O setor de Gás Liquefeito de Petróleo (GLP), produto considerado de primeira necessidade para a população brasileira, está inserido em um ambiente altamente competitivo devido a poucas barreiras de entrada, ao aumento da atratividade e à baixa diferenciação do produto. Nesse cenário, os sistemas de distribuição propiciam um componente de grande importância no que se refere à diferenciação e ao desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas no varejo. Assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivo geral analisar os principais aspectos a serem levados em consideração na tomada de decisão sobre os canais de distribuição no segmento domiciliar de GLP, referente ao primeiro elo da cadeia (distribuidora para revenda de GLP). Como objetivos específicos, se destacam a verificação da relevância das variáveis encontradas na literatura para o mercado domiciliar de GLP e a verificação de uma tendência para o setor. Para isso, serão abordados referenciais teóricos sob a ótica da Organização Industrial (OI), da Nova Economia Institucional (NEI) e de Canais de Marketing. Buscando atingir os objetivos propostos, além da revisão teórica, foi realizado um levantamento histórico sobre o GLP e as principais distribuidoras brasileiras, o qual trouxe à tona fatos políticos e econômicos que influenciam até hoje as decisões dos agentes econômicos do setor. O método utilizado foi uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio de um estudo de caso na maior empresa brasileira de distribuição de GLP, a Cia. Ultragaz S/A. Foram desenvolvidos e aplicados questionários semiestruturados, por meio de entrevistas com os executivos da alta direção da empresa e com um executivo da direção do Sindicato Nacional das Empresas Distribuidoras do Gás Liquefeito do Petróleo (SINDIGÁS), trazendo assim uma visão mais global do segmento. Após a aplicação do estudo de caso, foram encontrados resultados relevantes para a academia, dos quais pode ser citada a constatação de que não existe uma relação direta entre as variáreis \"ativos específicos\" e \"incerteza interna/comportamental\" com a escolha dos canais de distribuição. Outros resultados importantes provindos da análise dos dados foram: a ordenação dos fatores que determinam a escolha dos canais indiretos e a influência das relações de poder na tomada de decisão em canais de distribuição. Por fim, analisando a tendência do setor, o mercado de GLP não deve findar nos próximos 50 anos e, se isso ocorresse, as empresas atuais buscariam novos mercados fora do setor de energia. Dessa forma, apesar das limitações, as quais serão apresentadas ao final da presente dissertação, muitos estudos acadêmicos ainda podem ser desenvolvidos dentro desse setor de expressiva relevância econômica e social para o País. / The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector, a product deemed basic needs for the Brazilian population is placed in a highly competitive environment due to a few barriers to entry, the increase in attractiveness and low product differentiation. In this scenario, the distribution systems provide a component of great importance regarding differentiation and development of competitive advantages in the retail market. Thus, this study aims to conduct an analysis on the main aspects to be taken into consideration when deciding on the distribution channels in the LPG household segment, referring to the first link in the chain (LPG distributor for dealer). The specific objectives are: verifying the relevance of the variables found in the literature for the LPG residential market and verifying the trend for the sector. For this purpose theoretical perspectives will be discussed using Industrial Organization, New Institutional Economics and Marketing Channels. In order to reach the proposed aims, a survey was conducted on the LPG history and major Brazilian distributors besides the theoretical review, which brought up political and economic facts that influence present decisions of economic agents in the industry. The method used was a qualitative research by means of a case study in the largest Brazilian LPG distributor, Cia. Ultragaz S/A. Semi-structured questionnaires were developed and applied by means of interviews with executives from company top management and with an executive director of the National Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distributors (SINDIGÁS), bringing out a global view of the segment. After the application of the case study, relevant results were found to the academy, which may be due to the fact that there is not a direct relationship between the variables \"specific assets\" and \"internal behavioral/uncertainty\" with the choice of the distribution channels. Other important results obtained from the data analysis were: the hierarchical ordering of factors that determine the choice of indirect channels and the influence of power relations in decision making on distribution channels. Finally, by analyzing the industry´s trends, the LPG market should not end in the next 50 years and, if it that happened, current companies would look for new markets outside the energy sector. Thus, despite the limitations, which will be presented at the end of this study, many academic studies can still be developed in a sector which presents economic and social relevancy for the country.

