the five tested models, export (venture) performance is represented as a two-dimensional construct - past export revenues and their growth, and past export profitability, with four and two operational indicators, respectively. The set of final indicators provides a reasonable coverage of several conceptual aspects of the phenomenon, namely absolute and relative measures as well as static and dynamic orientations. There is a thorough discussion of validation steps. The validation framework advanced here is generic and comprehensive enough to be employed for modeling other multifaceted constructs in the social sciences.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the theory of public management by presenting empirical evidence of using the Balanced Scorecard for third sector organizations. The research was conducted within an interpretive paradigm using an action research strategy. Data was collected through focus group and individual interviews and analyzed using interpretation and content analysis. The main limitation of this study lies in its application to a very singular type of organization that operates as a driver to improve the efficiency and nimbleness of other public organizations, although the methods employed here are very likely to be applicable to other kinds of organizations without adversely affecting the results. The findings corroborate Kaplan and Norton's (2001) suggestion that non-profit organizations should put customers at the top of their strategic maps. They also indicate that sponsors should be considered a strong stakeholder in the strategic plan, and need to be satisfied in order to ensure legitimacy and sustainability. Although some authors have suggested that an overall framework should be devised for an entire organization, the evidence indicates that developing a single Balanced Scorecard for each department promotes cooperation rather than competition and leads to synergy rather than fragmentation.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper discusses Fair Trade [FT] certification as a way to include small producers in global value chains, and identifies the main barriers for small honey producers from RS to meet these criteria. A new trading system such as FT has been providing access for food products coming from small farmers from developing countries. The method of this study integrates global value chain analysis and the methodology proposed by Paul (2005) to analyse FT as development projects. This study is three-fold: first to characterise the FT system; then to present the role of governance by third party certifiers such as FLO-CERT and finally to provide empirical evidence of the main difficulties that small producers have to comply with FT, such as export and organisation capacity. Our findings show that large retailers recently became big players in the FT system. The certification costs are high but can provide market access though there is a risk of overspecialisation.