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1 – 10 of 13Rafael Sousa Lima, André Luiz Marques Serrano, Joshua Onome Imoniana and César Medeiros Cupertino
This study aims to understand how forensic accountants can analyse bank transactions suspected of being involved with money laundering crimes in Brazil through social network…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how forensic accountants can analyse bank transactions suspected of being involved with money laundering crimes in Brazil through social network analysis (SNA).
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach taken in this study was exploratory. This study cleaned and debugged bank statements from criminal investigations in Brazil using computational algorithms. Then graphs were designed and matched with money laundering regulations.
Findings
The findings indicated that graph techniques contribute to a range of beneficial information to help identify typical banking transactions (pooling accounts, strawmen, smurfing) used to conceal or disguise the movement of illicit resources, enhancing visual aspects of financial analysis.
Research limitations/implications
Research found limitations in the data sets with reduced identification of originators and beneficiaries, considered low compared to other investigations in Brazil. Furthermore, to preserve restrict information and keep data confidential, data sets used in research were not made available.
Practical implications
Law enforcement agencies and financial intelligence units can apply graph-based technique cited in this research to strengthen anti-money laundering activities. The results, grounded in analytical approaches, may offer a source of data to regulators and academia for future research.
Originality/value
This study created data sets using real-life bank statements from two investigations of competence by the Brazilian Federal Justice, including real-data perspectives in academic research. This study uses SNA, which is a popular approach in several areas of knowledge.
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Rafael Araújo Sousa Farias and Valmir Emil Hoffmann
The present study seeks to answer the following research question: what is the profile of the academic production related to the interorganizational networks in the period between…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study seeks to answer the following research question: what is the profile of the academic production related to the interorganizational networks in the period between 2006 and 2016? Thus, this study aims to characterize the academic production about the subject interorganizational networks available in national journals with Concept “A” (Qualis Capes), in the period between 2006 and 2016.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses national journals with Concept “A” of the Qualis classification (2016) for journal selection. In total, 12 “A” concept journals were identified. However, it was decided to analyze ten of them. The procedures suggested by Crossan and Apaydin (2010) for conducting bibliometric studies were adopted. It has been identified that 77 articles were published in eight journals. The R 3.3.2 and R Studio 1.0.136 software were used. The IGRAPH 0.5.5-2 extension (package) was used to analyze graphs and co-authorship networks (Csárdi and Nepusz, 2006). This extension is able to manipulate networks with millions of vertices and edges and provides a series of functions to analyze the properties of social networks, such as subnetworks, intermediation, centrality, among other characteristics (Csárdi and Nepusz, 2006). Correspondence analysis (CA) was also performed. CA is a multivariate exploratory technique that converts a data matrix into a graphical representation, so that rows and columns are represented by points in a graph (Greenacre and Hastie, 1987). This extension is dedicated to the multivariate analysis of data and allows the manipulation of different types of variables (quantitative or categorical). In the present research, multiple CA (MCA) was applied – indicated when the elements are described as categorical variables (Lê et al., 2008). The characteristics considered for carrying out MCA were the “main term”, “research approach”, “type of research”, “constructs” and “research strategies”. By using the FactoMineR 1.34 extension, the hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC) function was used (Husson et al., 2007; Lê et al., 2008). This function allows creating clusters from the characteristics of the articles analyzed and highlights the justifications for the groupings created. The function allows forming as many clusters the researcher wishes, being of its attribution to analyze a division that best represents the characteristics of the data (Husson, Josse, and Pagès, 2010). Husson et al. (2010) suggest that an analysis should be performed from the hierarchical tree, thus the number of clusters can be defined considering the overall appearance (or shape) of the tree formed. At last, a word cloud was created using the Wordcloud 2.5 extension (Fellows, 2013). The noticed advantage of using this extension is that it does not separate the terms that form a keyword when generating the cloud. It has been used for the keywords of the 77 articles analyzed; however, it has been decided to keep those that presented frequency greater than or equal to two. By avoiding occasional terms, a more intelligible cloud was obtained.
