A comparative study of the credit card market dynamics in Mexico and Brazil

This research analyzes and compares the attractiveness of the Brazilian and Mexican credit card markets from a financial firm’s perspective. The market dynamics in Latin America’s two economic powerhouses are fleshed out with qualitative and quantitative data, using a strategic framework to structure the analysis. Since its adoption by both countries in 1956, credit card usage has experienced many years of double digit growth. However, penetration levels remain low compared with most developed countries. Brazil has a more developed credit card infrastructure, with more potential profit, and issuers might face fewer competitive challenges.  Alternatively, Mexico, is witnessing a more favorable economy, a friendlier business and regulatory environment, combined with fewer financial products that compete with the credit card. Therefore, this paper concludes that Brazil and Mexico both offer market opportunities for credit card companies that can navigate the different technological, demographic, macroeconomic, and regulatory shifts in each country.

Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for the catch-up in developing countries

This document represents a doctoral thesis held under the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of Getulio Vargas Foundation (EBAPE/FGV), developed through the elaboration of three articles. The research that resulted in the articles is within the scope of the project entitled “Windows of opportunities and knowledge networks: implications for catch-up in developing countries”, funded by Support Programme for Research and Academic Production of Faculty (ProPesquisa) of Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) of Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Anthropotechnological analysis of industrial accidents in Brazil

The Brazilian Ministry of Labour has been attempting to modify the norms used to analyse industrial accidents in the country. For this purpose, in 1994 it tried to make compulsory use of the causal tree approach to accident analysis, an approach developed in France during the 1970s,without having previously determined whether it is suitable for use under the industrial safety conditions that prevail in most Brazilian firms. In addition, apposition from Brazilian employers has blocked the proposed changes to the norms. The present study employed anthropotechnology to analyse experimental application of the causal tree method to work-related accidents in industrial firms in the region of Botucatu, São Paulo. Three work-related accidents were examined in three industrial firms representative of local, national and multinational companies. on the basis of the accidents analysed in this study, the rationale for the use of the causal tree method in Brazil can be summarized for each type of firm as follows:the method is redundant if there is a predominance of the type of risk whose elimination or neutralization requires adoption of conventional industrial safety measures (firm representative of local enterprises); the method is worth while if the company's specific technical risks have already largely been eliminated (firm representative of national enterprises); and the method is particularly appropriate if the firm has a good safety record and the causes of accidents are primarily related to industrial organization and management (multinational enterprise).

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2010-2011: Internacional integration and macroeconomic policy challenges amid global economic turmoil

Includes bibliography

Promoting corporate social responsibility in small and medium enterprises in the Caribbean: methodology report

Incluye Bibliografía

A new generation of standards: implications for the Caribbean and Latin America

Incluye Bibliografía

Antidumping in the Americas

Includes bibliography

Multilateral rules on competition policy: an overview of the debate

Includes bibliography

The strategies pursued by Mexican firms in their efforts to become global players

Includes bibliography

The strategies of multinational companies in 1990s Argentina

Includes bibliography

Emigration of nurses from the Caribbean: causes and consequences for the socio-economic welfare of the country, Trinidad and Tobago: a case study

Includes bibliography

Determinants and home-country effects of FDI outflows: Evidence from Latin American countries

Foreign direct investment (FDI) by Latin American companies has increased sharply since the beginning of the 2000s. While most investment flows correspond to firms from large economies (i.e. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Colombia), small economies have also witnessed the increasing internationalisation of their domestic companies. This study examines the strategies followed by multinational enterprises (MNEs) from Latin America when they decide to invest in other countries, highlighting differences by sector and issuer-country size. To that end a new database, which comprises quantitative information on the main operations abroad of Latin American enterprises (both greenfield, and mergers and acquisitions) was constructed, based on fDi Markets and Thomson Reuters Datastream. It also investigates the home-country effects of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by conducting a case study of Costa Rica through a representative sample of firms investing abroad.

Novas formas de organização da produção canavieira na região de Ribeirão Preto/SP: qualificação profissional e o Programa Renovação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The Role of CEO Statements of Aggressiveness and the Competitive Aggressiveness of Firms: What is the Impact on Performance?

This research examines the impact of a CEO’s statements of aggressiveness on his or her organization’s competitive moves and subsequent performance. Hypotheses were developed based on previous work in Upper Echelon Theory and competitive dynamics. Based on this prior literature, it was hypothesized aggressive statements by CEOs will be associated with more aggressive organizations. It was also hypothesized these more aggressive organizations would display better performance than less aggressive organizations. A content analysis of letters to shareholders and trade publications was performed. This data was analyzed using multiple regression in SPSS 17 to test the hypotheses that aggressive statements by CEOs are associated with aggressive organizations and higher performance. Aggression scores for the content analysis were generated using the software package DICTION. The sample for the study was the organizations with the most revenue in two industries, automobile manufacturing and retailing. Data collection covered a five-year time span from 2003-2007, with performance data lagged one year. Control variables employed included CEO tenure, CEO background, organization size, and organization age. The findings indicate that CEO statements of aggressiveness do not significantly impact the competitive aggressiveness or the performance of their organizations. The implications of these findings are discussed and potential avenues for future research in the area are outlined.

Comparing Regional Cultures Within a Country: Lessons From Brazil

In this joint article we test the common assumption that a measure of culture developed for the national level can also be used for comparing regions within a country. Three different research projects independently measured culture differences within the Federal Republic of Brazil, all three using a version of Hofstede`s Values Survey Module (VSM). The largest provided separate scores for all of Brazil`s 27 states, the next largest for 17 of the more populous states. Factor analyses of VSM item scores across states in both cases only very partly replicated Hofstede`s cross-national dimension structure; only Individualism versus Collectivism reappeared clearly. We attribute this lack of fit to a restriction of range of VSM item scores among states within a common Brazilian national culture. The item scores did show a cultural clustering of states that fairly closely followed the administrative division of the country into five regions. The culture profiles for these regions show remarkable differences between the Northeast with its Afro-Brazilian roots and the North with its native Indian roots. On the issue of comparing regional cultures, we found the VSM, based on global differences, too coarse a net for catching the finer cultural nuances between Brazilian states. Adding locally defined items would have made the studies more meaningful to Brazilians.