Search results

Despite substantial efforts made by Brazil’s government to increase the adoption rate of sustainable agricultural practices (SAP), many of them have not been adopted by the farmers. This paper explores the factors influencing the adoption of SAP in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, one of the largest Brazilian grain producers.

Using four logistic models, the authors test a conceptual framework that provides a systemic view of farmers' adoption decisions from a sample of 172 farmers.

The findings show that the adoption of SAP is influenced by farmers' socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. gender, level of education, farm size, asset values and farm income), attributes of SAP (compatibility of agricultural practice) and psychological factors (ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, and beliefs about climate change).

The results presented may not reflect the characteristics of the region studied because random sampling was not employed. Also, other psychological statements should be used in the questionnaire.

Little attention has been given to the analysis of farmers' psychological factors in studies on the adoption of agricultural conservation practices. This study provides a “systemic approach” that measures both socioeconomic and psychological factors.

Although a body of studies investigates how networking capabilities (NCs) form and maintain interorganizational relationships that affect firm performance, little is known about this relationship in crisis contexts. This article explores managers' perceptions of environmental uncertainties and how this perception influences NC development and subsequent firm performance, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

The authors used a quantitative research approach to complete this objective, utilizing primary data from a survey of North American firms (N = 212), mostly (62.3%) small- and medium-sized. Data were analyzed via the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

The authors found that managers' perception of environmental uncertainties positively impacts the NCs to initiate and develop relationships, which is associated with better firm performance during crises. The capability to initiate and develop relationships supports the firm's access to relevant resources that may be converted into business performance.

By analyzing managers' perceptions of environmental uncertainties and the development of NCs, the study results expand upon previous research by highlighting that starting new relationships and developing existing ones may be an efficient managerial response immediately after a crisis occurs.

Talented people with interpersonal skills and competencies are pivotal for creating knowledge, innovation and organizational effectiveness, contributing to local development. In this regard, the quality of life is a critical factor in attracting and retaining talented people in any region. This study aims to analyze talents’ perception of the quality of life in an urban innovation ecosystem. This study considers talents to be the students from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs.

This study analyzes 263 students from three of the country’s most important universities located in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. This study examines the data using principal component analysis and cluster techniques.

The results indicate five clusters. The “Love for the city” and the “Mixed” ones portray high levels of a sense of belonging to the city, but differ, for example, in their perception on city infrastructure. Conversely, both the “Worried about education” and the “Worried about commercial services” ones express low levels of a sense of belonging in the city. The “Security” cluster portrays the highest level on security issues in the city. The cluster analyses provide detailed information on the factors valued by talents in urban innovation ecosystems.

To date, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that uses cluster techniques to measure talents’ perception of the quality of life in an urban innovation ecosystem. The findings contribute to mapping talents’ perception and building profiles which may support the development of policies and programs to attract and retain qualified people in innovation ecosystems.

Driven by scientific and technological intensification, Brazilian agribusinesses are among the main food producers and exporters worldwide. Knowledge management contributes to the development of agribusinesses. The objective of this study is to analyze knowledge management practices in the supply chain of broilers at the level of farmers and compare the differences between farmers who are members of cooperatives, and those who are suppliers of firms.

Using data from a sample of broiler farmers (n = 240, where 80 respondents are associated with cooperatives) from Brazil, descriptive statistics were used to measure the four knowledge management dimensions (leadership, people, process and technology). The Mann–Whitney test was performed to verify the difference in the adoption of knowledge management practices between farmers who are members of cooperatives, and those who are suppliers of firms.

The results showed significant differences between the analyzed groups of broiler farmers that are members of an agricultural cooperative and suppliers of firms. Farmers who supply firms adopt knowledge management practices with greater intensity. They are also more technified and have a larger scale of production.

The study was conducted in a single agribusiness chain. Future studies may look at another method of knowledge management assessment to see if the results will be similar.

The results can contribute to the development of programs and policies, incorporating knowledge management into agribusiness as a competitive strategy.

While knowledge management is a widely studied topic, there has been little focus on this subject with regard to agribusiness. Empirical findings of an important agribusiness supply chain are provided and show the differences in knowledge management perceptions between farmers who are members of cooperatives and those who are suppliers of firms.

This research examines the impact of governance structures within the Brazilian pork supply chain on the necessary controls for exportation. Specifically, the goal is to unravel the intricacies of this supply chain and decode its complexity.

Using transaction cost economics as a theoretical lens, we surveyed the main bodies responsible for the export and quality assurance sectors of Brazilian organizations that trade and export pork. Our sample comprises 53.5% of the country’s pork exporting companies during the period analyzed.

The presence of vertical and horizontal governance structures in the pork export chain stands out. While the vertical structure enables greater control due to command relations, there are trust and cooperation relations in the horizontal structure. This makes it possible to establish mechanisms to control health, quality, safety and traceability in both structures. We also identified each company’s characteristics: formation configuration (if the cooperative, publicly traded company, or other modality), capital stock, location, the average daily slaughter of pigs for export and sows per producer. We conclude that the organizations have concerns related to the food safety programs, as there are programs that seek transparency throughout the process in many supply chain stages.

Studies that relate the level of orientation to the export market with the occurrence or risk of corrupt and opportunistic behavior and the coordination mechanisms adopted may represent an interesting and important opportunity for studies.

This study helps to understand the complexity of the Brazilian pork supply chain.