In view of the latest corporate collapses globally, the purpose of this thesis is an attempt to investigate and to theorise how managers make decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma.Philosophers over the years have proposed different moral theories. For example, Kantian’s Categorical Imperative (O’Neil 2001, Peters, 1971) suggests that there are laws that should apply universally. However, its principles are too abstract to guide action, in that it does not provide a detailed set of instructions for following them. Others such as Baier, (2001) suggest that people behave to satisfy their own self-interest. The literature review shows that there is no consensus to define what constitutes ethical behaviour. Kohlberg (1981) divides childhood moral development into six stages. He theorises that greater moral development will be related to the highest social responsibility of an individual. Lagon (2000), Seabright and Moberg (1998), Logsdon and Yuthas (1997) extrapolate Kohlberg’s model to incorporate into organisational and individual moral development.Based on the literature review, research questions were developed. The research methodology is qualitative, based on the realism paradigm using a case research design (Yin 1994). Face to face interviews were conducted with fourteen participants using critical incidents and the findings were triangulated using a semi-structured focus group.The research data analysis is based on grounded theory proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The findings confirm that there is no single theory or approach to business ethics. The findings indicate that a person’s ethical behaviour changes when his/her self-interest is affected. Whilst participants believed that business and ethics can be reconciled, most agreed that they can only be reconciled if the individual’s interest or business profit is not affected. Based on the findings, a new model is proposed in an attempt to theorise an individual’s business ethical behaviour and his/her ethical decision making process.This research also identifies important areas that require further research. These are:• Conflicts between personal values and business values• Should ethics be taught? And if so how?• Should an ethical programme be developed and incorporated in a company’s strategic plan?

Η παρούσα διατριβή έχει στόχο τη διερεύνηση της επίδρασης της νέας ιατρικής τεχνολογίας στην αποτελεσματικότητα παραγωγής των Μονάδων Εντατικής Θεραπείας (ΜΕΘ) στην Ελλάδα, καθώς και τον εντοπισμό των στοιχείων που επηρεάζουν τη διαδικασία λήψης αποφάσεων στο πλαίσιο του Εθνικού Συστήματος Υγείας (ΕΣΥ) για την υιοθέτηση ιατρικής τεχνολογίας. Για την εκτίμηση της αποτελεσματικότητας κάθε μονάδας, εφαρμόζεται η τεχνική bootstrapped DEA των Simar και Wilson (2007), ενώ για την διερεύνηση των στοιχείων που οδηγούν στην απόφαση υιοθέτησης γίνεται χρήση υποδειγμάτων probit. Κατόπιν, με τη χρήση υποδειγμάτων επιβίωσης εντοπίζονται οι παράγοντες που κατηγοριοποιούν τις Νοσοκομειακές μονάδες αναφορικά με το χρόνο υιοθέτησης. Ο αξονικός τομογράφος στα δημόσια νοσοκομεία χρησιμοποιείται σαν μελέτη περίπτωσης. Η μελέτη κατέδειξε ελλείμματα τόσο στην τεχνική αποτελεσματικότητα όσο και στην αποτελεσματικότητα κλίμακας στις περισσότερες μονάδες που εξετάστηκαν, κυρίως λόγω έλλειψης νοσηλευτικού προσωπικού. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι αν και η τεχνική αποτελεσματικότητα επωφελείται από την ενσωμάτωση των νέων ιατρικών τεχνολογιών, η αποτελεσματικότητα κλίμακας παραμένει ανεπηρέαστη. Αναφορικά με το την πιθανότητα και το χρόνο υιοθέτησης, διαπιστώθηκε ότι το μέγεθος του νοσοκομείου και η πληρότητα επιδρούν θετικά. Τέλος, τα συμπεράσματα επεξηγούν το βαθμό στον οποίο η υιοθέτηση νέας τεχνολογίας επηρεάζει τόσο την αποτελεσματικότητα των Νοσοκομειακών μονάδων γενικότερα, όσο και τη διαδικασία λήψης σχετικών αποφάσεων. Η παρούσα Διατριβή συμβάλλει στην γενικότερη ανάπτυξη της αποτελεσματικότητας του Συστήματος Υγείας και στην προώθηση του διαλόγου μεταξύ των εμπλεκόμενων στα θέματα διοίκησης και διαχείρισης του Συστήματος Υγείας. / This thesis aims to investigate the effect of new medical technology on the production efficiency of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Greece and unravel the elements which influence the decision making process concerning the adoption of new medical technologies in the context of the Greek Health System. In order to evaluate the efficiency of each Unit, the bootstrapped DEA of Simar and Wilson (2007) is applied, while a probit model is used for exploring the elements that lead to the adoption decision. Then, the factors that categorize hospitals regarding the timing of adoption are identified through the use of survival models. Computerized tomography in the Greek public sector is used as a case study. The study demonstrated deficits in both technical and scale efficiency in most Units, mainly due to lack of nursing staff. The results show that while technical efficiency has benefited from new medical technology integration, the scale efficiency remains unaffected. With respect to the likelihood and the time of adoption, it was found that the hospital’s size and plenitude have positive impact. Finally, the findings explain the extent to which health technology adoption affects both the hospital’s efficiency and the decision-making process. The present thesis contributes to the overall increase of the Health System efficiency as well as in promoting the dialogue between health administrators.

