FIRM RESOURCES FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION OF SMES FROM EMERGING COUNTRIES: A MULTIMETHOD STUDY

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article investigates and classifies firm resources for the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from emerging countries. Originality/value: SMEs from emerging countries in global markets evidence their more restricted access to resources for internationalization. The mainstream international business literature classifies firm’s resources identified in large companies from developed economies. This research classifies firms’ internationalization resources located in different emerging countries based on a systematic literature review (SLR) and interviews. This paper contributes to the theoretical development about the internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries, indicating the importance of organizational resources in this process. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents an exploratory research developed in two stages: a SLR on emerging countries and interviews with experts, institutions, and SMEs about the Brazilian context. Bibliographic research and an interview with semi-structured script were adopted as data collection techniques. Interviews were analyzed with NVivo software using content analysis technique and providing categorization of resources. Findings: Up to 2016, 15 works mentioned resources for the internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries and seven were done in Asia. We identified 72 resources in ten emerging countries. Organizational resources predominate. The use of financial resources in Brazil contradicts the trend in other emerging countries. More tangible resources seem less strategic for SMEs’ internationalization from emerging countries when compared to more intangible resources, as organizational ones.

STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EXPLORATION, EXPLOITATION, AND AMBIDEXTERITY PRACTICES IN CRAFT BREWERIES FROM UBERLÂNDIA, MG

ABSTRACT Purpose: This paper aims to understand the configuration of strategic entrepreneurship practices of exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity in craft breweries from Uberlândia, MG. Originality/value: Strategic entrepreneurship enables the comprehension of entrepreneurial phenomena from an organizational perspective. Furthermore, this research is conducted in an emergent industry in Brazil, with few studies in the field of management that consider the idiosyncrasies of craft breweries. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a qualitative multicase study with three craft breweries from Uberlândia, MG. Twelve interviews were performed, and the set of empirical data collected were analyzed through narrative analysis technique. Findings: We identified several strategic entrepreneurship practices in the craft breweing sector. First, exploration practices were found in some radical innovations, such as the pioneering nature in the production of craft beers in Uberlândia, the creation of new products, and in the setting of new business models. Second, exploitation practices were also identified in incremental innovations that enabled business development. Hence, ambidexterity relied on the balance of exploration and exploitation practices, as innovative endeavors enabled the creation and development of new products and access to new markets. Thus, strategic entrepreneurship practices reflect the initiatives of entrepreneurial agents that seek to promote organizational innovations in terms of quality improvements, new production and marketing strategies, and the adoption of new technologies. Therefore, strategic entrepreneurship reflects and contributes to innovation possibilities, strategic renewals, and the competitiveness of craft breweries, revealing the analytical power of this theoretical approach for the study of entrepreneurial phenomena.

REFLECTIONS OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ON PAY-PERFORMANCE SENSITIVITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT Purpose: This research investigates whether the characteristics of corporate governance (executive compensation, board composition, ownership structure, and control) influence the sensitivity of remuneration to firms’ performance, the so-called pay-performance sensitivity. Originality/value: This study brings to the literature a new perspective on the interaction of corporate governance mechanisms aligned with the concept of pay-performance sensitivity. The study shows that governance instruments are not isolated but rather interrelated and interdependent. Design/methodology/approach: The study sample was composed of Brazil 100 Index (IBRX 100) companies listed on B3 from 2014 to 2018. Data were extracted from the Economatica® database, and the reference forms were accessed on the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil’s (CVM) website. We use panel data regression models with fixed and random-effects models. Findings: The board composition (represented by the CEO/Chairman duality) increases the pay-performance sensitivity, while the ownership concentration reduces it. In addition, a greater presence of independent members on the board reduces the variation in executive compensation.

