This thesis examines the political and social dynamics of agribusiness in Thailand. Over the last twenty years agribusiness firms grew in scope and activity as Thailand became the major agricultural exporting country of Southeast Asia. The context of this process is explored in terms of national developmentalism, the political economy of agri-food restructuring and history. The thesis analyses two sectors (dairy and shrimp) which demonstrated substantial productive increases and were accompanied with a high level of agribusiness activity. The experiences of these sectors are compared and contrasted to determine the degree to which they characterise historic moments of capitalist restructuring and development.

Ce travail est un trait d'union entre les sciences de l'information et de la communication. Une robuste méthodologie et des outils performants d'analyses bibliométriques sont utilisés pour des études scientométriques et médiamétriques. Pour cela, nous avons étudié la production scientifique d'une organisation publique de recherche et développement, l'Entreprise Brésilienne de Recherche Agronomique (Embrapa), les compétences de ses chercheurs et enfin nous avons évalué la performance de cette organisation et ses 40 centres de recherche dans les médias. <br />Les résultats indiquent que la fonction d'analyse d'informations internes et externes aux organisations est aujourd'hui un instrument important et stratégique pour améliorer les décisions et les politiques organisationnelles et contribuer au développement de la société. <br />L'étude des compétences de R&D démontre le potentiel d'intelligence qui peut être générée avec des informations déjà présentes dans les organisations, mais dispersées en plusieurs départements administratifs. Il est le témoin de la nécessité d'organiser des environnements informatiques spécifiques pour la fonction d'analyse dans les organisations, intégrant bases de données et informations d'origines diverses. <br />Avec les méthodologies de médiamétrie les fonctions d'audit du travail de communication organisationnelle, d'évaluation du résultat de campagnes et de la production de dépêches pour la presse gagnent en efficience et l'élaboration de suggestions de reportages peut mieux correspondre aux préférences des éditeurs. Ceci ne serait pas possible sans l'acquisition de l'intelligence sur les médias pour déterminer les tendances, les préférences des divers véhicules et le comportement de leurs éditeurs.<br />La fonction de clipping, d'accompagner ce qui sort dans la presse est présente dans les grandes organisations. L'apport de ce travail consiste à intégrer la fonction analyse d'une base Clipping. A partir de tels corpus et munis des méthodologies et outils décrits plus loin, il est possible de réaliser des études prospectives sur l'évolution historique d'un thème, d'un produit, d'un politicien ou d'une entreprise dans les médias et de faciliter des activités de veille de l'environnement, des concurrents ou de tout un secteur de l'économie.

Signals convey information to marketplace participants regarding the unobservable quality of a product. Whenever product quality if unobservable prior to purchase, there is the risk of adverse selection. Problems of hidden information also occur in the consumer marketplace when the consumer is unable to verify the quality of a good prior to purchase. The sending, receiving, and interpretation or signals are potential ways to overcome the problem of adverse selection. In general, there is a lack of empirical evidence for signaling hypothesis, particularly that which links signaling to business performance outcomes. This research proposes that reputation serves as a marketplace signal to convey unobservable information about products offered for sale. Signaling hypotheses are tested in a network context, examining the influence of signals throughout a network of buyers and sellers in a marketplace. There are many situations where a signal does not affect just one sender and one receiver; multiple constituencies may be aware of and react to a given signal. This study incorporates the actions of seller side principals, seller side agents, and buyer side agents when examining marketplace signals and provides a new perspective and better vantage point from which to test signaling theory. The research setting for this study is the world’s largest individual marketplace for Thoroughbred yearlings. Several sources of secondary data are employed. These openly available published sources of information were selected as representative of the information that would typically be available to marketplace principals and agents to use in planning interactions in this unique live auction marketplace. The findings from his study indicate that the reputation of seller side principals and agents affect the eventual business performance outcomes as measured by final price brought at auction for goods. Specifically, seller side principals and agents who have developed a reputation for producing or selling high-priced or high-performing goods will be rewarded in the marketplace with relatively higher prices for their goods. Buyer side agents who are more central in the marketplace will pay relatively higher prices for goods. Evidence suggests that more central seller side agents will receive relatively higher prices for their goods.

