Economic development and growth in West Africa: a multiple case study analysis of sovereign wealth funds’ investments and performance

Durante a recente crise da dívida soberana europeia, os fundos soberanos demonstraram seu peso na esfera financeira global. Contribuíram para salvar o sistema financeiro dos países desenvolvidos, distribuindo créditos que as entidades financeiras tradicionais do Norte não podiam mais providenciar. Em 2012, os ativos totais desses fundos atingiram USD 4.620 bilhões, comparado aos USD 3.355 bilhões de antes da crise, no final de 2007 (Preqin, 2012). Sendo quase todos criados por economias em desenvolvimento ou subdesenvolvidas, os fundos soberanos podem então ser vistos como o símbolo de um recente reequilíbrio do poder a favor desses países (Santiso, 2008). Além disso, em um futuro próximo, espera-se que os fundos soberanos afastem-se dos países desenvolvidos para investir mais em países em desenvolvimento. Nesse contexto, os países africanos estão cada vez mais alvos de investimentos dos fundos (Triki & Faye, 2011). O estudo subjacente analisa dois fundos, o IFC ALAC e o Mubadala Development Company, para entender como, de acordo com as percepções dos seus gestores, os fundos soberanos podem ajudar no desenvolvimento dos países beneficiários. Mais precisamente, trata-se definir, através de um estudo de casos múltiplos, quais são os mecanismos pelos quais os fundos soberanos podem impactar o desenvolvimento da África ocidental. Os resultados sugerem que, segundo os gestores, os fundos soberanos podem desempenhar um papel significativo no desenvolvimento dos países beneficiários. Eles investem em alguns setores-chave da economia (bancos, infraestruturas etc.), criando condições favoráveis ao desenvolvimento local. Além disso, através de um efeito multiplicador, os investimentos dos fundos soberanos alavancam novos investimentos do setor privado local ou global, fortalecendo o tecido industrial e produtivo do país beneficiário. Porém, parece que as empresas beneficiárias não ajudam nas transferências de conhecimento e de tecnologia, embora sejam essenciais para o desenvolvimento econômico, e se limitam a programas de treinamento específico e de RSE. Além disso, apesar dos investimentos de fundos soberanos impulsionarem o crescimento da região, eles também podem agravar a dependência dessas economias à exportação de commodities. Finalmente, os impactos positivos dos fundos soberanos sobre a economia regional são muitas vezes reduzidos devido a conflitos políticos e barreiras estruturais exigindo reformas profundas e de longo prazo.

An analysis of the perceived service quality of hospitality industry in Rio de Janeiro through the SERVQUAL model: a multiple case study

Brazil is under political and financial crises where the end seems far away. Because of that, researchers argue that the hotel rooms offered by Rio de Janeiro, built to host the Olympic Games 2016, will be difficult to occupy after the event. It is then necessary for the hotels to understand how guests perceive the service quality in order to adapt to this new era. If guests’ perceptions meet or exceed their expectations, they will be satisfied and will probably return. Thus based on the SERVQUAL approach, this paper aims to study the impact of the service dimensions on the guests’ overall satisfaction at hotels of Rio de Janeiro. Two hotels were considered representative of the city in terms of service quality and customers’ profile. Interviews to the hotel managers were performed, and questionnaires to the guests were administered. Among the five SERVQUAL dimensions – Reliability, Tangibles, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy – the Empathy dimension appears to be the only one that affects the guests’ overall satisfaction. The study could also identify that gender, country of residence, home country and family income have an impact on guests’ satisfaction. This study has no intention of generalization, but rather of refining the theory about services and the SERVQUAL model.

Unemployment insurance an analysis of optimal mechanisms under aggregate shocks

The purpose of this work is to provide a brief overview of the literature on the optimal design of unemployment insurance systems by analyzing some of the most influential articles published over the last three decades on the subject and extend the main results to a multiple aggregate shocks environment. The properties of optimal contracts are discussed in light of the key assumptions commonly made in theoretical publications on the area. Moreover, the implications of relaxing each of these hypothesis is reckoned as well. The analysis of models of only one unemployment spell starts from the seminal work of Shavell and Weiss (1979). In a simple and common setting, unemployment benefits policies, wage taxes and search effort assignments are covered. Further, the idea that the UI distortion of the relative price of leisure and consumption is the only explanation for the marginal incentives to search for a job is discussed, putting into question the reduction in labor supply caused by social insurance, usually interpreted as solely an evidence of a dynamic moral hazard caused by a substitution effect. In addition, the paper presents one characterization of optimal unemployment insurance contracts in environments in which workers experience multiple unemployment spells. Finally, an extension to multiple aggregate shocks environment is considered. The paper ends with a numerical analysis of the implications of i.i.d. shocks to the optimal unemployment insurance mechanism.

Word of mouth marketing in the digital age: a case study analysis of viral marketing campaigns

A era digital viu a ascensão da empresa focada no consumidor. Todos os dias, marcas e produtos são objeto de milhões de conversas em que os consumidores trocam pontos de vista, opiniões e informações antes de tomar a decisão de compra. Os profissionais de marketing entenderam a importância do boca a boca como um novo canal de comunicação estratégica e começaram a ancorar técnicas de boca a boca à estratégia de marketing global. A propaganda tornou-se um negócio de conversa: o novo desafio do marketing é criar um conteúdo envolvente e compartilhável que possa expandir e ressoar dentro de redes de sociais de consumidores. Quanto mais as pessoas falam sobre a sua marca, mais a probabilidade de ganhar a competição dura e aumentar as vendas. Mas como o boca a boca funciona? O que faz uma campanha de marketing um sucesso viral? Este trabalho tem como objetivo fornecer uma análise abrangente da teoria de marketing de boca a boca e usa um modelo descritivo para investigar as variáveis-chave de campanhas bem-sucedidas de marketing viral, a fim de proporcionar insights e sugestões para as práticas de marketing viral.

The analysis of foreign market entry strategies on the basis of different cultural backgrounds and environments: a qualitative study characterising the differences and similarities of Brazilian and European firms

Moving into a new and foreign market can be challenging, especially when such market has a different culture and working environment in comparison to the home market. Thus, it is of utter importance to adjust a company’s strategy to the new market conditions. Currently, there are no concrete guidelines of what aspects are most important when moving from a developing market such as Brazil into a more sophisticated market like Europe, or vice versa. The present study will examine two companies from the same industry, but with different cultural backgrounds and its strategic similarities and differences for operating in multiple international markets. The data was collected via semi-structured interviews with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs’) from both companies, using an interview guideline that is based on three different theoretical frameworks. The aim is to give recommendations to these two industries of how to efficiently use existing theoretical frameworks and which aspects are most significant when moving into a new market while keeping in mind a company’s size and background.