Resumo em Inglês:

This paper examines if a firm's alliances affect the persistence of its financial performance. The literature suggests two conflicting views concerning this effect. In particular, access to resources and innovation and the risk of imitation from alliances can have different impacts on performance. In our empirical analysis, based on a panel of 509 firms covering the years 1992 to 2002, return on assets was regressed on the number of alliances and other control variables using hierarchical linear modeling. Results support the positive view of alliances as mechanisms to sustain competitive advantage and escape from competitive disadvantage through access to external, valuable resources held by other firms. Alliances also help firms to constantly innovate and buffer themselves from external shocks that erode existing advantages. Our results, however, may be specific to the period and the institutional context under consideration and we do not distinguish between types, purposes and "strength" of alliances. We contribute to the debate about profit persistence by examining one particular factor that has been neglected in the literature: the extent to which firms engage in alliances with other actors. From a managerial perspective, our study shows that alliances can be used as an effective tool to support superior performance or avoid lock-in into inferior performance.

Resumo em Inglês:

The world financial crisis initiated in 2008 may have affected the international financing mix of firms in Brazil and their determinants, given its aftereffects. Financial crisis are recurrent events with varying degrees of severity. Many public Brazilian firms use international financing in their capital structure mix and it is relevant to understand their behavior during international crises. Thus, our goal was to investigate the foreign financing mixes of Brazilian listed companies before (2004) and during the 2008 world financial crisis by means of descriptive and probit regression analyses of their components and determinants at the end of these years. Brazilian companies usage of Eurobonds fluctuates with the value of the real (R$) and is still small considering the size of Brazil's economy. Short-term financing and bank loans, domestic and foreign, decreased in 2008 and were replaced by domestic and international bonds and American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Firms with foreign shareholders more often resorted to foreign capital markets and their presence became a more important determinant in 2008, while the other determinants did not change. Firms that employ international debt tend to use all other sources of financing more often. International bank loans may be the first step to reduce international financing constraints.

Resumo em Inglês:

Theoretical models concerning Credit Unions (CUs) suggest that the type of CU domination determines the way it allocates the monetary value it generates. A borrower- (saver-) dominated CU benefits borrower (saver) members at the expenses of saver (borrower) members, and a neutral CU equally benefits its member groups. This paper applies direct measure of monetary benefits to each member group (Patin & McNiel, 1991a) to test for the existence of dominated behavior in Brazilian CUs, and is the first to apply panel data regressions to identify the determinants of CUs behavior. We use a unique panel data with 40,664 observations taken from 533 CUs affiliated with the largest Brazilian cooperative network. Results indicate Brazilian CUs are dominated by borrowers, but behave close to neutrality. Panel regression estimates show that common or multiple bond type, size and overdue loans of a CU have no effect on its behavior, the greater the total amount of loans over social capital and adjusted equity over total assets are the more likely a CU is borrower dominated, and the greater the age and current operational expenses over total asset of a CU are the more likely a CU is saver dominated.

Resumo em Inglês:

This study sought to understand how the employee perceptions of human resource management practices influence both organizational affective commitment and entrenchment. It represents advancement towards discriminant validity of such linkages that develop between individuals and the organizations they work for. A survey of 307 participants was conducted in an Information Technology company in Brazil. It was found that affective commitment has a strong and positive relationship with perceptions of HRM practices, while entrenchment is also related, but in a very weak fashion. Training and development practices showed better fit with the expected results of such practices in the organization studied, strongly affecting commitment, but not enhancing entrenchment. Even if not generalizable, these results strengthen the research stream that defends that commitment and entrenchment are separate constructs.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this article is to systematically review Training Needs Assessment (TNA) scientific literature. Based on two research questions (where are we? where should we go?), we hoped to evaluate the current state of scientific production on TNA and to point out some possible developments. The following databases were consulted: Web of Knowledge, Ovid, Proquest, Wiley Online Library, Emerald, PsycNet, CAPES Database and Scielo. Fifty-One articles were analyzed. The results show that: (a) there is little agreement on how to measure training needs; (b) most of the current TNA models and methods are reactive and do not consider contextual factors and multiple levels of analysis in a proactive way; (c) there are gaps in TNA and a need for theoretical definitions; (d) there is little concern with building theories and concepts related to TNA. Based on these findings, we point out that TNA practice and research should: (a) be based exclusively on measurable human competences gaps, in multiple possible levels of analysis; (b) not focus only on individual professional roles, but also on internal and external contextual factors that can be important in the future; (c) discuss and criticize in depth what work needs, training needs and training needs assessment mean; (d) elaborate and test TNA theories, concepts, models and methods.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this paper, we analyze the private participation in prison services in three countries: Brazil, France, and the United States. We highlight striking differences in efficiency between these countries and argue that the explanation for these differences is not restricted to the way property rights are distributed (i.e.public vs. private management). Instead, our analysis suggests that understanding those differences also requires an analysis of the incentives provided by contractual choices as well as decision and revenue rights distribution and institutional constraints. The theoretical literature usually analyzes these blocks separately, and often focuses on property rights distribution. We argue that an efficient arrangement is the result of the way these elements are combined, giving rise to a distinctive governance structure.