The importance of firms' strategic resources and capabilities in crisis situations

The general idea of this research is to analyze overall firm performance before and after the global financial crisis of 2008. The main question is: What kind of strategies did companies adopt that led to positive business performance after the crisis? Are there any particular competitive advantages that bring better performance in the case of an economic downturn? This research focuses on competitive advantage gained by resource-based view attributes of a product (quality, durability and prestige) and dynamic capabilities (strategic flexibility in product development and technological innovation ability). The economic crisis setting provides a proper background to analyze the competitive advantage strategies in a dynamic, low-probability environment to determine which are most worth adopting in the business world. I employ an OLS regression analysis in order to measure the business performance of 136 Brazilian firms across four years – 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2012. The findings indicate that even though all of the strategic resources and capabilities positively influence firm performance in expansionary periods, only the superior product characteristics are pertinent in surviving an economic downturn.

Utilização de soluções business-to-business (B2B) no segmento downstream da cadeia de suprimentos de uma distribuidora de combustíveis

The pursuit of competitive advantage is lobbying organizations to strategically plan the use of their material, human, technological and financial resources, so that it s possible to add value to the product, even when it is considered a commodity. The scenario for this planning should not be limited to the company in question, but cover an entire supply chain, which is composed of several organizations which have common goals of growth and sustainability of the market. They should form trade links, integrating the chains of individual values, in a perspective of value system. In this supply chain there is a flow of services, payments and information, as products well as. The training of these links can be supported by the adoption of a set of information technology, here called solutions business-to-business (B2B), which will be responsible for the production, storage and distribution of relevant information to business transactions between the companies involved. On this view, this thesis aims to describe the B2B solutions adopted in the downstream segment of the supply chain of a distributor of fuel and the nature of these technologies as well as their impact on the creation of value for business and optimization of the relationship between companies. This is a case study on a national distributor of fuels, from a model of research produced under the influence of theories of integrated logistics system and value of Michael Porter. The analyses came to the conclusion that information technology is perceived as an essential tool to the operation of all activities carried out by the company. Among them, at was also brought the key activities of integrated logistics: administration of applications, inventory management, management transport and customer services, which were highlighted in this study. It was also noticed that even these activities are, in principle, purely operational; they all had in the adoption of strategies for leadership in cost or differentiation, supported by B2B solutions identified, making it more conducive to business and direct customer, the clinic reseller of fuel, to obtain value and benefits of this market segment as competitive

Balanced scorecard como ferramenta de gestão aplicada a unidade hospitalar privada

In this study the objective is to implant Balanced Scorecard administration for the development of a Strategic Map, for the support of the electric outlet of decisions in the administration of operations of an unit of attendance doctor-hospitalar. The present work presents a case study developed at a private hospital in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. The collection of data was developed after the analysis of the revision of the literature, and he/she had as critical judgement of evaluation used by the following Unit. The work is concluded in the proposition of a strategic map that elevates the return on investment (financial perspective), in the item profitability and growth. In the search of the customer's satisfaction (customer's perspective), that is nothing else than it already exists inside of the Unit in study, just needing to be organized and aligned with the executive picture and the other collaborators. The requirements competitiveness, information, innovation and technology (perspective of the internal processes), they were indispensable to eliminate the re-work, waste and to improve the automation. It is finally, the investment and development of innovation mechanisms, they enlarge important competitive advantage in the processes for creation of value, through the ability, attitude and knowledge (perspective of the learning and growth). As one of the results of this study a strategic map was developed, looked for in Balanced Scorecard, for support in the electric outlet of decisions of the administration of operations of an Unit Doctor- Healthcare

Sistema de gestão ambiental sob a perspectiva da resource-based view: um estudo de caso no verdegreen Hotel - João Pessoa/PB

The pressure for a new pattern of sustainable development began to require of modern organizations the conciliation between competitiveness and a environmental protection. In this sense, a tool that acts in the implementation of structured strategies is the Environmental Management System (EMS), which focuses on improving environmental performance. This improvement, in turn, can generate to the organizations many benefits , among which, obtaining competitive advantages, susceptible of measurement from different perspectives. One of these is the application of VRIO model, reasoned by the Resource-Based View (RBV), which considers that differences between companies occurs due to differences between its internal resources and capabilities. However, although was been found some studies in the literature that evaluate the competitive potential of certain organizations , such assessments are not performed on specific objects, like the SEM s. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the resources and capabilities (environmental strategies) adopted by the SGA of the Verdegreen Hotel, identifying which of these have the potential to generate competitive advantage. For this, this exploratory-descriptive character study and delineated as field research and case study was used as data collection tools: a literature survey, semi-structured interviews, document research and participant observation. The interpretation of results and consolidation of information were conducted from a qualitative approach, using two techniques of data analysis, namely: content analysis and analysis through VRIO model. The results show that the hotel is quite structured in relation to their EMS, as well as reaching related to improving the management of environmental factors, strengthening the image and gains in competitiveness benefits. On the other hand, the main difficulties for the implementation of the system are related to employees and suppliers. With regard to environmental strategies adopted, of the 25 strategies identified, 10 showed the potential to generate competitive advantage