This thesis examines the political trajectory of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the period from the 1982 eviction of the Palestinian factions from their headquarters in Beirut, to the 2006-07 division between Hamas and Fatah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). During this period, the PFLP experienced a process of decline that resulted in its marginalisation within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the wider Palestinian national movement. This study addresses the issue of the PFLP’s decline by focusing on its own political agency to determine the role of policy and decision making, ideology and political narrative in the marginalisation process. This work therefore, on the one hand, aims at putting the PFLP’s decline into historical perspective, identifying it as a process rather than simply the effect of outstanding events as it is often argued. On the other, its goal is to ascribe to ‘subjective factors’, namely aspects directly linked to the PFLP’s agency, the adequate weight in determining its decline. This appears particularly significant as the weakening of the Palestinian left has been frequently explained as a by-product of global and local external or ‘objective’ developments such as the downfall of the Soviet Union or the emergence of political Islam. By providing a comprehensive and processual analysis of the PFLP’s decline, this study not only aims at complementing the literature on the Palestinian national movement, which still lacks a focused approach on the main Palestinian leftist force. It also aims at shedding light on a major cause, and its historical origins, of the current Palestinian political impasse, namely the absence of an alternative between Hamas and the PNA’s governing entities, both crippled by a legitimacy crisis and unable to progress Palestinian interests. By virtue of its close survey of the PFLP’s conduct, a further goal of this thesis is to address the historical role of the PLO and its de-facto heir, the PNA. What is evidenced is the double, and contradictory, role of the essential but also constraining framework that the PLO and later the PNA represented for the PFLP’s policies. The focus on the PFLP’s political agency allows the identification of a pattern in its policy which affected negatively its standing within the Palestinian national movement. Throughout the period addressed, policy fluctuation marked the PFLP’s action, undermining the effectiveness of its political line and jeopardising its political weight. The present study highlights how such a policy fluctuation pattern originated from major dilemmas and contradictions that the PFLP had to consider while producing its policies. The main dilemma, informing all other sources of tensions affecting the PFLP, has been defined as an ‘opposition-integration’ dilemma. In other words, the PFLP, while opposing the PLO leadership’s policies, first and foremost its quest for a diplomatic settlement with Israel under US patronage, needed to maintain its integration within the PLO regime, which represented an essential economic and political framework. This produced inconsistent, ‘fluctuant’ policies that prevented the PFLP from maintaining its political weight and stopping its marginalisation process. This opposition-integration dilemma was combined with other sources of tensions marking the PFLP such as: relations with other PLO opposition factions, relations with Arab partners, its contacts with Palestinian Islamists, the confrontation with the PNA after the 1993 Oslo accords or the internal divide between the exiled leadership and the cadres located in the OPT. The PFLP’s official publications, mainly retrieved from its mouthpiece, Al-Hadaf magazine, embodied the main source upon which this study relies. Beside this corpus of documents, other primary sources, such as documents issued by relevant actors, have been scrutinised, while all information has been read against the background of the wider academic literature currently available on the Palestinian national movement. This research also drew information from interviews with former and current PFLP members as well as with experts of the Palestinian national movement.

