ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores how Brazilian firms and sectors of the Brazilian economy experienced the great changes that occurred in the business environment in the context of globalization and liberalization. It traces the trajectory of Brazilian banking since the watershed 1995 Real Plan. The book also explores the explosive growth of the private higher education sector in Brazil. It also examines the patterns of Brazil's television sector through a focus on regulatory and technological changes. The book then traces the life cycle of Metal Leve (ML), the automotive parts manufacturer, from its creation in the beginning of the 1950s, examining the patterns of its growth, success and leadership in the Brazilian auto parts industry, exercised until the end of the 1980s. It examines the unique case of TOTVS, a Brazilian supplier of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), a software tool designed to automate business processes.
