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This chapter presents a theory for developing an adaptive high commitment, high performance system of organizing, managing, and leading. It is a synthesis of my 50 years of action and field research presented in my books and articles. It operationalized and makes actionable the ideas of Lewin and systems theorists. Its features are three organizational outcomes that must be achieved simultaneously, features of the system that must be targeted for change, six silent barriers to change, a governance system for continuous learning, change in large complex systems, and elements of a system that needed to immunize it against ultimate destruction.

This study aims to study the impact of earnings quality on firms’ financial performance.

An unbalanced panel data of 237 small- and medium-sized Portuguese companies from the mold industry, using 2010–2018 yearly data was analyzed. While most studies focus only on earnings management when assessing earnings quality, in this study six proxies for earnings quality are used, namely, accruals quality (a proxy for earnings management), earnings persistence, earnings predictability, earnings smoothness, earnings timeliness and earnings conservatism. Moreover, two proxies of financial performance are considered, the return on assets and the economic value added. An econometric model was estimated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects specification to account for the individual firm-specific effects and ensure heteroscedasticity corrected estimates.

The results show that managers must be concerned with the quality of reported earnings, as it can affect positively firms’ financial performance, especially regarding accruals quality. Persistence, predictability, smoothness, timeliness and conservatism are shown not to exert significant influence on financial performance in the sample.

This work contributes not only as a literature review on these thematic but also to firms’ managers and stakeholders, who have information that helps them select strategies that guarantee earnings quality and improve firms’ financial performance.

This study proposed an econometric model that studies the relationship between earnings quality (using several proxies for it) and financial performance that can be applied to all companies.

Santana do Riacho County, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, is located in an area known for its natural beauty. The growth of tourism has been the main economic activity of this area. In order to achieve organized land occupation and self‐sustained development, thematic maps of the physical environment were elaborated. Analysis of the water sources supply and recreation have been completed. The risk of water contamination has increased, caused by the increase of tourism activities in this area, added to by local authorities policy. The analysis of all the thematic maps and of the quality of the water sources supply of the area, lead us to develop proposals for land use planning and zoning, adequate for the local conditions and the vulnerability of the underground water contamination. These issues are important concerning the local development and also land use, caused by the tourism activities.

The objective of this chapter is to describe and analyze Brazil's main steps in its long and incomplete process of organizing a professional and responsive public service. During the twentieth century, Brazil had two authoritarian regimes and organized a state-oriented process of industrialization. After 1988, democracy has changed how public administration should be constituted, imposing demands for universal recruitment and accountability. The level of professionalization of the federal public service was improved, with a higher level of education, better wages and the recruitment of public servants to management positions. The challenges ahead are improving governance and executive coordination and raising the responsiveness and quality of public management (such as human resources, planning, budgeting, procurement, information and communication technologies, and organizational modeling) in a context of political instability, slow economic recovery, and substantial public debts at the federal government.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the analysis of an understudied problem in the economic literature. It proposes a valuation methodology for inputs that come from biodiversity-rich ecosystems/habitats and are used in agro-food production at zero input cost because there is not a market for such inputs.

Following Onofri et al. (2017), the authors computed the value of the marginal productivity of different inputs in three selected case studies (Angola, Mozambique and Brazil). Results are theory based and rigorous but show a strong contingency, case based, relative dimension that is captured, in the framework, by the “relativity ratio.” The ratio expresses the relative weight of the value generated by the input that comes from biodiversity-rich ecosystems/habitats in the per capita monthly available income of the farmer and aims at conveying additional insights to the economic valuation.

In this paper, the assessment of agricultural inputs value (price) in the absence of inputs markets is done, with an application to three different case studies. The inputs are peculiar since they come from habitats and ecosystems that are very biodiversity-rich.

The paper proposes a practical, though rigorous, methodology for the assessment of the value (price) of agricultural inputs in absence of inputs markets. Markets do not exist since the inputs come from biodiversity-rich habitats and ecosystems.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how consumers’ luxury purchase behavior has been affected by COVID-19. A theoretical framework is proposed to determine how isolation leads to intention to purchase luxury brands through bandwagon luxury consumption behavior. Additionally, the moderating effects of COVID-19 anxiety and social capital on the relationship between bandwagon luxury consumption behavior and subjective well-being and intention to purchase luxury brands are tested.

Survey responses from a national sample of 261 luxury consumers in the USA were collected. The data were analyzed using a covariance-based structural equation modeling technique.