Considerando-se a importância das relações sociais e da influência interpessoal no comportamento dos indivíduos de baixa renda, este estudo apresenta como objetivo identificar e analisar os grupos de referência valorizados pelas consumidoras de baixa renda em seu processo de decisão de compra. Para a coleta de dados, utilizou-se uma abordagem multimétodo fundamentada, primeiro, em entrevistas em profundidade com 12 mulheres e, depois, na técnica de Análise Conjunta com uma amostra de 53 entrevistadas pertencentes a esse segmento. Devido à crise econômica vivida atualmente, mostrou-se necessário delimitar o contexto da pesquisa a um bem que permanecesse atrativo nessas circunstâncias: o batom. Trata-se de uma categoria de produto de alto envolvimento, capaz de representar o segmento de cosméticos como um todo, associando-se à autoestima, à sensação de bem-estar e ao reconhecimento social. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que as consumidoras de baixa renda valorizam a presença de diferentes grupos de referência em seu processo de decisão. Especificamente, identificaram-se dois grupos de respondentes com preferências distintas quanto aos grupos de referência. Diante disso, ressalta-se que as principais contribuições desta pesquisa foram a observação de perfis diferentes dentro do segmento de baixa renda, o desenvolvimento do conhecimento sobre o processo de decisão de compra dessas mulheres e a identificação de apelos de grupos de referência que as empresas podem usar para atrair consumidoras de baixa renda. / Considering the importance of social relations and interpersonal influence on the behavior of low-income individuals, this study aims to identify and analyze the reference groups valued by low-income female consumers in their decision-making process. A multimethod approach was employed. First, the data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 low-income women. Subsequently, a conjoint analysis technique was applied with a sample of 53 female interviewees belonging to this segment. Due to the current economic crisis, it was necessary to delimit the research context to a product that remained attractive in these circumstances: lipstick. It is a high involvement product category, capable of representing the segment of cosmetics as a whole, being related to self-esteem, a sense of well-being and recognition. Results showed that low-income female consumers value the presence of different reference groups in their decision-making process. Specifically, it was possible to identify two groups of respondents with distinct preferences regarding the reference groups. Therefore, the main contributions of this research were the observation of different profiles within the low-income segment, the development of knowledge about the decision-making process of these women, and the identification of reference group appeals that companies can use to attract low-income female consumers.

