THE PRAGMATIC CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

There is a general acceptance amongst practitioners, academics and laypeople that the current fossil fuel basis of the energy industry is not ecologically sustainable. Future sources of energy must meet society’s needs and be environmentally benign. For energy companies, this represents the challenge of bridging the gap between today’s energy system and the vision of a sustainable future. Since the complete withdrawal from fossil fuels is not viable in the short term, what are the strategic choices available to energy firms? What factors influence their ability to integrate environmental prerogatives into corporate strategy and practices? In this article we address these questions by analyzing the organizational field of Shell Resources – a business unit of Shell Canada. In particular, we focus in two areas: investments in alternative energy and the greening of current production processes. We expect the work to be useful to both academics and managers dealing with environmental issues in business. Overall, the case provides an opportunity to reflect how a resource-intensive firm manages the dynamic between what is desirable and what is possible with respect to sustainable development

La presidenza Trump come serie distopica. The Handmaid's Tale, Watchmen e Il complotto contro l'America

La serialità americana fin dagli esordi tocca temi dell’attualità politica, ma si intreccia saldamente con i meccanismi di Washington soprattutto con West Wing, la serie che meglio ne ha spiegato i dietro le quinte, delineando un ideale da cui la realtà si stava però sempre più allontanando. La politica nelle serie tv diventa sempre più estrema, ma quando quella reale, con l’elezione di Trump, supera quella televisiva in stranezze, incompetenze e crudeltà, sembra che le sceneggiature non riescano più a stare al passo con ciò che accade fuori lo schermo: lo mostra bene The Good Fight, in cui la protagonista arriva a non capire più quali notizie siano reali e quali frutto di sostanze allucinogene. Sembra che le serie che cercano di parlare direttamente del 45° presidente degli Stati Uniti debbano puntare troppo in alto; allora tra i prodotti che hanno meglio saputo raccontare la presidenza Trump e le paure che l’hanno accompagnata per buona parte della popolazione americana sono stati quelli distopici, che mai come in questi ultimi anni sono state presenti negli schermi televisivi. Prendo in particolare in considerazione The Handmaid’s Tale, Watchmen, e Il complotto contro l’America, ognuna delle quali analizza un lato particolare della presidenza Trump

Stretching, embeddedness, and scripts in a sociotechnical transition: explaining the failure of electric mobility at Better Place (2007–2013)

Based on field research, interviews, and participant observation, this study explores the failure of Better Place—a now bankrupt company—to successfully demonstrate and deploy battery swapping stations and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. To do so, it draws from concepts in innovation studies, sociotechnical transitions, management science, organizational studies, and sociology. The study expands upon the notion of “fit-stretch”, which explains how innovations can move from an initial “fit” (with existing user practices, discourses, technical form) to a subsequent “stretch” (as the technology further develops, new functionalities are opened up, etc.) in the process of long-term transitions. It also draws from the “dialectical issue life cycle model” or “triple embeddedness framework” to explain the process whereby incumbent industry actors can introduce defensive innovations to “contain” a new niche from expanding. It lastly incorporates elements from design-driven innovation and organizational learning related to schemas and scripts, concepts that illustrate the vision-dependent and discursive elements of the innovation process. It uses the case study of Better Place to test and build upon these concepts. With a market valuation of more than $2 billion, Better Place was poised to become one of the most innovative companies in the electric mobility market. Yet after operating for five years it declared bankruptcy and saw its assets sold off for less than$500,000. We suggest here that Better Place failed because it “stretched” to the point that it “broke;” that it provoked a defensive response from both old automotive manufacturers (such as General Motors) and new ones (such as Tesla); and that the fantastic nature of its visionary scripts convinced its investors and promoters to unrealistically raise expectations and downplay persistent risks

The ecological modernisation of industry : developing multi-disciplinary research on organisation & environment

