Comportamento dos processos intra-organizacionais de aprendizagem tecnológica frente a uma mudança de estrutura de propriedade: o caso da TermoMacaé - PETROBRÁS

This academic work describes the interfirm technological learning processes behavior at a thermo plant throughout the years 2001 till 2007. Its former ownership structure was composed by two foreigners companies. This structure was changed by the acquisition of the company control by a Brazilian state owned company on April 2006. The company is a Natural Gas Fired Power Plant placed at Macaé City, at Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil generating electric power right to National Integrated System (SIN). The goal of this research is verify how the technological knowledge had been acquired by the firm and how it had been spread out throughout the organization before and after the change of the ownership structure. The taxonomy applied to determining of ownership structure take in account three parameters: type, specific characteristic and the ownership structure itself. Technological Learning Interfirm Processes have been examined from a model of systemic approach that establishes four key characteristics: ¿variety, intensity, functioning and interaction¿. During 2001 until 2006, till the change of owner structure, the firm developed its own learning processes in its own operational routines. The main learning processes have been identified from empirical evidences. It has been adopted the cut line at year of 2006 for the comparison among the technological learning processes behavior, when the change of ownership structure took place. The data capture occurred within April and August 2007 covering since 2001. Verified the behavior of these learning processes before and after the ownership structure changed from private property to state owned property. The conclusion of this case study suggests that interfirm processes of technological learning identified by the research had their dynamical behavior promptly affected by a change from private to ownerstate ownership structure, exposing the company to a poor performance in its industry, due to the lack of 51% of the technological intrafirm learning processes and reduction of the acquisition of new technical knowledge and its conversion throughout the organization.

Relação entre stakeholders, recursos estratégicos e sustentabilidade em uma organização atuante na cadeia de valor da indústria brasileira de energia eólica

This paper approaches the strategy in business management and aimed at identifying and outlining the interests and commitment of stakeholders in strategic resources management concerning production and implementation of wind turbine equipment of a Brazilian wind power company and also verifying if internal and external results deriving from such activities were sustainable, taking as main reference seminal publications and periodicals relevant to the research point that discuss the Resource Theory, Stakeholders and Sustainability. An analysis was carried out to assess how stakeholders, beyond the temporal context, intermediated the composition, development and management of the organization´s resources, as well as the social, environmental and economic results obtained from resources management in the production and supply of wind turbines to a Wind Power Plant located in the State of Ceara, in order to portray that Brazil sustainability can be an important competitive advantage source that creates value for shareholders and the community (Hart & Milstein, 2003). The strategy herein applied was the qualitative investigation using a single study case, which allowed for the thorough examination of an active organization operating in the Brazilian industry of wind power and also the resources used in the production and implementation of wind turbines supplied to the a Wind Power Plant in Ceara. Considering the content analysis and the triangulation principle, three qualitative data collection methods were applied to identify and characterize stakeholders’ interest and commitment in resource management of the organization operating in the Brazilian wind power industry, as follows, semistructured deep interview with managers of tactic-strategic level and analysts of organization´s value chain nine activities, analysis of public internal and external documents; and analysis of audio-visual material. Nonetheless, to identify the internal and external economic, social and environmental results of implementation and supply of wind turbines to the Wind Power Plant in Ceara, semistructured interviews were also carried out with the residents of the region. Results showed the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) and the organization head office were the stakeholders who exerted the strongest influence on resources related to production and implementation of the aerogenerator product at Trairi Wind Plant in Ceara. Concerning the organization resources, at the current stage of the Brazilian Wind Industry ,although the brand, reliability and reputation of the organization under study were valuable esources, rare, hard to imitate and exploited by the organization, it was noticed that opposed to RBV, they did not actually represent a source of competitive advantage . For the local community the social, economic and environmental results related to the wind turbines implementation were more positive than negative, despite the fact that the productive process caused negative environmental impacts such as the high emission of CO2 to transport wind turbines components to Trairi Wind Power Plant.

EDF and the Brazilian Power Sector

Electricité de France (EDF) is a leading player in the European energy market by being both the first electricity producer in Europe and the world’s leading nuclear plant operator. EDF is also the first electricity producer and supplier in France. However, Europe, EDF’s core market, is currently underperforming: the European sovereign debt crisis is lowering significantly the growth perspective of an energy market that has already reached its maturity. As a consequence, European energy companies are now looking at international markets and especially BRIC economies where economic growth potential remains high. Among them, Brazil is expected to keep its strong economic and electricity demand growth perspectives for the coming decades. Though Brazil has not been considered as a strategic priority for EDF after the Light reversal in 2006, the current economic situation has led the Group to reconsider its position toward the country. EDF’s current presence in Brazil is limited to its stake in UTE Norte Fluminense, a thermal plant, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This report investigates the possibility and the feasibility of EDF’s activities expansion in Brazil and what added value it could bring for the Brazilian power market. Considering that the status quo would not allow EDF to take full advantage of Brazil’s future growth, this work is identifying the various options that are currently opened to EDF: market exit, status quo, EDF alone, local partner. For that purpose, this study collects and analyses the latest energy market data as well as generation companies’ information which are necessary to give a relevant overview of the current brazilian power sector and to present EDF strategic options for the country.