Júlio César da Costa Júnior, Leandro da Silva Nascimento, Taciana de Barros Jerônimo, Jackeline Amantino de Andrade, Marcos André Mendes Primo and Brunna Carvalho Almeida Granja
This study aims to investigate routines as a conceptual tool to analyze resources management in small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) productive processes.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate routines as a conceptual tool to analyze resources management in small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) productive processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors developed a qualitative multiple case study with Brazilian companies in the bakery industry. Data were collected through interviews, on-site observation and documentary analysis. Plus, the authors used business process modeling (BPM) techniques to map the observed routines.
Findings
The restrictions of SMEs accentuate the improvisation of routines. However, contrary to expected, many of these deviations expand the possibilities of organizational action as they become successful in terms of operational efficiency, which allows these companies to extract performance from ordinary resources and imitable management practices.
Practical implications
The BPM shows its value to track the allocation of resources in SMEs by recording the evolution of its routines and helping to preserve an operational memory. This finding could be useful to help public agencies to develop accessible management tools to assist small business owners.
Originality/value
Most of the conceptual tools developed to analyze the resources management are based on the study of large organizations, which may limit the analysis and lead to restricted or mistaken results if used in another context without proper adaptation. The authors apply an objective and representational epistemological lens to organizational routines to adapt it to the pragmatic context of operations management. Also, the authors suggest that better than a resource-based view, the practice-based view is a theoretical approach more compatible with the resource constraints context of SMEs.
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Marcos André Mendes Primo, Kevin Dooley and M. Johnny Rungtusanatham
Manufacturing firm reaction to a supply failure is important because buyer dissatisfaction may induce related development or switching costs. The purpose of this paper is to ask…
Abstract
Purpose
Manufacturing firm reaction to a supply failure is important because buyer dissatisfaction may induce related development or switching costs. The purpose of this paper is to ask: what is the impact of a supply failure and recovery on manufacturing firm dissatisfaction with the supplier?
Design/methodology/approach
A case study approach is used based on interviews of key informants, examining four US manufacturers classified by industry type (aerospace and electronics) and firm size (large and small).
Findings
Manufacturing firm dissatisfaction increases relative to the accumulated impact of the supply failure, and is reduced when the manufacturer has slack to absorb the failure or shares blame for it. The supplier's failure recovery reduces dissatisfaction to the extent that it demonstrates the supplier's long‐term commitment to the relationship. The findings indicate that attributes of the failure, the failure recovery, and context must be taken into account when considering how a supplier's recovery may ameliorate the negative impact of a supply failure.
Research limitations/implications
The results are constrained by the number of cases we collected and by the limitations of retrospective interviews.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that manufacturers can over‐react to a failure because of the perceptual nature of risk, or under‐react to a failure because of excess slack or switching costs.
Originality/value
This paper adds significant detail to our understanding of how supplier failure and recovery impact a manufacturer's dissatisfaction with a supplier, the antecedent to costs involved with supplier development or switching.
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Frank L. DuBois and Marcos Andre Mendes Primo
State capitalism is an economic model that relies on the role of a strong central government to support chosen firms and industries with subsidies, tax benefits and other…
Abstract
Purpose
State capitalism is an economic model that relies on the role of a strong central government to support chosen firms and industries with subsidies, tax benefits and other advantages to which non-favored firms or industries do not have access (Bremmer, 2010). From an economic development perspective state capitalism is often used to redirect economic activity to underdeveloped regions (Wickham, 2009; Chobanyan and Leigh, 2006; Porter, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to examine the case of the Brazilian shipbuilding to illustrate the use of state capitalism to direct economic activity.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Porter’s diamond factor model the authors analyze the development of an economic cluster focussed on the shipbuilding industry in northeastern Brazil. Using interviews with company executives and archival information, the authors profile the investments and incentives that the government has made in this region with particular attention to the mechanisms and policy directives designed to support local involvement in cluster activity.
Findings
The authors find that the Brazilian shipbuilding industry offers a unique perspective on the role that governments play in the inducement of economic activity. The authors document the challenges that confront the local enterprise in meeting the requirements of the state controlled buyer and the difficulties associated with developing a local supplier base and finding a qualified workforce. The authors conclude with comments with regard to the applicability of this model to economic development activity in other country contexts.
Research limitations/implications
This research adds to the body of literature on the role of governments in the creation of economic clusters.
Practical implications
Economic development in emerging markets is often associated with strong government intervention. The authors use the Brazilian shipbuilding industry to illustrate the role of a state owned enterprise in facilitation of economic development.
Social implications
Some countries may suffer from what has been known as the “resource curse,” that is, the misallocation of resource wealth into non-productive activities. In this paper, the authors illustrate and attempt by the Brazilian government to use this wealth to create employment opportunities in an underdeveloped region of the country.
Originality/value
Emerging markets are challenged in developing viable enterprises that are competitive in global markets. Most research on the development of industrial clusters is focussed on developed markets. These markets do not have to confront the same challenges found in emerging markets. The research illustrates these challenges and the efforts that may be made to surmount them.