El desempeño económico financiero y responsabilidad social corporativa Petrobrás versus Repsol

Alterations in the institutional environment, as a result of the markets integration process and the consequent alterations in stakeholders’ conduct are one of the important vectors of changes in companies’ behavior. In that context, in addition to their yields those companies happen to worry about their attitudes in relation to social and environmental factors. Thus, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) is seen as one more strategy to maintain or increase their income and to harness the enterprise development. The main purpose of this study is the verification of the existing relation between Social Responsibility and the economic and financial performance of two companies in the business of Petroleum, Gas and Bio-combustibles. The investigation was based on a comparison of social-environmental practices developed by Petrobras S/A (Brazil) and Repsol S/A (Spain). For the purpose of verification of the relation between social-environmental performance and the economic-financial one, a linear regression analysis was carried out.     

OCB and external–internal social networks: effects on individual performance and adaptation to change

In this study, we develop and test a model that links one's internal and external social network structures to his or her willingness and ability to adapt in a changing work context. Using a survey data from 371 employees working in 133 different branches of a large financial firm, we find that individual behaviors that explain task performance and individual adaptation to change are affected by a number of supportive social ties (size of the support network) with which one receives support inside and, mostly, outside the workplace. The results also show that individual performance and adaptation to change are affected by the level of workers' organizational citizenship behavior. We also identify a mediating effect exerted by the informational network structure (mostly an internal network) on the relationship between the support network (mostly an external network) and individual task performance.     

Non-maximizing output behavior for firms with a cost-constrained technology

In many public service industries, firms are constrained by a cost (budget) and characterized by non-maximizing output behavior, due to bureaucratic behavior, for instance. This paper proposes a model based on the assumption that firms with a cost constraint do not maximize service levels due to resource preferences. It derives the exact relationships between services delivered, (shadow) input prices, cost constraints, and optimal input quantities. From these relationships, allocative efficiencies, technical efficiencies, output ray elasticities, and marginal cost can easily be derived.      

On the unique features of post-disaster humanitarian logistics

Logistic activity can be thought of as a socio-technical process whereby a social network of individuals orchestrates a series of technical activities using supporting systems such as transportation and communications. To understand the functioning of the entire system requires proper consideration of all its components. We identify seven key components: the objectives being pursued, the origin of the commodity flows to be transported, knowledge of demand, the decision-making structure, periodicity and volume of logistic activities, and the state of the social networks and supporting systems. Based on our analysis of the differences between commercial and humanitarian logistics, we pinpoint research gaps that need to be filled to enhance both the efficiency of humanitarian logistics and the realism of the mathematical models designed to support it.We argue that humanitarian logistics is too broad a field to fit neatly into a single definition of operational conditions. At one end of the spectrum we find humanitarian logistic efforts of the kind conducted in long-term disaster recovery and humanitarian assistance, where operational efficiency – akin to commercial logistics – is a prime consideration. At the other, post-disaster humanitarian logistic operations involved in disaster response and short-term recovery activities represent a vastly different operational environment, often in chaotic settings where urgent needs, life-or-death decisions and scarce resources are the norm. The huge contrast between these operational environments requires that they be treated separately.