Brazilian Industrial Sector Research Articles

Multicriteria Analysis of Innovation Ecosystems and the Impact of Human Capital and Investments on Brazilian Industries

Innovation is one of the main factors associated with industrial growth, as it contributes to increased productivity, sustainability, and international competitiveness. There is a certain degree of complexity in measuring innovation, since there are various metrics for this purpose, and each sector of the economy handles it differently. In Brazil, the Industrial Survey of Technological Innovation (PINTEC) was developed to construct sectorial indicators on innovation activities. Based on these data, this paper investigates how ten sectors of the economy performed during two historical series (2011 to 2014 and 2014 to 2017) considering five criteria linked to the innovation process and the impact of qualified human capital. The problem is analyzed in light of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), using preference ranking organization methods for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE II) to provide a ranking of Brazilian industrial sectors. The results show how the sectors have changed over the years, highlighting that innovation expenditure proved crucial in measuring companies’ commitment to innovation, but also show that a highly qualified workforce emerged as a leading factor. Furthermore, the research presents which criteria have contributed positively and negatively to each sector, which can serve as drivers for policy formulation to strengthen the Brazilian industry.

Does small firm dynamics matter for occupation diversity and job quality? Evidence from Brazil

Recent studies have explored the role of firm dynamics and the connection to job reallocation. However, limited attention has been devoted to the role of micro and small firms in this process, particularly about the quality of the jobs generated. Therefore, this article aims to measure the impact of micro and small firm dynamics on occupation diversification in Brazil, with specific emphasis on job quality. The study used data from 558 microregions within the Brazilian industrial sector between 2003 and 2015. Panel data were applied to three econometric models: Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), Driscoll–Kraay (DK) and Instrumental Variable (IV) models for robustness analysis, including Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML), and the Generalized Method of Moments with Continuously Updating Estimators (GMM-CUE). Our main finding reveals that the dynamics of micro and small firms positively impact occupation diversity in Brazil, leading to the creation of a wider range of job types. Furthermore, the frequency of change of firms from microenterprises to small businesses increases the occupation diversity in the Brazilian industrial sector. Our findings are significant in providing policy recommendations for developing countries to achieve a more diverse labor market.

A Hybrid Approach for Hierarchical Forecasting of Industrial Electricity Consumption in Brazil

The Brazilian industrial sector is the largest electricity consumer in the power system. Energy planning in this sector is important mainly due to its economic, social, and environmental impact. In this context, electricity consumption analysis and projections are highly relevant for the decision-making of the industrial sectorand organizations operating in the energy system. The electricity consumption data from the Brazilian industrial sector can be organized into a hierarchical structure composed of each geographic region (South, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast, and North) and their respective states. This work proposes a hybrid approach that incorporates the projections obtained by the exponential smoothing and Box–Jenkins models to obtain the hierarchical forecasting of electricity consumption in the Brazilian industrial sector. The proposed approach was compared with the bottom-up, top-down, and optimal combination approaches, which are widely used for time series hierarchical forecasting. The performance of the models was evaluated using the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) precision measures. The results indicate that the proposed hybrid approach can contribute to the projection and analysis of industrial sector electricity consumption in Brazil.

Adoption of competence management practices by industries in an emerging country: an analysis via fuzzy TOPSIS