China faces enormous challenges in generating sustained and inclusive agricultural and rural development. However the rapid growth occurring both inside and outside the agricultural sector provides new opportunities to meet the challenges. The development of higher value agrifood chains may provide opportunities for rural households to increase their levels of specialisation, scale and incomes, and for rural areas to broaden their employment and tax revenues bases. Facilitation of these developments effectively forms an agricultural modernisation strategy that is becoming increasingly described and prescribed by Chinese policy makers, researchers and development agencies. Despite the attention that has been given to this agricultural modernisation strategy, it has not proceeded without problems in China and has been subject to little rigorous scrutiny. This thesis uses a detailed industry case study approach to examine the way that Chinese agriculture is modernising and, as an applied study, to identify areas where China’s agricultural modernisation strategy can be refined. China’s agricultural modernisation strategy is analysed through the window of a particular Chinese agricultural and rural industry, namely the beef industry. The beef industry resembles many other agricultural and livestock industries that are commercialising, modernising and segmenting with important implications for food safety, the environment and rural incomes. In addition to providing insights into developments in the broader agricultural and livestock sectors, the Chinese beef industry is also worth examining in its own right because of its significant place in the world beef industry and in China’s livestock sector, and because it is used as a “pillar industry” in the development of many poor areas. While the thesis focuses predominantly on the beef industry, differences and similarities with other livestock industries are noted throughout the analysis. The use of an industry case study allows for a detailed analysis of a cross section of China’s markets, agribusiness and production sectors, and the integration of the sectors that form the industry. One novel aspect of the thesis is that the industry modernisation process is seen as a movement from low to high value agrifood chains in all of these sectors and for the industry as a whole. The thesis examines the drivers of and constraints to the movement from low to high value agrifood chains, the sustainability of the development of the higher value agrifood chains, and the implications for industry participants. The study draws on multiple forms of data, including extensive interview and fieldwork data over a ten year period across China, budget and scenario analyses; and macro-level data and policy documents. The cross-verification of this data allows for a rigorous, multi-disciplinary and “grounded” form of analysis that can complement other studies which draw on fewer sources of data. The thesis also provides a longitudinal and diachronic perspective of the agricultural modernisation process in contrast to a shorter term snapshot. The thesis examines the reasons and the measures by which China is attempting to move the agricultural sector beyond its primary reliance on traditional, low value agrifood chains. While the logic of these reasons and measures can be discerned, it is argued that China has attempted to “skip” development stages by over emphasising the development of large scale modern high value agrifood chains. The attempt to force the pace of modernisation has led to significant distortions and detrimental impacts. The thesis argues the need for China to refine its agricultural modernisation development strategy to be both more market conforming and to bring more benefits to industry participants in rural areas. This is best done by taking a more incremental approach to agricultural modernisation with an increased emphasis on mid value agrifood chains and the development of market facilitating policies. The analysis, findings and recommendations of the thesis may be of interest to policy makers, development agencies and researchers working on China’s agricultural and livestock sectors.

Orientador: Lesley Carina do Lago Attadia Galli / Banca: Silvio Carvalho Neto / Banca: Ana Claudia Fernandes Terence / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo geral fazer uma análise crítica sobre como as práticas de governança corporativa podem contribuir para o processo de profissionalização das empresas familiares pertencentes ao agronegócio. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica de caráter descritivo e abordagem qualitativa, utilizando como método o multicasos, tendo como pano de fundo casos representativos do segmento de implementos agrícolas. A pesquisa identificou os fatores facilitadores dentre os quais se destacam: necessidade de uma maior participação dos acionistas nas decisões da empresa, conflitos de interesses, conflitos de sucessão, desgaste excessivo no processo administrativo familiar e necessidade de planejamento estratégico. Dentre os fatores restritivos se destacam: dificuldade de separação de papel sócio e gestor, resistência à mudança, divergências de opiniões, questões culturais, dificuldades financeiras e escassez de gestores capacitados e confiáveis para o processo de implantação da governança corporativa no âmbito da propriedade, família e gestão das organizações estudadas. Buscou-se também elaborar um roteiro contendo os principais passos para a implantação das práticas de governança corporativa. Finalizando, concluiu-se que as práticas de governança corporativa podem, sim, atuar como catalisadores do processo de profissionalização, desde que sejam aplicadas assertivamente e de forma adaptada