The Entry Process of Higher Education Institutions in Brazil: The Case of Laureate International Universities

Renato Márcio Bulgarão,Rony Locher,George Bedinelli Rossi

doi:10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.36.1001

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the entry process of higher education institutions in Brazil, in particular, the case of Laureate International Universities. To do so, Cultural, Administrative, Economic and Geographic distances – CAGE Framework – were used and which of these distances has more importance in this entry process. A single case study was carried on. Data were collected from interviews, newspapers, and documents. Content analysis was done by grouping convergent ideas on dendrograms (trees words) which were evaluated 17 key terms to elucidate this research. The survey showed that in the case of Laureate international universities the cultural, administrative, geographic and economic distances influenced the entry process partially. Regarding all distances, Cultural distance is the most important aspect of the language and religion which imposes very different norms and behavior for conducting business and personal relationship. A second distance that has an impact is Administrative, concerning with currency instability as inflation, and for Economic distance, infrastructure differences are the most important point.

Highlights

In accordance with the World Bank Group (2016), in the 1998-2014 period, as the economies in developed countries entered into the stage of maturity and showed lower negative growth rates, countries or emerging economies had great potential for grow than do economic development
The global liberalization of trade and investment, bilateral trade agreements, economic and regional integration as ASEAN, Mercosur and the European Union have resulted in global competition and global unprecedented product and services offerings, especially in emerging markets
To investigate the process of internationalization of higher education, we used the method of qualitative research type unique case study (Creswell, 2010; Cesar, 2005; Eisenhardt, 1989) as well as intensive as proposed by Swanborn (2010) and Hodgetts and Stolte (2012)

Summary

Introduction

In accordance with the World Bank Group (2016), in the 1998-2014 period, as the economies in developed countries entered into the stage of maturity and showed lower negative growth rates, countries or emerging economies had great potential for grow than do economic development. Economic reforms in Brazil, Russia, India and China have unlocked their markets protected by ideology and socialism. The global liberalization of trade and investment, bilateral trade agreements, economic and regional integration as ASEAN, Mercosur and the European Union have resulted in global competition and global unprecedented product and services offerings, especially in emerging markets. The birth of a new middle class, especially in large markets such as China, India and Brazil for the first time, creates a large-scale market for various products and services

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