Findings
The present study was not able to verify if the journals analyzed by Andrighi et al. (2011) have influenced others to publish on the subject, as suggested by the Bradford’s Law. The standard “success breeds success”, suggested by the Bradford’s Law, was not confirmed. The so-called nuclear zone (Brookes, 1969; Novaretti et al., 2015) is composed of the journals Brazilian Administration Review (BAR), Revista de Administração Contemporânea (RAC), Revista de Administração Pública (RAP) and Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios (RBGN). The journal RAC stands out for having been the one that has increased its annual average of publication in relation to the theme, when compared with the findings of Andrighi et al. (2011). The journals BAR and RBGN stand out because they are in the nuclear zone, even though they were not considered in the work of Andrighi et al. (2011). It should be noted that all the analyzed journals have in common the fact of addressing the themes of management and administration and, more specifically, making room for the “competitiveness” and “cooperation” constructs. These constructs are related to the theme of networks and were the most recurrent in the articles analyzed. “Cooperation” (29), “competitiveness” (27), “knowledge” (12), “learning” (6) and “trust” (3) were the “constructs” used to compose the 77 articles analyzed. In turn, “network” (49), “alliance” (18) and “cluster” (9) were the “main term” most used in the articles. This implies that the topic of cooperation is more linked to a vision of strategy. As occurred in the research of Andrighi et al. (2011), the term “network” is the most recurrent; in addition, the growth of space obtained by the term “alliance” stands out. The terms “network” and “alliance” were the most used by the articles, being predominant in 87 per cent of the research. In the present research, the predominance of the term “network” may have occurred because its concept is broader and it is used in the literature in different ways, even in contradictory ways (Andrighi et al., 2011; Schommer, 2001). In turn, the term “alliance” may have been recurrent because it has a wide dispersion of published issues, such as governance structure, cooperation, knowledge transfer and trust (Lima and Campos Filho, 2009). By using the HCPC function of the FactoMineR extension, the articles were grouped according to their characteristics, and then three clusters were formed. By analyzing the generated results, it is assumed that the division into three clusters was the one that best represented the data. Cluster 1 is characterized by descriptive, quantitative, half documentary and half survey research studies, being “cluster” the main term. Cluster 2 is characterized by exploratory case studies with qualitative–quantitative analyzes. Cluster 3 is characterized by theoretical tests. The Zipf’s law points out that a small group of words occurs many times; however, when considering the most recurrent words Networks (9), Strategic Alliances (8), Cooperation (8), Interorganizational Networks (8) and Alliances (6) show that they were present in only about 10 per cent of the works. Lotka’s Law, which states that few authors publish much and many authors publish little, was not confirmed. The authors who presented the highest number of publications, T. Diana L. v. A. de Macedo-Soares (6); Jorge Renato Verschoore (6); Alsones Balestrin (5); Douglas Wegner (4); Humberto Elias Garcia Lopes (4), participated in less than 10 per cent of the works. Thus, the authorship was characterized by many researchers publishing few works, what can be an effect of the behavior of these authors, who prefer to publish in network. The centrality of the relations between the authors was analyzed and, in addition, the intermediation points of the network were identified. The present study also analyzed all the references used by the 77 articles that compose the study. The main author of each of the references used was identified. Among the 30 identified authors, Yin and Hair Jr. stand out for books related to fundamentals and research methodologies. Borgatti and Eisenhardt developed research on the topic of interorganizational networks and also created works for methodological foundations. Powell was the most frequently mentioned author (28) and had more different works referenced (9). Powell stands out for the production of articles published in periodicals, not books. Porter’s situation is the opposite. Most of the quotations made to the author come from his books, especially the work “Competitive strategy” (Porter, 1980). All authors identified are foreigners, with the exception of Balestrin. Marshall, Polanyi, Granovetter and Williamson are authors of works considered seminal, being them, respectively, “Principles of economics” (Marshall, 1890), “Personal knowledge: towards a post critical philosophy” (Polanyi, 1958) and “The strength of weak ties” (Granovetter, 1973) and “Markets and hierarchies, analysis and antitrust implications” (Williamson, 1975).
