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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Edilson M. Assis, Ernesto P. Borges, Silvio A.B. Vieira de Melo and Leizer Schnitman
The purpose of this paper is to compare four life data models, namely the exponential and the Weibull models, and their corresponding generalized versions, q-exponential and q…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare four life data models, namely the exponential and the Weibull models, and their corresponding generalized versions, q-exponential and q-Weibull models, by means of one practical application.
Design/methodology/approach
Application of the models to a practical example (a welding station), with estimation of parameters by the use of the least squares method, and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC).
Findings
The data of the example considered in this paper is divided into three regimes, decreasing, constant and increasing failure rate, and the q-Weibull model describes the bathtub curve displayed by the data with a single set of parameters.
Practical implications
The simplicity and flexibility of the q-Weibull model may be very useful for practitioners of reliability analysis, and its benefits surpasses the inconvenience of the additional parameter, as AIC shows.
Originality/value
The q-Weibull model is compared in detail with other three models, through the analysis of one example that clearly exhibits a bathtub curve, and it is shown that it can describe the whole time range with a single set of parameters.
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Edilson M. Assis, Ernesto P. Borges and Silvio A.B. Vieira de Melo
The purpose of this paper is to analyze mathematical aspects of the q‐Weibull model and explore the influence of the parameter q.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze mathematical aspects of the q‐Weibull model and explore the influence of the parameter q.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses analytical developments with graph illustrations and an application to a practical example.
Findings
The q‐Weibull distribution function is able to reproduce the bathtub shape curve for the failure rate function with a single set of parameters. Moments of the distribution are also presented.
Practical implications
The generalized q‐Weibull distribution unifies various possible descriptions for the failure rate function: monotonically decreasing, monotonically increasing, unimodal and U‐shaped (bathtub) curves. It recovers the usual Weibull distribution as a particular case. It represents a unification of models usually found in reliability analysis. Q‐Weibull model has its inspiration in nonextensive statistics, used to describe complex systems with long‐range interactions and/or long‐term memory. This theoretical background may help the understanding of the underlying mechanisms for failure events in engineering problems.
Originality/value
Q‐Weibull model has already been introduced in the literature, but it was not realized that it is able to reproduce a bathtub curve using a unique set of parameters. The paper brings a mapping of the parameters, showing the range of the parameters that should be used for each type of curve.
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Luciana Marques Vieira, Marcia Dutra De Barcellos, Alexia Hoppe and Silvio Bitencourt da Silva
Several studies focus on agri-food value chain from a consumer or from a supply chain perspective. But there is little investigation integrating both approaches and providing…
Abstract
Purpose
Several studies focus on agri-food value chain from a consumer or from a supply chain perspective. But there is little investigation integrating both approaches and providing empirical evidence from developing countries. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it describes the supply chain of organic products in Brazil, which is an emerging market. It describes how retailers manage its supply chain (wholesalers and small producers) in an organic own brand of fresh products. Second, this paper identifies the motivations, attitudes, beliefs and personal values behind Brazilian consumers' decision to purchase organic food.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in two stages. First, it presents a case study of the organic supply chain. Then, a survey carried out with 261 consumers at supermarkets in a Brazilian city is presented.
Findings
The case study points out that retailers transfer to wholesalers the responsibility to manage small organic producers. It also suggests that as the organic product is under the retailer own brand, and therefore most of the value perceived by the consumer is retained by the retailer. Survey results indicate that organic consumers have strong individual values and benefits are the most significant predictors of attitude toward organic food for the Brazilian consumers interviewed. Availability is significantly related to the intent to purchase organic food, which is a key point for the supply chain to respond efficiently to consumers' demand.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on a single case study and the survey is applied in only one city of Brazil.
Originality/value
The study contributes to expand the value analysis through a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques, including consumer behaviour and supply chain management in the same analysis. It also adds to the debate on value, proposing Schwartz Value Theory as a complementary approach to value analysis.