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Article
Publication date: 4 May 2023

Welington Norberto Carneiro, Jose Carlos Tiomatsu Oyadomari, Paulo Afonso, Ronaldo Gomes Dultra-de-Lima and Octavio Ribeiro de Mendonça Neto

This paper seeks to understand kaizen in practice as it travels through time and space in the organisational setting.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to understand kaizen in practice as it travels through time and space in the organisational setting.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study was carried out at a multinational company using mainly interviews for the data collection that were analysed from an actor-network theory (ANT) perspective.

Findings

This paper finds that the company deals with a series of paradoxes while managing the kaizen process. Efficiency and quality paradoxes are the basis for starting kaizen projects. Furthermore, intrinsic, and extrinsic motivation, emerge in these processes, and paradoxes relate to how spontaneous ideas emerge in a deliberated context of cost-saving objectives. The supply chain finance team coordinates kaizen projects with the collaboration of plant managers, promoting the paradox of autonomy and control. In addition, as kaizen mobilises and enrols the actors, some trials of strength emerge, showing actors who oppose the kaizen network and create competing networks that mutually exist in the firm.

Practical implications

This study presents valuable insights for professionals to successfully implement kaizen methodologies that take advantage of developing a network for problem-solving in organizations.

Originality/value

This study highlights the supply chain finance team's role in enrolling the actors within a network built by practitioners engaged in kaizen projects. Usually, engineers, quality, or manufacturing teams lead kaizen projects, and only occasionally, accounting and financial teams participate, including multidisciplinary teams.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

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Article
Publication date: 25 October 2021

Catarina Cubo, Rui Oliveira, Ana Cristina Fernandes, Paulo Sampaio, Maria Sameiro Carvalho and Paulo Afonso

This paper aims to present and discuss an innovative maturity model (MM) to assess supply chain quality management (SCQM). The SCQM MM can be used to guide organizations in the…

856

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present and discuss an innovative maturity model (MM) to assess supply chain quality management (SCQM). The SCQM MM can be used to guide organizations in the development and improvement of quality in their supply chains (SCs). Additionally, this paper intends to better understand that integration and its impacts on organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed MM was developed based on an exhaustive literature review of the most relevant MMs developed in the areas of quality management, supply chain management and other relevant domains.

Findings

The proposed MM consists of a matrix with 100 criteria organized in five organizational dimensions and five maturity levels, embracing the most relevant SC issues and describing a progressive path towards a state of full maturity.

Originality/value

It is an innovative tool useful for both academic experts and practitioners to integrate quality management across the SC, thus promoting and improving organizational performance from an integrated and sustainable perspective.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

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Article
Publication date: 4 July 2024

Welington Norberto Carneiro, Octavio Ribeiro de Mendonça Neto, Paulo Afonso, Jose Carlos Tiomatsu Oyadomari and Ronaldo Gomes Dultra-de-Lima

This article aims to understand the challenges and key takeaways of implementing total quality management (TQM) in a virtual organisation.

156

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to understand the challenges and key takeaways of implementing total quality management (TQM) in a virtual organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

An interventionist research (IVR) methodology combined with a qualitative critical event analysis was used to evaluate the challenges and concerns faced during the company’s adoption of TQM and understand the roles of the key players involved.

Findings

Standard process tools such as desktop procedures (DTP), focused teams, and service-level agreements (SLAs) were fundamental to implementing TQM in the company. These processes require the right leaders, but external agents may also be influential, acting as accelerators of change in adopting and using management practices in small companies. Indeed, the researcher acted as a problem solver, bringing innovative solutions to the firm using a hands-on iterative approach.

Practical implications

This research underscores the importance of critical success factors (CSF), such as employee engagement, training, and project management tools. These factors are not just important but crucial for the success of TQM in organisations seeking to adopt the industry’s best practices.