Research limitations/implications
Like all research, it has limitations. The first one derives from the selection criteria of the periodicals to be analyzed. The cut referring to the journals of greater impact excludes most of the national articles. These studies may contain important contributions to the knowledge of the national publication profile. In addition, the choice to analyze the journals disregards other types of work, such as books, scientific events, dissertations and thesis and reports. The choice of articles published in journals is based on the fact that these are a “certified knowledge”, as the studies are peer-reviewed, and in the case of the Qualis “A” stratum, a review of exogenous quality is supposed on this production. Despite its flaws, this system can be considered reliable to evaluate scientific knowledge (Bedeian, 2004; Shugan, 2007). The analysis of the most recent articles may have been hampered by a temporal issue. In addition, the choice of keywords, a necessary step, leaves out other studies. Another limitation refers to the fact that the articles have been analyzed and classified by the authors, which presupposes the use of their value judgments, at least to some extent. Other limitations refer to the bibliometric techniques employed. The main authors referenced in the studies were demonstrated, that is, those authors who have been used as a theoretical reference for studies of interorganizational networks. However, the circumstances under which these citations occurred were not analyzed. For example, an author may be quoted to use the contribution of his/her study, to be criticized or just to be another reference in the text. The lack of this analysis can be considered a fragility of the study.
Practical implications
This text was started talking about the dispersion of the studies on networks in the country. Previous work has been used, theoretically and empirically demonstrating this fact. Zipf’s Law applied to bibliometrics, as described by Guedes and Borschiver (2005), Novaretti et al. (2015) and Pao (1978), was not confirmed in this study, which seems to be an indicative fact that the research on this theme in Brazil presents fragmentation as an intrinsic characteristic. That is, it must remain fragmented, as this would be its own way to evolve. This is evident especially when comparing the study of Andrighi et al. (2011) and its results. With several but continuous temporal cut-outs, and the same keywords, the maintenance of this dispersion is evident. This is also a contribution of this study.
Social implications
The study contributed to updating the research profile, mainly after the triennium 2013-2015 of Qualis Capes’ evaluations. It also added to the mapping of recent Brazilian academic production related to interorganizational networks, completing studies by Alves et al. (2013), Andrighi et al. (2011), Balestrin et al. (2010), Cunha and Carrieri (2003) and Mascena et al. (2013). Thus, it is believed that the research reached the proposed objectives, despite its limitations.
Originality/value
The present research is also justified by helping to understand the subject being useful for researchers, educators and students, in general, in the task of demonstrating gaps and opportunities of future researches and collaborating with the elaboration of a research agenda (Baumgartner and Pieters, 2003). The work has updated bibliometrics on the subject and allows comparisons with previous bibliometric studies (Alves et al., 2013; Andrighi et al., 2011; Balestrin et al., 2010; Cunha and Carrieri, 2003; Ferreira et al., 2014; Lima and Campos Filho, 2009; Mascena et al., 2013). It is believed that the present study differs from the others because of the analysis performed, the way the data were treated, with techniques that are rarely used simultaneously, going beyond the descriptive statistics.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
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…
Abstract
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.
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Gustavo Henrique Silva de Souza, Nilton Cesar Lima, Fernanda Cristina Barbosa Pereira Queiroz, Rafael Farias Gonçalves and Jamerson Viegas Queiroz
This article aims to develop a measure that assesses and maps the behaviors and traits of an individual with potential for innovation in the work context. To do so, it gathers…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to develop a measure that assesses and maps the behaviors and traits of an individual with potential for innovation in the work context. To do so, it gathers evidence of factor validity and internal consistency.
Design/methodology/approach
In the work context, innovation is often linked with the idea of intrapreneurship. Some experts have pointed out that intrapreneurial activities are essential for promoting innovation. However, it is not just about the activities – the key is to create an environment that supports innovation, fostering a culture where new ideas can thrive. To achieve the objectives of this research, we conducted two studies. The first study involved the construction of the innovation potential scale (IPS). In a theoretical, empirical way, the second study involved the administration of the IPS and a sociodemographic questionnaire to a sample of 621 Brazilians from 25 different occupations.
Findings
The results introduce a nine-item measure for the innovative behavior assessment, along with its validity and psychometric properties. Furthermore, the results suggest that innovation potential is a unidimensional construct. Moreover, the study highlights the role of intrapreneurship as an explanatory axiom. This concept helps to understand the entrepreneurial behavior of various professionals and managers within their work context.
