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This study identified the key factors that can be used to assess manufacturers' readiness for DT.

Non-participating observations and semi-structured interviews were applied to five large manufacturers in Brazil and four in the UK, using content analysis.

The paper (1) identifies and discusses the aspects that companies need to consider for digital readiness; (2) presents a model developed in building blocks for DT readiness, which goes beyond the technical dimension; (3) argues that few firms fully understand DT’s meaning, opportunities and risks, and they should invest in strategic and socio-managerial preparation; (4) emphasizes government support as crucial to assist the business digital journey and (5) highlights that DT is a human transformation and technology users are the primary agents of this change.

Although the literature proposes models regarding the levels of digital maturity, the present study investigates which organizational aspects need to be taken into account to be ready for digital change. The present study identified digital resources concerning the digital context (for instance, agile, collaborative, absorptive and data analytics capabilities) and provided an integrated view that encompasses also external aspects of the environment that need to be taken into consideration when performing the analysis, a contribution to strategic management literature in the sense that it goes beyond studies that usually explore only internal aspects of the firm that cannot properly explain how digitalization can be achieved by an organization.

Technologies do not cause changes without people being able to extract and understand the value of the use and impact of these technologies. Business innovation demands engagement, attitudes and connections between people. If the factories do not mobilize and train internal and external collaborators to realize the value of digital technologies, the promised gains of DT will hardly be realized. Preparing people is one of the most challenging aspects of business digitalization. The proposed framework offers a multidimensional view of DT, providing insights into strategic aspects and the roles and mindset of employees in organizations on their digital journey, characterized by constant learning. DT is a work of change management, done with, for and by people. The article also helps companies identify critical factors to evaluate before operationalizing digital innovation practices.

This study also contributes to policymakers, such as government and industry consortia, in establishing relevant factors when policies are being drawn. Analyzing the factors for a sector, in general, might inform the investment priority in actions that might foster DT for that sector. Given the recurring turmoils in the global economic environment, broad policies need to be established by the government for business digitalization, which can boost the performance of the productive sector.

This study provides valuable insights consolidated into a DT readiness model. The article helps companies identify critical factors to evaluate before operationalizing digital practices. It compares the differences and commonalities among factories in an underdeveloped country versus an industrialized nation.

Organizations need to find ways to survive in unpredictable, dynamic and rapidly changing environments. The development of organizational capabilities, such as relational, is a dynamic process of adaptation, which seeks to adjust to an unstable environment. Within this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyze, through a systematic review (SR), 36 articles, which discuss the influence of strategic alliances on the dynamic capabilities (DCs) process.

Through this systematic literature review, articles published in international journals were categorized in terms of their objectives, thematic axes and the research methodologies applied and evidences, to explore their methodological, theoretical and organizational practice contributions.

The results clarified the antecedents, implications and relevance of the relationship between strategic alliances in different countries and their DCs. The findings make it possible to determine directions for new studies that may support the advancement of this field of research.

Studies from this SR point out that alliance is: a flexible vehicle of learning; a way to transfer effective knowledge in partner firms and to generate combinations of resources; and a superior means of access to technological capabilities and other complex capabilities. Those aspects would be difficult to be developed in the firms without the help of partnerships. This can encourage the reconfiguration of existing resources and capabilities. These reconfigurations can lead to deliberate evolutionary adaptations in these firms, which will build relational DCs.

As managerial implications, an alliance allows for the development of capabilities to detect new opportunities, and for the development of the reconfiguration or expansion of the existing resource base in the firm. Thus, alliances, once properly managed and with well-defined structure and purpose, can help firms achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Alliances can serve as a type of strategic choice or an alternative that can enable companies to cope with unstable, global and competitive environments permeated by (new) threats and opportunities.

This SR paper highlighted, in a specific and consistent topic, the suggestions for future research related to the process of DCs and its relationship with strategic alliances, motivating new research works.

Low-income consumers (LICs) have gained more attention from marketers after Prahalad and Hart (2004) called attention to untapped opportunities among the world’s poorest. Once neglected and seen as price-driven, more recent research has depicted LICs as brand-conscious consumers who are willing to pay a premium for quality. However, because LICs must balance their tight budgets with aspirations for branded items, this perspective may be too optimistic. To address this issue, the purpose of this paper is to investigate brand consideration and loyalty among LICs across a wide range of products.

