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This research work aims to expose the detailed construction of a framework for translation between Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) and a citizen process language, named GERAL, so that BPMN and modeling non-experts can publicize their procedural information in an understandable and quality manner. The artifact is built in detail through epistemological rigor derived from empirical evidence and best practices related to the topic of understanding business processes, both based on well-established literature on the subject.

In the case of research involving the construction of an artifact, the design science research (DSR) methodology was used to conduct engineering with an emphasis on the scientific method; for evaluation, the authors used the case study methodology. Data collection is based on documentation analysis, questionnaire, interview and observation. The authors also use references associating DSR with case studies, for greater contextual rigor of the research.

This work presents findings and contributions, both new and also reinforcing others already present (1) use of the principles of Citizen/Plain Language improve instructional communication related to process modeling; (2) the citizen process language GERAL itself; (3) the BPMN pra GERAL guide for process translation; (4) qualitative findings from the observation of the use of the artifact in a real case, with non-experts and (5) a well-founded instance of building a notation with an emphasis on understanding, which can be replicated in other cases.

Future perspectives for conducting the research are presented. As a qualitative research instantiated involving a subjective construct, such as understanding, generalization is partially limited and should be interpreted as a transferability criterion. The evaluation involved participants with complete higher education and graduates, even though from areas not dedicated to process modeling or BPMN, being non-experts. The main indicator was understood with limitations in other aspects, such as formal semantics and precise executability.

The formative research showed improvements to the base artifact, the framework first version, which will consequently be reflected in the guide. The GERAL and the guide were very well received, and all participants were able to translate the proposed model effectively, despite small slips in second notation. The guide improved the participants' perception of transparency and understanding of business processes, making them aware of the benefits of this topic.

The output of the built and researched artifact are understandable models by non-experts in technical languages of business processes. It is an alternative for BPMN models and dubious/long texts. Almost unexpectedly, the guide and its principles awaken an appreciation of understandable procedural communication, that is, it builds an intrinsic motivation in the user of the importance of publicizing his processes and assists in compliance with current data disclosure laws. It also builds informational democratic values of better participation and data absorption, from translators to the target audience.

It presents a qualitative approach to deal with business process modeling and understanding; substantiates in detail, using well-established bases in the literature, the construction of a solution aimed at understanding business processes; offers a translation guide for non-experts and experts interested in disclosing and instructing their procedural information modeled in BPMN.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a metallurgical, mechanical and tribological characterization of the weld and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of aluminothermic welding of premium rails used in heavy haul, looking into the origins of the squat defects associated with rail wear.

A full factorial design of experiment was carried out for 24 welds of premium and super premium rails. The factors studied were chemical composition, welding gap and preheating time. The welds were inspected visually and by ultrasound to detect superficial and internal defects and characterized by macrographic analysis, hardness profile, tensile tests and microstructural characterization in scanning electronic microscopy. Pin-on-disk test were carried out to compare the tribological behavior of the different regions of the weld rail.

Squat formation was shown to be associated with spheroidized pearlite regions formed on the HAZ of the welds, presenting near half the hardness of the weld metal. Thermal analysis showed that spheroidized pearlite is a result of partial austenitization at these positions. Tribological tests showed that low hardness regions presented smaller wear resistance than both the weld metal and the parent rail. Tensile test of the whole region resulted in brittle fracture along the weld metal.

The results showed that it is essential to reduce the dimensions of the HAZ and the width of the hardness drop area to mitigate squat formation in the HAZ edges.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2020-0020/

This paper aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs.

The authors collected data from a more comprehensive research, whose objective was to evaluate the scholarship programmes of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). For data collection, the authors used an online questionnaire, pre-filled with information from the Lattes Curriculum of the sample individuals, as well as information obtained from FAPESP and from coordination for the improvement of higher education personnel. The response rate of the questionnaires was 21 per cent. The authors sought to explore the variables regarding entrepreneurial activities carried out by former scholarship holders, by relating them to other key variables identified in the literature review and explained in the hypotheses.

The results indicate that entrepreneurship rates decrease with the higher academic level of the researcher; in general, academic entrepreneurs come from families with a good financial situation, and applied sciences are the areas of knowledge with more entrepreneurs.

Despite the great number of theoretical and empirical studies found in the literature on entrepreneurship and academic entrepreneurship, there is still a shortage of practical studies on this latter topic in Brazil. This gap is even more evident when the authors consider the significant growth of entrepreneurial activity in the country in the past years. This paper contributes to fill this gap, and it aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs.

This study aims to evaluate the competitiveness of nations and seeks to answer the following research question: how does the competitiveness of nations include improvements in the quality of life, thus influencing and contributing to social progress in both social and economic indices?

This paper collected secondary data from the World Economic Forum and the socioeconomic dimensions of the Social Progress Imperative Index and considered the dimensions of these indices, which were demonstrated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The main focus was on the documentary analysis that was carried out to explain the realities of 121 countries from 2014 to 2017 as taken from these indices, considering the 10 countries at the top and bottom.

This study showed the use of new measures for the performance of nations that are less dependent on economics and focus more on social development, which may be a trend for the future of nations, and produce a more holistic view for the study. “Innovation” is the factor with the weakest relationship with social progress, which is justified by a weaker relationship with one of the subcategories, “basic human needs”, when analyzed in isolation. However, when the authors analyze the best and worst nations, the authors observe that economic factors are still prevalent, with the “institutions” and “infrastructure” factors being effective for improving competitiveness and the quality of life.

The findings represent a new, emerging configuration in country performance, but the study has its limitations, such as the use of only two pooled variables and the fact that it does not correlate their dimensions or variables.

