Revista de Administração da UFSM

Institutionalization of the sustainable development goals in agro-industries

Bianca Bigolin Liszbinski, Maria Margarete Baccin Brizolla, Tiago Zardin Patias — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0300

Purpose: To analyze the relationship between the institutionalization process by isomorphic mechanisms and the adhesion of agro-industries to the sustainable development goals.
Methodology: This is a descriptive study, with quantitative application, operationalized through a survey in a sample with 254 agri-food industries in the State of Rio Grande do Sul and by adopting the structural equation modeling technique for the measurement model and the structural model analysis.
Results: The hypothesis that institutionalization through isomorphic mechanisms is positively associated with the implementation of sustainable development goals is confirmed, with an emphasis on the significance of all isomorphic variables analyzed, that is, coercive, normative, and mimetic isomorphism.
Research limitations and implications: Despite the important observations found, this research has limitations regarding the adopted quantitative method, with the common method bias and the overfitting being necessary to validate the estimated model. Regarding implications, the research results contribute to the theoretical and practical subject field, opening up new possibilities for analyzing the engagement of organizations with the sustainable development goals from the institutional theory perspective.
Originality: The study on the engagement of companies with the sustainable development goals is considered recent and lacking progress in the literature; thus, this study moves forward in understanding this phenomenon, especially on institutional issues that are decisive for the involvement of agro-industries in this sustainable development agenda.

Does your neighborhood invite you to walk? Analysis of pedestrian perception of walking conditions

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0300

Purpose: The article aims to analyze walkability conditions in the Liberdade neighborhood, Campina Grande, Paraíba, from the perspective of pedestrians. In this context, the goal is to understand the conditions of movement, including sidewalk quality, mobility, public safety, road safety, and the environment, identifying areas for improvement for decision-making by the municipal government.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is qualitative, using an analytical and comparative approach. Data collection involved bibliographic and documentary research and semi-structured interviews, conducted both in-person and online over eight days. The sample included 15 participants, predominantly with higher education, residing in Liberdade.
Results: The study revealed inadequate walkability conditions in Liberdade, highlighting irregular sidewalks, a lack of accessibility, and precarious public safety. The research emphasized the need for investments to improve mobility and create a safe environment. The positive perspective of pedestrians regarding attractions such as parks was also emphasized.
Limitations/Implications of the Research: Acknowledging limitations in the results, the research focused on Liberdade, indicating the need for further studies in other neighborhoods of Campina Grande. Practical implications include the need for investments in infrastructure and maintenance.
Social Implications: The findings highlight the importance of public awareness regarding participation in urban planning to enhance pedestrian conditions in the city’s urban spaces.
Originality/Value: Contributing to urban management and sustainability, the study provides insights into urban expansion and its consequences. It emphasizes the democratic and participatory role of pedestrians in reflections on urban walkability.

Managers’ perceptions of spirituality in the context of brazilian organizations towards sustainability

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0300

Objective: To identify managers’ perceptions of spirituality with a view to sustainability in Brazilian organizations.
Method: 10 interview groups were carried out with 35 managers from different types of organizations (private companies, public universities, private universities, city halls, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil police, and military police). The interview was developed with the open question: What do you understand by spirituality? The qualitative approach to the data was based on the thematic analysis technique (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Findings: Regarding the theme Spirituality, 19 categories were identified in the interviewees’ statements: energy, purpose/meaning, connection, empathy, leadership, values, relationships between people, care, faith, relationship with religion, decision, welfare/well-being, transcendence/beyond the material, God/universe, strength, resilience/improvement, belief/beliefs, work/organization, harmony/balance. It was identified, according to the interviewees’ statements, that spirituality is a way of living based on an energy, linked or not to religion, which understands human transcendence, which provides well-being, which helps to overcome challenges and difficulties of life, which welcomes the other, conducts work valuing people and looking at them in their entirety through values, beliefs, faith, God, self-knowledge, connection with oneself and with something greater, and the constant search for purpose and meaning for life.
Originality: Understanding, from the perception of managers of different types of organizations, how spirituality can impact sustainability is interesting both from the point of view of the employee and the organization and from the point of view of the future, society, and the Planet.

Bitury dam, in the Ipojuca river hydrographic basin, in the state of Pernambuco: approach in the light of water governance

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0300

Purpose: The study proposes to analyse the water governance process of the Bitury weir, located in the Ipojuca river basin, in Pernambuco.
Design/methodology/approach: A methodological approach with qualitative predominance was used, guided by comprehensive paradigms. It was an exploratory and descriptive case study, with the research corpus consisting of: (i) bibliographical and documentary research and (ii) semi-structured interviews. The Bitury weir, located in the hydrographic basin of the Ipojuca river, in Pernambuco, was adopted as a reference space for the research. The interviews were carried out with 10 subjects, from October 2020 to February 2021 and were treated through simplified content analysis — defined a priori and based on the OECD principles for water governance — were grouped into three dimensions: “effectiveness”, “efficiency” and “trust and commitment”.
Findings: The roles and responsibilities of the management bodies are clear, however, the management practices are not compatible, in their entirety, with the local conditions of the hydrographic basin; the actors demonstrate to have technical skills and the data and information produced prove to be consistent, but the application of financial resources in the basin is deficient; and water allocation is carried out in the management of the weir, however, greater transparency and involvement of the actors is needed, as well as expanding inspection actions.
Practical implications: Conception and implementation of public policies to face the challenges related to the management of water resources.
Originality/value: The study contributes to the improvement of institutional models of water governance, based on knowledge of the water resources management model in force and the proposal for adjustments.

Collaborative governance in the implementation and maintenance of wind farms in the state of Ceará

Roseilda Nunes Moreira, Roberto Ney Ciarlini Teixeira — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0300

Objective: To analyze how Collaborative Governance [GC] manifests itself in the implementation and maintenance of wind farms, from the community’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research, with the object of the research being the “local communities” in the cities of Icaraí de Amontada, Trairi and São Gonçalo do Amarante, located in the state of Ceará, in wind energy enterprises”. To analyze and interpret the in-depth interviews, the Content Analysis [AC] was chosen, with Atlas TI as a support tool.
Results: The results demonstrate that energy distribution needs to be seen as a collective good and the relationship between the company and the community should be based on GC, where public and private agents work collectively and collaboratively, in addition to the need for a social license to operate [LSO] for projects that have an impact on community life as a result of such governance. In the initial conditions of the collaborative process, there was a sense of trust at the beginning of the establishment of the wind farms that was not sustained during maintenance. It also shows the importance of a face-to-face communication, since the community’s most important resource and source of income is at stake: the land.
Originality/value: This research is notable for its contribution and originality in exploring the theoretical constructs of Collaborative Governance and its practice in the construction of company-community relationships in wind farms from the community’s perspective.