Cost Management in Micro and Small Companies in the Mining Sector

Abstract

According to Sebrae, micro and small companies represented 27% of the GDP in 2011 and 98.5% of all private companies in 2015. Despite this importance, in most cases they do not have employees with extensive cost management knowledge and the management practices of large companies are also repeated in them. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze the operability of cost management at the micro and small companies that act in the mining and processing of dimension stones sector, searching for emphases on the presence of isomorphism. One hundred and sixty-two (162) companies were investigated in order to operationalize this study. A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection procedure. Three different approaches were used in the statistical analysis of the collected data: descriptive statistics; the Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test, and confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. The results show the presence of mimetic isomorphism in the cost management practices of the companies researched. The research is limited to the sample, therefore, its findings can not be generalized. Based on this study, it was observed that future research should further develop the characterization of this economic phenomenon and study which resources would be required to improve management cost in micro and small companies in the analyzed segment. This is the first work that found the presence of mimetic isoformism among micro and small companies in the mining sector.

Mimetic isomorphism as competitive strategy in the dimension stone sector

“…The concept that best defines the homogenization process of organizational behavior is isomorphism; in other words, a process that has extensive characteristics and relevant sources of information to understand the way that the organizations share specific organizational behavior (Guidi;Morgan;Imaculada & Correa, 2017;Smith, Couchman & Beran, 2014;Dimaggio & Powell, 1983).…”

Factors that Determine the Purchase of Portable Electronic Devices

“…According to Costa & Horn (2012), in Brazil the dramatic growth of e-commerce reflects the expansive reality, and the search for gadgets for daily use is presented as a new frontier of consumerism (Guidi, Giuliani & Spers, 2017c). Examining perceived quality in a direct comparison with experience, Costa & Horn (2012) Starting with competence, represented by the sum of individual know-how, a company can acquire new knowledge for their products, processes and applicability (Grönroos, 1994;Guidi, Spers, & Oliveira, 2017b;Payne & Frow, 2017). With regards to knowledge, this can take place in three ways: a) through social networks with users; b) by identifying perceived opportunities, and c) from other companies, through their capacity for design, and following-up competitor behavior through consumer behavior (Grönroos, 1994;Payne & Frow, 2017).…”

“…In relation to the factors for success or failure of many companies' products, various definitions can be used, which may lead to different results (Guidi et al, 2017b). For a wide range of organizations, the measure of success is the volume of sales achieved while, for others, it is the profit obtained.…”

“…To a large extent, unrelenting competition has been responsible for the increasing speed in changes that have taken place both within and outside of organizations (Guidi et al,2018). In this setting, company behavior has demonstrated a significant transformation, which has resulted in these companies giving greater emphasis to individual values, collective competencies and structural reconfigurations, striving for flexibility and dynamism.…”

Evidências de isomorfismo na gestão de custos de entidades sem fins lucrativos do Brasil

“…Essa questão vem sendo investigada na literatura brasileira, principalmente no contexto de empresas privadas (Callado, Callado & Almeida, 2014;Callado & Pinho, 2014;Guidi, Morgan, Montebelo & Corrêa, 2017). Nesse sentido, algumas pesquisas que apontam características sobre a gestão de custos nas ESFL podem impulsionar a investigação do isomorfismo nessas entidades.…”