EL CONTEXTO COMPETITIVO NACIONAL Y LA RELEVANCIA ESTRATÉGICA DE LAS SUBSIDIARIAS DE CORPORACIONES ESTRANGERAS EN BRASIL

O propósito deste artigo é analisar a influência das condições do contexto competitivo no desenvolvimento de Subsidiárias com Relevância Estratégica (SRE) no Brasil. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório com uma amostra de 118 das 1.000 maiores subsidiárias de capital estrangeiro no Brasil. Os resultados mostram que as políticas do governo desempenham um papel central para o desenvolvimento das SREs no país. Além disso, os setores com uma orientação competitiva global, em vez de puramente local, apresentam maior probabilidade de desenvolver SREs. Em oposição à literatura hegemônica, os fatores relacionados ao “diamante” da vantagem competitiva nacional (PORTER, 1990), não mostraram nenhuma correlação significativa com o desenvolvimento de SREs em uma grande economia em desenvolvimento, como a do Brasil.The main purpose of this exploratory research is analyzing how the conditions presented for the national competitive context influence the development of Subsidiaries with Strategic Relevance (SRS) in Brazil. For strategic relevance is understood to what extent the subsidiary is responsible for activities and competencies that of high increasing value for the corporation, and whether these activities and competencies are used by subsidiaries of the multinational corporation located in other countries For this, an exploratory research was carried out in a sample of 118 of the 1000 largest foreign subsidiaries in Brazil. The results show that government policies play a central role for the development of SRS in large developing economies. In addition, for globally oriented industries seems to be more feasible having SRS in these economies. In opposition to the hegemonic literature, the factors related to the 'diamond' of national competitive advantage (Porter, 1990), did not show correlation with the development of SRS in a large developing economy like Brazil.El presente articulo presenta una análisis del proceso de internacionalización sobre la óptica del diseño y dinámica organizacional. Así, en la literatura existe una evolución clara de aquellas propuestas de tipo funcional hasta aquellas mas recientes de tipo red (networks). Con esa intención se establecieron dos dimensiones de análisis: a) Las condicionantes, constituidas por las variables estrategia, ambiente, tecnología y cultura; b) Los componentes, conformados por las variables departamentalización, actividades de linea/asesoria, descripción de actividades, cadena jerárquica, nivel de centralización/descentralización, amplitud administrativa, comunicación y capacidad decisoria. Fue realizada una investigación exploratoria de tipo cualitativo, aplicada en un reconocido y exitoso grupo empresarial mexicano: CEMEX (Cementos Mexicanos S.A. de C.V.), el cual actúa en el mercado mundial de cementos, siendo considerado uno de los lideres del mismo. Se comprobó, con la investigación que existe una tendencia positiva en la aceptación y aplicación de esa nueva propuesta, lo que implica una profunda evolución de las características del diseño y dinámica organizacional

Pair-breaking quantum phase transition in superconducting nanowires

A quantum phase transition (QPT) between distinct ground states of matter is a wide-spread phenomenon in nature, yet there are only a few experimentally accessible systems where the microscopic mechanism of the transition can be tested and understood. These cases are unique and form the experimentally established foundation for our understanding of quantum critical phenomena. Here we report the discovery that a magnetic-field-driven QPT in superconducting nanowires - a prototypical 1d-system - can be fully explained by the critical theory of pair-breaking transitions characterized by a correlation length exponent $\nu \approx 1$ and dynamic critical exponent $z \approx 2$. We find that in the quantum critical regime, the electrical conductivity is in agreement with a theoretically predicted scaling function and, moreover, that the theory quantitatively describes the dependence of conductivity on the critical temperature, field magnitude and orientation, nanowire cross sectional area, and microscopic parameters of the nanowire material. At the critical field, the conductivity follows a $T^{(d-2)/z}$ dependence predicted by phenomenological scaling theories and more recently obtained within a holographic framework. Our work uncovers the microscopic processes governing the transition: The pair-breaking effect of the magnetic field on interacting Cooper pairs overdamped by their coupling to electronic degrees of freedom. It also reveals the universal character of continuous quantum phase transitions.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Wilson loops stability in the gauge/string correspondence

