Memória organizacional e a constituição de bases de conhecimento

Pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação - FFC

Relationships between company size, types of production system and supply chain management: evidence from electro-electronics sector in Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how company size and the type of production system affect the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practices in companies in the electro‐electronics sector in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – An e‐mail survey of 107 companies associated with the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association (ABINEE) was conducted. Statistical techniques were employed to verify the adoption of SCM practices according to the size of the company and its production system. Findings – The major results indicate that the larger the size of the company, the higher the level of adoption of SCM practices, and that the choice of SCM practices depends upon the type of production system implemented. Practical implications – The implications of this study are useful to top management leaders of small and medium‐sized enterprises since the findings enable them to identify the most common practices adopted by either large‐, medium‐ or small‐sized companies in order to benchmark the level of adoption of SCM practices. Production managers can also benefit from this study by identifying the SCM practices that may support certain production systems.

Minimizing the Number of Optical Amplifiers Needed to Support a Multi-Wavelength Optical LAN/MAN

Optical networks based on passive star couplers and employing wavelength-division multiplexing (WDhf) have been proposed for deployment in local and metropolitan areas. Amplifiers are required in such networks to compensate for the power losses due to splitting and attenuation. However, an optical amplifier has constraints on the maximum gain and the maximum output power it can supply; thus optical amplifier placement becomes a challenging problem. The general problem of minimizing the total amplifier count, subject to the device constraints, is a mixed-integer non-linear problem. Previous studies have attacked the amplifier placement problem by adding the “artificial” constraint that all wavelengths, which are present at a particular point in a fiber, be at the same power level. In this paper, we present a method to solve the minimum amplifier- placement problem while avoiding the equally powered- wavelength constraint. We demonstrate that, by allowing signals to operate at different power levels, our method can reduce the number of amplifiers required in several small to medium-sized networks.

International Agricultural Trade under Regulatory Asymmetry: An Economic Analysis of SME Export Behavior

Over the last three decades, international agricultural trade has grown significantly. Technological advances in transportation logistics and storage have created opportunities to ship anything almost anywhere. Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements have also opened new pathways to an increasingly global market place. Yet, international agricultural trade is often constrained by differences in regulatory regimes. The impact of “regulatory asymmetry” is particularly acute for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that lack resources and expertise to successfully operate in markets that have substantially different regulatory structures. As governments seek to encourage the development of SMEs, policy makers often confront the critical question of what ultimately motivates SME export behavior. Specifically, there is considerable interest in understanding how SMEs confront the challenges of regulatory asymmetry. Neoclassical models of the firm generally emphasize expected profit maximization under uncertainty, however these approaches do not adequately explain the entrepreneurial decision under regulatory asymmetry. Behavioral theories of the firm offer a far richer understanding of decision making by taking into account aspirations and adaptive performance in risky environments. This paper develops an analytical framework for decision making of a single agent. Considering risk, uncertainty and opportunity cost, the analysis focuses on the export behavior response of an SME in a situation of regulatory asymmetry. Drawing on the experience of fruit processor in Muzaffarpur, India, who must consider different regulatory environments when shipping fruit treated with sulfur dioxide, the study dissects the firm-level decision using @Risk, a Monte Carlo computational tool.

eLEARNING

eLearning through its flexibility and facility of access is seen as a major enabler of lifelong learning (LLL), as a catalyst of change and a chance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their business and to integrate into European market. But so far eLearning in the context of vocational educational training mainly has been adopted by large enterprises, while only little activity can be observed in SMEs. The question arises what the chances and challenges for SMEs are and what are the experience with its usage. In this paper after a presentation of key issues in eLearning chances and challenges of eLearning for SMEs are discussed and experiences are exemplified by three EU-funded eLearning projects. The focus lies on the ongoing project ARIEL - Analysing and Reporting the Implementation of Electronic Learning in Europe – coordinated by the Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT).

