Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Information and communication technology improvements have challenged the organized and stable network of airlines, global distribution systems (GDS) and travel agencies. In Brazil, traditional travel agencies have faced significant challenges in maintaining their businesses because airlines have forced disintermediation by cutting commissions and reduced distribution costs by selling their product directly through airline websites. This study explores the existence of strategic groups in the Brazilian travel agency market to elucidate how they interact with GDS and other travel agencies to maintain and improve their market position. A latent class analysis model was applied to a sample of 4,288 travel agency points of sale located in Brazil. The study results identified groups with members that exhibited similar behaviors in their relationships with GDS and other travel agencies. The study findings do not support claims regarding the demise of the travel agency business model.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper aims to examine the everyday management of traveling circuses in Brazil by looking for the practices and strategies that allow them to survive over time. To this end, it relies on theories about the management of everyday life developed by De Certeau. The discourses of individuals working at small, medium and large circuses is analysed to reveal their routine strategies and tactics. This analysis reveals the complexities and contradictions involved in the management of such organizations, while debating the strategies and tactics developed within them, as well as the everyday process of creation-invention. Circuses are practiced organizations like any other and, as such, they are part of the local social-historical reality, reconstructing themselves every day.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract It is generally recognized that the governance structure of an alliance, equity versus nonequity, is an important strategic choice. Since an alliance teams up companies that are inevitably divergent in upstream resource endowment and/or downstream market coverage, it is necessary to select an appropriate governance form to manage the interpartner differences and thus facilitate cooperation. Nevertheless, prior studies have suggested conflicting governance modes despite their adherence to the rationale of transaction cost economics. To address this gap in extant literature, the current study takes into account the moderation of alliance scope in the interfirm difference-governance choice linkage. In sum, this paper argues that, to determine a suitable governance structure, there is a need to concurrently examine how different the partnering firms are from each other and what range the collective activities cover. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to test hypotheses in a sample of 125 bilateral alliances. The empirical findings indicate that nonequity modes will be preferred for the alliances that have less interfirm resource disparity and narrower alliance scopes, while equity-based forms will be chosen for the alliances that have less interfirm market divergence and narrower alliance scopes.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This paper has three main contributions to the debate about the value of management practices. First, the empirical confirmation of a strong and significant relationship between the level of management practices and three major dimensions of firms' performance (profitability, growth and productivity). The value of this contribution is grounded on a survey of 124 companies in a focused and careful choice of context: packaging industry in an emerging country, Brazil. Second, our theoretical conceptualization of management practices as capabilities addresses recent criticism of the Resource-based Theory and suggests there is no need for a new theory as the proposed Practice-based View. The third main contribution relates to the factors that affect the development of management practices. We confirmed that larger firms tend to have higher levels of management practices, although no support was found for the influence of another factor, the family ownership. We also identified that managerial hubris can be seen as a new strong factor negatively affecting the development of higher levels of management practices. Finally, the findings of this paper can bring attention to management as a new, internal component of the so-called Custo Brasil (Brazilian Cost) and its practical effect on the competitiveness of the Brazilian firms.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract This study investigates the effects of economic incentives and communication on the cognitive and behavioral responses after an alleged trust violation. We argue that these responses depend on the type of solution used to foster cooperation between agents. On the cognitive level, we compare the effects that structural (economic incentives) and motivational (communication) solutions exert on trusting beliefs and trusting intentions after an adverse event. On the behavioral level, we compare these effects on the willingness to bear risk. Our experiment shows that, after a negative event, relationships wherein communication is used to foster cooperation are associated to greater external causal attribution, greater perceived benevolence/integrity, and greater willingness to reconcile and to accept risks related to other's behavior. These findings suggest that relationships based on motivational solutions are more resilient to negative events than ones based on structural solutions.