Revista de Administração da UFSM

Scale of competencies for sustainability at the organizational scope

Valéria Garlet — 2024-03-22

Objective: The objective of the study is to propose an instrument to evaluate the Competencies for Sustainability in Organizations.

Originality/Value: The importance of sustainability is clearly evidenced in the proposition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The skills for sustainability portray the commitment to sustainability. Understanding and effectively evaluating this set of skills is important to face the problems of society and the planet in terms of the environment, economy, and culture, among others, through conscious and sustainable decision making. For there to be a more sustainable world, it is necessary to understand that all obligors are agents of change endowed with skills that drive them to act and to change. What are the competencies needed for sustainability? By making available an instrument that aims to identify competencies that promote sustainability, it is intended to expand the scientific discussion on relevant issues that can influence society and help in the construction of a more sustainable future.

Design/methodology/approach: The items were compiled on the instrument based on the literature. After analyzing the content of the items, analyzing the specialists, semantic analysis, and pretesting the preliminary version of the instrument was applied to a sample of 509 respondents.

Results: A factor analysis was carried out that revealed two factors: strategic planning for sustainability and valuing sustainability. Together, the two factors explained 61.15% of the total variance of the construct. The 10 items have constitutive and operational consistency, and the results demonstrated the construct’s validity with good reliability indexes, good factorial load, and good model adjustment indexes.

The challenges of connecting situational leadership and emotional intelligence

José Gaspar Nayme Novelli — 2024-03-22

Purpose – The study aims to identify whether emotional intelligence influences leadership profiles given the performance of their teams in the face of the people, processes, and results pillars.
Methodology – A qualitative research used in-depth interviews to collect and analyze data, which Iramuteq software supports.
Findings – According to the interviewer’s perspective, the results showed that the situational leadership model proved helpful in leadership practice. Emotional intelligence is strongly associated with the situational leadership profile.
Research Limitations – The conclusions of a qualitative study could not be generalized for other’s circumstances but could support further research.
Practical Implications – The interviewees perceive this connection between situational leadership and emotional intelligence when they note the importance of knowing how to manage conflicts, influence the team, and have emotional resilience and empathy.
Originality/value – This research assumes that the combined use of situational leadership and emotional intelligence variables can guide the adoption of a management style aimed at achieving results at work and greater employee job satisfaction.

Assessment of business resilience abilities: the case of industry and commerce of Santa Maria – RS

Matheus Pedroso Valau Soares — 2024-03-22

Purpose: This research aimed to evaluate the potential for resilient performance in the face of crises and adversities for companies located in the city of Santa Maria – RS (Brazil).
Design/methodology/approach: We adopted a quantitative approach. The research was carried out through five sequential steps: (i) construction and validation of the research instrument; (ii) definition of the sample size and sampling procedures; (iii) data collection; (iv) data analysis and interpretation of results; and (v) elaboration of recommendations. A research instrument containing 44 questions was built and distributed among potential respondents, obtaining 87 valid answers, which corresponds to a statistically representative sample for the parameters adopted.
Findings: Our sample was divided into two subsets, representing the Industrial and Commerce sectors. Resilience assessment accounted for four dimensions: the ability to respond, to anticipate, to monitor, and to learn. Results for both sectors showed scores ranging from 3.4 to 3.7 (out of 5) in the four dimensions evaluated. This reveals both sectors have been developing practices that positively contribute to the improvement of resilience, although there are opportunities for improvement.
Originality/value: This research sheds light on the resilience ability of the cases surveyed, enabling managers to take action to strengthen their organizations and overcome crises and adversities. Additionally, our findings demonstrate how resilience abilities can be assessed, considering the scope of an economic sector and a geographical area. This approach can be adopted by researchers, policymakers, and development agencies to assess the resilience abilities of firms within their sphere of influence.

Effect of the national business system on the disclosure of greenhouse gases emissions: multi-country evidence

Alan Bandeira Pinheiro — 2024-03-22

Methodology: Institutional Theory and the National Business System approach were used to propose the research hypotheses. The work evaluated 1,072 companies from the 10 largest economies in the world, using econometric models and statistical analysis.
Purpose: Investigate the effect of the national business system on the disclosure of greenhouse gases by companies from the largest economies in the world.
Findings: The results indicate that institutional factors, such as the political, financial and cultural systems affect the disclosure of greenhouse gases. Thus, institutional pressure from countries can determine the environmental performance of their firms. However, the results showed that the country’s level of development is not an explanatory variable for the disclosure of atmospheric emissions.
Practical implications: The research presents the impact of formal and informal institutions on the disclosure practices of companies, suggesting that policy makers could influence it by strengthening certain institutional aspects.
Originality/Value: Although there is an increasing volume of research on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility, few studies are dedicated to comparing the disclosure of greenhouse gases in the light of the national business system.