Planung und Risikobewertung projektspezifischer Produktionsnetzwerke

Bei Einzel‐ und Kleinserienfertigung müssen sowohl langfristige Kooperationspartner als auch auftrags-spezifische, internationale Partner und Lieferanten in die Produktion komplexer Investitionsgüter einbezogen werden. Zunehmend sind kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) herausgefordert nicht nur technische Komponenten zu liefern, sondern die komplette Projektplanung zu realisieren. Im Forschungsprojekt „PIP“ soll ein Verfahren entwickelt werden, das gerade KMU des Maschinen- und Anlagenbaus bei der aufwandsmi-nimierten Partner- und Lieferantenauswahl sowie der Einschätzung möglicher Projektrisiken unterstützt. Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt Rahmenbedingungen beim Aufbau projektspezifischer Produktionsnetzwerke sowie Lösungsansätze zu deren verbesserter Planung und Risikobewertung.

Integration zeitvariabler Energiekosten in die Belastungsorientierte Auftragsfreigabe

In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird ein Ansatz zur Integration von Energiekosten in bestehende Fertigungssteuerungsverfahren vorgestellt. Das entwickelte Verfahren basiert auf dem Ansatz der Belastungsorientierten Auftragsfreigabe (BOA) und berücksichtigt schwankende Strompreise aufgrund der zunehmenden Einspeisung regenerativer Energien in das Stromnetz. Die Weiterentwicklung ermöglicht besonders kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen (KMU) die Einsparung von Energiekosten durch organisatorische Maßnahmen der Fertigungssteuerung ohne kapitalintensive Investitionen.

Digital Personal Assistant for Cognitive Cities: A Paper Prototype

This chapter presents an evaluation and initial testing of a meta-application (meta-app) for enhanced communication and improved interaction (e.g., appointment scheduling) between stakeholders (e.g., citizens) in cognitive cities. The underlying theoretical models as well as the paper prototype are presented to ensure the comprehensibility of the user interface. This paper prototype of the meta-app was evaluated through interviews with various experts in different fields (e.g., a strategic consultant, a small and medium-sized enterprises cofounder in the field of online marketing, an IT project leader, and an innovation manager). The results and implications of the evaluation show that the idea behind this meta-app has the potential to improve the living standards of citizens and to lead to a next step in the realization and maturity of the meta-app. The meta-app helps citizens more effectively manage their time and organize their personal schedules and thus allows them to have more leisure time and take full advantage of it to ensure a good work-life balance to enable them to be the most efficient and productive during their working time.

Cooperative VET in Training Networks: Analysing the Free-Rider Problem in a Sociology-of-Conventions Perspective

In training networks, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises pool their resources to train apprentices within the framework of the dual VET system, while an intermediary organisation is tasked with managing operations. Over the course of their apprenticeship, the apprentices switch from one training company to another on a (half-) yearly basis. Drawing on a case study of four training networks in Switzerland and the theoretical framework of the sociology of conventions, this paper aims to understand the reasons for the slow dissemination and reluctant adoption of this promising form of organising VET in Switzerland. The results of the study show that the system of moving from one company to another creates a variety of free-rider constellations in the distribution of the collectively generated corporative benefits. This explains why companies are reluctant to participate in this model. For the network to be sustainable, the intermediary organisation has to address discontent arising from free-rider problems while taking into account that the solutions found are always tentative and will often result in new free-rider problems.

Financial Aspects of Transactions with FDI: Trade Credit Provision by SMEs in China

This paper will document financial aspects of transactions, and trade credit supply behavior with FDI among small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) based on two original surveys, conducted in four cities in China in 2003. The survey was designed to capture the nature of inter-firm transactions, trade credit and other financial conditions. Literature on FDI mainly refers to technology transfer, employment or investment. This paper focuses on the role and significance of FDI in the supply of trade credit due to its trade credit enforcement technology. Yanagawa, Ito and Watanabe [2006] developed a model which indicates that when a seller has higher enforcement technology or a buyer has richer liquidity, both trade credit and transaction volume will be increased. In this paper, we confirmed that FDI and G contributed to the provision of trade credit and had a positive external effect on trade credit enforcement towards China’s economy. (1) Sales towards FDI customers have the power to increase the trade credit ratio,even when controlling other factors such as choice of payment instrument, competitiveness, and expost default management. This implies that FDI does provide trade credit, not only because it has superior liquidity, but because it is also superior in terms of enforcement of trade credit repayment.(2) Cash constraints of the buyer influence the decisions concerning trade credit provided by the seller, as a model in Yanagawa, et al. [2006] predicted, and this implies that strategic default is a serious concern among SMEs in China. (3) Spillover effect exists in payment enforcement technology in transactions with FDI customers.