With the recent boom in big data and the continuous need for innovation, Artificial Intelligence is carving out a bigger place in our society. Through its computer-based capabilities, it brings new possibilities to tackle many issues within organizations. It also raises new challenges about its use and limits. This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the role of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the organizational decision making process. The research focuses on knowledge-intensive firms. The main research question that guides our study is the following one:   How can Artificial Intelligence re-design and develop the process of organizational decision making within knowledge-intensive firms?   We formulated three more detailed questions to guide us: (1) What are the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process? (2) How can organizational design support the decision making process through the use of Artificial Intelligence? (3) How can Artificial Intelligence help to overcome the challenges experienced by decision makers within knowledge-intensive firms and what are the new challenges that arise from the use of Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process?   We adopted an interpretivist paradigm together with a qualitative study, as presented in section 3. We investigated our research topic within two big IT firms and two real estate startups that are using AI. We conducted six semi-structured interviews to enable us to gain better knowledge and in-depth understanding about the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process within knowledge-intensive firms. Our review led us to the theoretical framework explained in section 2, on which we based our interviews.   The results and findings that emerged from the interviews follow the same structure than the theoretical review and provide insightful information in order to answer the research question. To analyze and discuss our empirical findings that are summarized in the chapter 5 and in a chart in the appendix 4, we used the general analytical procedure for qualitative studies. The structure of chapter 5 follows the same order than the three sub questions.   The thesis highlights how a deep understanding of Artificial Intelligence and its integration in the process of organizational decision making of knowledge-intensive firms enable humans to be augmented and to make smarter decisions. It appears that Artificial Intelligence is used as a decision making support rather than an autonomous decision maker, and that organizations adopt smoother and more collaborative designs in order to make the best of it within their decision making process. Artificial Intelligence is an efficient tool to deal with complex situations, whereas human capabilities seem to be more relevant in situations of uncertainty and ambiguity. Artificial Intelligence also raises new issues for organizations regarding its responsibility and acceptation by society as there is a grey area surrounding machines in front of ethics and laws.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Carolina Kern.pdf: 6779685 bytes, checksum: 144cc5dc364ecdc5e259325de6c72322 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-17 / Mergers and acquisitions activities, also known in the market as M&A, have been an important strategy adopted by CEOs to ensure domestic and international competitiveness, motivated by many reasons: need for growth, market share increase, entry barriers increase/growth, knowledge acquisition (human capital, tecnology and process), synergies, among others. Even though there are studies about M&A seeking for a better understanding of the problems related to strategy and decision making process alignment, critical success factors, due diligence best practices, valuations and integrations needs during the implementation of a merger or acquisition, only a few have focused on the cognitive biases of a M&A decision making process. In this way, the main purpose of this research is to present a consolidation of the main hidden traps in M&A decision making process. In a complementary manner, this study also sought the following secondary goals: understand the process of mergers and acquisitions, identify the main steps and decision points in the M&A process, analyse the traps regarding a decision making process. Therefore, it was conducted a qualitative research contemplating interviews with 15 profissionals that have had relevant participation on M&A projects of brazilian companies from different industries that have been merged, have acquired or have been acquired by another company, between 2009 and 2015. The informations obtained in the interviews were consolidated and analysed by the discourse analysis methodology. As a result, this research showed that M&A decisions are extremely complex and involve great uncertainty, which implies a bigger risk of decision traps occurrence. Among these hidden traps that have greater influence in M&A decisions, according to this study, contextualization was the one that presented the most dominance, followed by evidence of confirmation and anchoring. / A atividade de fusões e aquisições, também conhecida no mercado como M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), tem sido uma relevante estratégia adotada pelos CEOs para garantir a competitividade em mercados doméstico e internacional, sendo justificada por diversos fatores, dentre eles: necessidade de crescimento, aumento do market share, criação e/ou aumento de barreiras de entrada, aquisição de conhecimento (capital humano, tecnologia e processos) e busca por sinergias. Ainda que existam estudos sobre M&A visando uma melhor compreensão dos problemas relacionados ao alinhamento entre a estratégia e a tomada de decisão, dos fatores críticos de sucesso, melhores práticas para condução de due diligence (processo de investigação e auditoria), valorações econômicas e integrações na implementação da fusão ou aquisição, poucos se debruçaram em analisar as armadilhas do processo decisório de M&A, no que diz respeito aos vieses psicológicos existentes ao longo da tomada de decisão. Desta forma, o objetivo central da presente pesquisa é apresentar a consolidação da análise das principais armadilhas que interferem no processo decisório de fusões e aquisições. De maneira complementar, também se almejou alcançar os seguintes objetivos intermediários: compreender o processo de fusões e aquisições; identificar as principais etapas e pontos de decisão no processo decisório de fusões e aquisições; analisar as armadilhas inerentes a uma tomada de decisão. Assim, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa que, além de revisão de literatura, contou com a realização de entrevistas com 15 profissionais que tiveram atuação relevante em projetos de M&A de empresas brasileiras que adquiriram, foram adquiridas ou realizaram fusões entre 2009 e 2015, em diversos segmentos da indústria. As informações obtidas foram compiladas e analisadas através da metodologia de Análise de Discurso. Como resultado, esta pesquisa mostrou que decisões de M&A são extremamente complexas e apresentam alto grau de incerteza, o que implica em um maior risco da ocorrência de armadilhas psicológicas. Dentre as armadilhas que exercem maior influência nas decisões de fusões e aquisições, de acordo com este estudo, a contextualização foi a que apresentou maior dominância, seguida pela evidência de confirmação e ancoragem.