This study can represents an expansion logic for measuring the performance of countries considering social factors. The main contributions of this study are its statistical evidence and documentary analysis of the relationship between economic and social variables. The main contribution of this paper is to show that over time (2014–2017) economic factors, as measured by the competitiveness index of nations, relate to aspects of social welfare, as measured by the social progress index.

Most research and development (R&D) activities in Brazil are performed by science and technology institutions (STIs). The purpose of this research was to determine whether environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) developed by these organizations were transferred to companies, either through cooperation during research or through mechanisms such as licensing agreements or spin-offs.

In total, 1,939 research groups and 702 patent registers, identified from the same set of words related to ESTs, using semantic search in open-access databases, covering a period from 2005 to 2014, were examined. The two data sets (patents and research groups) were overlaid, and it was possible to associate inventors’ names with researchers’ names.

The results showed that only six patents could be related to the 1,939 identified research groups. Of the six patents, only one was the object of a licensing agreement, and no spin-off was identified.

This study evidenced that it is necessary to expand the mechanisms of knowledge transfer, directed not only from STIs to companies but also in the opposite direction, given that companies recognize potential market opportunities.

This study shows that improvements in the Brazilian National Innovation System are necessary, as ESTs research groups demonstrated a weak association with technologies transferred to companies, with only one case of technology transfer in the form of a licensing agreement.

This paper aims to analyze the degree of contribution of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of organizations in the use of agile methods (AM) in project management.

A quantitative approach with the application of a survey with project professionals resulted in 206 valid answers. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and the method of partial least squares (PLS).

The results present empirical evidence of the significant contribution of EO in the use of AM in project management, confirming the main hypothesis of this study. This effect was not influenced by the control variables tested.

This study contributes to the development of research on AM and minimizes the literature gap on the connection between entrepreneurship and AM. The results are limited to the sample. Studies with broader samples and different segments are suggested, as well as the contribution of each dimension of the EO to AM.

Innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness (EO dimensions) can contribute to the use of AM and guide actions to develop these behaviors, pursuing better adherence to agile values and the use of AM in project management.

The originality of this study regarding the connection between EO and AM lies on the presentation of a theoretical model of this relationship and reduces the gap in this research field. Given the degree of EO contribution in AM (19.7%), there are other factors that affect the use of AM in project management that should be investigated.

Research on showrooming has focused on investigating its antecedents, motivators and characteristics, leaving a gap regarding its consequences. Our study intends to build a comprehensive framework to examine the role of showrooming behaviour on showrooming satisfaction and customer loyalty while exploring its antecedents.

Data collection took place in Brazil through an electronic form distributed on social media, reaching 393 people. After eliminating responses from those who had no showrooming experience, the final sample consisted of 310 respondents. The questions captured the costs and benefits of showrooming, internet savviness, showrooming behaviour, satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). We performed partial least squares data analysis by means of the statistical package Smart PLS 4.

The results show that showrooming behaviour is positively influenced by internet savviness and the perceived benefits of showrooming but not by the perceived costs of showrooming. In addition, showrooming behaviour positively influences satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). Finally, we identify satisfaction with showrooming as a mediator between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

Given that the implications of showrooming behaviour on customer loyalty remain understudied, this work contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating the influence of showrooming behaviour on satisfaction with showrooming and its consequential effect on customer loyalty. Moreover, we confirmed the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to clarify whether the fair value (FV) of Brazilian banks securities is relevant for investors in times of crisis.

The information gathered for 14 quarters, 2007-2010, of a cross-sectional sample of banks was used for the purpose of explaining the value of shares based on amortized cost and the FV of securities, the book value of equity and the financial crisis. The return on shares was regressed based on the realized and unrealized gains and losses on securities, adjusted income and the crisis.

The results indicated that the FV is relevant. The results also corroborated the hypothesis that, during the crisis, there was a decrease in the relevance of the FV of securities since the accounting practices adopted in Brazil did not specify how to estimate FV, as required by SFAS 157, neither did they require disclosure of the FV hierarchy, as established International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 7. It was concluded that FV has incremental explanatory power over equity, but not over amortized cost. Furthermore it possible to conclude that quarterly unrealized gains and losses on securities are not relevant, which could be explained by possible tax planning practices, since, in Brazil, the mark-to-market adjustment of securities is only deductible, or taxable, when settled. However, the realized and unrealized gains and losses are value-relevant during the period of financial crisis.

This study provides empirical evidence about the relevance of FV during the financial crisis in Brazil.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of incubators in the stages of formation and development of incubated business networks, especially in bottom-up and top-down network models.

The research is defined as qualitative and descriptive, with the application of multiple case studies, in which two networks of incubated businesses were investigated, one being top-down and the other bottom-up, which emerged within the incubation process of two business incubators (CIETEC and INCIT). To make the study operational, 11 semi-structured interviews were carried out and the thematic analysis of content was developed.

The results pointed out that in the top-down network the incubator performs a new assignment, the network orchestration, which corresponds to the actions of formation, coordination and governance of the group. In the bottom-up network, it was found that the role of the incubator was to expand the value offers usually practiced.

As a limitation of the research, the very limitation of case studies is pointed out that is they do not allow for generalizations.

The research contributes to reflections on the effectiveness of the incubator and sheds light on the complementarity of networks in incubation processes, providing gains for incubators, incubated businesses and society.

The originality of this document is the new role of the incubator, which is orchestration, and its categorization. The results allow us to understand the effects of providing networks and relationships for incubated businesses. In addition, this study broadens the focus of traditional analyses of the incubator–incubated duo to consider the incubator–network–incubated trio.