Crenças e o processo decisório de empreendedores de negócios de impacto social: uma abordagem sob a perspectiva da biologia do conhecer

Abstract

A great deal of the studies focused on decision makers are concerned with issues that aim to optimize or make possible the creation of information systems to meet information demands, empowering organizations with efficient information structures to support management activities, in different levels. In general, they prioritize investigations about the information needs, use standards and sources, giving little thought to the human dimension involved in the making decision process, specially in relation to behavioural, cognitive, symbolic and emotional aspects, which are, most of times, subjective. Aligned with the demand that cherish the central role of human aspects, the current work tried to understand how the belief framework integrates to the individual capacities and affect the decision making process of entrepreneurs from the social impact businesses in Brazil, specially in regards to the background prior to the start of the business, its development and operation management. The theoretical basis for this investigation was the Biology of Cognition, from Maturana & Varela, that tries to explain the knowledge by explaining the cognizant, and having his experience as the starting point. It was also investigated the themes related to beliefs, decision making processes, organizational contexts of social impact business and paradigmatic issues involving organizational comportamental changing processes. The proposed work is configured as a applied research, of explanatory nature and qualitative approach, developed using multiple study cases, having as observation unities five brazilian social impact business entrepreneurs. As sources of evidence, it was used semi-structured interviews, documents, photographs and videos available in internet sites and social media aplications. The analysis of results were done based on phenomenology, and in the construction of relationships between the bibliographic references used and the data that was collected. As a result, it was possible to identify that beliefs appear as cognitive factors build from previous experiences, capable of act and influence directly the processes of perception and interpretation of reality, and also to result in intentions and trigger actions. Therefore, they are determinants in decision making processes, probably being behind the justification for the decision making of entrepreneurs in an individual and organizational levels. This points out to the notion that is not possible to humans a 100% rational and free of beliefs and emotions choice. Disfunctional beliefs can lead to distorted interpretations and, thus, the decision maker to inadequate decisions. The analysis revealed, furthermore, that the entrepreneurs interviewed are questioning, empathetic individuals; with significant sense of justice, who seek significance for their actions; are reflective; aim for individual development, have ecocentric interests as oppose to egocentric; look for the transformation of the system and manifest emotions of co-responsibility in the maintenance or transformation of the world they live in.