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES: ANTECEDENTS OF WELL-BEING AT WORK FOR RURAL SUCCESSORS

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study sought to explore the relationship between well-being at work and organizational values in rural properties’ successors in a cooperative system. Originality/value: Empirically, the study presents elements for the strategic management of rural properties, especially for the challenge of preparing successors. For cooperatives, it contributes towards presenting elements for members’ management policies and practices. The study also extends the field of studies on well-being at work and the relationship between well-being and values in the organizational environment. Design/methodology/approach: The method design adopted followed a quantitative approach, with a relational scope, survey type, and cross-sectional. Successors representing 119 rural properties in western Santa Catarina participated in the study. Questionnaires assess organizational values and well-being at work as constructs. The descriptive, correlational statistics and structural equations modeling with partial least squares estimation confirm the hypothesis. Findings: The study’s main conclusion suggests that the values of environment dominance and autonomy are associated with commitment, satisfaction, and involvement with work for successors of rural properties in a cooperative system.

WELL-BEING AT WORK IN PROCESSES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: THE ROLE OF INFORMAL SOCIAL NETWORKS

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study evaluates the role of social networks of support, information, and trust in well-being at work, regarding the positive and negative affects and professional fulfillment of workers immersed in processes of organizational change. Originality/value: Organizational change is characterized as a dynamic process, constituted through relationships, immersed in a context of uncertainties. The mapping of relationships can help in understanding the information flows and the assessment of resource availability. Design/methodology/approach: 151 professionals from a holding participated. This company undergoes changes in the scope of services offered and the organizational design. Links of support, information, and trust established according to the change processes were mapped. Associated with the network, the Well-Being at Work Scale was used. For data analysis, multiple regressions were used to construct explanatory models for well-being factors: fulfillment, positive and negative affects. Findings: Variables in support and information social network analysis (SNA) composed the predictive model of well-being in the three models. Among the researched ties, the support and information ties were part of the predictive model of well-being. The metrics that reveal how many times the employee is indicated and indicates others, proximity to highly cited neighbors, degree of participation in cohesive subgroups, the degree to which they assume a central position in the subgroups are indicators of actors’ positions capable of predicting well-being. The influence of the pattern of interaction between managers and employees should be considered in promoting well-being in organizations in the process of change.

WORK DESIGN: WORK FEATURES OF CIVIL SERVANTS OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

ABSTRACT Purpose: To identify and analyze differences in the tasks, knowledge, and social features of the work of civil servants of the Superior Court of Justice, and, secondarily, to verify the factorial, convergent, predictive, and discriminative validity of the Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) in the Brazilian Judiciary context. Originality/value: With the WDQ’s development, the work design became the subject of further studies all around the world. Also, in Brazil, since its translation and adaptation, this variable has caused great repercussions in people management, becoming the first study within the scope of the Brazilian Judiciary. Design/methodology/approach: Through a survey sent to 2,898 civil servants, 895 responses were obtained and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis, confirmatory factorial analysis, reliability analysis, Kendall’s tau correlation analysis, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Findings: The most indicated work feature was social support, and the least indicated was interaction outside the organization. Special knowledge was most required from professionals with higher education. For the men, there were more problem solving, specialized knowledge, and decision-making autonomy in their work. Civil servants who work in judicial activities claimed to have more meaningful tasks. Managers claimed to have less autonomy in planning their tasks, as all other civil servants stated that their work has a more definite beginning, middle, and end. In a public body of great size and complexity, work features are differentiated by their sociodemographic and functional variables, requiring customization in the management practices of people and organizational policies.

THE INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION AND CREATIVITY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to analyze the influence of entrepreneurial passion and creativity on entrepreneurial intent. It also examines the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy between the personal/cognitive variable and entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value: By stressing the importance of cognitive and emotional variables that may influence entrepreneurial intentions among university students (such as creativity and entrepreneurial passion), this study shows the important role that universities have in the development of entrepreneurial intent. According to the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the environment influences individual behavior and, therefore, universities should encourage an entrepreneurial environment, enabling the creation of new jobs and companies. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a survey with business and technology students from a Brazilian university. In total, 338 valid responses were obtained, which were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The data were collected in a cross-sectional manner and by a stratified and non-probability sampling method. To address the research hypothesis and to attain the objectives of the study, all constructs were adapted from relevant literature in the field of entrepreneurship. The structural model was examined in relation to the model fit, which enabled the hypothesis to be tested. Findings: Results showed both a direct and indirect positive relationship between entrepreneurial passion on entrepreneurial intention. Regarding the creativity factor, results indicated only an indirect effect of creativity on entrepreneurial intention, this relationship being mediated through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. No significant differences were found in the model regarding age, gender, graduation program, entrepreneurial family background, role models or family income.

