Alex A. Ferraresi
@pucpr.br
Professor Graduate Program in Cooperative Management
Pontificia Universidade Católica do Parana
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Co-operatives, innovation, strategic marketing,, strategy
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Dulcídio Gulak, Vilmar Rodrigues Moreira, and Alex Antônio Ferraresi
Emerald
Purpose This study aims to identify indicators of social performance in health cooperatives, emphasizing the crucial need for cooperatives to systematically monitor their social performance with members, thus strengthening relationship and ensuring sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Using a descriptive research design with a qualitative approach, this study analyzed interviews with cooperative managers through content analysis. Findings A total of 23 indicators were identified covering financial aspects, personal and professional training facilitated by cooperative education and the promotion of active participation and engagement among cooperative members. Research limitations/implications As for the limitations of this research, it is possible to mention the proposition of performance indicators based on the perception of the managers, who were the interviewed. A better description and validation of the indicators could be done through a survey with the cooperative members, who are the most interested and affected by actions and social results of the cooperatives. Practical implications The main managerial implications of the results indicated the need to implement a monitoring structure so that the indicators of the cooperative’s actions with its members can have the same importance as the monitoring of the economic–financial indicators. Social implications By making information available to members, with transparent and effective communication, it is possible to infer that members have a broader perspective of the cooperative’s actions and the benefits of being part of it. The engagement of members in a cooperative with quality governance improves the feeling of belonging and ensures the perpetuity of the cooperative. Also, it is expected that the results of this research can favor and influence other studies and help cooperatives to improve their planning with permanent actions to monitor their social performance in relation to their members. Originality/value Performance indicators of cooperatives should be treated and analyzed in a particular way because cooperatives have particularities regarding their economic and social functions. There are several indicators to evaluate the economic-financial performance of cooperatives, but there are few indicators to verify the social performance of the cooperative with its members.
Gabriela Viale Pereira, Elsa Estevez, Diego Cardona, Carlos Chesñevar, Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo, Maria Alexandra Cunha, Eduardo Henrique Diniz, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, Frida Marina Fischer, Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia,et al.
MDPI AG
This paper presents the main messages of a South American expert roundtable (ERT) on the unintended side effects (unseens) of digital transformation. The input of the ERT comprised 39 propositions from 20 experts representing 11 different perspectives. The two-day ERT discussed the main drivers and challenges as well as vulnerabilities or unseens and provided suggestions for: (i) the mechanisms underlying major unseens; (ii) understanding possible ways in which rebound effects of digital transformation may become the subject of overarching research in three main categories of impact: development factors, society, and individuals; and (iii) a set of potential action domains for transdisciplinary follow-up processes, including a case study in Brazil. A content analysis of the propositions and related mechanisms provided insights in the genesis of unseens by identifying 15 interrelated causal mechanisms related to critical issues/concerns. Additionally, a cluster analysis (CLA) was applied to structure the challenges and critical developments in South America. The discussion elaborated the genesis, dynamics, and impacts of (groups of) unseens such as the digital divide (that affects most countries that are not included in the development of digital business, management, production, etc. tools) or the challenge of restructuring small- and medium-sized enterprises (whose service is digitally substituted by digital devices). We identify specific issues and effects (for most South American countries) such as lack of governmental structure, challenging geographical structures (e.g., inclusion in high-performance transmission power), or the digital readiness of (wide parts) of society. One scientific contribution of the paper is related to the presented methodology that provides insights into the phenomena, the causal chains underlying “wanted/positive” and “unwanted/negative” effects, and the processes and mechanisms of societal changes caused by digitalization.
