Validity and reliability of research and its results are important elements to provide evidence of the quality of research in the organizational field. However, validity is better evidenced in quantitative studies than in qualitative research studies. As there is diversity within qualitative research methods and techniques, there is no universally accepted criteria to assess validity in qualitative studies; its usefulness is also questioned. Therefore, in this paper, we argue that qualitative research should adopt a processual view approach of validity since it should not be the product of a single test or just one step in the research. Processual validity both supports good research and helps in its reflection and guidance. To illustrate our approach, we present the processual approach adopted by one of the coauthors during the development of a research project. We highlight the validity assurance activities for both ex ante and ex post research, peer review and participation in an international conference, which corroborated the quality of the processual approach and the results that were obtained.

This work analyzes how risk management occurs in the internationalization process of Brazilian born global companies. Accordingly, we adopted the qualitative research approach, used a multiple case study strategy, and selected seven relevant craft breweries with national prominence. The findings highlight how risks are perceived in the internationalization process by managers and classified among commercial, intercultural, monetary and country risks. We also identified that these enterprises use different actions to mitigate risks, such as planning, market research, and building scenarios. The contributions discussed in this study are the identification of factors such as the international background of managers and the use of networks to minimize the perception of risk. Additionally, we discussed the ways in which risks are perceived and how the different mitigation strategies work. Finally, we proposed an integrated risk management model for the internationalization of born globals.

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Purpose Human resources (HR) department managers play an important role in the processes of defining and implementing organizational strategies. From this perspective, decisions made by HR managers directly influence organizations’ competitiveness. There is a gap in the literature related to decision-making processes by these managers, particularly with respect to the subjective elements involved in them. This paper’s aim is to analyze HR managers’ strategic decision-making processes from the perspective of reflective practice. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted based on an analysis of five HR department managers’ strategic decision-making processes. Findings The results indicate that reflection-in-action is one possibility for narrowing the gap between action and reflection in management practice, as this could contribute to improving strategic decisions; HR managers’ decisions are delimited by internal and external organizational issues; and these decisions involve intensive information sharing. Research limitations/implications The results of this research contribute to extend the existing knowledge on reflection, one of the subjective elements that influences decision-making processes, and which has been identified as a subject in need of research by several authors (Eisenhardt and Zbaracki, 1992; Hambrick, 2007; Langley et al., 1995; Nutt, 2010). Practical implications A better understanding of HR managers’ decision-making processes, particularly in the Brazilian context, which other organizations can use as examples of alternative choices for HR departments strategic management. For managers, reflection-in-action facilitates an effective decision-making process, increases self-knowledge, contributes to the processes of individual and organizational learning and improves managers’ global overview of their organizations. Originality/value These results represent a development in understanding one of the subjective elements of HR department managers’ decision-making processes – reflection – and should help to improve the results of strategic decisions by these managers and by managers of other organizational departments.

This research investigates managerial risk perception regarding internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Brazilian context. We examine how managers' perception of risk influences firms' degrees of internationalization. Likewise, we assessed how risk perception is influenced by managers' cognitive traits, such as tolerance for ambiguity and cognitive style. We provided empirical evidence for the relationships we proposed through a partial least squares structural equation model with data gathered from a survey of 149 SMEs from the State of Paraná, Brazil. Our results suggest that managers' tolerance for ambiguity is only significant for explaining risk perception for the managers with a preference for a deliberative style. Still, the research suggests that the Brazilian SMEs in our sample presented a higher degree of internationalization even when their managers perceived higher levels of risk.

