Murilo Carrazedo Costa Filho, Roberto P.Q. Falcao and Paulo Cesar de Mendonça Motta
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
Generalizability of findings is limited owing to the qualitative method used.
Practical implications
The authors provide practical insights to managers concerning key attributes that influence brand consideration and loyalty among LICs.
Originality/value
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.
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Paulo Cesar Motta and Charles Schewe
The purpose of this paper is to show the generational cohort gap in values and consequent decision making existing between younger and older marketing managers in Brazil. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show the generational cohort gap in values and consequent decision making existing between younger and older marketing managers in Brazil. The study investigates how generational research can innovate in the analysis of marketing management decisions. The truly essential questions are, first, whether cohort analysis can help explain marketing decision contexts, and second, if older cohorts find the younger cohort of managers today confrontational.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in this investigation involved three phases. The first phase explored the validity of the cohorts to explain values brought into the decision context by different cohort members. The second phase asked managers to verify the values that came from phase one. The third phase advanced two questions. The first question identified the most critical value associated with new cohorts today and its implications for the organization's decision making. The second question investigated marketing issues that may develop from the values of younger cohorts coming into the organization. Managers in different cohorts at middle and upper level management were interviewed in all three phases.
Findings
The results show very different values between four investigated cohorts. These values produce different considerations among the cohorts when making marketing decisions. The greatest differences were found between the youngest and oldest cohorts. The lack of the generational understanding within a corporation, or the misapplication of this same understanding, may precipitate age divisions.
Research limitations/implications
Data were gathered from small samples and the results should be considered exploratory and not conclusive.
Practical implications
Management has shown little investigation of cohort differences and their implications for management decision making. This study suggests attention should be prompt since there appears to be a growing schism between newer members of the workforce and their older managers. Younger Brazilian cohort members embrace a strong sense of individualism that they bring to their jobs. This flies in the face of the corporate collective that companies need to survive. Finally, there remains a warning that neither management history nor company's history should be forgotten since they both bear upon marketing decision making.
Originality/value
This paper investigates a perspective on marketing decision making in organizations that has never been addressed in the literature. The eye‐opening findings suggest the need for addressing an issue before it becomes a problem.
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Elad Granot, Thomas G. Brashear and Paulo Cesar Motta
The authors aim to present a structural guide for data collection in a participant‐oriented, B2B context.
Abstract
Purpose
The authors aim to present a structural guide for data collection in a participant‐oriented, B2B context.
Design/methodology/approach
A three‐stage interview process following the work of Seidman is presented, along with key issues on how to plan, structure, and execute a B2B interview‐based hermenuetic ethnographic study.
Research limitations/implications
The framework presented in this paper provides strong theoretical foundation for further theory development in global industrial marketing research and managerial cognition research. However, given the conceptual nature of the research, empirical scrutiny and further conceptual and empirical research are required.
Originality/value
There is a serious gap in the literature when addressing the issue of B2B contextual studies, focusing on managers, manufacturers, and various other professional personnel.
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Patrícia Maria Bozola, Thais V. Nunhes, Luís César Ferreira Motta Barbosa, Marcio C. Machado and Otavio José Oliveira
In 2016, the ISO/TS 16949 quality management standard for the automotive industry evolved to IATF 16949. The update brought new requirements that need to be analyzed before being…
Abstract
Purpose
In 2016, the ISO/TS 16949 quality management standard for the automotive industry evolved to IATF 16949. The update brought new requirements that need to be analyzed before being implemented in organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to propose guidelines to assist organizations in the automotive sector in the implementation of the elements added in the update to the IATF 16949 standard.
Design/methodology/approach
To fulfill this objective, the identification and analysis of the elements added in the evolution from ISO/TS 16949 to IATF 16949 was carried out, and four case studies were conducted in Brazilian automotive companies.
Findings
The main elements added to IATF 16949 with the update of the standard are the use of process failure mode effects analysis (PFMEA) for risk analysis; the development of a communication channel for employees to report cases of misconduct and non-conformities; procedures for controlling repaired/reworked products and temporary changes; and the inclusion of autonomous maintenance for the full implementation of total productive maintenance (TPM).
Originality/value
The main practical implication/contribution of the research is the proposed guidelines, which can support managers and automotive companies that want to implement, or will go through, the IATF certification process. The article's originality lies in the combination of a theoretical framework and case study analyses to develop the guidelines.
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Luís César Ferreira Motta Barbosa, Otávio José de Oliveira, Marcio Cardoso Machado, Ana Clara Tomaz Morais, Patrícia Maria Bozola and Manuel Gilberto Freitas Santos
This study used a qualitative approach on five case studies in Brazilian industrial companies. The research used interviews, document analysis and on-site visits to collect and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study used a qualitative approach on five case studies in Brazilian industrial companies. The research used interviews, document analysis and on-site visits to collect and analyze data. The companies were selected based on the following criteria: operating in the industrial sector, updating their quality management system (QMS) process to ISO 9001: 2015 and agreeing to participate in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
This article aims to investigate the strategies of industrial companies adopted for ISO-9001:2015 certification in light of the six major advances concerning the previous version. Thus, QMS of other organizations can incorporate identified lessons learned, whether certified or not.
Findings
The main finding of the research is the systematization of a set of lessons learned in the experiences of implementing the six significant advances of ISO 9001 concerning the previous version by industrial companies in the State of São Paulo in Brazil. These lessons can and should be used by other organizations to improve their QMSs.