We study the stability of some classical string worldsheet solutions employed for computing the potential energy between two static fundamental quarks in confining and non-confining gravity duals. We discuss the fixing of the diffeomorphism invariance of the string action, its relation with the fluctuation orientation and the interpretation of the quark mass substraction worldsheet needed for computing the potential energy in smooth (confining) gravity background. We consider various dual gravity backgrounds and show by a numerical analysis the existence of instabilities under linear fluctuations for classical string embedding solutions having positive length function derivative $L'(r_0)>0$. Finally we make a brief discussion of 't Hooft loops in non-conformal backgrounds.Comment: 34 pages, 36 figures. Reference added. Final version JHEP accepte

The Baryonic Phase in Holographic Descriptions of the QCD Phase Diagram

We study holographic models of the QCD temperature-chemical potential phase diagram based on the D3/D7 system with chiral symmetry breaking. The baryonic phase may be included through linked D5-D7 systems. In a previous analysis of a model with a running gauge coupling a baryonic phase was shown to exist to arbitrarily large chemical potential. Here we explore this phase in a more generic phenomenological setting with a step function dilaton profile. The change in dilaton generates a linear confining $\bar{q}q$ potential and opposes the screening effect of temperature. We show that the persistence of the baryonic phase depends on the step size and that QCD-like phase diagrams can be described. The baryonic phase's existence is qualitatively linked to the existence of confinement in Wilson loop computations in the background.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

Holographic QCD: Past, Present, and Future

At the dawn of a new theoretical tool based on the AdS/CFT correspondence for nonperturbative aspects of quantum chromodynamics, we give an interim review on the new tool, holographic QCD, with some of its accomplishment. We try to give an A-to-Z picture of the holographic QCD, from string theory to a few selected top-down holographic QCD models with one or two physical applications in each model. We may not attempt to collect diverse results from various holographic QCD model studies.Comment: 80 pages, 18 figures, LaTeX; references added, published version + appendi

Holographic c-theorems in arbitrary dimensions

We re-examine holographic versions of the c-theorem and entanglement entropy in the context of higher curvature gravity and the AdS/CFT correspondence. We select the gravity theories by tuning the gravitational couplings to eliminate non-unitary operators in the boundary theory and demonstrate that all of these theories obey a holographic c-theorem. In cases where the dual CFT is even-dimensional, we show that the quantity that flows is the central charge associated with the A-type trace anomaly. Here, unlike in conventional holographic constructions with Einstein gravity, we are able to distinguish this quantity from other central charges or the leading coefficient in the entropy density of a thermal bath. In general, we are also able to identify this quantity with the coefficient of a universal contribution to the entanglement entropy in a particular construction. Our results suggest that these coefficients appearing in entanglement entropy play the role of central charges in odd-dimensional CFT's. We conjecture a new c-theorem on the space of odd-dimensional field theories, which extends Cardy's proposal for even dimensions. Beyond holography, we were able to show that for any even-dimensional CFT, the universal coefficient appearing the entanglement entropy which we calculate is precisely the A-type central charge.Comment: 62 pages, 4 figures, few typo's correcte

The Warden Attitude: An investigation of the value of interaction with everyday wildlife

Using a discrete choice experiment, we elicit valuations of engagement with ‘everyday wildlife’ through feeding garden birds. We find that bird-feeding is primarily but not exclusively motivated by the direct consumption value of interaction with wildlife. The implicit valuations given to different species suggest that people prefer birds that have aesthetic appeal and that evoke human feelings of protectiveness. These findings suggest that people derive wellbeing by adopting a warden-like role towards ‘their’ wildlife. We test for external validity by conducting a hedonic analysis of sales of bird food. We discuss some policy implications of the existence of warden attitudes