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Business.This thesis develops suitable approaches to conduct environment-related research in organisations, as well as systematic means for understanding the emergent phenomenon of ecological modernisation in industrialised societies. The study is organised in two distinct parts: While Part I deals with environment-related theories and practices in (and around) modern organisations, Part II situates such theories and practices in an analysis of the context of the European automobile industry. The research problem is defined through several stages. The research questions driving Part I are premised on the exploratory nature of the study, developed in an unfolding interplay between the review of the literature, the collection of secondary and (exploratory) primary data, and the analysis and interpretation of the data. As the initial question is answered by reviewing the literature and interpreting the primary and secondary data, another question arises from the process, which then requires further research. Part II of the study departs from a proposition based on ecological modernisation theory, that pro-active environmental practices in corporations are part of a broader emergent sociological phenomenon, typical of modern industrialised societies. It analyses a specific socio-technical context that, hypothetically, is undergoing such process - that of the European automobile industry. Hence, the development of Part II aims at answering the following principal research question: Why is the European automobile industry undergoing ecological modernisation? Analytically, the concept of automobile field is proposed to establish a link between the product (automobile) and the context embedding its systems of production and consumption (field). The exploratory character of the study implied that the most adequate research procedures were of a qualitative nature. A combination of grounded theory and reflexive methodology is used to orientate the overall research process, which introduces a novel approach for the triangulation of qualitative data. Together, the chapters forming Part II of the thesis answer the principal research question. The fundamental technologies of the current technological regime of the automobile, as well as the economic and environmental implications of this regime are analysed. Then, an analysis of selected pilot programs to develop and commercialise electric vehicles, as well as schemes for the management of end-of-life vehicles in the Western European context is developed. Through the interplay between data collection and analysis, the thesis designs an analytical framework, built upon contingent factors, as well as circuits of political ecology, that foster or inhibit ecological modernisation in the automobile field. The study showed that the auto industry has developed incremental technological innovations and practices that resemble the pre-requisites for ecological modernisation. Radical innovations, however, are more likely to be initiated by outsiders. The concepts inherited from the past and reproduced in the present practice of car design explains such a situation as one that imposes a specific set of technologies on car manufacturing that require high levels of investment in systems of production. Such design paradigm not only imposes high break-even points for most car models; they also result in vehicles with extremely low environmental performance and entail serious limitations for increasing recycling rates of non-metallic parts. The characteristics of ecological modernisation in the European automobile industry are used to evaluate whether this phenomenon is conducive to sustainable industrial development. As an implication of this analysis, the concluding chapter presents suggestions for the enhancement of ecological modernisation theory. Fallibility is proposed as both a source of reflection about the appropriation of knowledge and a principle that can be used for the definition of eco-modernising strategies and actions. The acceptance of fallibility as an immanent characteristic of human action is critical for the approximation of the countervailing theories of ecological modernisation and risk society. Finally, if ecological modernisation is expected to facilitate sustainable industrial development, radical technological innovations may be necessary. Such radicalism in technology may need, however, an incremental institutional reform of modern societies. Together, radical technological innovations and incremental institutional reform constitute the concept of radical reformism, which is suggested for enhancement of the ecological modernisation theory, as well as for the development of its normative programmes

Monografia na área de gestão de riscos

Orientador : Jorge Eduardo ScarpinMonografia (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Especialização em Gestão de NegóciosInclui referênciasResumo : As Micro e Pequenas Empresas (MPEs) possuem papel fundamental na economia do Brasil, especialmente na região sul, e mesmo enfrentando desafios oriundos da globalização desde o final do século XX, ainda não possuem gestões eficientes. Com base nisso, o presente trabalho consultou 7 pesquisas nacionais que revelaram a pouca utilização de instrumentos capazes de mitigar riscos em MPEs, das quais nenhuma abordou a cidade de Curitiba-PR. Assim, levantou-se a questão de pesquisa: Qual o grau de conhecimento e a frequência de uso das ferramentas de Gestão de Risco em MPEs de Curitiba-PR? A metodologia adotada abrangeu levantamento com questionários, escala Likert e análise bibliográfica. A abordagem do problema foi quantitativa, com seleção de amostra não probabilística e análise por meio de regressão. 38 respondentes participaram da pesquisa. Os resultados demonstraram que as ferramentas mais conhecidas são controles de quantidade de produtos vendidos, de custos e de contas. As menos conhecidas são política de investimentos, controle do ativo imobilizado e política de empréstimos e financiamentos. A média geral apresentou grau de conhecimento "Bom". Os instrumentos mais empregados são controles de contas, de quantidade de produtos vendidos e de despesas. Os menos empregados são políticas de investimentos, de empréstimos/financiamentos e controle do ativo imobilizado. A média geral apresentou grau de utilização "Semestral/Anual". Outras relações apontaram que os respondentes com idades de 51 a 60 anos e os que possuem experiência de até 5 anos como gestores são os que têm menos conhecimento das ferramentas de Gestão de Risco, bem como quem mais as conhece são os respondentes com formação de Pós-Graduação. Os respondentes com idades de 51 a 60 anos e os gestores com até 1 ano de experiência são os que menos as utilizam. Por fim, verificou-se que o grau de conhecimento é diretamente proporcional ao grau de utilização

