Nem política, nem sociedade: Questionando a justificativa de políticas públicas pró-empreendedorismo no Chile

A literatura sobre a relação entre estado e empreendedorismo mostra que o estado possui um papel positivo na configuração das condições para empreendedorismo e promoção do crescimento econômico por meio da atividade empresarial. No entanto, a questão de como a intervenção estatal é justificada no empreendedorismo em regimes neoliberais tem recebido pouca atenção, apesar de legitimar políticas públicas. No presente estudo, analisando entrevistas com autoridades estatais da Corporação de Desenvolvimento de Comércio e Produção Chilena (CORFO), declarações públicas e documentação oficial, examinamos o advento das políticas pró-empreendedorismo no neoliberal Chile e exploramos os princípios que justificam a política do estado nos governos pós-ditatoriais. Essa política estabelece uma dupla despolitização: i) despojar o empreendimento de filiação política e ii) difundir uma retórica meritocrática imbuída de desenvolvimento social, autorrealização e cega às desigualdades estruturais.  Argumentamos que a intervenção no empreendedorismo se justifica como uma política para o bem comum

Bancarización en base al Negocio del Barrio: El Caso CajaVecina

El presente artículo describe y analiza un mecanismo de inclusión financiera llamado CajaVecina. Dicho mecanismo ha sido creado por la empresa  BancoEstado. El sistema CajaVecina, se inscribe en el fenómeno conocido como la Cashless Society. El tipo de servicio se puede clasificar como una corresponsalía bancaria. La corresponsalía permite a un almacenero el disponer de un terminal POS –point of sale- el que unido a la tarjeta débito de las cuentas vista, permite a los usuarios acceder a variados servicios bancarios y de pagos, en el mismo almacén. El capítulo presenta el sistema, mostrando el éxito de sudifusión y adopción, pero problematizando la relación económica-social que se presenta en las nuevas formas en que se relacionan el usuario, almacenero (intermediario) y el banco. Se utiliza un enfoque basado en la sociología del dinero, de los pagos y los estudios del nuevo institucionalismo como base para el análisis de un corpus de datos obtenido en un sitio web de reclamos de los usuarios del sistema. Se concluye mostrando al mecanismo de CajaVecina como un mecanismo del tipo corresponsalía bancaria que otorga un tipo de inclusión financiera muy distinto al de aquellos que tienen acceso a los servicios del propioBancoEstado, a través de sus oficinas y servicios más tradicionales

Arche-writing and data production in theory-oriented scientific practice. The case of free-viewing as experimental system to test the temporal correlation hypothesis

Data production in experimental sciences depends on localised experimental systems, but the epistemic properties of data transcend the contingencies of the processes that produce them. Philosophers often believe that experimental systems instantiate but do not produce the epistemic properties of data. In this paper, we argue that experimental systems' local functioning entails intrinsic capacities to produce the epistemic properties of data. We develop this idea by applying Derrida's model of arche-writing to study a case of theory-oriented experimental practice. Derrida's model relativises or dissolves the conceptual distinction between the moment of data production and a subsequent moment of data dissemination. It thus has consequences for understanding both data production (despite being intrinsically local, data production a priori generates transferrable and modellable information) and data dissemination (when modelling information, researchers needs to refer this information to the context of its production). We study a case of data production in a non-exploratory experimental system designed to test a pre-existing hypothesis in visual neuroscience. A case of theory-oriented experimental practice should allow us to identify the autonomous functioning of experimental systems in data production more clearly, insofar as it allows us to study the limits of pre-existing theory in the activities of these systems. We suggest that pre-existing concepts, hypotheses and theories condition the relevance but not the production of experimental data

Detecting Circular Economy Strategies in the Fourth Sector: Overview of the Chilean Construction Sector as Evidence of a Sustainable Business Model

