Joel Yutaka Sugano

Innovation Processes in Small and Medium Enterprises Associated in Networks from the Supermarket Sector

This study evaluates the types of innovation that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) associated in networks develop in order to enjoy competitive benefits offered by those networks. The present study developed qualitative multiple case study of two networks from the supermarket sector, one vertical network and one horizontal network, which operate in southern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The results allowed concluding that organizational changes companies had to implement in order to enjoy the benefits they had considered competitive, enabled with their participation in the networks, can be considered organizational innovations. Data analysis revealed that innovations implemented by companies, resulted in other types of innovation, such as other organizational service innovations. It should also be mentioned that the innovation processes showed differences in their form in the two networks studied. In the vertical network, innovation occurred from the top-down. In the horizontal network, innovation occurred from the bottom-up.

Autonomous vehicles: scientometric and bibliometric review*

ABSTRACT This paper presents a scientometric and bibliometric review of the research on autonomous vehicles (AVs) to identify its main characteristics, evolution, and potential trends for future studies. Relevant articles were searched on WoS, yielding a research corpus of 10,580 papers, and the software CiteSpace was subsequently used for analysis. The results showed that AV research is heterogeneous and registered a growing demand over time. Multidisciplinarity is present, with 96 science fields being identified. As in any other sector, it is necessary to understand broader aspects of this industry such as the market factors surrounding it, as well as other economic and managerial issues. In this sense, we observed a migration of the research field from multidisciplinarity to pluridisciplinarity with a greater number of studies focusing on the latter. We understand that terminology standardisation contributes to achieving pluridisciplinarity. As such, it is important to highlight that sustainability, public policies, liability, and safety, as well as business issues such as performance and business models are some of the tendencies in the field of AVs. For future studies, we suggest a more in-depth analysis of publications in terms of individual search terms, as well as the sub-areas identified as trends in this paper.

Beverage capsule consumption: a laddering study

The purpose of this paper is to analyze consumer behavior based on the structures of attributes, consequences, and values identified by consumers of beverages obtained from capsules. Consumers of the brands Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Nespresso capsule-based beverages were selected, and comparatively analyzed to understand the possible differences perceived by the consumers of each brand.,Based on a soft laddering technique, 27 in-depth interviews were carried out among the users of Nespresso and Dolce Gusto. This technique allowed differentiating the attributes of each brand, as well as defining common/cumulative elements.,Individual values of achievement and personal pleasure, mainly reached through better living standards, were dominant for all consumers. Dominant chain analysis results showed the perceptions of consumers were different for each brand. Generally, both brands’ consumers seek quality and practicality. However, Dolce Gusto delivers a product perceived as having more functional benefits, thus serving consumers seeking more variety when it comes to different types of beverages. On the other hand, Nespresso serves a more selective niche market, whose consumers rather value brand quality and reliability.,The characteristics and product specifications show similarities with food consumption trends, which justify the growth of this market in recent years. Therefore, strategies and the consumers’ demand for the capsule market show a promising trend on the coffee and drinks market in Brazil, deserving special attention from both companies and producers.

Desenvolvimento de modelos de negócio para inovações disruptivas: uma visão sociomaterial da tecnologia

Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar como aspectos materiais e sociais associados as novas tecnologias impactam o desenvolvimento de modelos de negocios para inovacoes disruptivas. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de caso, de carater exploratorio e natureza qualitativa em uma empresa em processo de desenvolvimento de um modelo de negocio para comercializacao de uma solucao inovadora para a analise de cafes. Para a interpretacao dos dados optou-se por utilizar a analise de conteudo realizada por emparelhamento. Os resultados mostraram que aspectos materiais e sociais relacionados a nova tecnologia podem influenciar de forma positiva e negativa a adocao da inovacao pela cadeia produtiva de cafe.