The food processing industry is dominated by large corporations. These firms play a critical role in forming the derived demand faced by agricultural producers, but little is understood about how these companies make strategic choices. Organizational economics provides a framework for exploring the firm's decision process. However, several theories exist in this discipline, operating in fundamentally different ways. This paper examines the two prevalent organizational theories, Transaction Cost Economics and Agency Theory, through a study of the food processing industry. This sector is thoroughly analyzed in order to make predictions from each theory regarding the aspects of capital structure and firm expansion. With accounting data for a sample of food processing firms, these predictions are then tested empirically using an ICAPM model in a cross-section of expected stock returns. Our results indicate that Agency Theory is the relevant organizational model for food manufacturers, making it the appropriate tool for evaluating the actions of these firms in agricultural markets.

O setor de Gás Liquefeito de Petróleo (GLP), produto considerado de primeira necessidade para a população brasileira, está inserido em um ambiente altamente competitivo devido a poucas barreiras de entrada, ao aumento da atratividade e à baixa diferenciação do produto. Nesse cenário, os sistemas de distribuição propiciam um componente de grande importância no que se refere à diferenciação e ao desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas no varejo. Assim, o presente estudo tem como objetivo geral analisar os principais aspectos a serem levados em consideração na tomada de decisão sobre os canais de distribuição no segmento domiciliar de GLP, referente ao primeiro elo da cadeia (distribuidora para revenda de GLP). Como objetivos específicos, se destacam a verificação da relevância das variáveis encontradas na literatura para o mercado domiciliar de GLP e a verificação de uma tendência para o setor. Para isso, serão abordados referenciais teóricos sob a ótica da Organização Industrial (OI), da Nova Economia Institucional (NEI) e de Canais de Marketing. Buscando atingir os objetivos propostos, além da revisão teórica, foi realizado um levantamento histórico sobre o GLP e as principais distribuidoras brasileiras, o qual trouxe à tona fatos políticos e econômicos que influenciam até hoje as decisões dos agentes econômicos do setor. O método utilizado foi uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio de um estudo de caso na maior empresa brasileira de distribuição de GLP, a Cia. Ultragaz S/A. Foram desenvolvidos e aplicados questionários semiestruturados, por meio de entrevistas com os executivos da alta direção da empresa e com um executivo da direção do Sindicato Nacional das Empresas Distribuidoras do Gás Liquefeito do Petróleo (SINDIGÁS), trazendo assim uma visão mais global do segmento. Após a aplicação do estudo de caso, foram encontrados resultados relevantes para a academia, dos quais pode ser citada a constatação de que não existe uma relação direta entre as variáreis \"ativos específicos\" e \"incerteza interna/comportamental\" com a escolha dos canais de distribuição. Outros resultados importantes provindos da análise dos dados foram: a ordenação dos fatores que determinam a escolha dos canais indiretos e a influência das relações de poder na tomada de decisão em canais de distribuição. Por fim, analisando a tendência do setor, o mercado de GLP não deve findar nos próximos 50 anos e, se isso ocorresse, as empresas atuais buscariam novos mercados fora do setor de energia. Dessa forma, apesar das limitações, as quais serão apresentadas ao final da presente dissertação, muitos estudos acadêmicos ainda podem ser desenvolvidos dentro desse setor de expressiva relevância econômica e social para o País. / The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector, a product deemed basic needs for the Brazilian population is placed in a highly competitive environment due to a few barriers to entry, the increase in attractiveness and low product differentiation. In this scenario, the distribution systems provide a component of great importance regarding differentiation and development of competitive advantages in the retail market. Thus, this study aims to conduct an analysis on the main aspects to be taken into consideration when deciding on the distribution channels in the LPG household segment, referring to the first link in the chain (LPG distributor for dealer). The specific objectives are: verifying the relevance of the variables found in the literature for the LPG residential market and verifying the trend for the sector. For this purpose theoretical perspectives will be discussed using Industrial Organization, New Institutional Economics and Marketing Channels. In order to reach the proposed aims, a survey was conducted on the LPG history and major Brazilian distributors besides the theoretical review, which brought up political and economic facts that influence present decisions of economic agents in the industry. The method used was a qualitative research by means of a case study in the largest Brazilian LPG distributor, Cia. Ultragaz S/A. Semi-structured questionnaires were developed and applied by means of interviews with executives from company top management and with an executive director of the National Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distributors (SINDIGÁS), bringing out a global view of the segment. After the application of the case study, relevant results were found to the academy, which may be due to the fact that there is not a direct relationship between the variables \"specific assets\" and \"internal behavioral/uncertainty\" with the choice of the distribution channels. Other important results obtained from the data analysis were: the hierarchical ordering of factors that determine the choice of indirect channels and the influence of power relations in decision making on distribution channels. Finally, by analyzing the industry´s trends, the LPG market should not end in the next 50 years and, if it that happened, current companies would look for new markets outside the energy sector. Thus, despite the limitations, which will be presented at the end of this study, many academic studies can still be developed in a sector which presents economic and social relevancy for the country.