An essential part of the economic and social system is the existence of sustainable companies worldwide. Despite the fact that the literature has described different kinds of innovations, organizations, and models regarding this topic, there is a need to understand the dynamics that occur within the fourth sector and how strategies and practices are working. In this study, construction companies presenting sustainable projects are identified, and the way in which they serve the community, stakeholders, and consumers is analyzed. The present article presents an epistemological search to recognize the best practices and strategies, which allows an understanding of the new circular economy strategies in the fourth sector. The authors show a conceptual approach regarding these actions and a methodology on the most notable techniques of the Circular Economic Strategy of Chile based on an investigation of documentary and comparative data. Data collection considered perceptions of construction practices regarding the circular economy and the specificity of each situation and reflected the actual production systems. We used simple random sampling to collect data in the scope of the study. The findings show the importance of some relational elements between companies that structure construction projects, supporting the impact of discovering specific variables in the different layers of sustainable management. In addition, results show how those responsible for construction projects understand sustainability as a preference, amplify the role of various factors in the work of the cultural and social ecosystems under consideration. Finally, this article details and analyzes the channeling of innovative business models in the fourth sector

Local Adaptation of Work Practices: The Case of BancoEstado’s “CajaVecina” Correspondent Banking System

This article contributes to the discussion of everyday domestic finance technologies by looking at CajaVecina, a correspondent banking network coordinated by BancoEstado, a leading Chilean financial institution. Differences in perceptions between actual users and designers of ICT for development projects (ICT2D) emerged from structured interviews with executives of financial intermediaries, customers, and shopkeepers. The extent to which independent merchants operating CajaVecina’s bespoke terminals confront and solve the “design-actuality gap” questioned whether the CajaVecina system enabled neighborhood retail stores to act as a de facto bank branch. Empirical results suggested that was not the case. Instead of following strict contractual behavior, participants in the correspondent banking network addressed a design gap through social interaction and leveraging relationships with repeat customers. This behavior builds on information emanating from what they called “operating quotas.” Operating quotas enabled BancoEstado to diversify risk, document financial services habits, and forecast the performance of merchants (particularly small, independent retail shops). Merchants used trends in operating quotas to tailor services offered through the CajaVecina terminal while aiming to increase the loyalty of trusted customers. These results further the understanding of correspondent banking services aiming to increase financial inclusion by providing evidence of a previously unexplored aspect of these networks, where social dimensions take precedence over economic, financial, and technological aspects

On the Moral and Political Nature of Financial Devices: The Case of Felices y Forrados (Happy and Loaded)

Felices y Forrados fue una empresa chilena de asesores financieros que operaba recomendando a sus usuarios dónde invertir sus fondos de pensiones obligatorios. Este artículo propone que Felices y Forrados, como cualquier asesor o dispositivo financiero, es un conjunto de elementos técnicos, morales y políticos ensamblados con el propósito de adquirir legitimidad y atraer clientes. Metodológicamente, el artículo analiza los discursos de Felices y Forrados, reguladores y comerciantes del mercado de capitales chileno. Presentando el caso en tres movimientos, el artículo argumenta que, para entender cualquier dispositivo financiero, es crucial considerar los aspectos políticos y los discursos morales involucrados en el mismo. Esta empresa asesora en particular se puede comprender como un “parásito”, que disputa la legitimidad dando consejos y, al mismo tiempo, añade sus propias recetas para producir cambios políticos y un estándar moral en sus tres movimientos. Para esto, Felices y Forrados se involucró en disputas abiertas con administradoras de fondos de pensiones y con autoridades, mientras se aliaba con movimientos sociales contrarios al sistema económico. Sin embargo, estos conflictos terminaron resolviéndose en contra de la empresa, cuyas actividades comerciales fueron prohibidas por ley.Felices y Forrados —Happy and Loaded— was a Chilean financial advisory company that recommended its users where to invest their mandatory pension funds. This article proposes that Felices y Forrados, like any financial adviser or device, is a set of technical, moral, and political elements assembled with the purpose of acquiring legitimacy and attracting clients. Methodologically, the article follows the discourses of Felices y Forrados, regulators, and traders in the Chilean capital market. The article discusses the case in three movements, arguing that it is crucial to consider political aspects and moral discourses to understand any financial device. This particular advisory company could be understood as a “parasite” that disputes legitimacy by giving advice and simultaneously adding its own discourses and recipes to gain political legitimacy and produce a moral standard in its three movements. To this end, Felices y Forrados was able to engage in public disputes with fund management companies and authorities while joining forces with grassroot movements. However, the other parties are also political and morally oriented entities, and this struggle ended with the banning of Felices y Forrados from its business activities

