Mauro Luiz Martens

Purpose: Value creation is a key aspect of project management and emerges from the benefits derived from the project deliverable in the long term. However, value has different meanings depending on the stakeholder considered. This aspect challenges managers when integrating value management into business practices. The origins of value perception differences among senior management, project manager, project teams and end-users are investigated, revealing how mental models impact these views. The mental model’s theory explores how individuals’ internal representations shape their understanding of the external world. Design/methodology/approach: A series of multivariate statistical techniques was applied to a sample of 183 respondents. A multidimensional scale of project success was adopted as a proxy to evaluate how different stakeholders perceive the value created by the project's deliverable. Findings: This study confirmed that different groups of stakeholders perceive the value of a project in a distinct way, depending on their position in the project. Short-term value perceptions align but diverge 12 months after project completion. We also found that project end-users perceive greater value than other stakeholders. Mental models shape stakeholders’ differing value perceptions, influenced by cognition and context. A theoretical framework to manage different perceptions of value in project management is proposed aiming to help project managers balance diverse value expectations and prioritize stakeholder benefits, accounting for changing value perceptions. Originality/value: This study’s main contribution lies in applying mental models theory to explain why stakeholders perceive project value differently over time. By linking individual cognition to project value realization, the research offers a novel framework that highlights how stakeholders’ internal representations shape their evaluation of project outcomes. It also suggests that shared mental models, especially in agile environments, can reduce value perception gaps and foster alignment among stakeholder groups, considering senior management, project manager, project core team, to project end-users.

Objective: the study explores the complex interaction between intrapreneurial behavior, organizational factors, and individual characteristics, with a focus on a moderated-mediation model. This model incorporates individual autonomy as a key enhancer and considers organizational elements like time availability, managerial support, rewards, and structure as mediating factors.

This research aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the scientific knowledge produced through publications that associate sustainability, the circular economy, and performance in the context of Industry 4.0 projects. For this purpose, a systematic and bibliometric review was conducted using articles published in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2024. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined, resulting in 61 selected articles. The results show that studies focus on the areas of environmental science, business, management, accounting, and engineering. Additionally, they indicate that research on these topics has grown exponentially in recent years, evolving and deepening significantly during this period. This study directly contributes to researchers seeking references, concepts, gaps, and trends in research on these topics, as well as to managers interested in implementing sustainability and the circular economy, ensuring or even enhancing the performance of their companies through disruptive projects that utilize Industry 4.0 technologies.

A pandemia da COVID-19 demonstrou-se radicalmente diferente, complexa e abrangente quando comparada com outras crises e pandemias dos últimos 100 anos; afetando diretamente a cadeia de abastecimento global e causando graves disrupções, tensões e conflitos nas relações entre empresas e levando, muitas vezes, ao surgimento de ações oportunistas. Diversos artigos exploraram o oportunismo na cadeia de suprimento por diferentes prismas. Alguns discutem as consequências das ações oportunistas, outros apresentam formas de mitigação de ações oportunistas e alguns exploram os fatores que levam a ações oportunistas. Nesse contexto, esse artigo cria um modelo teórico de análise da relação entre sete variáveis da TCT que trataremos como independentes e uma variável dependente “oportunismo”. No tocante ao processo de aquisição de materiais dentro do contexto pandêmico. A partir desse framework teórico, levantamos dez hipóteses, as quais servirão para testar e validar uma proposta ao problema investigado de forma empírica a fim de servir como orientação na busca de evidências. Além de contribuir com as práticas gerenciais e uso de salvaguardas, o estudo traz uma contribuição teórica na literatura de rede de suprimentos ao desenvolver um framework que associa variáveis de custos de transação ao comportamento oportunista dos fornecedores.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test and develop a method for generation and selection of six sigma projects. This is done by testing the use of the generation and selection method for six sigma projects (GSM_SSP) in a Brazilian manufacturing industry with the participation of managers, aiming to gather the user’s perspective and improvement opportunities for the approach itself. Design/methodology/approach: The work adopts the action research (AR) approach once the researchers were busily involved in the training, implementation and use of the GSM_SSP. The intervention was performed in on a series of 15 workshops, with a group of managers, during six months. Findings: The application of the eight steps of the GSM_SSP approach assisted the company’s management team to generate nine project candidates and also to select three six sigma projects. This study also finds and discusses barriers and lessons learned used to improve the GSM_SSP. Research limitations/implications: This study presents an example of how six sigma project generation and selection has been applied to a manufacturing industry by adapting AR to the process using the eight steps of GSM_SSP, demonstrating how the management team was involved. This study should be replicated in different companies because AR is limited in its generalization. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first use of AR methodology in six sigma project selection. This study contributes a method that can generate and select six sigma projects. In doing so, the research offers a simple approach that can be used by managers. In addition, the steps of the approach before selection were explored.

