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By the end of the case study discussion, it is expected that students will have learned to assess what makes it likely that firms will respond to episodes of stakeholder activism; establish the interplay between nonmarket strategies and corporate governance mechanisms in assessing shareholder activism; explain about the board of directors as a corporate governance mechanism; evaluate the threats of nonmarket dimensions as a strategic response from the board; and understand the impact and increasing power of shareholders over board decisions.

In April 2019, to pressure Rumo S.A. regarding the duplication of the Itirapina–Cubatão railroad, indigenous peoples from 12 São Paulo villages bought six Rumo shares, which were quoted on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at around BRL17 each. Duplication of the railroad started in 2011 and affected the lives of the Indians. The company promised to implement more than 100 improvements to the villages, but as of 2019, half of the improvements were at a standstill. After buying enough shares to entitle them to participate in the annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders, the Indians went to Rumo’s AGM to voice their concerns and show how the villages had been affected. It was the audit committee that needed to discuss and solve the case of the indigenous peoples. What steps would Rumo take next? What was the best thing to do with regard to the claims of the Indians? This case shows the start of corporate activism in Brazil. This case reports the dilemma that Rumo faced with the indigenous activism at the beginning of 2019 because of the expansion of their railroad network across indigenous lands.

This case is suited for a class in which the students are exposed to a corporate governance framework and internal and external governance mechanisms. The case can be applied at the graduate and executive levels in relevant courses such as corporate governance, corporate responsibility, strategic management, and the stock market.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

The emission of greenhouse gases has become an increasingly relevant topic in supply chain management. The steel industry is a highly intensive manufacturing industry with significant emission levels, particularly Scope 3 emissions, which are the indirect emissions from suppliers. Since a supply chain is seen as a non-mandatory measurement item within GHG measurement protocols, this article contributes to the literature on assessing the suppliers of a focal company relative to their emissions for complying with Scope 3 (indirect emissions). It adds to the evolving literature on low-carbon supply chains.

This study first conducted a survey with 110 suppliers from a focal transnational buyer company. A cluster analysis was performed, and ANOVA compared constructs relating to public or private ownership and country of origin. Finally, regression tested the relationship between the motivators and governance in the mitigation strategies.

Using cluster analysis, two groups of companies were found that have statistically significant differences. The influence of the country of origin was also found in relation to governance and mitigation strategies, as was the influence of the type of company on governance. Furthermore, the more motivated the suppliers and the more governance measures they adopt, the more companies adopt their own GHG mitigation strategies. These findings are summarized by way of an analytical framework that integrates the constructs with empirical evidence.

The steel industry is a sector that is particularly energy-intensive and produces millions of tons of CO₂ per year. Emissions from its SC (Scope 3) are relevant but still seen as a non-mandatory item for measurement purposes within the GHG measurement protocols, which leads to less attention being paid to the subject. This study contributes by way of its analytical framework that is validated by empirical data that can be tested in further studies.

This teaching case aims to encourage reflection on the formulation of the strategic repositioning of an automotive dealership.

Built on the teaching case method, it portrays the situation of the Premium Motors automotive dealership in the face of a strategic repositioning. Management and the board discuss ways to minimize the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on sales figures. The situation presents the possibility of entering a new product segment.

How to make consumers correctly understand the new positioning? The case is structured to enable reflection and teaching of marketing strategies, with each student having the possibility of putting themselves in the role of company managers. The environment and trajectory are also portrayed, broadening the perception of the studied company and providing devices for solving the emerging problems of the case.

The case becomes a tool to promote knowledge, from the implementation to the management of strategic repositioning. Thus, the teaching notes offer directions on how professors can use the teaching case with their undergraduate and graduate students in disciplines related to strategy and marketing.

This paper aims to present the vertical integration state-of-the-art and propose an expansion of the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field by identifying gaps and bottlenecks.

This paper uses a systematic literature review based on a sample of 173 OSCM field articles, collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases.

There are no single factors, such as future costs, structures or skills development, in the decision to vertically integrate operations. It is necessary to combine the vision of production costs with the perspective of governance and transaction costs. In addition, it is essential to consider the competency perspective and its impact on capability building.