Free-Viewing as Experimental System to Test the Temporal Correlation Hypothesis: A Case of Theory-Generative Experimental Practice

Theory-free characterizations of experimental systems miss normative and conceptual components that sometimes are crucial to understanding their historical development. In the following paper, we show that these components may be part of the intrinsic capacities of experimental systems themselves. We study a case of non-exploratory and theory-oriented research in experimental neuroscience that concerns the construction of free-viewing as an experimental system to test one particular pre-existing hypothesis, the Temporal Correlation Hypothesis (TCH), at a laboratory in Santiago de Chile, during 2002-2008. We show that the system does not take well-formulated pre-existing predictions or hypotheses to test them directly, but re-creates them and re-signifies them in terms that are not implied by the theoretical background from which they originally derived. Therefore, we conclude that there is a sui generis way in which experimental systems produce proper theoretical knowledge

Gender heterophily and equality: a contribution to gender equality in the Chilean scientific sector

Women’s insertion or consolidation in science has been thoroughly researched. Such discussion could be particularly relevant concerning sustainable development goal five (SDG 5) on Gender Equality advancement. However, the debate is focused on women percentages inserted into scientific labor, leaving the issue of symbolic experience for women in research unaddressed and with little empirical support. The data come from a survey developed under a FONDECYT project, which studied knowledge production in Chile. Researchers obtained contacts through invitations on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and databases containing scientists’ emails working in Chile. The non-probabilistic sample collected 583 cases, with participants residing in 15 of the 16 country regions. As a result, this document presents the findings of a study on symbolic experience using an instrument to determine whether there are any homophily patterns. It aims to determine if scientists tend to cite others as referents only when they encounter a situation like their own. The findings reveal a clear way scientists estimate the effect of others in terms of their gender homophily. This intervening factor could be crucial in reproducing the disparities and asymmetries that characterize Chile’s scientific field

Technostress at work during the COVID-19 lockdown phase (2020–2021): a systematic review of the literature

Technostress is a psychosocial phenomenon associated with the use of technologies to the detriment of health, the same one that during the pandemic was accelerated in the work considering home confinement. This work aims to systematize the main research on the impact of technostress at work during the severe confinement stage of the pandemic, between the years 2020 and 2021, with the purpose of identify and evaluate its main determining factors. A systematic review of the literature was carried out during COVID-19, using the words “technostress work COVID-19.” The works found focus mainly on analyzing the creators and inhibitors of technostress in workers, as well as the main consequences of the materialization of this technological risk associated with work performance during the stage of confinement by COVID-19. Techno invasion and techno overload were identified as the main techno stressors, with the main type of technostress appreciated in the literature being techno fatigue. Technostress is identified as a problem that had direct and relevant effects during the season of severe confinement and remote work at home due to COVID-19; highlighting techno fatigue as the most frequent type of stress, and techno stressors such as techno invasion and overload as the ones that presented the highest incidence

Corporate Governance for Sustainability

The current model of corporate governance needs reform. There is mounting evidence that the practices of shareholder primacy drive company directors and executives to adopt the same short time horizon as financial markets. Pressure to meet the demands of the financial markets drives stock buybacks, excessive dividends and a failure to invest in productive capabilities. The result is a ‘tragedy of the horizon’, with corporations and their shareholders failing to consider environmental, social or even their own, long-term, economic sustainability. With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, and with consensus emerging that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution, it is time to act and reform corporate governance in the EU. The statement puts forward specific recommendations to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term