L’objectif de ce travail est d’appliquer le concept d’observatoire à un système éducatif comme outil d’aide à la décision basé sur la visualisation de l’information. Pour cela, nous avons développé l’Observatoire Dynamique appliqué au Système Éducatif (ODSE) que nous avons appliqué au système éducatif camerounais.Notre démarche descriptive part du fait que pour décider, il faut comprendre et pour comprendre, il faut observer et analyser. D’une manière ou d’une autre, l’intelligence repose sur le processus d’observation. La prise de décision intervient alors après la compréhension de son environnement. Aussi, l’observation se transforme-t-elle en connaissances avec le sens donné aux choses et la détermination de ce qu’il faut faire. Or l’analyse et la compréhension de l’environnement diffèrent d’un individu à autre ; la prise de décision est alors influencée par des facteurs externes telles les pressions politiques, culturelles et/ou sociales. Sachant que c’est l’information dont on dispose orientant le processus et le choix de la résolution d’un problème décisionnel, nous avons pensé qu’il est important de disposer d’un outil qui éclaire le décideur dans le processus décisionnel pour une prise de position rapide et sans risque ou tout au moins en minimisant la part d’incertitude dans la prise de décision. Cet outil offrant la transparence dans le traitement, la clarté dans le processus de collecte et la communication de l’information et la précision dans la prise de décision qui est basée sur des informations fiables. Tel un observatoire, il sert d’instrument de veille et de pilotage à travers lequel, le décideur observe, analyse et oriente sa décision en fonction du comportement d’un ou de plusieurs indicateurs. Le résultat restitué sous une forme visuelle permet de générer des indicateurs à partir de la masse de données dont dispose le décideur.Notre travail a été guidé par le concept d’intelligence économique qui offre une méthodologie de mise en œuvre d’un processus rationnel par l’utilisation de l’information et il se situe au niveau des approches du choix satisfaisant et du processus rationnel de décision exposés par Falque et Bougon. / The aim of this work is to apply the concept of observatory in educational system as a tool for decision support based on the visualization of information. For this, we have developed the Dynamic Observatory applied to the Education System (ODSE) that we have applied to the Cameroonian educational system. Our descriptive approach is based on fact that to decide, one must understand, and to understand, we must observe and analyze. In one way or another, intelligence is based on the observation process. The decision comes after understanding its environment. Also, the observation is turned into knowledge with the given meaning to things and determining what to do. But the analysis and understanding of the environment differ from one individual to another; the decision is then influenced by external factors such as political pressures, cultural and / or social. This being the information we have for steering the process and the choice of solving a decision problem, we thought it important to have a tool that assists the decision maker in the decision process for making quick and safe decisions or at least minimizing the degree of uncertainty in decision chosen. This tool provides transparency in processing and clarity in the process of information collection. Such an observatory, it serves as an instrument for monitoring and control through which the decision-maker observes, analyzes and orients its decision based on the behavior of one or more indicators. The result returned is in a visual form to generate indicators from the mass of data available to the decision maker. Our work has been guided by the concept of competitive intelligence that provides a methodology for implementing a rational process through the use of information and it is based on the approaches of “satisfactory” choice and rational decision process from the work of Falque and Bougon.