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine competence management practices in Brazilian industries using ISO 10015 as a framework of analysis, which establishes guidelines for competence management and people development.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted with 22 high-qualified human resources management (HRM) professionals (81.8% of participants hold a PhD) with extensive experience in the Brazilian industrial sector (an average of 20.4 years). The experts assessed 13 practices (P) elaborated based on the ISO 10015:2020, considering two categories: large industries (LI) and small and medium-sized industries (SMI). Data analysis was performed using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, frequency analysis, Fuzzy TOPSIS and sensitivity analysis.FindingsThe practice “individual competences are correctly defined by organizations at all hierarchical levels” was deemed the best practice for LIs, while the practice “clear definition of activities and their specificities when structuring competence management and people development programs” was considered the best practice for SMIs. The practice “organizations map employees' future competence and development needs on a regular basis” received the lowest rating for both LIs and SMIs. When compared to LIs, SMIs have more severe deficiencies in applying competence management practices. The study's findings can be of great value in assisting managers in implementing structured competence management systems and people development initiatives.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used by managers of businesses of all sizes and economic sectors to analyze their critical points in order to identify opportunities to improve their competence management systems and people development programs.Originality/valueThis study fills a knowledge gap by analyzing the adoption of competence management practices in Brazil, answering the call for HRM research in developing countries. By using ISO 10015 as a framework of analysis, this study also addresses the literature gap regarding this important and relatively new management tool.

Forecasting models for the electricity consumption of the cement industry in Brazil

The consumption of electric energy in the Brazilian industrial sector has been investigated over the past few years. This interest is related to sector development, energy planning, and energy efficiency. Thus, forecasting models are important for decision-making. The objective of this work is to compare different forecasting models applied to monthly data on electric energy consumption in the cement industry in Brazil. Therefore, the Holt-Winters method, the Seasonal ARIMA model, the dynamic linear model, and the autoregressive neural network model were used. Through the considered accuracy metrics, the Seasonal ARIMA model showed the best predictive performance for the analyzed period.

Brazil’s New Investment Treaty Model: Why Now?

The investment treaty regime, unlike other economic regimes, lacks common substantive multilateral rules and depends on countries signing bilateral or plurilateral investment treaties. As the regime presented a pro-developed country bias, developing countries, especially in Latin America, avoided signing investment treaties up to the 1980s. Brazil followed this trend and did not start an investment treaty program until the late 1990s. However, the treaties never entered into force. The country also avoided acceding to the World Bank agency responsible for investment arbitration proceedings - the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). In 2015, Brazil started a new investment treaty program. However, the timing seems counterintuitive. The investment treaty regime had already been criticized, including inefficiency in attracting foreign investment, the potential to encroach on countries’ regulatory sovereignty and the lack of legitimacy of its investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) procedure. Furthermore, the favorable foreign economic scenario did not force the country to seek an inflow of foreign capital at that time. The new Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement (CFIA) is presented as an investment treaty model for developing countries, since it responds to major criticisms to the investment treaty regime, and at the same time meets the demands of an important domestic interest group, the Brazilian industrial sector, for a legal framework that mitigates the political risk of its increasingly internationalized operations. Brazil’s CFIA may be viewed as a model that other developing countries could emulate in the face of the failure of the traditional paradigm of investment dispute settlement.

Estimating the production function for the Brazilian industrial sector: A Bayesian panel VAR approach

Estimating the production function for the Brazilian industrial sector: A Bayesian panel VAR approach

Statistical and Artificial Neural Networks Models for Electricity Consumption Forecasting in the Brazilian Industrial Sector

Forecasting the industry’s electricity consumption is essential for energy planning in a given country or region. Thus, this study aims to apply time-series forecasting models (statistical approach and artificial neural network approach) to the industrial electricity consumption in the Brazilian system. For the statistical approach, the Holt–Winters, SARIMA, Dynamic Linear Model, and TBATS (Trigonometric Box–Cox transform, ARMA errors, Trend, and Seasonal components) models were considered. For the approach of artificial neural networks, the NNAR (neural network autoregression) and MLP (multilayer perceptron) models were considered. The results indicate that the MLP model was the one that obtained the best forecasting performance for the electricity consumption of the Brazilian industry under analysis.

How do learning culture and dynamic capability interfere with team performance?