The results confirm that the feeling of isolation leads to a higher intention to purchase luxury brands. Both COVID-19 anxiety and social capital moderate the relationship between bandwagon luxury consumption behavior and intention to purchase luxury brands/subjective well-being related to the luxury brand purchase.

Luxury marketers should focus on highlighting bandwagon elements of their brands, such as their popularity and how they enhance social connectedness when tailoring their brand communication to isolated consumers. The data is limited to luxury consumers in the USA; thus, the findings are specific to the US market.

Given the paucity of research on luxury consumption for isolated consumers, this study adds to the literature on luxury brands by examining how the feeling of isolation affects the intention to purchase luxury brands.

Individuals’ intentional responses to declining job satisfaction have been associated with the EVLN model. Employees’ silence, as an independent construct, can be understood as an individual, intentional and deliberate decision to retain important information for the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze employees’ silence, which can be understood as a fifth individual response to job satisfaction declining, along with the remaining four responses proposed in the EVLN model. It is proposed as an extension to the original model through the introduction of employee silence; the model is referred to as the EVLNS model.

The present study is quantitative, hypothetical-deductive, correlational and transversal. The sample is composed of 756 professionals working in the higher education sector. The paper used structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to test its hypotheses.

Results showed that employees’ silence has a dual factorial structure, which is composed of an adhesion dimension and a rejection dimension. The study also finds that these two dimensions can be integrated as an extension of the original EVLN model. It is found that, although they are related, these dimensions also capture a certain degree of independence, with different levels of influence of job satisfaction.

An important implication is that silence is a complex phenomenon, suggesting that this is more than the simple absence of voice and may have different motives. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that job satisfaction can contribute to different individual responses and managers must act accordingly.

The study contributes to a better understanding of the individuals’ potential responses to declining job satisfaction through the extension of the original EVLN model with the introduction of a fifth response – the employees’ silence.

As respostas intencionais dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação com o trabalho têm sido associadas ao Modelo EVLN. O silêncio dos colaboradores, enquanto construto independente de outros, pode ser entendido como uma decisão intencional e deliberada do indivíduo em reter informação importante para a organização. Pretende-se analisar medida o silêncio dos colaboradores pode ser entendido como uma resposta dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação com o trabalho, a par das restantes quatro estratégias propostas no Modelo EVLN. Propõe-se uma extensão ao modelo original através da introdução do silêncio denominando-se assim de modelo EVLNS.

O presente estudo caracteriza-se pela sua componente quantitativa, hipotético-dedutiva, correlacional e transversal. A amostra é construída 756 profissionais que atuam no sector do ensino superior. Os dados foram analisados fazendo recurso à técnica da modelagem por equações estruturais.

Os resultados demonstraram que o silêncio dos colaboradores apresenta uma estrutura fatorial dual, composta por uma dimensão de adesão e uma de rejeição e que estas duas dimensões correspondem à expansão do modelo original EVLN sobre as respostas deliberadas dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação. Verifica-se assim que estas respostas apresar de relacionadas apresentam um determinado grau de independência nomeadamente pelos diferentes graus de influência da satisfação com o trabalho.

Uma importante implicação deste estudo é o facto do silêncio ser um fenómeno complexo, sugerindo-se que este é mais que a simples ausência da voz e que pode ter diferentes motivos. Adicionalmente, destaca-se também a importância reforçar que a satisfação com o trabalho poderá contribuir para diferentes respostas dos indivíduos, devendo os gestores atuar em conformidade.

O estudo contribui com um melhor entendimento das potenciais respostas dos indivíduos ao declínio da satisfação, nomeadamente através da extensão do modelo original com a introdução de uma quinta estratégia – o silêncio dos colaboradores.

Silêncio dos colaboradores, Modelo EVLN, Voz, Saída, Lealdade, Satisfação com o Trabalho

Trabalho de investigação

Las respuestas intencionales de los individuos a la disminución de la satisfacción laboral se han asociado con el Modelo EVLN. El silencio de los empleados, como constructo independiente, puede entenderse como una decisión individual, intencional y deliberada de retener información importante para la organización. Nuestro objetivo es analizar el silencio de los empleados, que puede entenderse como una quinta respuesta individual a la disminución de la satisfacción laboral, junto con las cuatro respuestas restantes propuestas en el Modelo EVLN. Se propone como una extensión del modelo original a través de la introducción del silencio de los empleados; el modelo se conoce como el modelo EVLNS.