ao contexto de cada organização. / Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to make a critical analysis on how the corporate governance practices can contribute to the process of professionalization of the agribusiness family businesses. For that purpose, an empirical research of descriptive design and qualitative approach was carried out, using a multicase study as the method, analyzing representative cases of the agricultural implements segment. The research identified the facilitating factors such as the need for greater participation of shareholders in company decisions, conflicts of interest, succession conflicts, excessive wear on family administrative processes, and need of strategic planning. Among the restrictive factors are: the difficulty in separating the roles of manager and business partner, resistance to change, divergence of opinions, cultural issues, financial difficulties and scarcity of skilled and reliable managers for the implementation process of corporate governance in what concerns property, family and management of the organizations studied. This study also aimed at elaborating a script with the main steps for the implantation of corporate governance practices. Finally, the main conclusion is that the practices of corporate governance can act as catalysts for the professionalization process provided that they are applied assertively and in an adapted way to the context of each organization. / Mestre

Orientador: Timóteo Ramos Queiroz / Banca: Silvio Hiroshunakao / Banca: David Ferreira Lopes Santos / Resumo: A importância do agronegócio para o Brasil está diretamente associada à sua natural vocação econômica para este setor, sobretudo por suas características e diversidades, como clima favorável, solo, água em abundância, relevo e luminosidade. O agronegócio é responsável pela integração de diversos setores da economia e sua participação no produto interno bruto brasileiro tem aumentado nos últimos anos. A aquicultura, mais especificamente a piscicultura inserida neste contexto, encontra-se em constante crescimento. A produção de pescado tem aumentado por meio da criação de peixes em tanques-rede, e especificamente a tilápia-do-Nilo, por características próprias, tem se adaptado a este tipo de cultivo com enorme potencial de produção, inclusive, em ambientes variados como rios, lagos, açudes, represas e reservatórios de usinas hidrelétricas. Porém, os estudos atualmente disponíveis na literatura relacionados aos aspectos gerenciais e econômicos no setor rural que trazem uma abordagem mais específica desta matéria, evidencia uma lacuna teórico-prática e a necessidade de propor modelos de gestão financeira voltados para empreendimentos na piscicultura, em especial, de pequenos e médios produtores, a fim de avaliar o desempenho financeiro destas empresas. Assim, este estudo se propôs a desenvolver uma estrutura metodológica envolvendo desde o levantamento das informações básicas produzidas por tais empresas até a elaboração de um painel de indicadores financeiros voltados à piscicul... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The matter of agribusiness to Brazil is directly associated with its natural economic vocation for this sector, especially for its characteristics and diversities, such as favorable climate, soil, abundant water, relief and luminosity. Agribusiness is responsible for the integration of several sectors of the economy and its participation in the Brazilian gross domestic product has increased in recent years. Aquaculture, more specifically, fish farming in this context, is constantly growing. Fish production has increased through the crop growing of fish in net cages, and specifically the Nile tilapia, by its own characteristics, has adapted to this type of crop, with enormous potential of production, also, in varied environments, such as, rivers, lakes, dams, dams and reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants. However, studies currently available in the literature related to managerial and economic aspects in the rural sector bring a more specific approach in this area, which shows and allows a theoretical and practical gap and the need to propose models of financial management aimed at enterprises in fish farming, especially to the small and medium-sized producers, in order to assess the financial performance of these companies. Although, this study has proposed to develop a methodological structure involving from the survey of the basic information produced by such companies to the elaboration of a panel of financial indicators focused on tank fish farming. It is a case of study, non probabilistic, exploratory and qualitative. In addition to the development contribution, the results obtained will be able to provide to the rural fish farmer producer, as much as, to the small and medium service providers, such as consultants and professionals, the evaluation and implement more adequate in the financial management processes. The study also gives the necessary aspects ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: David Ferreira Lopes Santos / Resumo: A automação da produção agrícola proporciona mudanças na estrutura dos custos das organizações rurais, proporcionando em geral significativa redução dos custos com mão de obra e um maior controle do processo de gestão das atividades agrícolas. Por outro lado, a automação requer investimentos contínuos em novas tecnologias e uma capacidade absortiva organizacional destas novas tecnologias. Esses fatores aliados a busca pelo aumento de produtividade, competitividade e rentabilidade faz com que as empresas agrícolas potencializem seu sistema produtivo como um todo, por meio da otimização das operações que o envolve, objetivando o aumento da