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of the relationship between the learning culture and the dynamic capability and performance of manufacturing teams in the industrial sector. Several studies propose that dynamic capability is capable of improving the organizational and financial performance of companies, however, little research is focused on simultaneously analyzing the relationship between dynamic capability and learning culture and manufacturing teamwork performance. This study is based on a survey of 201 companies in the Brazilian industrial sector with manufacturing teams, using the partial least squares (PLS) approach to develop structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results indicate that the dynamic capability has a strong positive influence on the team's performance and that, although the learning culture is not directly related to the performance, they offer contributions mediated by the dynamic capability.

INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION AS A VECTOR FOR THE BRAZILIAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY: PROPOSALS FOR STIMULATING EXPORTS

Exports are one of the main economic growth inducers and will certainly play an important role in the Brazilian economic recovery after overcoming the most critical period of the new coronavirus pandemic. The country faces not only the challenge of increasing its exports but also of diversifying and making them less dependent on a limited set of commodities. The Brazilian industrial sector's competitive difficulties and proposals to overcome them have been exhaustively discussed for several years. And the post-pandemic scenario tends to be even more challenging for the sector. This article provides an overview of the current situation and a brief diagnosis of some major policy issues associated with exports. It also contains suggestions and recommendations for sustaining exports during the crisis caused by COVID-19 and stimulating their growth and diversification in the post-pandemic period. The topics discussed include export credit and promotion, agricultural goods exports, technical standards, the multilateral framework of international trade regulation, and trade agreement negotiations. The proposals presented here have both a short-term focus, for the post-COVID-19 recovery period, and a medium and long-term perspective, addressing more structural issues related to the country's international insertion.

Innovative performance of project teams: the role of organizational structure and knowledge-based dynamic capability

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge-based dynamic capability and organizational structure on team innovative performance in Brazilian industrial companies.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on data from a survey of 262 respondents from 65 companies in the Brazilian industrial sector with project teams and followed the partial least squares approach to model the structural equation that was used for data analysis.FindingsThe results of the study show that mechanical structures with a high degree of formalization and centralization have a negative impact on knowledge-based dynamic capability and integration has a positive relationship with dynamic capability. Moreover, the research shows that project team innovative performance is directly affected by knowledge generation and combination capability; however, knowledge acquisition/absorption does not interfere with project team innovative activity.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the managers of firms in the industrial sector by analyzing how the characteristics of organizational structure impact dynamic capability and project team innovative performance. The results of this study indicate that more mechanical structures have more difficulty in developing knowledge-based dynamic capability in the context of project teams.Originality/valueThis study advances the concept of knowledge-based dynamic capability from the firm level to the project team level. This study accesses a research gap that characterizes organizational structure as an antecedent of dynamic capability, analyzing the impact of organizational structure on the dimensions of dynamic capability and of the latter on project team innovative performance.

Historical deposition of PAHs in mud depocenters from the Southwestern Atlantic continental shelf: The influence of socio-economic development and coal consumption in the last century

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were determined in four dated sediment cores collected in mud depocenters of the southern Brazilian continental shelf. Core dating results covered the interval between 1925 and 2017. The total PAH concentrations (ΣPAHs) ranged from 44.69 ng g−1 to 305.43 ng g−1 and were similar between the analysed cores. Fine-grained sediments and total organic carbon (TOC) results did not correlate with the ΣPAHs, indicating that the variations in PAH concentrations are mostly related to variations in sources and emissions. PAH source appointment indicated a high input of a natural compound (perylene) and the predominance of anthropogenic PAHs from coal, biomass, and fuel combustion. Alkylated PAHs presented high contributions throughout all cores. The historical deposition of PAHs was associated with different periods of the socio-economic and industrial development of near coastal cities and reflected very well the history of coal production and consumption in the southern region of Brazil. The low levels of ΣPAHs before 1945 in all analysed cores may be related to the beginning of the industrialization process and the lower urbanization degree in the region. Between 1945 and 1965, the gradual ΣPAHs increase reflects the establishment and enlargement of the southern Brazilian industrial sector. The interval between 1965 and 1990 corresponded to the highest ΣPAHs in three of the four analysed cores. After 1990, a relative decrease in the ΣPAHs was observed in most cores and may be related the multiple cuts of incentives to the industrial usage of coal, as well as to Brazil's efforts in environmental regulation for coal extraction and consumption.