This thesis consists of three papers which contribute to the literatures on regulation and organizational economics.<p><p><p>The first part of the dissertation addresses questions related to the procurement decisions of private and public organizations. In particular it focuses on how the anticipation of renegotiating the contractual terms during the execution of a procurement contract affects the initial arrangements between the parties. Renegotiation may involve the design itself of the goods which are procured, and not just their price or the time of their delivery. A plausible explanation for its pervasiveness is the existence of transaction costs which prevents contracts from being complete. This is especially true for more sophisticated and customized goods, such as new infrastructures or cars' and aircrafts' parts or components. Ex-post these goods may fail to fit the buyer's specific needs and/or may exhibit flaws unforeseen at the planning stage.<p><p><p>In the first two chapters, I show that the anticipation of ex-post adaptations has critical implications for many procurement choices, such as that of the contractual agreement, the award mechanism, and the delegation of the design task to the suppliers. Therefore, a proper inclusion of design failures into the analysis of procurement contracts can help broaden our understanding of the wide variety of procurement modes and outcomes observed in the real world. My analysis offers an explanation for the procurement practices adopted in complex manufacturing and construction industries. Moreover, it can provide useful guidance for public procurement. Governments face tight restrictions in their choices of the procurement modes and for this reason they should carefully evaluate whether or not to adopt the best practices of the private sector.<p><p><p>The second part of the dissertation concerns the optimal design of an organization. In many organizations the task of evaluating an agent's performance is delegated to a third party, a supervisor, who can opportunistically misreport information. The question of how the provision of incentives in hierarchies is affected by the supervisor's opportunism is of great importance since it can improve our understanding of the internal organization of firms and can have broad applications to regulatory design.<p><p><p>The third chapter of the thesis, co-authored with Luca Livio (ECARES, FNRS), contributes to this line of research by studying the optimal task a supervisor should be charged with in the presence of corruption concerns. We highlight the existence of a trade-off between monitoring the agent's effort choice and auditing it ex-post, which arises when the two faces of corruption, collusion and extortion, are present. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cette thèse explore l’impact des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) sur le comportement des employés. Alors que la théorie néoclassique de la croissance considère les TIC comme un outil utilisé dans le processus de production, nous nous sommes basé sur une théorie qui stipule que les technologies ont deux aspects différents. Les technologies de la communication centralisent la prise de décision tandis que les technologies de l'information déplacent la prise de décision au niveau de l'employé. Nous avons abordé les questions du meilleur type de technologie pour l’amélioration de la performance des employés, des coûts engendrés par l'utilisation de ce type de technologies et de l’impact de la surveillance informatique dans la réduction de ces coûts. Nous avons utilisé la méthode expérimentale pour répondre à ces questions. Nos résultats montrent que les employés préfèrent utiliser les technologies de l'information et ceux qui les utilisent sont plus productifs que les autres. Nous trouvons également que l’environnement de travail et les technologies qui poussent la prise de décision au niveau de l'employé pourraient engendrer des coûts importants pour l’entreprise. Cependant, la surveillance informatique est efficace pour réduire ces coûts mais son effet diminue au fil du temps. Nos résultats montrent que les employés les plus productifs sont ceux qui ont passé le plus de temps sur internet. Donner aux employés les informations constantes et détaillées (sur leur performance) produites par les technologies pourrait être une façon efficace de les sensibiliser sur l’ampleur de la surveillance informatique afin de les rendre plus performants. / This dissertation explores the impact of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on employees’ behaviors. While the neoclassical growth theory considers ICT as an input used in the production process, we relied on a literature in the organizational economic field which states that technologies have two different key aspects. Information technologies push down the decision making at the employee level while Communication technologies centralize the decision making. We addressed the issue of the more efficient technologies for workers’ performance, the costs generated by using the most efficient type of technologies and how the technology-based monitoring may be useful to reduce those costs. We used the experimental methodology since the collection of individuals and team's production is hard with survey data. Our results show that employees prefer information technologies and those who use it are more productive than others. We also show that work organization and technologies which push down the decision making at the employee level could entail some substantial costs for the firm. Indeed, employees are more willing to engage on time wasting activities in order to influence the principal’s decision when they can participate to the decision making process. However IT monitoring is quite successful at reducing those costs. Technology monitoring implies a disciplining effect at the beginning when the sanction is available but this effect lessens over time. Our results show that employees are more productive when they spend more time on internet. Giving constant heightened feedbacks provided by ICT to employees about their productivity should be the better way to sensitize them about the extent of technology monitoring in order to increase their performance.