capacidade operacional e redução nos custos de produção. É nesse contexto que se posiciona esse trabalho, que visa analisar a viabilidade econômica da implantação de um sistema de monitoramento das operações agrícolas mecanizadas na citricultura mediante o uso de um "Global Positioning System" (GPS). Para tanto, foi feito um estudo de caso único. O caso foi estudado ao longo de toda a safra 2016/2017 em que o sistema foi implantado em 8 tratores e dois caminhões que atuaram em uma área de 2.236 ha. A partir da metodologia do Fluxo de Caixa Descontado (FCD) associado a simulação de Monte Carlo avaliou-se a viabilidade econômica do investimento. O uso do sistema de monitoramento por GPS permitiu a gestão em tempo real o controle de todas as atividades realizadas pelos equipamentos, sendo capaz, não somente, de determinar as melhores atividades ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The automation of agricultural production provides changes in the structure of the costs of rural organizations, generally providing significant reduction of labor costs and greater control of the process of management of agricultural activities. On the other hand, automation requires continuous investments in new technologies and an absorptive organizational capacity of these new technologies. These factors, allied to the search for increased productivity, competitiveness and profitability, mean that agricultural companies can enhance their production system as a whole, by optimizing their operations, aiming at increasing operational capacity and reducing production costs. It is in this context that this work is positioned, which aims to analyze the economic viability of the implementation of a monitoring system of mechanized agricultural operations in the citriculture through the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS). For that, a single case study was done. The case was studied throughout the 2016/2017 harvest in which the system was implanted in 8 tractors and two trucks that operated in an area of 2,236 ha. Based on the Discounted Cash Flow (CDF) methodology associated with Monte Carlo simulation, the economic viability of the investment was evaluated. The use of the GPS monitoring system allowed the real time management of all the activities carried out by the equipment, being able not only to determine the best activities to be performed but also to intervene during the activities in the changes. The financial results showed values of up to 23.67% lower for the monitored operations, being the most compelling efficiency with Psilídeo spraying. (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: José de Souza Rodrigues / David Ferreira Lopes dos Santos / Walther Azzolin Junior / Resumo: Os projetos de embalagens para alimentos apresentam particularidades em relação aos demais projetos, principalmente quando comparados a bens duráveis. As embalagens para alimentos sofrem constantemente alterações, seja no material, este com menor frequência, seja no formato, na arte ou em aplicação de acessórios como formas de abrir ou fechar após o uso. Uns mais, outros menos, mas todos esses projetos envolvem riscos e incertezas. As embalagens podem ser classificadas em várias formas e estas contribuem para definição das variáveis envolvidas no projeto, além da relação entre elas. O objetivo do trabalho tem como premissa a análise das variáveis de acordo com o escopo da proposta de procedimento de cálculo matemático proposta. A ênfase do procedimento é facilitar o processo decisório dos gestores para aumentar a competitividade no setor agroindustrial alimentício. Para atingir este objetivo, foram identificadas as principais variáveis envolvidas e uma metodologia de cálculo foi desenvolvida para identificar a margem de contribuição dos produtos oriundos do projeto, embasada no custeio variável. Um estudo de caso foi realizado em uma indústria alimentícia e três projetos de embalagens foram objetos de estudo. Foram utilizadas características do custeio variável para elaboração da proposta de cálculo. Obteve-se um procedimento de cálculo capaz de identificar o ponto de equilíbrio de um projeto de embalagens para alimentos, a quantidade mínima a ser vendida, a margem de contrib... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Food packaging projects have particularities in relation to other projects, especially when compared to durable goods. Food packaging constantly changes, whether in material, at a lower frequency, or in the format, in the art or in applying accessories as ways of opening or closing it after using. All these projects involve risks and uncertainties; some of them involve more, some others involve less. Packaging can be classified in several ways which contributes to defining the variables involved in the project, as well as the relationship between them. The objective of the study was to analyze these variables accordingly to the mathematical calculation proposed and present a proposal that offers support to the managers decision-making process to increase competitiveness in the agroindustry field. To achieve this objective, the main variables involved were identified and a methodology to calculate was developed to identify the contribution margin of the project based on variable costing. A case study was carried out in one of the food processing industry and three packaging were a study object. Were used variable costing characteristics for the calculation. The outcome was a procedure capable of identify the food packaging project breakeven point, the minimum selling amount, the contributing margin to a predicable sale, besides allowing different food packaging projects based on variable costing comparison. / Mestre