INTRODUÇÃOEmbora a informação não seja considerada uma novidade no campo de pesquisa, pois já é investigada há muito tempo, seu foco de estudo pode ser considerado bem amplo. A qualidade da informação é um dos tópicos sobre informação que tem originado vários estudos internacionais (EVEN e SHANKARANARAYANAN, 2007; PIPINO, LEE e YANG, 2002; WAND e WANG 1996; e nacionais (OLETO, 2006;NEHMY e PAIM, 1998).Inicialmente, é importante conceituar a informação. O conceito sobre informação e seus sistemas vem, aos poucos, sendo ampliado com o avanço das pesquisas. Primariamente defi nia-se informação como o resultado da análise de dados que, por sua vez, eram considerados quaisquer elementos identifi cados em sua forma bruta, que por si sós não conduzem a uma compreensão de determinado fato ou situação, conforme apontam Laudon e Laudon (1996). Outra defi nição de informação é apresentada por Masuda (1982, p. 74), que determina: "a informação é uma relação situacional, observada entre sujeito e objeto, que torna possível a seleção da ação pela qual o próprio sujeito pode atingir alguma espécie de valor de uso". Ciborra (1992) afirma que a informação pode ser compartilhada somente se, em ambas as pontas, o mesmo entendimento do contexto relevante estiver disponível e se os atores presentes na troca de informações entender os sentido dos sinais transmitidos e recebidos, fazendo referência a contextos similares de interpretação. Percebe-se, na literatura, uma dificuldade em conceituar a informação, pois ela pode ter muitos significados. Nota-se, obviamente, que ela sempre está submetida a um processo de interpretação. ResumoEste ensaio teórico busca, sob a ótica do sensemaking proposto por Weick (1995), analisar a qualidade da informação no processo decisório organizacional, sugerindo uma proposta para ampliar as técnicas utilizadas para mensurar a qualidade da informação. Para tanto, conceitua informação e processo decisório; aborda os conceitos do sensemaking e discute as dimensões da mensuração da qualidade da informação -apresentando os relacionamentos entre estas dimensões e as propriedades do sensemaking propostas por Weick. Finalmente, o ensaio sugere-se uma agenda baseada na abordagem proposta para utilização em pesquisas empíricas e para a análise em profundidade da aplicação deste relacionamento. Palavras-chaveQualidade da informação. Tomada de decisão. Sensemaking.The information quality for decision-making in the sensemaking perspective: an extension of the fi eld AbstractThe objective of this paper, from the sensemaking perspective proposed by Weick (1995)

Dado o impacto causado pelo uso das tecnologias da informação e de comunicação nas organizações, no seu ambiente econômico e social, verifica-se um incremento no estudo dos fenômenos de caráter social. Entre os métodos de pesquisa que permitem estudar esses fenômenos em profundidade, destaca-se a observação participante. Ela faculta ao pesquisador obter informações sobre o campo como insider, permitindo uma visão dos detalhes e da sequência dos eventos observados. Como o uso da observação participante nos estudos da área de Administração da Informação (AI) no Brasil ainda é incipiente, este artigo apresenta elementos essenciais do método, seus principais benefícios, suas dificuldades e desafios enfrentados para a sua adoção. Foram analisados, para tanto, estudos empíricos de AI que adotaram a observação participante e uma experiência vivenciada em pesquisa com 12 meses no campo, discutindo as lições apreendidas e apresentando sugestões para fomentar a adoção da observação participante em pesquisas de AI.

Knowledge about dismissal decision-making, particularly concerning the criteria used by managers in choosing who will be dismissed and why, is scarce. Considering the implications of such decisions for organizations and society, in this paper, we identify the seven most frequently used criteria in dismissal decisions and examine their importance for managers. We collected data through a survey among 385 managers and used the rational ranking and the multicriteria Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze them. The results show that commitment, performance records, and trust have the greatest impact on the dismissal decision, whereas interpersonal relationship, growth potential, and professional experience are considered secondary criteria. These results contribute to extending our knowledge about dismissal decisions and showing the most relevant criteria in these choices and the relevance assigned to each of the criteria so that greater transparency can be achieved. KEYWORDS | Decision-making, dismissal, dismissal criteria, human resources, analytic hierarchy process. RESUMO