A engenharia simultânea e o perfil da indústria de confecção da grande Natal/RN utilizando as ferramentas CAD/PDM e ERP

This work presents the research carried through in the industrial segment of confection of clothes of the Great Natal whose objective is to show the profile, enterprise and technological management as also the use of simultaneous engineering in the development of products. The research approaches two studies. The first one presents the current picture of the companies, synthesized through twelve variable. As, through fifteen variable it shows to the level of use of Simultaneous Engineering in the Development of Products and its amplitude in relation to the Integrated Management using tools CAD, PDM and ERP (Computer Aided Design, Product Management Date, Enterprise Resource Planning). The integration of these systems acts aiming the reduction of the cost and the development time of products. The reached results indicate that simultaneous engineering is a competitive advantage and becomes possible: to reduce the life cycle of the product, to rationalize the resources, to incorporate one high standard of the quality to the process and product as well as to personalize the product to take care of the global market. It is important to note that this work also is considered to contribute for the better understanding of the real companies situation of confection located at the Great Natal and its role in the economy of the State of the Rio Grande do Norte

Determinantes de competitividade de destinos turísticos aplicados aos roteiros regionais: uma avaliação do roteiro Seridó/RN

The tourism industry is gaining representation by move and stimulate the economy, especially by allowing the generation of employment and income, thus allowing growth opportunities for localities where tourism develops. Therefore, the present study entitled determinants of competitiveness of tourist destinations applied to regional routes: an evaluation of the Route of Seridó/RN, discusses the issue of competitiveness in tourism and tries to understand the scenery of this Route. The main objective of the study is to assess the conditions of competitiveness in the Route of Seridó/RN according to benchmarks and global determinants of competitiveness for tourist destinations. The study has also as specifics objectives: define dimensions of the reference model for use in evaluating the competitiveness of the Route of Seridó/RN; identify levels of governance and competitiveness in the municipalities that make up the sample set above the Route, and analyze to what extent the competitiveness of the Route correspond to the global reference of competitiveness of tourism destinations. Regarding the methodology, it is a search for an exploratory- descriptive and used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research method as expected and required in the implementation of the evaluation tool called Compet&enible Model. For data collection, it has been taken technical visits and also analysis of documents and materials. Data analysis was based on the records and documents and the use of simple descriptive statistics for the scores of the elements offered by Compet&enible Model. The results allowed us to know the real conditions of competitiveness of the Seridó/RN Route forward to the attributes of tourist destinations for global competitiveness: the dimension I, Governance, reached 17 points, classified as "in structuring" and dimension II, Competitiveness, reached 10 points, ranking "weak". These results highlight the need for greater involvement of the actors in the supply chain of tourism in Polo Seridó/RN for the actions, programs and projects are put into practice. It is expected that tourism is considered an important activity for the local and global development, serving as a reference for the future management of Seridó/RN Route, guiding new policy guidelines, planning and organization to better competitiveness

Ativos intangíveis (modelo RBV) como recurso estratégico e competitivo: um estudo em hotéis de pequeno porte (zona sul, Natal/RN)

The study aims to analyze the perception of managers on intangible assets as strategic and competitive resources in small hotels in Natal/RN, through the theory of the Resource Based View (RBV). This is a qualitative study of exploratory and descriptive, conducted with managers of the means of hosting small the capital of Rio Grande do Norte through semi-structured interviews, which was applied later, the technique content analysis based on the results of the information obtained in the interviews. Thus, research has shown that managers of small hotels visited (A, B, C) are not sufficient and satisfactory knowledge to set as their unique intangible assets of the company and makes use of them, on an occasional basis, without understanding or in essence understand its true value as a resource that can be used strategically for sustainable competitive advantage in the hotel market in Natal/RN. This means that managers do not know how to create new attributes and use them strategically. And they need to expand their partnerships with stakeholders. Given the importance of the subject of the present research, the information achieved by this analysis may contribute to the provision of information to establish a current situation with regard to the attributed to the knowledge and use of resources (intangible assets) importance as a strategic source and competitive for the internal management of the company by managers and thus, enabling a differential and greater economic profit over time in this segment

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2007

Includes bibliography

Capacidad de innovación en industrias exportadoras de Chile: la industria del vino y la agroindustria hortofrutícola

Incluye Bibliografía

El proceso hidrometalúrgico de lixiviación en pilas y el desarrollo de la minería cuprífera en Chile

Incluye Bibliografía

La inversión extranjera en México

Incluye Bibliografía

La responsabilidad social corporativa en un marco de desarrollo sostenible

Incluye Bibliografía