Practical implications
The practices identified in this empirical research can serve as benchmarking to assist quality managers from other companies in QMS certification based on ISO 9001: 2015 or even those not certified but interested in updating their QMSs. Therefore, lessons learned can significantly minimize efforts to improve your projects, processes, products and services. These findings can also help industrial companies improve their production efficiency and effectiveness through quality improvement.
Originality/value
The main novelty of the research is the consolidation of theoretical and practical analysis of the main changes in the latest version of the ISO 9001 standards. The efforts to fulfill those changes result in lessons learned. The “lessons learned” will form a new block of knowledge that will subsidize theoretical (new research) and practical (formulation of a new ISO 9001 standard and helps quality managers improve their systems).
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Guilherme Paulo Andrade, Júlio César Andrade de Abreu and Ruan Carlos dos Santos
This paper aims to explore the impacts of a blockchain network implementation to support purchasing processes of a Brazilian public organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the impacts of a blockchain network implementation to support purchasing processes of a Brazilian public organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The Grumbach method was used to build the scenarios. Five experts with knowledge in blockchain and experience in public procurement were consulted on 20 possible preliminary events, defining their probability of occurrence and relevance. The data obtained were processed in Puma software, which returned a selection of ten definitive events, based on probability, relevance and standard deviation indicators, generating a map of prospective scenarios.
Findings
Three following scenarios are shown, the ideal scenario, the one with greater implantation benefits and fewer complications; the trend scenario, more likely to occur under current conditions; and the most likely scenario of occurrence, according to experts. The results indicated which simulated events are drivers (motives), and which are influenced (dependent). They were categorized as opportunities or threats to the deployment of the technology.
Research limitations/implications
Although public procurement processes are standardized by Brazilian legislation, new events may arise from the replication of the model in different organizations. The research revealed the need for practical testing in a simulated public procurement environment.
Originality/value
The article explores the interaction between disruptive network technology and processes linked to public sector efficiency. Studies on electronic government point to the future of public management.
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Camila Fabricio Poltronieri, Mateus Cecílio Gerolamo, Teresa Cristina Martins Dias and Luiz Cesar Ribeiro Carpinetti
The number of standards for management systems (MSs) has increased recently. Among the most recognizable ones are ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001. The need for integration has…
Abstract
Purpose
The number of standards for management systems (MSs) has increased recently. Among the most recognizable ones are ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001. The need for integration has risen due to the development and adoption of more than one MS in the same business, in a process known as integrated management systems (IMS). Some authors have argued that the use of IMS contributes toward sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to present an instrument to assess the integration of different MSs and its effect on sustainable performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of IMS, maturity of IMS and sustainability was conducted to build the instrument used in this research. Domingues et al. (2016), Poltronieri et al. (2017), Bernardo et al. (2009) and ISO9001:2015 were used as references pertaining to IMS, whereas Global Reporting Initiative and the research of Delai and Takahashi (2011) were employed for performance issues. All were evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Findings
In the pre-test the order of some questions was changed, some other questions were reformulated and a new classification was created. The evaluation of specialists contributed to reduce the number of questions and make the questionnaire more clear. Cronbach’s α was used to prove the reliability of the questionnaire.
Originality/value
The importance of this study lies in the development of an instrument that helps assess the maturity of the integration of MSs and evaluate sustainable performance.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the monstrous in organizational diversity by introducing the concept of cultural anthropophagy to the diversity literature. Using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the monstrous in organizational diversity by introducing the concept of cultural anthropophagy to the diversity literature. Using Kristeva's notion of abjection to better understand cultural anthropophagy, the paper argues that cultural anthropophages cross boundaries, and build identity through desire for and aggression toward valued others.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a conceptual discussion of abjection, along with a historical survey of anthropophagic approaches from Brazilian art and cultural studies.
Findings
Anthropophagic approaches highlight unique features of organizational identity, framing identity formation as a fluid process of expulsion and re-integration of the other. While abjection approaches focus on the exclusion of material aspects of the self and the formation of self-other boundaries, anthropophagy focusses on the re-integration of the other into the self, in a symbolic gesture of re-integration, desire, and reverence for the other.
Originality/value
The idea of anthropophagy is a recent entrant into the organizational literature, and the close relation between anthropophagy and abjection is illuminated in the current paper. Original insights regarding the search for positive identity, the ambivalence of self and other, and the relation of the particular and the universal, are offered with regards to the diversity literature.
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Jeniffer de Nadae, Marly M. Carvalho and Darli Rodrigues Vieira
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of integrated management systems (IMSs) on sustainability (based on the triple bottom line (TBL) concept). To accomplish this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of integrated management systems (IMSs) on sustainability (based on the triple bottom line (TBL) concept). To accomplish this objective, this paper seeks to answer the following research questions: How can IMS impact organizational sustainability performance? And, how the key challenges of IMS can influence companies in practice?
Design/methodology/approach
A case-based approach is used based on the following four cases from different sectors: an electric power distributor; an environmental consulting firm; a public transport firm; and a firm with a broad portfolio of equipment, products and provisions for industrial services in different markets.
Findings
The results show that the integration of management systems was driven by the companies' strategies toward sustainability. The stakeholders' perception is that a firm's image as a sustainable company also enhances environmental and social performance. The economic performance was not emphasized. Companies noted that the main challenge was motivating and engaging human resources.
Originality/value
This paper shows that sustainability was not a motivation for implementing an IMS. But, implementing an IMS was a driver of sustainability performance. Also, the relationship between IMS and organizational performance can be presented based on TBL perspectives, and implementing an IMS can be challenging in practice.