IMPACT OF THE FOREIGN EXPERIENCE OF BOARD DIRECTORS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLICLY TRADED BRAZILIAN COMPANIES

ABSTRACT Purpose: We analyzed the impact of board directors with foreign experience on the accounting and market performance of companies listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3). Originality/value: We show unpublished empirical evidence about the relationship between the foreign experience of board directors and the performance of Brazilian firms. Knowing this relationship better contributes to the formulation of internal policies for the qualification of senior management, in addition to being valuable to shareholders, especially in a context of weak legal protection, as it is in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: We collected data from 230 companies between 2010 and 2016, submitted it to unbalanced panel data regressions using the Systemic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM-Sys). Findings: The results suggest that the higher the proportion of board members with academic and professional foreign experience, the lower their accounting and market performance. This finding can be justified by institutional isomorphism, in which having an experience abroad would be a myth, a status institutionalized by the Brazilian society. In addition, foreign owners and directors face cultural barriers and would have less knowledge of the local environment, which would increase information asymmetries, impacting negatively in firms’ performance. On the other hand, an increase in the number of foreigners on the board positively influences the market value of companies, since, by having weaker local power networks and, consequently, less possibility to obtain private benefits, the investors could value companies with this characteristic.

DAILY PRACTICES AND PROCESSES OF TERRITORIALIZATION OF SETTLERS IN QUERÊNCIA DO NORTE, PARANÁ, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Purpose: To understand the processes of territorialization in the daily life and work routine of settlers in Querência do Norte, Paraná, Brazil. Originality/value: This work contributes to the context of discussions on territory and territorialization processes (Haesbaert, 2011; Raffestin, 1993, 2008; Saquet, 2008) in the daily life (De Certeau, 2014) of workers marginalized by society in general. Design/methodology/approach: We developed this qualitative article from data collected through eight life history interviews with settlers, pre-settlers, and residents of Querência do Norte, in the State of Paraná (PR). After transcribing the interviews, they went through an analysis of narratives. Findings: We identify that, through the practices of work, study and claims, the settlers territorialize the space, and there they create their own rules and norms of coexistence. In their struggles for land, it is clear that their place of belonging is the field, justifying the insistence on the struggle for the right to land to cultivate. The sense of belonging of the workers is represented by the struggle that unites them and places them as part of a larger movement. Placing men at the center of the construction of territoriality is accomplished through the daily struggle and work of the settlers and pre-settlers in Querência do Norte (PR).

IMPLICATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN AND TRANSPARENCY FOR BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

ABSTRACT Purpose: Blockchain protocol comprises several attributes, among which transparency stands out. In this vein, the purpose of this article is to advance research on the implications of transparency (as derived from the use of blockchain) for business sustainability (BS). Originality/value: There is continuing interest in applying blockchain for creating and improving transparency, with this latter representing a strategic asset in BS. However, despite advancing this subject, the literature still lacks studies that explain the organizational circumstances in which blockchain can enable progress on transparency in the scope of BS. Design/method/approach: The methodology involved an integrative literature review on blockchain, transparency, and BS, and it was conducted with the support of Web of Science and Scopus to attend the research objective. Findings: The results favored the proposal of two analytical frameworks: one refers to the concepts of blockchain and transparency presented by the academic literature, and the other to the benefits of blockchain and transparency for the economic, social, and environmental BS dimensions. Furthermore, discussions involved deducing propositions about the use of blockchain to improve transparency in the BS context. The propositions open future research directions to studies that aim to test them qualitatively or quantitatively.