Practical implications
This study contribute with as instrument that serves as a new powerful tool for understanding of the mechanisms that lead to innovation in the work context and stimulate the innovative potential of professionals and organizations.
Originality/value
This study helps fill gaps in the literature on self-report assessment of innovative behavior. The traits linked with the construct have a contingent nature and are only potential.
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Paulette Siekierski, Manolita Correia Lima, Felipe Mendes Borini and Rafael Morais Pereira
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review in order to understand the relationship that exists between international academic mobility (IAM) and innovation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review in order to understand the relationship that exists between international academic mobility (IAM) and innovation and its impact on the countries of origin, country of destination and the countries of origin and destination simultaneously of academics.
Design/methodology/approach
After analysing 36 articles selected from 15 top journals by way of a systematic review of the literature, the authors located 20 variables, including five related to innovation with a positive, negative or null impact on the countries.
Findings
The five innovation proxies identified were: highly qualified human capital”, “attractive research and working conditions”, “patent filing”, “publications” and “research networks”, all related to Science, Technology and Innovation. The results highlight the evidence that the different dimensions of innovation have a differentiated impact on the countries of origin and destination and in both at the same time.
Practical implications
Knowing the types of innovation that IAM generates enables governments to invest in scientific, technological, economic and social development to choose the best measures for attracting and retaining academics. For the industry, technological catch-up and highly skilled labour means enhancing competitiveness and capacity building, growth in Research and Development (R&D), the creation of new products, patent filing, increased investments and the expansion of internationalisation.
Originality/value
This paper shows that the association between IAM and innovation is differentiated for the countries. Both countries involved in the association receive a positive impact in the publications and research networks. The main impact to countries of origin is the increase of highly qualified human capital. On the other hand, the benefits for the countries of destination concern patent filing, working conditions and an attractive research environment.
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Paula Nogueira Curi, Francielly Corrêa Albergaria, Rafael Pio, Maria Cecília Evangelista Vasconcelos Schiassi, Bruna de Sousa Tavares and Vanessa Rios de Souza
The purpose of this paper is to characterise eight different fig cultivars with respect to antioxidant activity and bioactive compound content and to assess the influence of these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to characterise eight different fig cultivars with respect to antioxidant activity and bioactive compound content and to assess the influence of these cultivars on the physicochemical characteristics, rheological properties and sensory acceptance of the obtained jelly to identify cultivars with increased potential for processing when grown in subtropical regions.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses of fig fruits and fig jellies were performed in triplicate. To characterise the fig cultivars, analyses of antioxidant activity, phenolic compound content and ascorbic acid concentration were performed on fresh fruits. For the jellies, the total titratable acidity, pH, soluble solids, colour, texture profile and sensory attributes were analysed.
Findings
With respect to antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds, the Roxo de Valinhos displayed the highest antioxidant activity according to the ABTS method, ß-carotene and DPPH; the Três num Prato, Lemon and Brunswick cultivars presented the highest ascorbic acid values; and the Três num Prato cultivar also had the highest total phenolic content. Generally, the various fig cultivars yielded jellies with different physical and chemical characteristics and different rheological properties. This variation did not significantly affect acceptability. This study demonstrates that all of the evaluated cultivars have high potential for processing.
Originality/value
This study evaluated the processing potential of Roxo de Valinhos and other fig cultivars in the form of jelly, which in view of the food risk concerns of the dried fig, seems to be an interesting alternative for consumption of processed fig.
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Érico Daniel Ricardi Guerreiro, Reginaldo Fidelis and Rafael Henrique Palma Lima
A quantitative theoretical model is proposed to measure how productivity performance can be affected by strategic decisions related to specific competitive priorities.
Abstract
Purpose
A quantitative theoretical model is proposed to measure how productivity performance can be affected by strategic decisions related to specific competitive priorities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes the Primary Transformation Model (PTM) and an equation to measure cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities.
