Name: FRANCIELY MORAIS DIAS
Publication date: 27/10/2017
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| MARCOS PAULO VALADARES DE OLIVEIRA | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| HÉLIO ZANQUETTO FILHO | Co advisor * |
| MARCOS PAULO VALADARES DE OLIVEIRA | Advisor * |
| TACIANA DE LEMOS DIAS | External Examiner * |
| TERESA CRISTINA JANES CARNEIRO | Internal Examiner * |
Summary: The literature has demonstrated the strong relationship between the analytical orientation of organizations and the generation of competitive advantage for the same organizations (KIRON et al., 2011; KIRON, FERGUSON AND PRENTICE, 2013). Therefore, this study was conducted in the supermarket sector, in order to understand how analytical orientation influences value creation - the main component of competitive advantage - (BARNEY, 1991; ITO et al., 2012; PICCOLI; IVES , 2005) for customers. It is worth clarifying that in order to achieve this objective, it was necessary to fulfill an earlier objective, that is, to investigate the existence of a ranking of the attributes of value for the supermarket customer, since a solid discussion regarding this subject was not found in the literature. In order to fulfill these purposes, this research adopted a mixed approach, being the first a quantitative phase and the second a qualitative one. In the quantitative phase, the data was collected through a closed questionnaire, applied to 480 supermarket customers, in the four major cities of the Grande Vitória region (Serra, Vitória, Vila Velha and Cariacica). The analyses in this phase were done using averages and chi-square test, on the SPSS platform. In the qualitative phase, a case study was used as the research strategy, whose data was collected through a semi-structured interview. In this stage, the data was analyzed through content analysis, using the software MAXQDA12. The results of the quantitative phase indicates that there is, in fact, a ranking among the attributes of value for supermarket customers, in which price, quality, variety and proximity were the attributes considered of the highest value. The results of the qualitative phase indicate that decisions regarding price and quality - attributes of higher relevance to supermarket customers - tend to be based on more analytically oriented sources of information and processes. Decisions regarding location were considered by this study to be moderately analytical, based on poorly structured sources of information. Finally, in relation to variety, the decision is basically guided by the experience that decision-makers have in the business area. As this research identified the way in which analytical guidance influences decisions about the most relevant value attributes for supermarket customers, a number of considerations and opportunities are presented at the end of this paper to move forward with the gathering and use of data, as well the recognition, by the people, of the information generated in this process, over the information produced by just the business feeling. Such opportunities seek to explore, beyond the generation and use of data, the analytical orientation of people, who still seems to rely on experience to generate insights that would be best supported by analytical processes.
