Efeitos da sociomaterialidade de um sistema de informação sobre as práticas de gestão: uma abordagem qualitativa

Abstract

Information technology and organizations emerge at the intersection of social and material phenomena. Sociomateriality came as an alternative theoretical approach that argues that materiality is a fundamental part of the organization. This analysis perspective recognizes that the social and the material are constitutively involved in everyday life. In all organizations and jobs, individuals interact not only with other people, but also with technologies and information systems, which have material properties. These properties can confront users with restrictions and opportunities in conducting work. Information systems bring benefits to organizations, contributing to their competitiveness through aspects such as productivity, profitability, increasing business efficiency, reducing times and costs, improving customer satisfaction, among others. The cachaça market is in the process of appreciation, being in the spotlight in the national and international economic scenario. However, contextual changes have made the market more complex, so that producers need to deal with demands for regularization and standardization of their activities. In order to make life easier for producers and owners of stills, the startup Cachaça Gestor®

emerged, operating in the area of technology and innovation within the context of stills production and management. This dissertation has the general objective of investigate the effects of the sociomateriality that constitutes the Cachaça Gestor®

software on the management practices of organizations that produce cachaça. More specifically, it is intended: a) to reconstruct the trajectory of the development of the Cachaça Gestor®

software, focusing on its sociomaterial constitution; b) to investigate the effects of the sociomateriality that constitutes the software on the management practices of organizations that produce cachaça; c) to analyze the software implementation, showing the resistance to the process of constitution of sociomateriality. For this, a qualitative descriptive research was carried out, through interviews with the system's developers and with distillery managers who deal directly with the software and a narrative analysis and thematic analysis were carried out. The results demonstrated that the studied technology, since its creation, was shaped by social structures. The system started to guide the management practices of entrepreneurs and to provide greater support in decision-making, showing effects in all areas of the organizations and changes in the ways individuals work and think, bringing important transformations, new constitutions and innovations in daily practices of its users. The study showed that most of the organizations analyzed are still in the adaptation phase, not being able to enjoy all the benefits offered by the system yet. In addition, factors such as lack of time, small number of employees, resistance from users and other particularities of companies can represent barriers to the efficiency of the application of the system in organizations. The results presented: corroborate with the existing theory, giving empirical support to the discussions of several authors; and assist in understanding how individuals deal with the materiality of information systems and other technologies adopted in their organizations.