Findings
The interdependence between productivity and competitive priorities was studied using the PTM and the proposed model indicates that strategies that improve external performance also impact internal productivity. It was also observed that the compatibility between competitive priorities depends on the initial manufacturing conditions and the implementation method adopted.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed model is theoretical and, as such, is an abstraction of reality and does not consider all possible aspects. It consists of a novel approach that still requires further empirical testing. The PTM provides insights about the trade-offs between productivity and strategic objectives, as well, contributes to the ongoing research on manufacturing strategy and can be further developed in future studies.
Practical implications
The main practical implication is to allow companies to relate their strategic decisions to their productivity performance.
Social implications
This research also contributes to societal issues by enabling firms to better align strategic objectives and operations, which ultimately allows offering products more suited to the needs of customers, thus making better use of the required resources and favoring economic growth.
Originality/value
The model proposed allows objective assessment of actions aiming at operational efficiency and effectiveness, in addition to providing insights into cause-and-effect relationships between productivity and competitive priorities. The model can also be used in empirical investigations on manufacturing strategy.
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Raylane Oliveira Souza, Ana Beatriz Moura Santos, Fabiana Melo Soares, Fabrine Texeira Santos, Rafael Ciro Marques Cavalcante, Bárbara Melo Santos do Nascimento and Vivianne de Sousa Rocha
Improper levels or excess of iodine may present a greater risk to health, for this reason, this paper aims to assess the iodine content present in salt and estimate the iodine…
Abstract
Purpose
Improper levels or excess of iodine may present a greater risk to health, for this reason, this paper aims to assess the iodine content present in salt and estimate the iodine concentration in school meals in a Brazilian northeast region.
Design/methodology/approach
Six samples of different salt brands sold in the city of Lagarto, Sergipe, Brazil were gathered for analyzing iodate concentration. The amounts of salt added to meals of four schools in the city and the weight of the provided meals were recorded during two consecutive days of gathering, thus obtaining data to estimate the iodine content of these meals. The rest of the meals and the nutritional composition of school meals were analyzed. A questionnaire for participants on the perception of salt was applied. For data analysis, α = 5% was used.
Findings
The iodine concentration in all salt samples followed legislation (15 to 45 mg of iodine/kg of salt), with the average of iodine ranged between 26.5 ± 1.29 and 33.9 ± 2.49 mg/kg (p < 0.001). The estimated iodine content in consumed school meals was 0.025 mg (25 µg), in meals of schools A and C, it was 0.03 ± 0.02 mg, and to schools B and D, it was 0.02 ± 0.01 mg (p < 0.001). Percentages of rest of the meals greater than 10% were found and the assessed food preparation showed low caloric and nutritional values.
Originality/value
The iodine content is in accordance with the salt iodization policy in Brazil, and that the average iodine estimate in school meals was considered adequate for this population.
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Rafael Renteria, Mario Chong, Irineu de Brito Junior, Ana Luna and Renato Quiliche
This paper aims to design a vulnerability assessment model considering the multidimensional and systematic approach to disaster risk and vulnerability. This model serves to both…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to design a vulnerability assessment model considering the multidimensional and systematic approach to disaster risk and vulnerability. This model serves to both risk mitigation and disaster preparedness phases of humanitarian logistics.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 27,218 households in Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas was conducted to obtain information about disaster risk for landslides, floods and collapses. We adopted a cross entropy-based approach for the measure of disaster vulnerability (Kullback–Leibler divergence), and a maximum-entropy estimation for the reconstruction of risk a priori categorization (logistic regression). The capabilities approach of Sen supported theoretically our multidimensional assessment of disaster vulnerability.
Findings
Disaster vulnerability is shaped by economic, such as physical attributes of households, and health indicators, which are in specific morbidity indicators that seem to affect vulnerability outputs. Vulnerability is heterogeneous between communities/districts according to formal comparisons of Kullback–Leibler divergence. Nor social dimension, neither chronic illness indicators seem to shape vulnerability, at least for Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas.
Research limitations/implications
The results need a qualitative or case study validation at the community/district level.
Practical implications
We discuss how risk mitigation policies and disaster preparedness strategies can be driven by empirical results. For example, the type of stock to preposition can vary according to the disaster or the kind of alternative policies that can be formulated on the basis of the strong relationship between morbidity and disaster risk.
Originality/value
Entropy-based metrics are not widely used in humanitarian logistics literature, as well as empirical data-driven techniques.
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