Let’s get some food! The influence of marital status on the attributes’ perception of food delivery applications

Monique Aparecida Zanquet — 2024-03-22

Purpose: This research aims to identify the influence of marital status on the attributes’ perception of food delivery applications (FDA) by Brazilian consumers, considering convenience, price, usability, various food choices, and trustworthiness.

Methodology: This quantitative research study is based on a survey with a sample of 348 Brazilian FDA users, applying exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

Findings: This article sought to answer the influence of marital status (considering people married or in a common-law marriage vs. single, separated, and divorced individuals) on the consumer’s perception of attributes of food delivery applications (FDAs). The attributes analyzed were price, convenience, usability, various food choices, and trustworthiness. The results demonstrate differences between the groups, with single, separated, and divorced individuals emphasizing perceptions of the FDA attributes usability and price.

Theoretical contributions: The study extends the theory on m-commerce and FDAs, as well as managerial implications for companies in the food delivery sector. Armed with such knowledge, marketing managers can develop strategies focusing on specific interest groups according to marital status, considering the attributes of greatest value for each segment.

Relevance/Originality: The increase in FDA consumption has attracted the attention of the most diverse market segments. This study brings light to new propositions concerning purchase habits by specific groups, reinforcing the need to improve communication between company and user, counting on resources such as customization and segmentation to optimize the use of apps.

Circular economy and sustainable practices adopted by family farmers

Marcos Ferreira de Magalhães — 2024-03-22

Purpose: This study proposes a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) focusing on the Circular Economy (CE) and entrepreneurial family farming, investigating how the adoption of sustainable practices influences the incorporation of CE principles in this context. Furthermore, the study aims to map trends and gaps in the scientific literature on this intersection, highlighting the relevance of CE to foster more sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.

Methodology: A qualitative study with a descriptive approach was prepared through a SLR of 49 articles collected in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, whose content analysis was supported by Rayyan and Atlas ti software.

Findings: The thematic analysis revealed four categories of practices related to CE: (a) CE Practices in Entrepreneurship, emphasizing the role of entrepreneurship in promoting sustainable business models; (b) CE Practices in Agriculture, highlighting the implementation of sustainable agricultural systems, including organic production and effective waste management; (c) CE Practices in the Designer, contemplating the need to rethink the processes of design, production, and marketing of products; (d) Sustainable CE Practices, addressing the reorganization of business processes and partnerships to promote sustainability in circular business models.

Originality: This SLR provides a comprehensive overview of CE-related practices in entrepreneurial family farming. The research emphasizes the relevance of entrepreneurial practices as drivers of sustainable business models in the convergence between CE and family farming, while identifying gaps in research and suggesting directions for future investigations.

Understanding smart cities: a systematic review

Luan Carlos Santos Silva — 2024-03-22

Purpose: Smart cities are emerging as a fast-growing scientific research topic; much of the knowledge generated is particularly of a technological nature. The objective of this research was to identify how the articles approach the theme of smart cities from the perspective of innovation and technology.
Design/methodology/approach: The methodological procedure consisted of a systematic review of the literature; the process was carried out in three main stages: planning, reviewing, and reporting/disclosure. The period established for searches was from 2006 to 2021, using the databases: Emerald Insight, Scielo, Scopus, and Web of Science, and the Mendeley tool was used to filter articles within the theme.
Findings: After careful selection, 349 studies were found, based on the objective and relevance of this research. Regarding the databases, Emerald Insight presents 91 articles, Web of Science 83 articles, Scopus 101 articles, and Scielo 74 articles. About publications per country, Italy presents 12 articles, the United Kingdom 11 articles, and Spain and the United States 8 articles each. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has great potential to improve the quality of life of the population living in smart cities, innovation has always been significant to competitiveness and is vital to smart cities and tourist destinations. The sustainable and smart development of cities should be developed based on specific principles: synergy, creativity, and circularization.
Originality/value: The research is considered relevant since the theme of Smart cities in innovation and management is relatively new in the scientific area. It is opportune that governments and citizens discuss what they want for the future of their cities, understanding how technology can be an exceptional issue among nations around the world. A unique model of a smart nation can emerge and boost cities over the next 50 years.