New descriptions and understandings of internationalisation: A tale of knowledge-intensive SMEs

This research seeks to generate and foster new descriptions and understandings of processes underlying the internationalisation experienced by small- and medium-sized, knowledge-intensive enterprises. The longitudinal study centres on the growth and internationalisation of a cluster of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the most southern state of Australia, of which a number were 'bom global.' It draws on both retrospective data such as corporate archives, as well as observations and interviews as events unfolded over a period of eighteen months to garner insights into processes underlying the SMEs' internationalisation. The approach to inquiry is influenced by an epistemology of social constructionism, interpretive narrative, sensemaking and dramaturgical theoretical perspectives, and elements of cultural anthropology. Exploratory in the early stages, a funnel approach characteristic of ethnographic enquiry was used whereby the study became progressively focused over time. The extended period of fieldwork led to observations and interpretations that cast the retrospective data in new light, and the use of the construct 'legitimacy' as a lens through which to view activities and events infusing the firms' internationalisation. A generic narrative scheme that offers a temporal ordering of actions, context and meaning attributions in relation to legitimation behaviours and internationalisation processes is developed. This narrative scheme is then used to garner a deeper understanding of three activities that were central to the firms' internationalisation over time: the choice of geographic export markets, strategic participation in international standard-setting committees, and portfolio entrepreneurship. In addition, the study offers a rich story of the growth and internationalisation of the cluster of knowledge-intensive SMEs. The tale of growth and internationalisation pursued by the cluster of knowledgeintensive SMEs spans the period from 1975 to mid 1997, and may prove a useful resource for the theorising of others.

A Rádio-peão no ar Um estudo sobre a comunicação informal e a comunicação formal face a face no ambiente organizacional

A rádio-peão é estudada nos Estados Unidos desde o período pós II Guerra Mundial. No Brasil, este processo comunicacional ganhou relevância no final da década de 1970 com os movimentos operários que buscavam formas democráticas de diálogo, durante o regime militar. Já a comunicação formal face a face começou a ser praticada nas organizações brasileiras em meados dos anos 1990, com a chegada de novos modelos internacionais de gestão empresarial. Ao estudar estes dois formatos de comunicação, através de pesquisas bibliográfica e documental e entrevistas semi-abertas com acadêmicos e profissionais de mercado de diferentes áreas de conhecimento e atuação, foi possível um aprofundamento acerca de suas histórias, atributos e papéis desempenhados hoje, nas organizações, além de como essas formas de comunicação face a face (formal e informal) interagem entre si, de acordo com interesses pessoais ou organizacionais.(AU)