Desde que Simon definiu a administração como a arte de decidir e as mudanças ocorridas na administração, existe a preocupação de diferentes pesquisadores sobre a melhor forma de subsidiar o processo decisório, participando desse processo contribuindo com vários estudos sobre tecnologia da informação e informação como ferramentas capazes de auxiliar na escolha de alternativas. O novo modelo de gestão pública torna imperioso maior conhecimento sobre o processo decisório seja para pesquisadores ou gestores. A percepção sobre as transformações ocorridas orientaram a presente tese utilizando-se de diferentes abordagens. Assim, embasado nas teorias e abordagens, que contribuem com o tema, esse trabalho tem como eixo a administração pública e objeto a prefeitura municipal de uma cidade de porte médio, localizada na Região Amazônica. Deste modo, essa tese de doutorado objetiva analisar o processo decisório e os sistemas de apoio à decisão sem o uso de ferramentas de apoio disponíveis e investigar a percepção de servidores de diferentes níveis hierárquicos sobre sistemas de informação e informação como apoio à decisão, além de elaborar um modelo capaz de explicar as relações existentes entre diferentes variáveis, sistemas de informações, e processo decisório. Assim, considerando a literatura e estudos existentes e, com foco em funcionários de diferentes níveis hierárquicos emergiram duas questões de pesquisa. A questão principal é “Como se dá a tomada de decisão quando não se utiliza ou se utiliza mal as ferramentas de apoio disponíveis, apesar do dispêndio ocorrido?” A esta questão segue-se uma questão complementar: “Qual a percepção dos tomadores de decisão quanto à tecnologia disponível e uso da informação como apoio à decisão?”. Para tanto, foram realizadas pesquisas de duas formas: survey e entrevistas. A pesquisa survey teve a participação de 273 servidores, respondentes, de diferentes níveis hierárquicos. Quanto às entrevistas, com a participação de quatro servidores, entrevistados, do primeiro nível hierárquico, investigaram a percepção de servidores sobre a relação existente entre informação oriunda de um sistema de informação e decisão, a relação existente entre variáveis demográficas como idade, gênero, escolaridade, e decisão. Investigaram também variáveis intervenientes na decisão, estilo decisório, uso e não uso de informação para decidir e causas de não uso dentre outras relações capazes de subsidiar o alcance do entendimento do foco deste trabalho. Alguns resultados obtidos divergem da teoria como, por exemplo, a relação existente entre gênero e decisão. A pesquisa mostrou que a decisão não é modificada em função do gênero. Constatou que as variáveis idade, nível de instrução e tempo de funcionário público impactam sobre decisão, sugerindo que quanto maior a experiência e escolaridade a decisão pode ser melhor embasada. Mostrou que sistemas de informação como apoio à decisão são importantes e têm relação com racionalidade e velocidade da decisão. A conclusão é que tanto respondentes quanto entrevistados entendem que a tecnologia da informação bem como a informação oriunda dessa tecnologia, são ferramentas importantes para a decisão embora paradoxos e contradições se façam presentes, na percepção dos respondentes, materializados em “investimento e não uso”. No modelo elaborado estão identificadas as relações existentes entre os fatores de sistemas de informação e os fatores de decisão. Estão identificadas ainda, as variáveis antecedentes de cada conjunto de fatores. / Since Simon defined administration as the art of deciding and the changes occurred in the management, there is the concern from different researchers about the best way to support the decision making process, participating in this process contributing with many studies on information technology and information as tools able to assist in the choice of alternatives. The new model of public management becomes imperious the greater knowledge about the decision making process for researchers and managers. The perception of the occurred changes guided this thesis using different approaches. Thus, based on the theories and approaches that contribute to the topic , this work has as its axis the public administration and as its object the municipal government of a medium sized town, located in the Amazon region. Thereafter, this thesis aims to analyze the decision making process and the decision support systems without the use of support tools available and to investigate the servers perception on different hierarchical levels about information systems and information as decision support and develop a model able to explain the relation between different variables, information systems and decision making process. Thus, considering the existing literature and studies and focusing on employees with different hierarchical levels emerged two research questions. The main question is "How is the