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This study aims to identify the social representation of cloud computing from the perspective of Information Technology (IT) professionals in emerging countries, comparing it with the extant literature on this subject.

Data were collected from IT professionals in Brazil, which was used as a proxy for the emerging countries’ context related to cloud computing. Social Representation Theory was then applied to analyze the data.

Mismatches between theory and practice on cloud computing make it clear that most of the current scientific literature on cloud computing is, to a great extent, based on the context of developed countries rather than on the context of emerging ones.

Errors of inference may have been made during the categorization of the words evoked. Furthermore, Brazil was used as a proxy for the emerging countries’ context related to cloud computing.

IT professionals in emerging countries have quite an operational view of cloud computing. Thus, companies in these countries have to align cloud computing better with new business models and corporate strategies in order to take advantage of the transformational impacts of cloud computing.

IT professionals in emerging countries have failed to notice the strategic value of cloud computing, the new business models enabled by same, the privacy issues related to it and the impact cloud computing adoption can have on the IT costs of an organization. Moreover, mobility can be a paramount issue related to cloud computing in emerging countries – a fact thus far overlooked by academia.

The purpose of this paper is to unveil the perception of information technology (IT) professionals in Brazil regarding the success of IT projects.

By using the social representation theory and the words evocation technique, data were collected from IT professionals in Brazil, being subsequently processed so as to identify the central nucleus of the social representation of the success of IT projects for IT professionals in Brazil.

IT professionals in Brazil perceive the central core of the social representation of the success of IT projects as formed by “satisfaction” and “scope.” Furthermore, while a considerable amount of IT professionals in Brazil still consider cost, quality and time as relevant factors for the success of IT projects, they do not consider them the most important factors. Moreover, these professionals overlook the financial dimension of the success of IT projects.

Errors of inference may have been made during the categorization of the words evoked. Furthermore, the sample adopted refers exclusively to IT professionals in Brazil, which limits the universality of the work.

Organizations and project management associations must take into account the utmost importance of customer satisfaction for the success of IT projects. Besides, these associations must develop IT project success criteria that account for the financial, business and strategic impact of the success of IT projects in organizations.

IT project success is perceived by IT professionals in Brazil merely from the adherence to scope and customer satisfaction dimensions, leaving aside the importance of project profitability and the strategic impacts of same in the performance of organizations, as well as their future.

Knowledge management has been largely used and applied within for‐profit organisations. However, knowledge management is a managerial tool that can also be used to assess the knowledge creation and flow within social initiatives. Presents the Proformação program, analysing it as a case study and using the knowledge management theory to assess it. The proformação program aims to train in‐service unqualified teachers in the Brazilian K‐12 public schools, so as to give them skills and expertise to develop their mission better. Most of these teachers are located in the poorest Brazilian regions, mainly in the rural areas, so the project is based both on distance training and mentoring approach. Along with a more consolidated and traditional model used for a descriptive case study, addresses an innovative way of assessing knowledge creation and transmission, based on the “knowledge spiral” and the SECI methodology. Finally, the main purpose of this case study is to subsidize policy‐makers so as to understand better how to deploy huge training endeavours successfully, avoiding the pitfalls and drawbacks inherent in these kind of initiatives and understanding how to manage better the knowledge creation and flow among the involved players.

This paper demonstrates usage of a Web‐based participative virtual learning environment, which has enabled graduate students in e‐commerce classes on the Masters in Business Administration Programme taught by the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to share and disseminate their knowledge among themselves. An illustrative single case study methodology is applied in order to achieve this purpose. The structure of this virtual environment on the Web is analysed. Findings about the participation level of the students in this group, the impact of regional influences – since classes are given throughout Brazil – and the role of the moderator in the leverage of this environment are also presented in this research, which attempts to establish how Internet technology can be effective in the development of virtual learning communities.

Analyzes what corporate intelligence means, and presents a re‐engineering project to rethink training in the work environment through the use of Web‐based instruction systems. Presents the main concepts and modules of Web‐based instruction systems, as well as the communication, co‐ordination and co‐operation tools needed to develop a computer‐aided learning environment. Presents a recently developed Web‐based instruction system called W3E. Depicts the architectural logic of the system, and a new modus operandi offered to companies in order to transform learning into an ongoing process within them. Draws some conclusions from this proposed model, the benefits are outlined and the latest challenges this new paradigm has posed to us all are also presented.