Effects of learning culture and teamwork context on team performance mediated by dynamic capability

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between learning culture and teamwork context based on the mediating role played by dynamic capability in manufacturing teams of the industrial sector.Design/methodology/approachIt proposes that dynamic capability is a key element for improving the performance of teams, which, in turn, is positively affected by learning culture and teamwork context. This study is based on data from a survey of 201 companies in the Brazilian industrial sector with manufacturing teams, and followed the partial least squares approach to model the structural equation that was used for data analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that dynamic capability has a strong positive influence on team performance, and also that, despite learning culture and teamwork context having no direct association with performance, they offer contributions mediated by dynamic capability.Research limitations/implicationsThis study includes a reduced sample regarding the population of Brazilian industrial companies, being restricted to only one sector of activity. Future studies may obtain larger samples by working with different sectors in different countries.Practical implicationsThis article alerts managers to the importance of dynamic capability for improving the performance of teams, and points out the role played by learning culture and teamwork context in this relationship.Originality/valueThis research presents new insights into how dynamic capability contributes to the performance of teams, based on antecedent factors (learning culture and teamwork context).

Quantifying the inovation of cosmetic formulations that contains phenolic rich fruit extracts as fotoprotective bioactives

<p><strong>Introduction</strong>: sunscreen is a cosmetic used to protect human skin from the deleterious effects of UV radiation and thus minimize the risks of developing skin cancer. Extracts produced from fruits, such as Abiu, Guava, Rambutan and Grape, have significant concentrations of chromophores and phenolic substances that have the ability to absorb UV light and neutralize free radicals. The production of cosmetics from naturally occurring substances with such activities will be of great importance for Brazilian industry and could reduce the cost of production, given the large existing biodiversity in the country. <strong>Objectives</strong>: carry out a patent search for formulations and cosmetic products that contains phenolic rich fruit extracts as photoprotective and antioxidant bioactives. <strong>Methodology</strong>: a survey of patents was carried out in the database of the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) and the European Patent Office (EPO), covering a time period between 2008 and 2018, using a combination of keywords related to herbal cosmetics and sunscreens. <strong>Results</strong>: this research identifies a significant number of patents related to plant extract in association with sunscreen product, however, no patent filings were identified for cosmetic products containing extracts of the evaluated fruits, either alone or in combination, for photoprotective and antioxidant purposes. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: the Brazilian and international market for sun care products moves millions to billions of dollars annually and have a significant annual growth prospect. Considering the great biodiversity existing in the country, the production of cosmetics from naturally occurring substances with such activities will be of great importance for the Brazilian industrial sector.</p>

Innovation dynamics in the Brazilian industrial sector: scenario and reflexions

Purpose This study aims to analyze the innovation overview of the Brazilian industrial sector using data published by innovation survey – PINTEC. The aim was to provide a macro and updated diagnosis of the innovation scenario in Brazil and build reflections for further studies. Design/methodology/approach The authors used information from the years 1998–2014 covered by PINTEC to analyze innovation indicators, namely, innovation types, problems and obstacles, novelty degree, established partnerships and interactions, as well as governmental incentives. This study is exploratory; thus, descriptive methods were used for data presentation through analyses and presented through figures and tables. Findings The results show that innovation of the Brazilian industrial sector is concentrated mainly in the acquisition of machinery and equipment, innovations that already exist in national or global markets, interactions for the innovation process with suppliers and governmental support for financing machinery and equipment acquisitions. Originality/value This study has relevance, as its results provide important subsidies for policy-makers to incorporate the needs and overcome challenges of innovation in Brazil.