decision making process when not use or poorly use the support tools available, despite the expenditure occurred?". The issue follows a further question: "What is the perception from the decision makers regarding the available technology and the use of information as a decision support?". Therefore, the research was carried out in two ways: survey and interviews. The survey research was attended by 273 servers, respondents, from different hierarchical levels. As for the interviews, with the participation of four servers, interviewed, from the first hierarchical level, they investigated the servers perception about the relation between information from an information system and decision, the relations between demographic variables such as age, gender, education level and decision. They also investigated variables involved in the decision, decision style, use and non-use of information to decide and causes of non-use among other relations able to subsidize the understanding scope of the focus of this work. Some results differ from theory, for example, the relation between gender and decision. The research showed that the decision is not modified by gender. It found that the variables age, education level and time as public official impact on decision, suggesting that as higher the experience and the educational level, the decision can be better based. It showed that information systems as a decision support are important and have a relation with rationality and speed of decision. The conclusion is that both respondents and interviewed understand that information technology as well as the information from this technology are important tools for the decision although paradoxes and contradictions are present in the respondents perception, materialized in "investment and non-use." In the model developed are identified the relation between the factors of information systems and decision factors. They are still identified the antecedent variables of each set of factors.

Considerando-se a importância das relações sociais e da influência interpessoal no comportamento dos indivíduos de baixa renda, este estudo apresenta como objetivo identificar e analisar os grupos de referência valorizados pelas consumidoras de baixa renda em seu processo de decisão de compra. Para a coleta de dados, utilizou-se uma abordagem multimétodo fundamentada, primeiro, em entrevistas em profundidade com 12 mulheres e, depois, na técnica de Análise Conjunta com uma amostra de 53 entrevistadas pertencentes a esse segmento. Devido à crise econômica vivida atualmente, mostrou-se necessário delimitar o contexto da pesquisa a um bem que permanecesse atrativo nessas circunstâncias: o batom. Trata-se de uma categoria de produto de alto envolvimento, capaz de representar o segmento de cosméticos como um todo, associando-se à autoestima, à sensação de bem-estar e ao reconhecimento social. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que as consumidoras de baixa renda valorizam a presença de diferentes grupos de referência em seu processo de decisão. Especificamente, identificaram-se dois grupos de respondentes com preferências distintas quanto aos grupos de referência. Diante disso, ressalta-se que as principais contribuições desta pesquisa foram a observação de perfis diferentes dentro do segmento de baixa renda, o desenvolvimento do conhecimento sobre o processo de decisão de compra dessas mulheres e a identificação de apelos de grupos de referência que as empresas podem usar para atrair consumidoras de baixa renda. / Considering the importance of social relations and interpersonal influence on the behavior of low-income individuals, this study aims to identify and analyze the reference groups valued by low-income female consumers in their decision-making process. A multimethod approach was employed. First, the data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 low-income women. Subsequently, a conjoint analysis technique was applied with a sample of 53 female interviewees belonging to this segment. Due to the current economic crisis, it was necessary to delimit the research context to a product that remained attractive in these circumstances: lipstick. It is a high involvement product category, capable of representing the segment of cosmetics as a whole, being related to self-esteem, a sense of well-being and recognition. Results showed that low-income female consumers value the presence of different reference groups in their decision-making process. Specifically, it was possible to identify two groups of respondents with distinct preferences regarding the reference groups. Therefore, the main contributions of this research were the observation of different profiles within the low-income segment, the development of knowledge about the decision-making process of these women, and the identification of reference group appeals that companies can use to attract low-income female consumers.