Originality/value

This study, conducted as a virtual IVR for TQM implementation, provides novel insights for practitioners and academics. It elucidates the pivotal role of some quality management tools in the journey towards TQM and the role of both internal and external critical players in the process, particularly in small virtual organisations based on innovative business models.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

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Book part
Publication date: 19 December 2016

Rolf Straubhaar

Throughout Latin America, policy-makers are struggling to reconcile two conflicting political pressures: (i) the push to become more globally competitive on the basis of…

Abstract

Throughout Latin America, policy-makers are struggling to reconcile two conflicting political pressures: (i) the push to become more globally competitive on the basis of international assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and (ii) the simultaneous need to address long-standing, entrenched inequities in both educational quality and access throughout much of the region. This chapter documents how policy-making elites throughout Latin America are trying to address these two goals by incorporating “evidence-based” policy solutions that can be empirically defended as promoting equity. However, scholars throughout Latin America argue that instead of promoting equity, an increasing focus on accountability in educational policy at the national level throughout the region has resulted instead in a shift in priorities from the governance of educational systems to evaluation of those systems, with the state functioning primarily as an Evaluative State. This argument is developed through secondary analysis of the Hispanophone and Lusophone academic education literatures of Latin America, whose robust and rigorous studies of these trends at both national and regional levels remain little explored within the Anglophone academic tradition.

Details

The Global Educational Policy Environment in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-044-2

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Article
Publication date: 19 November 2018

José Carlos Tiomatsu Oyadomari, Paulo Sérgio Lima Pereira Afonso, Ronaldo Gomes Dultra-de-Lima, Octavio Ribeiro Ribeiro Mendonça Neto and Maria Carolina Gazso Righetti

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the use of flexible budgets may influence different institutional logics (organizational inertia and flexibility).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the use of flexible budgets may influence different institutional logics (organizational inertia and flexibility).

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research based on a single case study in a multinational subsidiary company was carried out. The data were mainly collected using the dialog technique through open-ended and semi-structured interviews and complemented with direct observation in informal and formal meetings and the analysis of internal documents. Content analysis was used for the analysis of the findings.

Findings

The use of flexible budgets, which isolates the negative variations due to the decrease in sales volume, may contribute to organizational inertia. However, this can be counterbalanced if the managers try to minimize the decline in performance through initiatives that promote organizational flexibility. In this case study, it was found that the alignment between the production director and the controller, who frequently work under different institutional logics, was important to stimulate organizational flexibility particularly in continuous improvement projects.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper are based on only one in-depth case study. Hence, the results cannot be generalized, but a theoretical contribution can be made. Furthermore, the findings are constrained by the constructs used and the specific managerial and theoretical perspectives that have supported the analysis.

Practical implications

These results can be useful particularly for companies that are dealing with the abrupt drop in the sales volume and use the flexible budget as a performance assessment technique. These firms must pay attention because this combination can stimulate organizational inertia. To counteract this problem, it is necessary that controllers and the managers work by understanding the initiatives that promote organizational flexibility, mainly by Kaizen projects, which can minimize performance decline.

Social implications

The main contribution may be how to deal with the different managers’ behaviors, given the decrease in sales volume, and it can help an organization survives in times of economic recession and fierce competition environments.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to both practical and academic dimensions. Indeed, despite being widely used, flexible budgeting is not a widely researched topic.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 67 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2010

Júlio Püschel, José Afonso Mazzon and José Mauro C. Hernandez

This paper's objective is to propose an integrated framework to investigate the adoption intention of mobile banking technology and to test it in the Brazilian context.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper's objective is to propose an integrated framework to investigate the adoption intention of mobile banking technology and to test it in the Brazilian context.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 666 respondents from the most economically developed cities in Brazil were surveyed. The sample comprised 333 mobile banking users and 333 mobile banking non‐users. Partial least squares was used to analyze the proposed framework's construct relations.

Findings

The framework offers an integrated view, taking into account more predictors than other studies on the adoption of innovations. For non‐users, the framework was able to explain approximately 69 percent of the dependent variable (intention to adopt mobile banking) variation, which is a figure higher than those obtained in previous studies. However, for current users of mobile banking, only 27 percent of the dependent variable variation was explained by the framework. It was also observed that the predictors' influence over the criterion variable was different for each group of mobile banking users and non‐users.

Originality/value

The findings suggest that the proposed integrated framework offers a deeper understanding of the variables that influence the adoption of mobile banking.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

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Article
Publication date: 5 July 2013

Hamilton Coimbra Carvalho and José Afonso Mazzon

The purpose of this paper is to bring forth the limitations of some important models of cognition and behavior adopted by social marketers and present important findings from…

2172

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring forth the limitations of some important models of cognition and behavior adopted by social marketers and present important findings from recent lines of research that contribute to a fine‐grained understanding of human behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that presents a review of several theoretical approaches to human cognition and behavior and their implications regarding social marketing campaigns.

