Renato Cotta de Mello

The international commitment of late‐internationalizing Brazilian entrepreneurial firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of international commitment of entrepreneurial firms from an emerging economy to their foreign operations. Specifically, it intends to help bridge an existing gap in the literature by focusing on the international commitment of established small entrepreneurial firms, a topic that has been largely overlooked; investigating small‐firm commitment to foreign investments whereas most studies focus on exporting; combining the different research streams that studied international commitment; and using the resource‐based view (RBV) to explore the interplay between resource allocation and commitment in the foreign investments of small entrepreneurial firms.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts an abductive approach to theory development and uses the case method of investigation. Three case studies were developed from primary and secondary sources. A total of 153 pieces of documentation were used to reconstruct past events, in addit...

Ivia: Crescimento e Internacionalização

This teaching case presents the internationalization process of a firm that distinguishes itself in three aspects: it is part of the services industry, sells software (an atypical product in Brazilian exports), and has its headquarters in the Northeast of Brazil. Founded in 1996 in the city of Fortaleza, Ivia was the first company to launch an Internet Banking service in the Northeast of Brazil and the first Internet access provider targeting the corporate market of Fortaleza. Ten years later, the company had developed business tools for web applications, aiming to optimize management processes based on Internet technology. It had customers in Brazil and Portugal. The case describes Ivias trajectory in its first decade, as well as the beginning of the firms internationalization process. The central issue to be discussed is how the firm can keep up with its internationalization process and at the same time broaden its scope of activities in the domestic market. In addition, the case offers the opportunity to debate how government agencies can support the international development of small software firms, a priority of the current national industrial policy.

Reverse Knowledge Transfer on Emerging Market Multinationals: A Case Study of the Largest Private Bank in Latin America

ABSTRACT Knowledge transfer between headquarters and subsidiaries and the study of emerging market multinationals (EMMNE) are two important and rapidly growing research topics in International Business (IB) studies. This research analyzes, through an in-depth single case study, the Reverse Knowledge Transfer (RKT) processes of an emerging market multinational, more specifically the largest private bank in LATAM—Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.—to understand how emerging market parent companies benefit from their subsidiaries’ knowledge. Our findings validate important concepts in the IB and RKT literature, contribute with valuable insights to theory generation, and indicate possible avenues for future research. RESUMEN La transferencia de conocimiento entre las oficinas centrales y sus subsidiarias y el estudio de las multinacionales que operan en los mercados emergentes (EMMNE, sigla en inglés), son dos temas cuya investigación se está expandiendo vertiginosamente en el ámbito de los estudios sobre los Negocios Internacionales (NI). Este trabajo analiza, a través de un estudio detallado, los procesos de Transferencia Inversa de Conocimiento (RKT, sigla en ingles) de una multinacional de un mercado emergente, examinando específicamente el caso del mayor banco privado de Latinoamérica—Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.—para entender que beneficio obtienen las controladoras en los mercados emergentes con el conocimiento adquirido por sus subsidiarias. Nuestros hallazgos validan conceptos importantes de la literatura sobre NI y RKT, que ofrecen valiosas percepciones para generar teorías e indicar probables vías para futuras investigaciones. RESUMO A transferência de conhecimento entre sedes e subsidiárias e o estudo das multinacionais dos mercados emergentes (EMMNE na sigla em inglês) são dois tópicos de pesquisa que crescem rapidamente nos estudos de Negócios Internacionais (IB na sigla em inglês). O presente trabalho analisa, por meio de um estudo de caso detalhado, os processos de Transferência de Conhecimento Reverso (RKT na sigla em inglês) de uma multinacional de um mercado emergente, especificamente o maior banco privado da América Latina—Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A.—para entender como as controladoras dos mercados emergentes se beneficiam do conhecimento das suas subsidiárias. Os nossos achados validam conceitos importantes da literatura sobre IB e RKT, contribuem com percepções valiosas para a geração de teorias e indicam caminhos possíveis para pesquisas futuras.

Black Swans or an Emerging Type of Firm? The Case of Borderless Firms

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to introduce an emergent type of INV (international new venture) – designated as “borderless firm” – present some recent cases and speculate about its future occurrence. Methodology/approach A search of the literature identified 25 cases that fitted, to a greater or lesser extent, the conceptual definition of a borderless firm presented in the chapter. We also found three teaching cases whose focus-firms fitted our definition. Findings The three firms present a combination of intentional design with fortuitous experimentation and intensively exploited relationships. They fulfill the key features of our definition. Research limitations/implications This study is still embryonic and was driven by the authors’ conceptual thinking, based on their intuition about a new type of firm. Detailed data came from only three cases, but 25 other cases were identified, which did, to some extent, fit the definition of a borderless firm and, as such, could be studied with this focus in order to provide further evidence and to refine the conceptual definition and our understanding of the empirical manifestation of this type of firm. Originality/value We shed light on an interesting – and probably bound to occur more frequently in the future – type of firm with distinctive characteristics: a managerial mindset that does not feel constrained by geographical frontiers; a high geographical dispersion of value-added activities (beyond the sales and distribution activities that characterize most of the literature on Born Globals and INVs); and a multi-country pool of founders/managers and internationally dispersed staff.

Empreendedorismo internacional e Effectuation: O caso do Café Yaguara Ecológico

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the entrepreneur and the characteristics of the internationalization process for Yaguara Ecologico, a small Brazilian coffee producer, in the light of different theoretical approaches. A literature review was done with special attention given to the theories of International Entrepreneurship and Effectuation. This paper deals with the International New Venture phenomenon (OVIATT; McDOUGALL, 1994), and in order to understand the importance of entrepreneurs in a companys internationalization process, the Effectuation theory was chosen that offers alternatives to describe how they think and behave when starting a new venture (PERRY et.al., 2012). The research method used a single case study and in-depth interviews were conducted with company managers. The results suggest that the theories offer explanations for the companys internationalization activities; however, some characteristics of this trend did not adhere to the theoretical propositions.

Unilever's Latin American Strategy in Yellow Fats, Ice Cream and Teas

Abstract The article investigates the interplay between the changes in the large corporate strategy of a multinational and changes in the business environment in Latin America. In its international expansion, Unilever has traditionally used a decentralized national responsive strategy where local subsidiaries develop their markets with a great degree of autonomy. In response to globalization, Unilever moved towards greater business coordination and a more focused approach in the nineties. The article examines the impact of this reorganization on the firms regional strategy in Latin America. We examine the firms strategy in three food categories: fat oils, ice cream and tea-based products. We conclude that Unilever continues to use a strategy of national responsiveness with no attempt to coordinate its experiences across the region.