Afonso Carneiro Lima, José Augusto Giesbrecht da Silveira, Fátima Regina Ney Matos and André Moura Xavier
To analyze capital budgeting practice in a group of small cotton ginning firms in Brazil. The study aims at describing how investment decision-making in the agribusiness context…
Abstract
Purpose
To analyze capital budgeting practice in a group of small cotton ginning firms in Brazil. The study aims at describing how investment decision-making in the agribusiness context may be influenced by heuristics and by the business setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted an exploratory and qualitative approach in gauging the practice of capital budgeting in Brazilian cotton ginning firms and discussing actual managerial decision-making. Data collection involved interviews with managers of ten different firms and a further content analysis was performed.
Findings
Results reveal a practical managerial approach aimed at ensuring satisfactory net operating results in the short run. Sophistication in capital budgeting is not considered as essential, as institutional and strategic environment influences directly affect impose high risks. Investment decision-making is highly influenced by managerial experience.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, results may lack generalizability. However, in addressing a specific sector in a specific location, one can identify and craft strategies in response to managerial needs more effectively.
Practical implications
The paper clarifies how heuristics, managerial experience and the institutional context may influence investment decision-making in cotton ginning operations. It also suggests how actions aimed at evaluating risk and improving the screening of investment perspectives could contribute to improve investment decisions.
Originality/value
The paper provides an in-depth perspective in addressing the practice of capital budgeting in the context of a specific activity and describing key issues related to it.
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André Luis de Castro Moura Duarte, Flavio Macau, Cristiano Flores e Silva and Lars Meyer Sanches
The purpose of this paper is to explore last mile delivery (LMD) to the bottom of the pyramid in Brazilian slums, its challenges and how practitioners overcome them. Urban…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore last mile delivery (LMD) to the bottom of the pyramid in Brazilian slums, its challenges and how practitioners overcome them. Urban logistics in precarious circumstances is central to the conceptualization.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, grounded theory methodology is developed, gathering data from companies delivering to slums in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Field notes, documents and interviews led to conceptual categories for LMD to slums.
Findings
The study indicates that while some standard urban logistics practices can be effective for LMD to slums, such unusual contexts often call for unusual solutions. A model is developed using grounded theory categorization, resulting in five dimensions for LMD to slums: employing locally, giving back, acknowledging criminals, vehicle and location.
Research limitations/implications
The model is a qualitative proposition representing LMD to slums in two major Brazilian cities. Even though slums in different cities/countries may face similar conditions, additional studies are needed to confirm and replicate the model.
Practical implications
Companies that successfully engage in LMD to slums must adapt and develop idiosyncratic practices.
Social implications
LMD to slums enables a larger portion of bottom of the pyramid consumers to access a wider range of products and work opportunities, contributing to their social inclusion.
Originality/value
The study provides an understanding of LMD in a new context. The model encourages companies to question their current practices, learning from effective LMD experiences implemented by successful practitioners.
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China has invested massively in higher education, reaching a mass system, envisaging, as a next step, reaching a universal system. Brazil is still an elite system but needs to…
Abstract
Purpose
China has invested massively in higher education, reaching a mass system, envisaging, as a next step, reaching a universal system. Brazil is still an elite system but needs to create adequate public policies to migrate to a mass system. The purpose of this article is to analyze the paradigms for a mass educational system, with regard to the quality of education offered, and the prospects for achieving a universal system, with Brazil and China as a reference.
Design/methodology/approach
The author applied an exploratory and qualitative method, through categorical content analysis. The data were collected through nine interviews with government managers, 15 unstructured (open) questionnaires to specialists in higher education and four student leadership.
Findings
The results indicate that the change from an elite system to a mass system impacts quality, as there is an inevitable change in experience. However, this modification does not testify against the mass system, as it is necessary for a nation to pass through it and structure itself adequately in order to reach the universal system, a path desired by both countries.
Originality/value
The study presented the reflections observed by the migration from the elite system to the mass system from the main stakeholders of the system in China and the prospects for Brazil to become a mass system. Additionally, it presented the perspectives for both countries to achieve the desired universal system.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Roberto Wagner Júnior Freire de Freitas, Márcio Flávio Moura de Araújo, Maria Wendiane Gueiros Gaspar, José Cláudio Garcia Lira Neto, Ana Maria Parente Garcia Alencar, Maria Lúcia Zanetti and Marta Maria Coelho Damasceno
This paper aims to compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on the basis of three criteria. The diagnostic criteria adopted were those of the International Diabetes…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on the basis of three criteria. The diagnostic criteria adopted were those of the International Diabetes Federation, the National Cholesterol Education Program – Adult Treatment Panel III and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute..
Design/methodology/approach
A transversal study was undertaken with 691 university students in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2011-2013.