Submitted by Maria Creuza Silva (mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-10-03T18:18:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE PALOMA SILVA SILVEIRA. 2014.pdf: 1367912 bytes, checksum: ce67615c64eb7aab04b8047bbf4f4aa8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva (mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-10-07T14:02:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE PALOMA SILVA SILVEIRA. 2014.pdf: 1367912 bytes, checksum: ce67615c64eb7aab04b8047bbf4f4aa8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-07T14:02:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE PALOMA SILVA SILVEIRA. 2014.pdf: 1367912 bytes, checksum: ce67615c64eb7aab04b8047bbf4f4aa8 (MD5) / O aborto provocado é tema constante nas pesquisas brasileiras, na área da Saúde Pública, contudo, as temáticas da decisão e do itinerário abortivo são ainda pouco exploradas, sobretudo quando o aborto é realizado por pessoas de camadas médias. Esta tese visa contribuir para a superação desta lacuna ao analisar experiências de abortos de mulheres e homens pertencentes a estratos sociais médios do Nordeste brasileiro, focalizando a construção da decisão e o itinerário abortivo. Para isto, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa no período de maio a dezembro de 2012, em que foram entrevistadas vinte mulheres e sete homens que passaram pela experiência de interromper uma gravidez. A tese está estruturada em duas partes. Na primeira parte, apresentamos uma revisão bibliográfica, a linha argumentativa da tese, os objetivos da pesquisa e o posicionamento teórico adotado referente a gênero e poder. Na segunda parte, são apresentados uma discussão metodológica e os resultados em forma de três artigos. No Artigo I, discutimos como a prática do aborto está envolta pelo segredo no Brasil e as consequências disto para a realização do estudo. Assim, analisamos as três lógicas identificadas que impõem o segredo ao aborto: a legal, a moral e a relacional e, posteriormente, tratamos dos aspectos metodológicos. No Artigo II, analisamos a construção da decisão pelo aborto. Constatamos que, para compreender a construção da decisão, temos que entendê-la como um processo composto por distintos momentos: a suspeita/confirmação da gestação, o pensar sobre o desfecho da gravidez, a tomada de decisão pela interrupção, o viabilizar esta decisão e o efetivar o aborto. No Artigo III, analisamos, especificamente, as experiências de aborto realizadas em clínicas privadas. Verificamos que existem diferentes clínicas e diversas modalidades de atendimento realizadas pelos médicos nestes serviços privados. Discutimos, assim, como a ilegalidade do aborto expõe as mulheres a situações de total vulnerabilidade. A tese é finalizada com algumas considerações relacionadas às contribuições da pesquisa. / Induced abortion is a constant theme in Brazilian research in the area of Public Health, however the themes of the decision and the abortion route are yet unexplored, especially when the abortion is performed by people of middle class. This thesis aims to contribute to overcoming this gap by analyzing the experiences of abortions in women and men from middle social strata of the Brazilian Northeast, focusing on the construction of the decision and the abortion route. For this, a study was conducted in the period May to December 2012, in which 20 women and seven men who had the experience to end a pregnancy were interviewed. The thesis is structured in two parts. In the first part we present a literature review, the line of argument put forward in this thesis, the theoretical position adopted regarding gender and power, and detail to support the research objectives. In the second part a methodological discussion and the results in the form of three articles are presented. In the article I discussed the way in which the practice of abortion is shrouded by secrecy in Brazil, and the consequences for the study. Thus, we analyzed the three identified logics that impose the secret abortion: legal, moral and relational, and subsequently treat the effects and methodological answers. In Article II analyzes the construction of the decision to abort. We note that to understand the construction of the decision we have to understand it as a process composed of distinct moments: the suspicion/confirmation of pregnancy, think about the outcome of pregnancy and decision making by the interruption, enabling the decision and the effect abortion. In Article III specifically analyze the experiences of abortions performed in private clinics. We found that there are different modalities and clinical care provided by the doctors at these clinics. Discussed, as well as the illegality of abortion exposes women to situations of complete vulnerability. The thesis concludes with some considerations related to the contributions of the research.