Tatiana Marceda Bach, Luciano Luiz Dalazen, Wesley Vieira da Silva, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, and Claudimar Pereira da Veiga
SAGE Publications
This article conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) on the relationship between innovation and performance in private companies. The research corpus was based on research protocol systematization. Dissemination of knowledge was examined in two stages: the summary of general corpus characteristics, and the content analysis performed according to the categories that emerged via the study’s themes. Relationships among authors, co-citations, keywords, and centrality statistics were identified through algorithms for optimizing standard graph layout. This study discusses the results of this relationship for improving the competitiveness of enterprises. The relationships among the authors of the corpus constitute relationships between isolated groups with little connectivity, low density, and a formation of distinct communities. The categories of analysis emerged in the study themes, as well as the techniques adopted to measure the relationships between innovation and private company performance. In the analyzed studies, innovation initiatives converge. Overall, they contribute to improvements in company performance. In the scientific field, initiatives for developing innovations have enhanced the performance of private companies. A key theoretical contribution of this article is in identifying the research corpus on the relationship between innovation and performance in private companies. The practical contribution of this study lies in offering evidence produced by studies that can help decision making regarding the creation of strategies and policies focused on competitiveness. The differences in the evidence found in the literature highlight the importance of the outcome of this study and indicate the need for future research in an effort to better understand the phenomenon.
Carlos Olavo Quandt, Helena De Fátima Nunes Silva, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, and José Roberto Frega
Inderscience Publishers
Jessé Aquino Rodrigues, Gerson José Lauermann, Vilmar Rodrigues Moreira, Alex Antônio Ferraresi, and Alceu Souza
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Resumo: Este estudo tem por objetivo caracterizar a estrutura de capital das cooperativas agropecuárias paranaenses e suas peculiaridades regionais. Foram analisados os contextos históricos regionais e as formas de capitalização vis-à-vis os processos de colonização de imigrantes europeus e de outros estados brasileiros e os projetos regionais de desenvolvimento. Para tal, foi utilizada uma amostra intencional das 43 cooperativas paranaenses que, juntas, representam 99,5% do faturamento total do ramo. As peculiaridades regionais foram analisadas por meio de Análise de Variância (ANOVA) e mapeamento perceptual. Conclui-se que é possível identificar agrupamentos de cooperativas segundo estratégias de capitalização e características regionais. Dentre as regiões analisadas, as cooperativas da região oeste do estado do Paraná, por terem maior nível de industrialização, possuem maior necessidade de capital de giro, enquanto a maioria das cooperativas do centro-sul do estado apresenta tesouraria positiva. Uma limitação do estudo é que, sem entender qual modelo poderia ser eleito o melhor para o setor, a questão da estrutura ótima de capital ainda permanece aberta para as cooperativas agropecuárias.
José Roberto Frega, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, Carlos Olavo Quandt, and Claudimar Pereira da Veiga
World Scientific Pub Co Pte Lt
The relationships among effective knowledge management (KM), organisational innovativeness (OI), market orientation (MO) and organisational performance (OP) have been explored in the literature. These constructs are generally analysed in pairs, such as the influence of KM on OI, or KM on OP, and other combinations, but the relationships among the full set of constructs in question are not fully understood yet. In the extant literature, the relationships among them are analysed for the most part with covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). Partial least-squares (PLS) path modelling is a component-based approach to SEM that is not as widely used as CB-SEM, but it has the potential to allow increased flexibility in handling various modelling problems in comparison with CB models, particularly for predictive and exploratory purposes. This paper aims to verify whether the PLS method could confirm or reject the results of the more restrictive covariance-based method in modelling the relationships among KM, OI, MO and OP. The results indicate that both methods yielded convergent and discriminant validity for the constructs, displaying stability across model analysis and depuration. The PLS model revealed the influence of KM on MO, OI and OP. It also shows that OI is the main driving factor for OP. KM seems to have a direct effect on OP, which is greatly magnified when mediated by OI. The sample size, although borderline adequate for the CB method, was more than adequate for PLS, yielding excellent model stability.