Findings

It is concluded that the assumptions underlying traditional models of behavior need to be revised, especially the assumption that human beings are rational decision makers – the prototypical homo economicus. Behavioral science has revealed that people are far from being rational and are prone to be influenced by myriad factors, some deemed irrelevant under rational models. Social marketing interventions have greater probability of success when they rely on more realistic assumptions of human behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Social marketing needs to embrace the contributions of the several disciplines and lines of research centered on the study of all facets of human behavior, such as behavioral economics and dual‐system framework.

Practical implications

The main implications are: the recommendation to assume people are running on their System 1 when they are in contact with social marketing campaigns, the need to consider the interplay of systems and selves over time, the recommended emphasis on place strategies, and the need to avoid cash incentives and silver bullets.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is in contrasting the assumptions of traditional models of cognition and behavior widely used in social marketing with the evidence from several lines of research portraying influences in human behavior not accounted by those models.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Hamilton Coimbra Carvalho and Jose Afonso Mazzon

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a broader societal trend toward the full realization of human potential and the points of convergence with social marketing. The ultimate…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a broader societal trend toward the full realization of human potential and the points of convergence with social marketing. The ultimate goal of social marketing is to increase social good. The paper defines social good in a new light and makes the connection to well-being clearer, proposing an agenda for social marketers and highlighting the opportunities for a better positioning of social marketing in the marketplace of ideas.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper presents an overview of concepts and evidence on the drivers of human well-being. It also discusses some important questions at a broader societal level, such as the role of money and income on happiness and well-being. It presents the connections between this body of knowledge and social marketing, including a literature review from both fields.

Findings

Eliminating ill-being no longer seems satisfactory from a societal point of view in the current Zeitgeist. Societies have been searching for ways to alleviate illnesses and to increase the well-being of its citizens. Social marketing, as a powerful social technology for behavior change, must be part of this broader movement, achieving a better positioning in the marketplace of ideas. The paper proposes a six-point agenda to reach these goals.

Research limitations/implications

The main theoretical implication is a call for social marketers to see the ultimate goal of the discipline (social good) under a new lens. This requires an update in the conceptual frameworks that orient the discipline. Another implication is the need for better upstream conceptual models in social marketing.

Practical implications

The paper suggest some practical implications, such as the opportunity to expand social marketing to countries that do not use it, the use of well-being drivers as inputs, means and outcomes in social marketing programs, and the role of the discipline in both alleviating poverty and in demarketing efforts.

Originality/value

The paper contributes by taking an outside perspective and a transdisciplinary approach. The fulfillment of human potential demands the attention to different drivers of human behavior and the search for new social solutions. It also requires a clear understanding of the role of factors like money and social connectedness. This paper approaches these questions with answers grounded on the existing evidence while providing some points for the development of social marketing theory and practice.

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Article
Publication date: 6 March 2007

José Mauro C. Hernandez and José Afonso Mazzon

This study proposes a new method to investigate adoption of new technologies and tests this method by looking into the determinants of internet banking adoption in Brazil.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study proposes a new method to investigate adoption of new technologies and tests this method by looking into the determinants of internet banking adoption in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 600 respondents living in one of the biggest cities in Brazil were sampled for interviewing: 300 were internet bank users, 150 were internet but not internet bank users, and 150 were neither internet nor internet bank users.

Findings

The adjusted coefficient of determination in the multiple linear regression equation (dependent variable: intention to use/continue to use IB) was 60 percent and the main effects of the eight variables proved significant (relative advantage of control, compatibility with lifestyle, image, subjective norm, self‐efficacy, relative advantage of security and privacy, results demonstrability, and trialability). The McFaden pseudo coefficient of determination in the multinomial logistic regression equation (dependent variable: a dummy variable for each of the three groups analyzed) ranged from 45 percent to 69 percent. The findings show that the variables that influence the intention to use/continue to use IB are not exactly the same as those that influence actual adoption. Specifically, the results seem to suggest that intention to use IB is influenced solely by people's beliefs about IB, while its actual adoption is influenced also by individual characteristics.

Originality/value

The findings herein suggest that the proposed integrated model offers superior ability to explain adoption of internet banking to that of the models elected by previous studies. Furthermore, the model looks not only into the intentions but also into actual adoption.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 25 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 24 June 2015

Abstract

Details

Emerging Economies and Multinational Enterprises
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-740-6

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