Few studies have attempted to understand how vertical integration is used in terms of OSCM research themes and theories. Vertical integration can help companies face challenges and serve as a potential solution for achieving better prices, demand control and quality management.

The significant role of vertical integration mechanisms in supply chains is crucial for managers evaluating a firm's reconfiguration with more vertical operations. Policymakers interested in supporting the smoothness of vertical integration decisions in regulatory agencies play a key role as contingencies.

In times of global challenges, vertical integration is a strategy known to be more effective for firms to obtain a competitive advantage, making them more resilient.

This paper addresses gaps in the vertical integration theme and provides insights for future research development.

This study aims to contribute to the corporate political activities (CPAs) field by suggesting the effect of campaign contributions on the time that firms wait for regulators’ decisions.

This paper analyzes 358 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) from 2008 to 2017 in Brazil through ordinary least squares regression with robustness control and causal operationalization in a small vote margins treatment.

Campaign contributions speed up the M&A regulator’s decisions. Campaign contributions amounts proved to be effective in decreasing the waiting time for judgments of M&A deals. Besides, National Development Bank disbursements to companies in M&A deals, served as a moderator to help reduce the waiting time.

The main implication of this paper to the antecedents of CPA research is the estimation of time as an output of the political efforts of firms. Previous research focuses on what firms could get. Here, the authors focus on when. As a limitation, this study analyzes CPA through campaign contributions, as the only reliable source of CPA publicly available. Firms use multiple mechanisms of CPA. It would be expected for new papers to test different CPA mechanisms, such as political connections and lobbying.

This study provides evidence of the use of CPA as a relevant mechanism for firms to avoid institutional risks by getting regulators’ decisions faster. This evidence is useful for firms to grant their competitive advantage in a highly volatile environment, such as an emerging market.

What happens in the nonmarket environment interferes within markets. Businesses seek to finance political projects with which they are more aligned, and governments provide capital to businesses in exchange for political support. Whether to expand successfully may also depend on early entrants, who will have acquired enough leadership to dominate the market.

While most of the research on nonmarket strategy focuses on what firms can get as an output for CPA efforts, this study provides here evidence on when firms can get it. As one can cite, in business, time is money.

This paper aims to propose a taxonomy based on socially responsible practices across supply chains. The authors compare and contrast different socially responsible initiatives in manufacturing supply chains and their effect on economic performance, socially responsible outcomes and manufacturing costs.

This study is based on survey data collected in 262 manufacturing plants located in 15 countries. Cluster analysis is conducted to develop the research taxonomy. Moreover, socially responsible initiatives were compared on a country level. Finally, multiple regressions were performed to identify associations between performance, manufacturing and socially responsible variables.

The taxonomy was constructed based on four socially responsible corporate dimensions (legal, ethical, discretionary and economic). The results identified three clusters of manufacturing organizations that adopt different approaches to socially responsible initiatives across supply chains and their performance.

Previous studies explored the elements and the impacts of the go-no-go decisions in the intersection between CSR and the supply chain. The present study brings new insights by analyzing how socially responsible initiatives in supply chains and their performance are different. Moreover, the sample encompasses 15 countries, and it proposes a taxonomy and directions to support the managers’ decision-making process.

The purpose of the article is to demonstrate how agency theory has been used to address the dynamics involved in supply chain management. It is also dedicated to suggesting an agenda for future research.

We performed an integrative literature review, based on the process detailed by Botelho et al. (2011), with search filters. The articles were obtained from the Scopus and Web of Science databases using the keywords “supply chain” and “agency theory”, with a subsequent analytical filter for “management”. The search initially identified 205 articles. After two screenings, 56 articles were selected for analysis.

Despite attempts to infer the importance of research on agency theory in supply chain management, its application to the discipline is scarce. Clearly, agency theory provides valuable insights into the relationships in the supply chain. In the studies analyzed, the dynamics of performance, risk, sustainability, dyadic and inter-firm relationships, and supplier management are predominant.

When considering unwanted behaviors throughout the supply chain, agency theory fills the explanatory gaps for these facts. It also proves to be a useful tool to answer mainly the dilemmas of underlying theories, such as transaction cost theory, resource-based view and network theory. Rare are the studies that examine the current state of the application of agency theory in the supply chain literature in the management field.