Research Projects

Description: The project aims to strengthen the food and personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing the impact of the pandemic on the different links of the supply chains (producers, distributors, retailers/wholesalers, and consumers) in Rio de Janeiro. It proposes the development of integrated technologies for better planning of the food and PPE supply chains through real-time information from social media, while also supporting PPE production for public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro.

These technologies enable more advanced technical analyses for decision-makers in organizations, improve data visualization and understanding for civil society, and represent scientific advances in supply chain management in the context of crises, emergencies, and humanitarian aid.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Member) / Adriana Leiras (Coordinator) / Francisco José de Castro Moura Duarte (Member) / Amanda Fernandes Xavier Pedrosa (Member)

Funding: Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)

Description: The project aims to contribute to filling existing gaps in the academic literature related to operations management in the context of crises, disasters, and humanitarian aid, focusing on the challenges and necessary improvements for operations management from the perspective of the stakeholders involved in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Member) / Adriana Leiras (Coordinator) / Renata Albergaria de Mello Bandeira (Member) / Rodrigo Antônio Silveira dos Santos (Member) / Renan Caldas Correia (Member)

Funding: Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)

Description: Sustainable development (SD), currently understood as the integrated perspective of economic, social, and environmental pillars, is identified as a fundamental characteristic to be pursued by industries in order to survive pandemics, wars, and other disasters. Consequently, various societal actors must contribute to SD, with a special emphasis on higher education institutions (HEIs) that adopt the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) model. Although the ESD model is present in curricula from primary education to university in France, its adoption is particularly notable in engineering programs.

Nevertheless, both in France and Brazil, there is a significant lack of teaching resources and other initiatives within the triad of teaching, research, and extension that promote the adoption of the ESD model more consistently. Therefore, this project aims to support the training of engineers as vectors of the socio-ecological transition for the industry of the future through the development and use of educational resources on sustainable development.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Member) / Lino Guimarães Marujo (Member) / Amanda Fernandes Xavier Pedrosa (Coordinator) / Eduardo Romeiro Filho (Member) / Ana Valéria Carneiro Dias (Member) / Reidson Pereira Gouvinhas (Member) / Améziane Aoussat (Member) / Antonio Rodriguez de Castro (Member) / Tatiana Reyes (Member)

Funding: Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)

Description: The main objective of this project is to strengthen the set of social technological products for managing operations in the context of disasters. The two technological products addressed in this project are platforms for stakeholder integration in disaster preparedness and response operations, named Rede Refugia and Droneiros Voluntários.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Coordinator)

Funding: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)

Description: This project aims to contribute to filling existing gaps in academic and practical literature, focusing on two complementary areas and comparing the structure of disaster preparedness and response actions of organizations involved in the state of Rio de Janeiro with the structures of other countries. The first area seeks to transform technical-scientific frameworks into tools that are aligned with the reality of the population and stakeholders involved in disaster preparedness and response. The second area aims to build and improve theories and public policies on disaster preparedness and response based on the experience and actions of the population and stakeholders. The third area seeks to provide benchmarking for operations management structures in the context of disasters in the state of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Coordinator)

Funding: Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)

Description: The project aims to structure the value chain for joint action of the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces, and institutions involved in humanitarian operations, considering the formation of a stakeholder network and the proposal of policies and decision-support tools, in support of National Defense.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Member) / Adriana Leiras (Member) / Luiz Felipe Roris Rodrigues Scavarda (Coordinator) / Renata Albergaria de Mello Bandeira (Member) / Hugo Tsugunobu Yoshida Yoshizaki (Member) / Francisco José de Castro Moura Duarte (Member) / Rodrigo Antônio Silveira dos Santos (Member) / Renan Caldas Correia (Member) / Marcos Paulo Rodrigues Montenegro (Member)

Funding: Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)

Description: Eco-innovation (i.e., ecological innovations) is an approach aligned with the concept of sustainability and focused on long-term success for businesses and supply chains. Despite the development of sustainable initiatives over recent decades, adopting a holistic approach to eco-innovation remains a challenge. In this context, Xavier et al. (2020) proposed the Eco-Innovation Maturity Model (Eco-Mi) to guide the integration of eco-innovation into organizational practices.

Although Eco-Mi is valuable, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other global crises have highlighted the need for more resilient and sustainable supply chains. Therefore, this project aims to propose a revised Eco-Mi aligned with current global and local economic perspectives and to test its application. The research involves analyzing and comparing cases in Brazil and Belgium in the agro-food sector to enhance the contribution of eco-innovation both to academic theory and to organizational practices/performance, including a self-assessment platform for eco-innovation based on the new Eco-Mi.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Member) / Amanda Fernandes Xavier Pedrosa (Coordinator) / Perrine Ferauge (Member) / Loann Astorino (Member) / Philippe Fortemps (Member)

Funding: Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)

Description: The main objective of this project is to enhance the interaction between theory and practice in Operations Management (OM) in the context of disasters, which is addressed through four specific objectives. The first investigates OM theories developed from the practice of professionals working in disasters. The second synthesizes the challenges faced by disaster professionals regarding the use of OM models and tools proposed for disaster contexts. The third aims to adapt the proposed OM models and tools to the disaster context according to the needs of professionals actively working in disasters. The fourth seeks to develop an OM theory based on the practice of professionals working in disaster situations.

Members: Tharcisio Cotta Fontainha (Coordinator)

Funding: Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)