The authors used a qualitative-inductive approach to assess LICs’ brand considerations across ten fast-moving consumer goods. In-depth interviews with 20 Brazilian LICs were conducted.

The authors found that brand loyalty among LICs is both context- and category-dependent. Patterns of loyalty are influenced by five factors: perceived differentiation, perceived risk, contextual usage, proportion of the category expenditure to household income and hedonic vs functional consumption. It seems that the interplay of these factors ultimately shapes differently the attitudes and repeated patronage of brands within each category among LICs.

Generalizability of findings is limited owing to the qualitative method used.

The authors provide practical insights to managers concerning key attributes that influence brand consideration and loyalty among LICs.

This paper adds to the yet limited knowledge on LICs and provides a deeper and more holistic understanding of the relation of LICs with brands.

This research investigates the barriers impeding innovation within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil, exploring 54 innovation-related barriers categorized into six distinct groups to offer substantial insights and analyses pertinent to the decision-makers, researchers and SMEs.

This research employed a mixed quantitative and exploratory approach, utilizing fuzzy Delphi, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methods. The fuzzy Delphi method confirmed the categories and barriers through quantitative analysis, the fuzzy AHP ranked the validated obstacles and the fuzzy DEMATEL method identified causal connections among the top-priority barriers.

Out of 54 barriers, 23 significantly impacted SMEs. The “Financing and Financial” category was the most significant barrier, with “Access to Financing” being the most critical impediment. The barrier with the most influence was “Instability of Fiscal Policies,” and the highest causal priority was “Survival of the Priority Business,” identifying the government’s unstable fiscal policy as the principal barrier confronting SMEs in Brazil.

The primary challenges for Brazilian SMEs center on financing, fiscal policies and maintaining ongoing operations. By addressing these barriers and fostering a resilient business environment, SMEs’ innovation capabilities and competitiveness can be enhanced, serving as key drivers for sustainable economic growth in fluctuating economic conditions. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting and validating the main barriers to SME innovation, providing highly relevant information about the innovation process.

Population worldwide has experienced several challenges related to sustainable development, such as scarcity of natural resource, unsustainable consumption, poverty, injustice, violence, social inequality and natural disaster (including floods, tsunami and landslide). These issues interfere in sustainable development and target to achieve societal balance, structuring without compromising economic and environmental resources of future generations. The higher educational institutions are included in this context because they play a role in professional training and in education to promote sustainable practices. The higher educational institutions can assume a prominent position in the 2030 Agenda implementation for sustainable development of the United Nations, especially in the Goals 4 and 10, quality education and reduced inequalities, respectively. The purpose of this research study aims to develop a literature review and analyze the higher educational and sustainable themes, involving the Brazilian scenario.

This research study develops a literature review based on researches that involve higher educational and sustainable themes in the Brazilian scenario. Inclusion criteria are papers in English, with the search equations in their titles, and peer-reviewed papers. Paper publication year was not an exclusion criterion. This research aimed to understand opportunity and challenge processes in the Brazilian higher educational institutions and their actions, so that the Sustainable Development Goals are completely achieved and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is fulfilled. For this, a research central question was established: What are the opportunities and the challenges to achieve the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in the Brazilian higher education?

A total of 636 papers were recovered. The “Higher Education AND Opportunities,” “Higher Education AND Challenge,” “Higher Education AND Challenges,” “Higher Education AND Opportunity,” “Brazilian AND Higher Education” and “Brazil AND Higher Education” search equations found, respectively, 165, 146, 131, 74, 62 and 25 papers, involving 94.8% of the total number of the papers found. The papers recovered enabled the vision of five clusters: policy; inclusion; culture; relationship; and environment, society and economy. The paper analyses found that innovation process, sustainable practical implementation and holistic look, involving professors and students, can allow the 2030 Agenda achievement.

The authors of this research study presented a framework based on the literature analyzed through five clusters: policy; inclusion; culture; relationship; and environment, society and economy, considered from opportunity and challenge perspectives. The authors introduced and discussed the Brazilian higher educations and their opportunities and challenges. The Brazilian panorama was linked with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, in specific, with the Goals 4 and 10. Implications of this research study are related to the higher educational opportunities and challenges in policy, inclusive, cultural, sustainable and relationship contexts, involving governmental and nongovernmental sectors, professors and students for the Brazilian educational improvement.