Impact of foreign capital entry in the Indonesian banking sector

After the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98, the Indonesian banking sector experienced significant changes. Ownership structure of banking sector is substantially-changed. Currently, ownership of major commercial banks is dominated by foreign capital through acquisition. This paper examines whether foreign ownership changes a bank’s lending behavior and performance. Foreign banks tend to lend mainly to large firms; this paper examines whether the credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is affected by foreign capital entry into the Indonesian banking sector. Empirical results show that banks owned by foreign capital tend to decrease SME credit.

The role of a firm's absorptive capacity and the technology transfer process in clusters: How effective are technology centres in low-tech clusters?

This paper analyses how the internal resources of small- and medium-sized enterprises determine access (learning processes) to technology centres (TCs) or industrial research institutes (innovation infrastructure) in traditional low-tech clusters. These interactions basically represent traded (market-based) transactions, which constitute important sources of knowledge in clusters. The paper addresses the role of TCs in low-tech clusters, and uses semi-structured interviews with 80 firms in a manufacturing cluster. The results point out that producer–user interactions are the most frequent; thus, the higher the sector knowledge-intensive base, the more likely the utilization of the available research infrastructure becomes. Conversely, the sectors with less knowledge-intensive structures, i.e. less absorptive capacity (AC), present weak linkages to TCs, as they frequently prefer to interact with suppliers, who act as transceivers of knowledge. Therefore, not all the firms in a cluster can fully exploit the available research infrastructure, and their AC moderates this engagement. In addition, the existence of TCs is not sufficient since the active role of a firm's search strategies to undertake interactions and conduct openness to available sources of knowledge is also needed. The study has implications for policymakers and academia.

ASSOCIATIVISMO EMPRESARIAL ENTRE MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS: A EXPERIÊNCIA DO GRANDE ABC COM O PROJETO EMPREENDER (SEBRAE)

O associativismo empresarial aparece como forma de desenvolvimento regional, seja este econômico, social ou cultural, e é grande aliado para o surgimento e crescimento das micro e pequenas empresas. É um tema já vivenciado e estudado por vários países do mundo, entre eles europeus e especificamente italianos, mas ainda pouco estudado e conhecido no Brasil. A presente pesquisa objetivou analisar o associativismo empresarial entre micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) na região do Grande ABC (GABC) pelo Projeto Empreender (SEBRAE) relacionando seus dados com os publicados do relatório 2003/5 de autoria do Observatório Europeu de estudos sobre pequenas e médias empresas europeias, analisando as formas de associativismo aqui ocorridas, além de identificar o perfil das empresas e empresários envolvidos no projeto. Para tal análise foram coletados dados de um total de 63 empresas do Projeto Empreender, nos núcleos de Santo André, São Caetano do Sul e Ribeirão Pires. Do GABC foram coletados dados utilizando o instrumento desenvolvido pelo Observatório Europeu de estudos sobre pequenas e médias empresas. A análise dos dados coletados no GABC em relação aos dados europeus se fez necessária para que pudessem ser encontrados pontos de divergências e convergências em cada uma das experiências, objetivando o aprendizado e evolução do tema. A escolha do GABC foi motivada pelo fato da região passar por mudanças no seu perfil econômico, passando de berço e grande pólo das grandes indústrias para um grande centro de pequenas empresas prestadoras de serviços. Após coleta e análise dos dados, percebeu-se que a experiência do GABC e a ocorrida na Itália se parecem em muitos aspectos, porém tem grandes diferenças estruturais. Enquanto o projeto europeu é de responsabilidade de um órgão da União Europeia, aqui o projeto é de autoria do SEBRAE e sofre grandes conflitos com as Associações Comerciais e Industriais (ACIs) da região quando o tema é custeio das despesas das pessoas e estrutura que envolve a implantação do projeto. Além disso, conclui-se que é necessária uma maior aproximação dos municípios com o projeto, tendo em vista que isto poderia ser fator de incentivo a entrada de novas empresas além de fator de aumento de seriedade do sistema. Mais dois dados merecem destaque. Primeiro o fato do Projeto Empreender ter pouca visibilidade regional, ou seja, ser muito pouco divulgado, e o fato da agência de desenvolvimento do GABC não ter aproximação alguma com o projeto. Por último, surgem dados no decorrer da pesquisa que rompem a barreira das teorias administrativas conhecidas, tais como a amizade como fator de associativismo. Portanto, os resultados obtidos com essa pesquisa apontam para a influência no incentivo ao desenvolvimento do processo associativista na região do GABC, além de servir como incentivador para a aproximação de outros atores sociais no processo.(AU)