El presente estudio es cuantitativo, hipotético-deductivo, correlacional y transversal. La muestra está compuesta por 756 profesionales que trabajan en el sector de la educación superior. El artículo utilizó análisis de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para probar sus hipótesis.

los resultados mostraron que el silencio de los empleados tiene una estructura factorial dual, que se compone de una dimensión de adhesión y una dimensión de rechazo. El estudio también encuentra que estas dos dimensiones se pueden integrar como una extensión del modelo EVLN original. Se observa que, aunque están relacionadas, estas dimensiones poseen un cierto grado de independencia, con diferentes niveles de influencia de la satisfacción laboral.

una implicación importante es que el silencio es un fenómeno complejo, lo que sugiere que esto es más que la simple ausencia de voz y puede tener diferentes motivos. Además, es importante enfatizar que la satisfacción laboral puede contribuir a diferentes respuestas individuales y que los gerentes deben actuar en consecuencia.

el estudio contribuye a una mejor comprensión de las posibles respuestas de los individuos a la disminución de la satisfacción en el trabajo mediante la extensión del modelo EVLN original con la introducción de una quinta respuesta: el silencio de los empleados.

Silencio de los empleados, Modelo EVLN, Voz, Salida, Lealtad, Satisfacción laboral

Trabajo de investigacion

Research demonstrates that individuals display relative thinking – the tendency to consider relative savings rather than just absolute savings in their decisions to search for a deal or purchase an item. This paper aims to review empirical and analytical literature on relative thinking, perceived search costs and price savings to propose and test a conceptual model of relative thinking.

Through two studies, the paper tests whether individuals display relative thinking when shopping across stores vs online and how they perceive search and time spent in pursuing savings. Both studies are adaptations of the classic jacket-and-calculator scenario study (Tversky and Kahneman, 1981).

Results show attenuation of the robust relative thinking phenomenon over the internet compared to shopping across stores. Individuals exhibit increased price sensitivity for both low and high relative savings conditions on the internet but demonstrate price sensitivity only in the high relative savings condition in the store shopping contexts. Diagnostic measures pertaining to the attractiveness of savings and the perceptions of search costs corroborate the support for relative thinking across stores but not over the internet.

These results lend weight to the central claim in this paper that the internet marks a new boundary condition for the relative thinking phenomenon in marketing literature. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings, the limitations of the studies and future research opportunities are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an initial step for understanding the sensory perception and purchase intent of Brazilian olive oil consumers. It also investigates the sensory perception and purchase intent for a Brazilian-made olive oil.

The sample, consisting of 115 surveyed consumers, is described demographically. The aspects related to sensory analysis and purchase intent associated with the key attributes indicated by the consumers are then discussed. Finally, consumer segmentation is carried out to characterize the consumers in more detail, in terms of both demographic and predictive variables for olive oil consumption.

Consumers displayed a sensory perception that is coherent with olive oil characteristics, thus being able to distinguish three different olive oils from a compound oil sample. Regarding purchase intent and preference, consumers showed mixed behaviors, which was not entirely convergent with the identified sensory aspects. Therefore, it was possible to segment them into three distinct groups: utilitarian, naïve, and expert consumers.

Brazil is an emergent olive oil market, which can create both research and business opportunities for the country. This preliminary study contributes to the advancement of this research subject in the non-traditional markets for olive oil.

This chapter explores distributed leadership in volunteer multistakeholder groups tackling complex problems, focusing on community organizing practices to bridge the gap between health and health care in Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia faces increasing chronic disease, high rates of uninsured, unequal access to healthcare services, and rising costs. Regional leaders periodically tackled these problems together but faced challenges common to multistakeholder groups. In 2010, leaders from Columbia partnered with the authors in a learning enterprise to find new, more sustainable ways to address these challenges. Together we adapted a community organizing approach to develop distributed leadership skills necessary to overcome the challenges of volunteer multistakeholder groups and transform the health system in a local area. In the first year, teams provided health screenings to over 1,000 residents; over 3,000 residents exercised leadership to improve community health; over 5,000 residents pledged to improve their health. Clinic hours were extended; new health coaches focused on primary care and wellness programs. Providers and payers committed to reinvesting a share of savings in the community, which has a voice in their use. We show that developing distributed leadership via community organizing offers an approach to solving seemingly intractable community problems.