Carlos Olavo Quandt, Cicero Aparecido Bezerra, and Alex Antônio Ferraresi
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
O estudo propõe um modelo teórico que representa as condições organizacionais habilitadoras da inovação (definido, no estudo, como inovatividade) e avalia o impacto no desempenho inovador. Emprega-se a correlação canônica como forma de avaliar a capacidade do modelo em explicar a variação do desempenho inovador em 120 organizações de médio e grande porte localizadas, em sua maioria, no sul do Brasil. Os resultados indicam que as condições identificadas são consistentes em expressar as melhorias inovadoras nas empresas pesquisadas. Além disto, os resultados sugerem que organizações inovadoras que desenvolvem aspectos da cultura organizacional, liderança e processos de aprendizagem, apresentam desempenho superior no desenvolvimento e implantação de inovações.
Alex Antonio Ferraresi, Silvio Aparecido dos Santos, José Roberto Frega, and Carlos Olavo Quandt
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Este artigo é o resultado de uma survey realizada com 241 empresas instaladas no Brasil, com o objetivo de verificar se a gestão eficaz do conhecimento contribui para a orientação estratégica da empresa, para sua inovatividade e para os resultados organizacionais. O levantamento dos dados foi realizado por meio de questionários eletrônicos autoadministráveis contendo 54 questões com escalas de 10 pontos para medir o grau de concordância das variáveis dos quatro construtos envolvidos no estudo. Na análise dos dados, utilizou-se a técnica de modelagem de equações estruturais. Fundamentada na teoria da empresa baseada em recursos, a pesquisa partiu do pressuposto de que o conhecimento, além de ser um dos princpais recursos de uma organização, alavanca os demais recursos. Os resultados mostraram evidências que permitiram concluir que a gestão eficaz do conhecimento contribui positivamente para a orientação estratégica, porém não foi possível concluir sobre a contribuição positiva desses construtos sobre os demais, quando analisadas as suas relações diretas. Quando mediada pela orientação estratégica, a gestão eficaz do conhecimento mostrou efeitos totais e indiretos robustos e estatisticamente significantes sobre os resultados organizacionais. Os impactos da gestão do conhecimento e da inovatividade da empresa mostraram-se significantes e robustos quando alinhados com uma orientação estratégica que permite à empresa se antecipar e responder às condições do mercado. Verificou-se que a gestão do conhecimento permeia todas as relações entre os demais construtos, o que corrobora o argumento de que o conhecimento é um recurso que alavanca as demais atividades geradoras de valor nas organizações. Embora existam inúmeras pesquisas que abordam os construtos aqui envolvidos, a originalidade deste estudo repousa na análise simultânea desses conceitos, orientada por uma metodologia que permite sua replicação em outras culturas e condições. Além disso, o estudo traz implicações gerenciais no sentido de afirmar que a gestão do conhecimento e suas práticas possuem um caráter estratégico que deve ser considerado antes da aplicação de práticas pontuais para o alcance de objetivos específicos.
Alex A. Ferraresi, Carlos O. Quandt, Silvio A. dos Santos, and José R. Frega
Emerald
Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate whether knowledge management (KM) contributes to the development of strategic orientation and to enhance innovativeness, and whether these three factors contribute to improve business performance. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 241 Brazilian companies was surveyed, using Web-based questionnaires with 54 questions, using ten-point scales to measure the degree of agreement on each item of each construct. Structural equation modeling techniques were applied for model assessment and analysis of the relationships among constructs. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and path analysis using the technique of structural equation modeling were applied to the data. Findings – Effective KM contributes positively to strategic orientation. Although there is no significant direct effect of KM on innovativeness, the relationship is significant when mediated by strategic orientation. Similarly, effective KM has no direct effect on business performance, but this relationship becomes statistically significant when mediated by strategic orientation and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications – The findings indicate that KM permeates all relationships among the constructs, corroborating the argument that knowledge is an essential organizational resource that leverages all value-creating activities. The results indicate that both KM and innovativeness produce significant impacts on performance when they are aligned with a strategic orientation that enables the organization to anticipate and respond to changing market conditions. Originality/value – There is a substantial body of research on several types of relationships involving KM, strategic orientation, innovativeness and performance. This study offers an original contribution by analyzing all of those constructs simultaneously, using established scales so that comparative studies are possible.