This paper aims to identify the pertinent factors for tacit knowledge transfer within a major state‐owned Brazilian oil company – Petrobras.

The research analyses the literature concerning tacit knowledge transfer within organisations and, using a quantitative approach based on exploratory factorial analysis, seeks to collect facts in order to identify relevant factors for tacit knowledge transfer within the organisation in question.

It is seen that idiosyncratic factors, the knowledge management strategy adopted by the company, and its organisational structure are relevant elements for the success of tacit knowledge transfer within the organisation.

The study was conducted just in the Sales and Marketing division of Petrobras. Therefore, its external validity cannot be tested and any attempt to make a statistical generalisation would be flawed. Another limitation is related to the acuity of perception of the employees involved in relation to tacit knowledge transfer. These limitations are related to the possibility of many varied interpretations of reality given by the respondents, in their attempt – not necessarily conscious – to paint a good picture of the company, to limitations of information available while they answer the questionnaire, to the epistemological model of the respondent, and to the very fact that they work in a state‐owned, rather than in a public oil company.

Three propositions arising from the results obtained are consolidated and presented in order that they may be tested in a future explanatory study.

Intellectual capital has been used to measure the intangible assets of corporations. Intellectual capital can also be used to assess and evaluate the outcomes of social projects, i.e. ones that do not have either a book or a market value. This article aims to present a framework to evaluate the intangible outcomes generated by the deployment of Informatics in Education, measuring the human and innovation capital associated with this enterprise. The PROINFO, a Brazilian nationwide program to deploy 100,000 computers in the public K‐12 schools, is analyzed as a case study in order to apply the developed methodology. Some conclusions are presented to policy makers, educational researchers and practitioners in order to enable them to better understand the dynamics and the overall mechanism of a nationwide intervention aiming to deploy information and communication technologies in education.

This paper aims to address the impact of strategic alliances in the formation of the intangible assets of firms, namely their intellectual capital.

Taxonomies are conceptualised and developed for both a firm's intellectual capital and its strategic alliances. T‐student tests and hierarchical cluster analysis are then applied to scrutinise the data relating to companies in the Brazilian transformation industry (firms that transform raw materials into intermediary and final goods) involved in alliances over the course of a ten‐year period (1996‐2005) in an explanatory‐exploratory manner.

The paper finds that strategic alliances of different types have a positive impact on the intellectual capital of the organisations involved in them.

The acuity of the executives' perception regarding the variation of the intangibles, as a direct consequence of the formation of alliances, is a limitation. Furthermore, the categorisation of the types of alliance and the benefits obtained that this research sought are generic classifications that do not reflect in detail the aspects involved in each cooperative effort and their respective results.

Two propositions are put forward to be tested further, namely that innovation alliances have a greater influence on a company's intellectual capital generation than production or marketing alliances, and that the more focussed the strategic alliance formed is the greater the increase in the intellectual capital of the enterprise involved.

Since the early 1990s research has been conducted in an attempt to establish a viable and reliable manner of measuring the intangible assets, also referred to as the intellectual capital, of companies. Several models have been devised, most of them using indicators to evaluate the intangible assets of a given undertaking. In this article, exploratory single case study methodology is used to analyse the behaviour of the “customer retention” indicator, which has been widely used to evaluate a company's relationship capital. One of the largest Brazilian retailing groups is analysed, in order to obtain an in‐depth insight into the behaviour of its frequent customers via its digital channel. Conclusions are presented indicating that the role of the frequent customers in an e‐retailing company can sometimes be widely divergent from that presented in existing academic literature. Some managerial implications of these conclusions are also presented.

Internet is a real phenomenon. This technology is being spread out in all fields of our society, including education. But Internet does not come alone; a new modus operandi is being deployed in the productive segments of our world. Presents a framework to implement Internet in K‐12 Brazilian Schools. Shows how to make Internet a pedagogical tool to leverage the cognitive skills of the pupils and to be an enabler to reengineering the productive processes within the schools. Outlines the main obstacles to implement Internet, considering the Brazilian educational scenario. Presents conclusions about the need of a new educational paradigm for the schools and how the Internet can be useful in defining it.