L’objet général de notre thèse est, d’une part, d’étudier l’influence de la légitimité du manager sur la motivation de son employé à l’effort et, d’autre part, d’analyser la manière dont le manager intègre cette influence potentielle dans ses comportements, et ce afin de renforcer son autorité. Enfin, nous nous intéressons aux stratégies que la firme peut mettre en place pour renforcer la légitimité de ses dirigeants en choisissant parmi plusieurs procédures de sélection des dirigeants. Notre approche est à la fois théorique, en nous appuyant sur la théorie des jeux, et empirique en utilisant l’économie expérimentale. Tout d’abord, nous définissons une légitimité procédurale qui consiste a considérer un dirigeant légitime si il a été promu à l'issue d'une compétition sans favoritisme. Ensuite nous définissons une légitimité méritocratique qui est acquise s’il maitrise les taches de son employé. Enfin, nous définissons une légitimité aristocratique qui est la compétence d’un individu à maitriser des taches de direction.Dans un premier chapitre, nous montrons que l’effort du futur dirigeant pendant la compétition n’est pas forcément un bon moyen de renforcer une légitimité procédurale car une très forte performance peut justement trahir le fait d’avoir bénéficié d’un avantage. Par ailleurs nous montrons que le perdant de la compétition sera toujours un « mauvais perdant » car sa croyance sur le fait qu’il ait été défavorisé pendant la compétition sera toujours renforcée. L’enjeu pour la firme est alors de déléguer à une entité externe la gestion de la sélection des dirigeants pour que tout traitement inéquitable présupposé pendant la compétition n’apporte aucune information concernant un potentiel traitement inéquitable à l’avenir. Dans un deuxième chapitre, nous montrons que sélectionner sur les compétences de direction permet d’augmenter le salaire des dirigeants quand bien même ces compétences sont moins difficiles à maitriser. La raison en est que cela neutralise les problèmes de rivalité entre employés et dirigeant et préserve ainsi la confiance en lui de celui qui a échoué à être promu (le rendant ainsi moins couteux à motiver). Le troisième chapitre est quant à lui un travail expérimental qui montrer qu’une procédure méritocratique incite les perdants du tournoi à demander une rémunération plus grande pour compenser leur découragement suite à leur échec. / The general purpose of our thesis is, on the one hand, to study the influence of legitimacy of the manager on the motivation of his employee to exert effort and, on the other hand, to analyze how the manager integrates this potential influence into his behavior in order to bolster his authority. Finally, we are interested in strategies that the firm can design to bolster the legitimacy of its managers by choosing between several procedures of selection. Our approach is both theoretical, based on game theory, and empirical using experimental economics.First, we define a procedural legitimacy that consists in considering an executive as legitimate if he was promoted through a competition with no unfair treatment. Then, we define a meritocratic legitimacy that is the ability to master the operational task exerted by the employee. Finally, we define an aristocratic legitimacy, which is the ability of an individual to master managerial tasks.In a first chapter, we show that the future leader's effort during the competition is not necessarily a good way to bolster a procedural legitimacy because a very strong performance can just betray the fact that he has benefited from an advantage. Moreover, we show that the loser of the competition will always be a "bad loser" because his belief that he was disadvantaged during the competition will always be reinforced if he behaves with Bayesian rationality. The stake for the firm is then to delegate to an external entity the management of the selection of leaders to ensure that any unfair treatment presupposed during the competition does not provide any information regarding a potential unfair treatment in the future. In a second chapter, we show that to select on managerial abilities allows to increase the salary of executives even though these skills are less difficult to master. The reason is that it neutralizes the problems of rivalry between employees and executives and thus preserves the self-confidence of the one who has failed to be promoted (thus making it less costly to incentivize). The third chapter is an experimental work that aims to show that a meritocratic procedure incites the losers to actually ask for higher wage to compensate their discouragements following their failure.