Hardness Reference Blocks as Certified Reference Materials to be supplied by Inmetro to the Market

Reference materials for the Rockwell, Brinell and Vickers hardness scales are fundamental for the Brazilian industrial sector. Mechanical property Hardness is the most common mechanical test used for quality control of raw materials in finished products as well as in research and development of new products and materials. A description of the main findings of two studies and the revalidation of the last on the demand of hardness reference blocks in Brazil is presented. This paper shows national demand of hardness reference blocks could be supplied on a large scale by Inmetro´s Force Laboratory.

Direito sanitário: avaliação de marcos regulatórios sobre lançamento de medicamentos de base biotecnológica no Brasil

Introdução: Requerimentos regulatórios ligados à área farmacêutica têm sido crescentes nas últimas décadas, em função das novas alternativas terapêuticas que, em sua maioria, apresentam maior especificidade e menores efeitos colaterais, principalmente de medicamentos oriundos de base biológica. O sistema regulatório representa um problema para muitos países quando não há regras harmonizadas e, num contexto de mundo globalizado, nem sempre o ambiente produtivo está inserido no ambiente do usuário final. O presente trabalho avalia o painel regulatório brasileiro para produtos de origem biológica e sua consequência no desenvolvimento/lançamento desses produtos. Método: Foi realizado um levantamento com indústrias farmacêuticas, por meio de questionário, abrangendo empresas públicas e privadas, de capital nacional e estrangeiro. Resultados e considerações finais: Com base nesse levantamento, observou-se que os principais marcos regulatórios trouxeram mudanças para o lançamento de produtos biológicos no Brasil, sobretudo com maior participação das empresas privadas nacionais e incremento no setor industrial público brasileiro.

Recent innovation scenario of the Brazilian industrial sector and its reflections

Recent innovation scenario of the Brazilian industrial sector and its reflections

Crédito do BNDES, dependência de finança externa, e intensidade de P&D nos setores da indústria brasileira (1998-2014)

Resumo Este trabalho busca testar se o BNDES desempenha um papel compensando potenciais imperfeições no mercado de crédito no que diz respeito a investimentos em P&D. Para isso, propomos uma análise de regressão com interação inspirada em Maskus et al. (2012). Utilizamos dados de 22 setores das indústrias extrativa e de transformação no Brasil, tendo como fontes principais a PINTEC, o BNDES e a PIA, compreendendo 6 triênios a partir de 1998 até 2014. Nossos resultados oferecem algum suporte para a hipótese de um papel positivo do BNDES: o crédito do BNDES está mais positivamente correlacionado com a intensidade de P&D em setores da indústria e períodos em que é maior a dependência de capital (financeiro) externo.

Firm productivity gains in a period of slow trade liberalization: evidence from Brazil.

Existing literature recognizes the possible role of trade policy and firms’ exposure to international trade as determinants of productivity. A strand of the literature sheds light on the effects of trade policy changes on firm-level productivity. Another strand studies the relationship between firms’ trade status (exporting production or importing intermediates, but usually not both simultaneously) and firm-level TFP dynamics. However, the analyses that integrate both strands are scarce. This paper aims to disentangle the impact of input and output tariffs on firms’ productivity. Further, it analyses whether the impact of changes in tariffs is conditioned by the trade status of the firm (exporting and/or importing). At difference to most previous papers, we carry out our analysis for a large developing country in a period of slow trade liberalization. Thus, in the empirical part, we use data from firms belonging to Brazilian industrial sectors (manufacturing and mining) during 2000–2008. After estimating total factor productivity (TFP) at the firm level using updated methodologies, we estimate both the impact of trade policy and firms’ trade status on TFP dynamics. Our results suggest that trade liberalization (through reductions in input or output tariffs) increases TFP, being the effect associated to a reduction in input tariffs greater. Furthermore, the impact of trade policy on TFP spreads among all firms, which could be consistent with the existence of spillovers from trading firms to non-trading firms or with the notion that trade liberalization exerts competitive pressure on all firms, regardless of their initial exposure to international trade. Finally, we also find evidence of a positive effect of both the import and export statuses on TFP.