Análise da adoção de práticas de Lean Startup por startups tecnológicas da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS)

A digitalização e a evolução tecnológica experimentadas em anos recentes têm promovido mudanças na forma como as organizações se estabelecem e desenvolvem seus modelos de negócios. São exigidos intervalos de respostas cada vez mais curtos, bem como flexibilidade e dinamismo. Algumas práticas têm emergido para auxiliar empreendedores atuantes neste novo cenário, em especial aos líderes de startups e projetos de base inovadora. O presente trabalho apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa que teve como objetivo de investigar de que forma o lean startup pode auxiliar novos empreendimentos baseados em inovação a validar seus modelos de negócio, quais os fatores críticos de sucesso para a sua implementação e qual o grau de adoção de suas práticas por startups tecnológicas na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Para isto, o estudo foi dividido em três principais etapas. A primeira etapa consistiu em uma revisão sistemática da literatura a respeito da temática, com a identificação de estudos acerca do lean startup, customer development e gestão ágil. Foram identificados principais efeitos da implementação sobre as organizações e fatores críticos de sucesso para a execução A segunda e terceira etapas compreenderam estudos de caso múltiplos, com a identificação de práticas utilizadas por startups tecnológicas para a validação de elementos de modelos de negócio, e a coleta de percepções de líderes de startups de engenharia quanto ao lean startup e os principais obstáculos e facilitadores para a sua implementação. Entre os principais resultados, destacam-se os benefícios das práticas ágeis sobre a flexibilidade das organizações, bem como a redução de custos, se comparados à gestão baseada em planos de negócios. Deve-se ressaltar que os estudos de caso possuem limitações quanto à generalização, visto que podem não representar outras realidade. De toda a forma, o presente trabalho contribui para o preenchimento de parte de uma lacuna existente na literatura quanto à temática.Digitization and technological evolution experienced in recent years has led to changes in the way organizations establish and develop their business models. Market demands quick responses as well as flexibility and dynamism. Some practices have emerged to assist entrepreneurs in this new scenario, especially leaders behind startups and innovation-based projects. This work presents results of a research that aimed at investigating how lean startup can support the validation of business models in innovation-based ventures, what are the critical success factors for its implementation, and whether the startups in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (RS) are actually adopting the methodology. To achieve this objective, the study was divided into three main stages. The first stage consisted of a systematic literature review on the subject, with the identification of studies about lean startup, customer development and agile management. As main findings, we identified lean startup effects on organizations and critical success factors for its implementation. The second and third steps included multiple case studies, identifying the practices used by technological startups to validate business models elements, and the perceptions of leaders behind engineering startups regarding to lean startup, as well as main obstacles and facilitators for its implementation. Some results regard the benefits of agile practices on the flexibility of organizations, as well as the reduction of costs, when compared to plan-based management approaches. Case studies have limitations on generalization, since they may not represent other realities. In any case, the present work contributes to fill part of a literature gap on the subject

Different adaptation strategies of two citrus scion/rootstock combinations in response to drought stress

Scion/rootstock interaction is important for plant development and for breeding programs. In this context, polyploid rootstocks presented several advantages, mainly in relation to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here we analyzed the response to drought of two different scion/rootstock combinations presenting different polyploidy: the diploid (2x) and autotetraploid (4x) Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia, Osbeck) rootstocks grafted with 2x Valencia Delta sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) scions, named V/2xRL and V/4xRL, respectively. Based on previous gene expression data, we developed an interactomic approach to identify proteins involved in V/2xRL and V/4xRL response to drought. A main interactomic network containing 3,830 nodes and 97,652 edges was built from V/2xRL and V/4xRL data. Exclusive proteins of the V/2xRL and V/4xRL networks (2,056 and 1,001, respectively), as well as common to both networks (773) were identified. Functional clusters were obtained and two models of drought stress response for the V/2xRL and V/4xRL genotypes were designed. Even if the V/2xRL plant implement some tolerance mechanisms, the global plant response to drought was rapid and quickly exhaustive resulting in a general tendency to dehydration avoidance, which presented some advantage in short and strong drought stress conditions, but which, in long terms, does not allow the plant survival. At the contrary, the V/4xRL plants presented a response which strong impacts on development but that present some advantages in case of prolonged drought. Finally, some specific proteins, which presented high centrality on interactomic analysis were identified as good candidates for subsequent functional analysis of citrus genes related to drought response, as well as be good markers of one or another physiological mechanism implemented by the plants. (Résumé d'auteur