Findings
The prevalence of MetS varied considerably according to the criteria used, it being 4.1 per cent for the IDF, 0.7 per cent for the NCEP ATPIII and 1.7 per cent for the revised NCEP ATPIII. The criteria of the IDF presented reasonable agreement in relation to the NCEP ATP III (0.294) and revised NCEP ATP III (0.334). Moderate agreement was found between the NCEP ATPIII/revised NCEP ATPIII.
Originality/value
There is a need for a universal diagnostic criterion for MetS to obtain uniform and more reliable data for the elaboration of public health policies.
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Francisco Elder Escossio de Barros, Ruan Carlos dos Santos, Lidinei Eder Orso and Antonia Márcia Rodrigues Sousa
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais…
Abstract
Purpose
From the agency theory’s point of view, this paper aims to analyze corporate governance mechanisms about the characteristics of the companies quoted in the segments Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais 2 and their influence on the creation of value in preparation for the opening of the initial public offering (IPO).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was adopted to achieve the proposed objective using the panel data with fixed effects and secondary data collected on the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários website, using statistical software Stata® 13.0 for statistical tests. The population comprises non-financial companies belonging to the Bovespa Mais and Bovespa Mais Level 2 groups, as the survey sample took into account the period of adhesion of the companies, totaled in 15 companies, which cover the period from 2008 to 2019. The selected variables correspond to the ownership structure’s characteristics, then the board’s composition and the fiscal council as the body responsible for supervising the administrators’ acts.
Findings
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. However, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Research limitations/implications
The main results indicate that the number of independent members on the board of directors and the supervisory board’s participation positively influence market performance. Despite this, it also reveals that the concentration of ownership brings fundraising for other companies’ acquisitions, risk reduction concerning information asymmetry between investing powers.
Practical implications
This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market. This paper finds that internal governance characteristics (founder-chief executive officer, executive incentives and board independence) and external network characteristics (prestigious underwriters, degree of venture capitalist syndication and board interlocks) are significant predictors of foreign capital market choice by foreign IPO firms.
Social implications
While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally crucial strategic decision. This paper advances a comparative institutional perspective to explain capital market choice by firms making an IPO in a foreign market.
Originality/value
This situation generates value to shareholders and is perceived by the market and, ultimately, generates a direct relationship with the market performance of companies. While product market choices have been central to strategy formulation for firms in the past, financial markets’ integration makes capital markets an equally major strategic decision.
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Optimal application and commitment toward financial management practices enhance organization performance. This study aims to assess the influence of financial management…
Abstract
Purpose
Optimal application and commitment toward financial management practices enhance organization performance. This study aims to assess the influence of financial management practices on the organizational performance of small- and medium-scale enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 45 small-sized and 72 medium-sized firms. Data supported the hypothesized relationships. Construct reliability and validity were established through confirmatory factor analysis. The conceptual model and hypotheses were evaluated by using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicate that working capital significantly influenced organizational performance. Capital budget management significantly influenced organizational performance. A non-significant influence of asset management on organizational performance was observed.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of the findings will be constrained due to the research’s SMEs focus and cross-sectional data.
Practical implications
The study’s findings will serve as valuable pointers for stakeholders and decision-makers of SMEs in developing well-articulated and proactive financial management systems to ensure competitiveness, sustainability, viability, and financial competencies.
Originality/value
The study adds to the corpus of literature by evidencing empirically that financial management practices significantly influenced SMEs’ performance.
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Pedro Garcia-del-Barrio and Francesc Pujol
The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the players' contribution and economic value in the soccer industry. Media visibility records provide us with comparable metrics to…
Abstract
Purpose
The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the players' contribution and economic value in the soccer industry. Media visibility records provide us with comparable metrics to identify talent and make hiring decisions – these records can jointly capture sport (on-field) skills and other attractive (off-field) abilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a valuation method that applies media visibility appraisals to estimate “theoretical values” of the transfer fees paid for hiring soccer players. The estimations are performed by analysing the evolution over time of the media exposure of about 5,000 individuals of more than 200 clubs.
Findings
The study’s empirical results reveal that, along with sport performance, the players' media status also affects their economic valuation, which explains why the clubs – in search of greater economic returns – fiercely compete for the most popular players. The paper also identifies the main factors determining the players' economic value. In predicting the players' transfer fees, some variables are statistically significant: individual media visibility, media visibility share of the player within his team, contract duration, status of the hiring team, years of experience, player's age at the end of the contract and the domestic league of the hiring team.
Originality/value
Professional sports provide reliable measures on individuals' performance that may help in the hiring process of workers. This paper identifies gifted soccer players while taking into account their skills as media leaders and the economic implications. Insofar as players' talents determine their teams' sport and economic achievements, the transfer fees paid for players must then be seen as a crucial factor. Measuring individual talent and being able to translate this talent into productivity levels entail serious methodological and empirical challenges.