[pt] Nos mercados internacionais, o volume negociado de derivativos agropecuários representa cerca de 5% do volume total de derivativos financeiros. No Brasil, os derivativos agropecuários têm uma importância bem mais reduzida, representando apenas 0,5% do volume de derivativos negociados na BM&F, dados do primeiro semestre de 2008. A baixa proporção de derivativos agropecuários negociados no Brasil não deixa de ser surpreendente. Afinal, a importante posição do Brasil na produção mundial de commodities deveria gerar uma demanda elevada por derivativos agropecuários para fins de hedge. Esta dissertação mostra que, no Brasil, uma boa parte da variação dos preços de commodities não é adequadamente replicada por uma carteira de contratos futuros que tenha as commodities como ativo subjacente. A baixa correlação entre os preços futuro e spot - chamada de risco de base na literatura de derivativos - dificulta o uso de contratos futuros como instrumento de hedge para os produtos agropecuários, explicando assim parte do baixo desenvolvimento do mercado de derivativos agropecuários no Brasil. / [en] Worldwide, the traded volume of commodity derivatives accounts for roughly 5% of the derivatives market. In Brazil, commodity derivatives are much less important, representing only 0.5% of the volume of derivatives traded at BM&F (the main derivatives exchange in Brazil), data concerning the first semester of 2008. The small importance of commodity derivatives at BM&F is somewhat surprising. After all, Brazil is one of the most important producers of commodities in the world. Conceivably, such a prominent role in the commodities markets should imply a large demand of commodity derivatives for hedging purposes. Why are the commodity derivatives markets relatively underdeveloped in Brazil? This dissertation shows that commodity futures poorly track the variation of commodity prices. The low correlation between futures and commodity prices - known in the literature as Basis Risk - makes futures contracts poor hedge instruments, thereby explaining at least part of the low importance of commodity derivatives in Brazil.

Orientador: Adhemar Sanches / Coorientador: David Ferreira Lopes Santos / Banca: Lesley Carina do Lago Attadia Galli / Banca: Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana / Resumo: A gestão do capital humano na era do conhecimento demanda uma postura diferenciada das organizações diante da complexidade do cenário econômico. O conhecimento deriva do capital humano, também chamado de ativo intangível, um diferencial competitivo relevante, porém de difícil gestão. A proposta desta pesquisa é estabelecer um modelo que avalie a relação da qualidade de vida no trabalho (QVT) com a felicidade do trabalhador. Para tanto, explora a realidade de agências bancárias de uma instituição financeira brasileira. De enfoque diferenciado em relação a outros estudos, buscou-se moderar o efeito do ambiente de trabalho, considerando diferentes perfis de agência e de funcionários, sendo o interesse principal compreender as distinções existentes nas agências bancárias e, de forma específica, naquelas com perfil voltado ao agronegócio. Destaca-se o ambiente de trabalho nas agências bancárias, enfatizando os elementos principais. Essa especificidade torna-se importante tanto para a empresa quanto para o desenvolvimento da teoria deste tema. A relevância para a instituição financeira justifica-se com a importância do capital humano para o resultado da empresa. A metodologia desta pesquisa tem natureza exploratória, com abordagem quantitativa, nesta pesquisa utilizou-se o método de análise fatorial e equações estruturais. Foram utilizadas variáveis relacionadas à QVT e à felicidade, tais como: Higiene e Segurança no Trabalho, Liderança, Estresse, Benefícios Sociais e Bem-Estar sub... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The management of human capital in knowledge era demands a differentiated posture of organizations to face economic scenario complexity. Knowledge derives from human capital, also called intangible asset, a relevant competitive differential, but difficult to manage. The proposal of this research is to establish a model that evaluates the relation of the quality of life at work (QWL) with the happiness of the worker. To do so, it explores the reality of bank branches of a Brazilian financial institution. Using a differentiated focus in relation to other studies, this study sought to moderate the work environment effect, considering different agency and employee profiles, the main interest is to understand the distinctions existing in the banking branches and, specifically, those with a profile oriented to agribusiness. This specificity becomes important for company and for the development of the theory of this theme. The relevance to the financial institution is justified by the importance of human capital to the company's results. The methodology of this research is exploratory, with a quantitative approach, adopting the method of factorial analysis and structural equations. Variables related to QWL and happiness were used, such as: Hygiene and Safety at Work, Leadership, Stress, Social Benefits and Subjective Welfare, and the research will be conducted in a universe of approximately 4000 employees. Organizations value their human capital through the strategic Human Resources Management they adopt, evaluating and monitoring the behavior of their leaders through indicators of human resources management, emphasizing creativity, diversity, motivation and innovation, creating knowledge, which is currently considered a factor that generates organizational capacities and abilities, which allow us to remain competitive in the economic environment and in the environment of constant transformations nowadays. / Mestre