THE CYCLE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN DECISION MAKING ABOUT CURRENCY HEDGE IN AN AGRIBUSINESS COOPERATIVE

Abstract

Agribusiness represents a quarter of Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the organizations that operate in this sector are subject to risks related to the exchange rate variability. Organizations can use the financial market to mitigate these risks by making hedge contracts. However, implementing these contracts implies a certain complexity and a series of specific knowledge. Given this context, the main objective of this study was to verify the contributions of the Knowledge Management cycle in the decision-making on hedge exchange in Cocamar Cooperativa Agroindustrial (Cocamar). We conducted a qualitative exploratory case study with semi-structured interviews and used content analysis and the R software to analyze data. As the main results, we found that contract hedge decisions involve different phases of Knowledge Management cycles, best represented by Dalkir's cycle. Therefore, the Knowledge Management cycle is an effective tool for the cooperative's success in managing the exchange hedge's decision-making process.