Antônio André Cunha Callado

Balanced scorecard metrics and specific supply chain roles

Purpose - – The overarching question here is whether common balanced scorecards (BSCs) are possible between partners in supply networks. The purpose of this paper is to form four independent samples of Brazilian input suppliers, producers, distributors and retailers from the agri-food industry to identify how many of the metrics used in BSCs can be related to specific supply chain (SC) roles. Design/methodology/approach - – A survey of 121 agribusiness companies was undertaken. Usage of indicators was identified through percentages, while the groups of performance indicators for the SC roles considered were identified through two reference values. Findings - – Customer satisfaction was the single metric present within the BSC framework for all SC roles. Different SC roles showed different compositions of indicators used. Research limitations/implications - – The research findings are descriptive and based on responses provided by senior managers. A new perspective of the use of specific performance metrics by different SC participants is seen. Practical implications - – Performance measurement within SCs needs to consider the specific measures used by different roles within the SC. The data suggest that any implementation of performance measurement systems for supply networks should consider performance indicators that are common to the role-type and specific to the constituent companies. Originality/value - – The findings contribute to the debate on whether a common set of measures in a scorecard can be used between SC partners. The findings suggest that it may be very difficult to achieve a BSC framework that is common and practical for all SC participants and that other alternatives should be investigated.

Fatores associados à gestão de custos: um estudo nas micro e pequenas empresas do setor de confecções

The micro and small companies have played an important role in Brazilian economy, since they are responsible for a significant share of the labor market. But they face challenges to survive, due to economical and managerial difficulties. The objective of this paper is to present the determinant factors related to cost management in the micro and small companies of Joao Pessoa. Twenty-two organizations were investigated. The methodology was based on field research. Data was collected through structured interviews. Among the variables studied we can identify some relevant aspects such as professional lifetime, practical experience in the company, and educational level.

Relations between usage patterns of performance indicators and the role of individual firms in fresh fruit agri-food supply chains

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report the use of performance metrics among 121 Brazilian agribusiness companies, with the aim of helping accountants and academics to understand the actual use of performance metrics in non-integrated supply chains (SCs). Design/methodology/approach - To identify which performance metrics are used among SC partners, four independent clusters representing specific SC roles (input suppliers, farmers, distributors, and retailers) were formed. Data relating to 49 performance metrics were collected by questionnaire and analyzed statistically to isolate common measures. Findings - It was found among suppliers, farmers, distributors, and retailers that the performance metrics for return on investment, responsiveness, and response time to clients are not being used whereas customer satisfaction obtained a usage pattern in all roles in the four groups. Hence, it appears that customer satisfaction rather than financial sustainability is the driver for discussion between SC partners. Research limitations/implications - Although limited to a sample of firms within Brazil, the findings confirm evidence from similar SCs worldwide. Practical implications - These findings suggest that the common metrics approach to measure SC performance may be very difficult to achieve in practice and other alternatives should be investigated by management accountants. Social implications - A predominance of customer satisfaction metrics to the exclusion of discussions on financial performance between partners in agri-food SC has implications for the sustainability of the industry and the ability of accountants and managers to negotiate when faced with increasing input costs. Originality/value - This study contributes to the accountants’ understanding of how performance measurement works in fragmented SCs, whereas the majority of the literature is concerned with the integrated SCs.

ANÁLISE DOS INDICADORES E AÇÕES DE ORGANIZAÇÕES AGROINDUSTRIAIS SEGUNDO AS PERSPECTIVAS DO BALANCED SCORECARD

One of the most discussed issues in Brazil recently has been the substitution of the Statement of Origins and Applications of Funds for the Statement of Cash Flow. This substitution is included in the project to change Law no 6.404/76, known as the “Law for Public Companies”. Thus it seems necessary to discuss the Statement of Cash Flow, mainly its disclosure method: direct or indirect. The theory indicates that the Direct Method is simpler to understand than the Indirect Method. However, the Indirect Method is considered to be more informative because it reconciles earnings and cash. This paper analyses the opinions of academics, market analysts and accountants, and with the objective of identifying whether one of the disclosure methods is preferred. The results indicate that there is no specific

Governance practices and development level of stock markets

Governanca pode ser definida como um conjunto de mecanismos ou sistemas legais e institucionais voltados para o monitoramento das acoes realizadas por parte dos gestores e/ou acionistas controladores com relacao aos interesses de acionistas minoritarios. O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar aspectos inerentes as praticas de governanca em mercados acionarios internacionais em busca de caracteristicas que possuam distincoes estatisticamente significativas a partir de seus respectivos niveis de desenvolvimento. Para a realizacao do estudo, foram investigados 6 mecanismos de protecao aos acionistas, 4 instrumentos institucionais de protecao aos credores e 5 caracteristicas financeiras operacionais referentes a 48 mercados. Os resultados revelam evidencias significativas em seis aspectos, dois oriundos de cada um dos grupos testados, nao se podendo assumir a diferenca para os demais aspectos testados, destacando entre estes ultimos a concentracao de mercado e o numero de acoes negociadas, duas caracteristicas das classicas esperadas de um mercado acionario desenvolvido.

Dynamics of Stock Prices and Market Efficiency

Over the last few decades, academic research on market efficiency has taken a leading position in the field of financial theories. The objective of this paper is to present contradictions within the evidence about market efficiency and discuss efficiency measurement as an emerging approach. The paper presents the evolution of research and also the lack of convergence between evidence provided by the literature and the lack of consistent arguments for explaining them. The paper also presents a framework that illustrates intermediate levels of efficiency and the first approach designed to measuring market efficiency. Finally the paper points out that divergences amongst the empirical evidence found in the literature should be considered as a key issue and further efforts should focus on specific conceptual elements inherent to its operationalization. Therefore, econometric models should not be given the exclusive responsibility of explaining market efficiency, nor possibility of incorporating alternative epistemological perspectives into the efficient / inefficient duality should be kept outside.