ASSOCIATIVISMO EMPRESARIAL ENTRE MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS: A EXPERIÊNCIA DO GRANDE ABC COM O PROJETO EMPREENDER (SEBRAE)

O associativismo empresarial aparece como forma de desenvolvimento regional, seja este econômico, social ou cultural, e é grande aliado para o surgimento e crescimento das micro e pequenas empresas. É um tema já vivenciado e estudado por vários países do mundo, entre eles europeus e especificamente italianos, mas ainda pouco estudado e conhecido no Brasil. A presente pesquisa objetivou analisar o associativismo empresarial entre micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) na região do Grande ABC (GABC) pelo Projeto Empreender (SEBRAE) relacionando seus dados com os publicados do relatório 2003/5 de autoria do Observatório Europeu de estudos sobre pequenas e médias empresas europeias, analisando as formas de associativismo aqui ocorridas, além de identificar o perfil das empresas e empresários envolvidos no projeto. Para tal análise foram coletados dados de um total de 63 empresas do Projeto Empreender, nos núcleos de Santo André, São Caetano do Sul e Ribeirão Pires. Do GABC foram coletados dados utilizando o instrumento desenvolvido pelo Observatório Europeu de estudos sobre pequenas e médias empresas. A análise dos dados coletados no GABC em relação aos dados europeus se fez necessária para que pudessem ser encontrados pontos de divergências e convergências em cada uma das experiências, objetivando o aprendizado e evolução do tema. A escolha do GABC foi motivada pelo fato da região passar por mudanças no seu perfil econômico, passando de berço e grande pólo das grandes indústrias para um grande centro de pequenas empresas prestadoras de serviços. Após coleta e análise dos dados, percebeu-se que a experiência do GABC e a ocorrida na Itália se parecem em muitos aspectos, porém tem grandes diferenças estruturais. Enquanto o projeto europeu é de responsabilidade de um órgão da União Europeia, aqui o projeto é de autoria do SEBRAE e sofre grandes conflitos com as Associações Comerciais e Industriais (ACIs) da região quando o tema é custeio das despesas das pessoas e estrutura que envolve a implantação do projeto. Além disso, conclui-se que é necessária uma maior aproximação dos municípios com o projeto, tendo em vista que isto poderia ser fator de incentivo a entrada de novas empresas além de fator de aumento de seriedade do sistema. Mais dois dados merecem destaque. Primeiro o fato do Projeto Empreender ter pouca visibilidade regional, ou seja, ser muito pouco divulgado, e o fato da agência de desenvolvimento do GABC não ter aproximação alguma com o projeto. Por último, surgem dados no decorrer da pesquisa que rompem a barreira das teorias administrativas conhecidas, tais como a amizade como fator de associativismo. Portanto, os resultados obtidos com essa pesquisa apontam para a influência no incentivo ao desenvolvimento do processo associativista na região do GABC, além de servir como incentivador para a aproximação de outros atores sociais no processo.(AU)

Why a more accurate EU definition of SMEs matters. ECMI Commentary No. 35, 15 November 2013

As part of the European Union’s commitment to deliver greater access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), EU policy-makers will have to deal with a fragmented market landscape and responses by individual member states to address failures. On the basis of some early evidence, this Commentary calls for a rethinking on the part of the EU of its definition of an SME, which currently does not take into account the internal market dimension. A more accurate definition, reflecting the internal market and the stages of evolution of a firm and its financing needs, would allow better benchmarking and a comparison of policy responses that often claim to address market failures in SME finance.