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between organizational transformation and transformational project, and to propose a model for this relationship, as a synthesis of the literature, and as a model for practitioners. Transformational projects allow companies to adjust to new market needs and internal challenges, remaining relevant and sustainable in terms of operationalizing new ideas. The method used was literature review, when it was possible to identify that despite the scarcity of theoretical references, there is a certain convergence on understanding that transformational projects generates a positive impact on society, stimulating innovation, promoting adaptation, improving efficiency, developing skills, and stimulating cultural changing. The relevance of this study lies in proposing a model, cooperating to advance studies on transformational project, increasing its theoretical foundation, and guiding project management professionals, and even management professionals in general in transformational projects.

The rapid pace of urbanization has presented cities worldwide with a range of complex issues pertaining to the management of resources, reduction of waste, and promotion of sustainable practices. The concepts of circular economies and sustainable smart cities have arisen as viable solutions, converging to establish a revolutionary framework for the future of urban living. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis using literature focusing on the past ten years (2013–2022) of research on the circular economy and smart cities using VOSviewer. The most frequently used Scopus database was used to extract bibliometric data. 163 articles were considered for the analysis. This study utilizes co-authorship, co-occurrence, citation analysis and bibliographic coupling of author keywords while grap0hically mapping the bibliographic material using VOS viewer software Version 1.6.19. The bibliographic analysis reveals that the significant themes published in journals revolve around “circular economy”, “Sustainable development”, “sustainability”, “smart city”, “waste management”, “recycling”, “Sustainability”, “climate change”, “smart technologies”, “municipal solid waste”, “renewable energy”, and “planning”. The results would provide a robust base for more research in this area. The research work paves the way for future research in the related areas and issues of the domain, as it is an emerging issue in research, and many problems are untapped.

Healthcare 4.0 is the application of Industry 4.0 principles in healthcare, enabling real-time personalization of patient care. Although it has gained relevance in recent years due to the benefits of Industry 4.0, the concept is still little known by professionals in the Brazilian and international health sector. Using the literature review method and survey research with 26 experts in Healthcare 4.0, this study aims to identify opportunities and challenges in Healthcare 4.0 implementation projects in the health sector in Brazil. The relevance of this study is the identification of the main opportunities found: digital technology facilitates the collection of patient data; the strategic implementation of Healthcare 4.0 can bring competitive advantages to the organization; and the main challenges: the need for digital training of healthcare professionals for Healthcare 4.0, and the need to motivate everyone involved to adopt Healthcare 4.0, contributing to theory. The practical contribution is to help the healthcare professionals involved to understand the relevant points for successful Healthcare 4.0 implementation projects.

Study objective: empirically evaluate how the dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) can help solve the challenges of Agile Method adoption (AM). Methodology/approach: single case study in a software startup. Key findings: confirmation of challenges in adopting AM across three dimensions (people, processes, and management and organization) in the studied startup, and identification of which dimensions of EO contribute most to solving these challenges. Relevance/originality: although EO and its dimensions are recognized by the interviewees as potential actions to solve the challenges of AM adoption, they are not encouraged when the team is allocated at the client's site due to cultural influence. This research is relevant as it aims to help understand these challenges and suggest ways to overcome them. Theoretical/methodological contributions: as an academic contribution, this study advances research on the adoption of AM and EO, as well as the relationship between these topics. Social/management contributions: understanding the inherent challenges in adopting and using AM and promoting actions that can assist in solving these challenges through the utilization of EO concepts.