POSICIONAMENTO AMBIENTAL ESTRATÉGICO. IDENTIFICANDO QUANDO VALE A PENA INVESTIR NO VERDE

If investments on the environment should generate profits or become source of competitive advantage, then the business managers need to identify the circumstances that favour such aspects. For some companies, the proper use of the resources could compensate the investments related to the environment. For others, receive the ISO 14001 certificate or develop products based on environmental aspects could possibly be the best way to obtain competitive advantage. However, it is unlikely that a general strategy will bring satisfaction to all. This is the main reason to guide us in categorizing all generic types of environment strategies in companies: There are immediate implications for the theory and practice of business management in this aspect. For the Professors who work in the field of strategic environmental strategy, the model could facilitate the identification of the theoretical construct or empiric variables to define strategic proposition of questions or hypotheses. By using the corporative environmental strategy as classification scheme, it helps the managers in defining and establishing priority areas of organizational actions, optimising the general economic return on the environment return and the potential of transforming these investments in sources of competitive advantage.Se os investimentos ambientais devem gerar retornos econômicos ou se tornarem fontes de vantagem competitiva, os administradores precisam identificar as circunstâncias que favoreçam tais cenários. Para algumas empresas, a melhor utilização dos recursos pode compensar os investimentos relacionados com a questão ambiental. Para outras, obter o certificado ISO 14001 ou diferenciar produtos com base em prerrogativas ambientais pode eventualmente ser a melhor forma de buscar a vantagem competitiva. Mas é improvável que uma estratégia genérica satisfará a todos. Essa é a principal justificativa para este artigo categorizar os tipos genéricos de estratégias ambientais corporativas: há implicações imediatas para a teorização e prática da gestão empresarial. Para os acadêmicos que trabalham no campo da gestão ambiental estratégica, o modelo pode facilitar a identificação dos construtos teóricos ou variáveis empíricas para definição de proposições de perguntas de pesquisa ou hipóteses. Utilizado como esquema de classificação da estratégia ambiental corporativa, ele ajuda administradores a definir e priorizar áreas de ação organizacional, otimizar o retorno econômico geral nos investimentos ambientais e o potencial para transformar estes investimentos em fontes de vantagem competitiva

O COMPORTAMENTO DOS INDICADORES ECONÔMICO-FINANCEIROS JUSTIFICA UMA IPO?

Entre 2010 e 2017, o mercado de IPOs brasileiro registrou 39 ofertas, que movimentaram um total de 26,2 bilhões de reais.  Mesmo com montante expressivo de valores envolvidos, grande parte dos estudos sobre desempenho econômico-financeiro de empresas que realizaram oferta pública inicial de ações apontam para redução nos indicadores de desempenho do período pós-IPO. Por outro lado, a abertura de capital pode levar a melhoras na alavancagem, além de crescimento das receitas líquidas. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo avaliar o comportamento dos indicadores de desempenho econômico-financeiro antes e depois da IPO de empresas da B3, no período de 2010 a 2017. A amostra abrange 27 processos, compreendendo dois anos anteriores e dois anos posteriores à IPO. A metodologia abrangeu teste de Wilcoxon e dados em painel. Os resultados obtidos no painel apontaram que o aumento no capital social é acompanhado por aumentos na receita líquida e no indicador da margem líquida, além de reduções nos indicadores de giro do ativo e de endividamento de curto prazo. Os resultados obtidos com o teste de Wilcoxon e a comparação entre as medianas demonstraram tendências de desaceleração nos indicadores de margem líquida e ROA, bem como de piora nos indicadores de endividamento de curto e longo prazo