Análise das relações entre o grau de complexidade das estruturas das cadeias de suprimento e o uso de indicadores de desempenho

O texto se situa entre aqueles que tomam o trabalho como uma dimensao epistemologica e praxiologica fundamental, entendendo seu estudo como necessario, em tempos de mudancas, no devir historico. Propoe-se a identificar as dimensoes que os trabalhadores de uma organizacao publica associam ao trabalho na contemporaneidade e socializa os resultados de uma pesquisa em que foi utilizado um questionario estruturado como instrumento de coleta de dados. O tratamento dos dados coletados ocorreu atraves da tecnica analise fatorial. O modelo final foi constituido de quatro fatores, denominados: dimensoes do trabalho flexivel, dimensoes do trabalho tradicional, dimensoes indesejadas do trabalho e dimensoes vitais e morais do trabalho. Os fatores indicam um hibridismo nas relacoes que os respondentes estabelecem entre as variaveis e o trabalho, ora tendendo a ressaltar relacoes com as dimensoes flexiveis, ora apontando uma relacao com variaveis que remontam ao trabalho sob o capitalismo tradicional, ora em ambas, numa especie de amalgamento. Os resultados permitiram refletir sobre as mudancas nas concepcoes de trabalho de servidores em face da visao gerencialista que tem sido propagada nas ultimas decadas e possibilitou a reflexao no que diz respeito ao quanto se conserva da tradicao no que hoje se chama de flexivel. DOI: 10.5020/2318-0722.2014.v20n1p379

Relations between Supply Chain Performance Indicators Usage Patterns and Strategic Goals Typologies: Evidence from Brazilian Agribusiness Companies

Abstract Purpose The underlying question to the investigation is “are supply chain performance indicators usage patterns related to specific strategic goals?” The paper aims to analyze whether specific supply chain performance metrics from the Balanced Scorecard are related to specific strategic goals among individual agribusiness companies. Methodology/Approach A survey among 121 individual Brazilian agribusiness companies was undertaken. Each of them was asked to declare their respective strategic goal as well as point out which performance indicators they used from a list composed by 49 performance indicators divided into the four traditional perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard. Percentages were used to identify the use extent of these performance indicators and upper quartiles and estimated percentages were used to identify the groups of performance indicators for all strategic goal considered. Findings The groups of eligible performance indicators relating to Balanced Scorecard frameworks for specific strategic goals changes its composition significantly if upper quartiles or estimated percentages are applied. The results also suggest that the intensity of use of performance indicators from the learning and growth perspective changes significantly among groups of individual companies as they aim different strategic goals. Research Limitations/Implications The research carried out in this paper is based on responses provided by senior managers regarding managerial practices, but it does present a new perspective about relations between strategic goals and usage patterns of supply chain performance indicators from the perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard. Practical Implications The managerial implications arising from the findings suggest that supply chain performance metrics selection criteria should consider the characteristics of strategic goal. Originality/Value of Paper There is little existing literature that addresses attention to the relations between strategic goals and the structure of Balanced Scorecard framework toward supply chain performance measurement and this paper aims to fill this gap.

RELAÇÕES ENTRE O NÍVEL DE CONCORRÊNCIA E AS ESTRATÉGIAS DE MERCADO EM EMPRESAS DO SETOR DE TECNOLOGIA DA INFORMAÇÃO E COMUNICAÇÃO (TIC)

O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar diferencas entre aspectos da gestao estrategica de mercado considerando diferentes graus de concorrencia em empresas do Setor de Tecnologia da Informacao e Comunicacao (TIC) localizadas no Porto Digital da Cidade de Recife/PE. Para a realizacao dessa pesquisa foram analisadas 30 empresas. Foram investigadas onze variaveis. Foram utilizados metodos distintos para ordenar e tabular os dados coletados, bem como para realizar os testes de significância sobre os diferentes resultados encontrados. Para a ordenacao dos dados, foi utilizado o metodo da sobreposicao das estatisticas descritivas relativas a cada uma das amostras investigadas. E em seguida, foi testada a significância estatistica das diferencas encontradas entre as amostras utilizando o teste qui-quadrado. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que apenas as diferencas entre o tempo de atuacao das empresas no mercado e uso de relatorios dos resultados apresentaram-se significante estatisticamente.

Sistema de informação e estratégia em organizações agroindustriais: uma abordagem multivariada

O objetivo deste artigo foi investigar as relacoes entre aspectos do sistema de informacoes dentro do processo de gestao estrategica em organizacoes agroindustriais. Para a realizacao dessa pesquisa, foram investigadas vinte e uma agroindustrias e analisadas onze variaveis e utilizada uma abordagem metodologica multivariada atraves da analise de agrupamentos, do escalonamento multidimensional e da analise fatorial. Os resultados obtidos atraves da analise de agrupamento apontaram evidencias empiricas da existencia de relacoes entre os diversos fatores referentes as informacoes financeiras utilizadas dentro das praticas gerenciais sobre custos a partir da identificacao de dois grupos. O primeiro agrupamento foi composto pelas metas estrategicas, pelos canais de feedback e pela difusao da estrategia. O segundo agrupamento foi composto pelas variaveis que representam as informacoes sobre a frequencia da realizacao de reunioes e sobre o volume do faturamento. Estes resultados revelam indicios particulares referentes a caracterizacao das relacoes entre os principais aspectos relativos ao sistema de informacoes dentro do processo de visao e gestao estrategica em organizacoes agroindustriais. Estudos mais abrangentes podem revelar detalhes mais especificos acerca destas relacoes.