Resumo em Inglês:

This research investigated the impact the external environment, firm characteristics and firm strategy have on export performance. To this end, a survey was administered to 448 large Brazilian exporters of manufactured products. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to fit the conceptual model to empirical data. An extensive set of procedures for the validation of measurement models was used. Export performance exhibited a multidimensional structure and the model explained 76.6% and 40.1% of the observed variance of past export revenues and of past export profitability, respectively.

Resumo em Inglês:

As customers are becoming increasingly connected to the internet, this means that they are available for online interviews, thus opening up a space for investigating research methods, especially qualitative research, in an attempt to identify how to adapt data collecting instruments to the so-called "connected customer era". In this context, the focus of this article is on the application viability analysis of the laddering technique used online and in real-time chat by asking the following question: "Why caipirinha?". Conducting online in-depth interviews through the MSN Messenger and Skype (the most commonly used chat tools in Brazil), 23 attributes, 22 consequences and 13 values were identified, resulting in 133 ladders, 71 of which reached the value level. Along with friends/mates, Integration, Entertainment and Fun, in addition to Alcohol, Insouciance/ relaxation and Pleasure constitute the most frequent ladders. Concerning the application itself, the participants gave positive feedback, even though some of them did not feel satisfied because they became tired. Convenience, objectivity, disinhibition, easy scheduling and flexibility were identified. The viability of online in-depth interviewing via real-time chats was confirmed, raising the question of the possibility of it achieving other qualitative research techniques.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper contributes to the literature on organizational change by examining organizations as social entities embedded in inter-organizational networks. In contrast with extant research that focuses on macro environmental and internal factors to explain organizational change, we put forth the social network surrounding the firm as a major driver of any change process. Specifically, we examine organizational change as driven by the organizations' positions and relations in an interorganizational network, and advance a set of theory driven propositions on innovation, imitation, inertia, structural equivalence and structural positioning. Our conceptual discussion demonstrates that inter-organizational networks are important in complementing the macro-environment and internal organizational factors for the study of organizational changes. We conclude with a discussion on normative implications for organizations and avenues for future research.

Resumo em Inglês:

This work analyses the use of the discourse as a strategy for the dissemination of new cultural values in a State Secretary beginning in 1995. For this purpose, discourse analysis was used according to the concept by Fiorin (1997) based on the concepts of figures, themes and ways to manipulate discourses. It is a descriptive and exploratory study. The theoretical discussion was based on the concept of organizational culture in the dimensions of artifacts and cultural values. The analysis was carried out from the documents of the organization, including the projects of modernization, plans of action, reports of strategic planning, laws and decrees. Furthermore, the official journal of the organization from 1998 to 2006 was analyzed. For the years 2007 and 2009, the analysis was conducted based on the organization's website. The results show that there was deep concern with regard to the theme of organizational culture during the whole process of modernization. They also indicate that the organization used different discourse resources to guide the individual behavior of its members such as seduction, temptation, intimidation and provocation. They also show that the official discourses are not in harmony with the various discourses found in the organization due to the plurality of values that are shared by the organizational actors.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents the results of an exploratory, inductive cataloguing of the views of Brazilian and U.S. academics regarding current leadership theory and development. Semi structured interviews with academics from a variety of institutional settings in Brazil and the U.S. were content analyzed to identify major themes and tendencies across the two countries. Our analyses revealed that neither Brazilian nor U.S. academics adopted the bulk of current formal leadership thought uncritically. Instead, both the Brazilian and North American business education fields adopted theories selectively and formulated idiosyncratic approaches to the field. The U.S. interviewees appeared to vary much more from one another than the Brazilian scholars, whose positions were more critical but more homogeneous overall. There was also considerable variation across the two national settings. We found Bourdieu's practice theory useful in interpreting our results, particularly the concepts of field differentiation and heteronomy, habitus, and cultural capital. Still, much research remains to be done to disentangle the purely historical and cultural factors from the impacts of the social construction of the field of business education in the two countries.