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This study aims to measure the influence of the barriers present in the knowledge transfer at the sales process, by the franchisor to the franchisee, in language schools in the São Paulo/SP city, Brazil. The theoretical aspects include the transfer of knowledge displayed through communication model and barriers inherent in this process. Using (Szulanski 1996) approach the barriers may occur in relation to, namely, the content of knowledge; context; the source; the recipient.

The methodology is quantitative and the type of research is exploratory and descriptive. For this investigation was used an adapted version of the questionnaire developed by Szulanski (1996), applied to a sample of 79 franchised language schools linked to the Brazilian Franchise Association. Beyond factor analysis it was used the nonparametric test of Jonckheere-Terpstra and analysis of variance, to comparing schools.

The results of this analysis revealed that certain types of knowledge transfers are evaluated by the franchisees as more favorably or unfavorably according to the brand franchise. These results show a lack of standardization trend of the activities of the sales process and mismatches with the guidelines of the franchisor. The authors highlight that in the comparison between the brands is evident the dominance of the CNA in relation to other networks of language franchises when analyzed the relationship factors, technical adequacy, absorption of knowledge, competence to absorb knowledge and in the indicators contribution to revenue, acceptance of guidelines and bring results.

This research contributes to the identification of barriers that are involved during the transfer of practices of the franchisor to the franchisee on the knowledge of the sales process in language schools, awakening in franchisee reflections of improvements and solutions that can be worked on and developed in their units. Specifically, the study contributes to the knowledge management literature in franchises, as this topic is still emerging, as it presents conflicting findings.

Scientific production on the topic of information technology (IT) capabilities grows each year, leading researchers working in the field into difficulties to keep abreast of the new research flows, as well as to know the intellectual and conceptual structures that sustain the area. Thus, this study aims to present the result of the application of a quantitative approach on the international scientific production on the subject.

Several complementary bibliometric techniques were combined, such as keywords co-occurrence, bibliographic coupling and cocitation analysis. Considering that the bibliometric research support software currently available to the academic community has strengths and weaknesses, the present study uses three recent tools of analysis (VOSviewer, SciMAT and Bibliometrix), to explore the best that each can offer.

The authors analyzed 219 scientific papers available on the Web of Science. The authors identify the origins of the current literature on IT capabilities, as well as its foundations and main intellectual and conceptual structures, including a longitudinal view of the development of the theme. The paper also presents the main research fronts in the field, as well as several opportunities that can contribute to the advancement of research involving IT capabilities.

The fundamental themes for structuring the whole of the scientific production on IT capabilities, which had a higher level of development and connection with external research flows, are organizational performance, strategic management, resource and value-based view. Thus, future researchers will find underlying literature on IT capabilities in the context of business a rich and varied literature involving these major themes.

This paper aims to identify the expressions and flows of tacit knowledge in the unstructured decision process. In this type of process, decision-makers use not only the explicit knowledge but also aspects such as intuition, experience and other forms of tacit knowledge. The research developed a qualitative approach, through a study of multiple cases, and applied semi-structured interviews to ten executives. The analysis of data was carried out according to Flores (1994) interpretative analysis of text technique. Results indicated that there was the insertion of tacit knowledge in all unstructured decision-making routines. It was also detected the need to explicitly add the routine of evaluation to the Mintzberg et al.’s (1976) model as elements of tacit knowledge were also identified at this stage of the decision-making process.

The research has taken a qualitative approach, through a study of multiple cases, applying semi-structured interviews to ten executives. The analysis of data was carried out according to technique for interpretative analysis of the text.

Results indicated that there was tacit knowledge in all unstructured decision-making routines. Also detected was the need to explicitly add the routine of evaluation to the model.

It was unable to perform psychological studies to investigate the deepest cognitive and emotional aspects of managers, and it does not address, in depth, some issues that are related to tacit knowledge in decisions and that would be considered relevant.

Although this research was unable to dissect the composition of tacit knowledge in unstructured decision process, a better understanding of the aspects that make up the knowledge in question has been developed, providing some decision-making guidelines to managers.

The language between communications actors can share decision-making rules to assist in the production and process of arguments necessary for the debate, evaluation and attribution of institutionally recurrent decisions.

The original contribution is present in a detailed description of the expressions of flows of tacit knowledge in unstructured decision-making processes, based on the model of Mintzberg et al. (1976). From the influence of tacit knowledge, it was found that the model in question needs to consider the relevance of the evaluation phase, as a stage equivalent to the other described by Mintzberg et al. (1976). These aspects have been better explained in the introduction and conclusion. Participant observation was not possible because the decision had already been taken by the informant at the moment of the interviews.