Older Restaurant Managers 'More Risk Averse', Study Finds
UFSC study shows prolonged tenure leads managers to favour conservative actions.
Tempo previsto
16/4/2025
Journalistic automation boosts efficiency, yet human insight and deep analysis remain vital.
In 2009, under the title "Eweb: Standardized Digital Journalism", four social communication students from PUCPR (I was one of them) made a series of videos for the internet as their final course project.
In production, the cinematic technique is a university tragedy with hints of a pirated copy of 3D Max installed on a library computer.
It takes less than a minute of the first video for "user focus" to appear prominently. At a time when BlackBerrys were the only encrypted network, and journalists and advertisers were colonizing Twitter, reaching such a conclusion with the support of a communication degree is, at the very least, quite good.
Today, digital marketing and the business platform model suggest that journalists continue to do what they have always done ethically and intelligently.
I don't see people searching the internet for deeper analysis, for something that makes them reflect. Text on the internet will satiate the need for information that is up-to-date and can be passed on.
Michelle Thomé, in an interview with Eweb, in 2009.
Michelle Thomé predicted, in her own words, the first rehearsals of post-truth and quantum politics. Both are, very roughly, when opinions and facts carry the same weight. It's the "what matters is that I express myself" mentality.
But something remained the same. Journalist Luiz Oliveira was in charge of the digital section of the Gazeta do Povo newspaper, and for him, online text maintained the format created by Americans.
The lead, widely appreciated for its characteristics of information sequencing and reading time optimization, answers the basic questions:
what,
who,
how,
when,
where, and
why
(with some variation).
The year following the publication of Eweb, Sharon Jeanine Abdalla researched "Lead and Inverted Pyramid: The Influence of the American Model on Journalism in Paraná" for the Federal University of Paraná. She interviewed journalist Aroldo Murá G. Haygert.
There's no point in having a lead and these straightforward techniques if the newspaper is garbage. (...) The newspaper prioritized headlines, they had character counts, which was very difficult at the time. When you work with typography it's complicated; with the computer, today, it's easier to do that.
Journalist Aroldo Murá G. Haygert.
For over ten years, Eweb has been discussing the trend of journalism automation, starting with the lead. Once parameters are written and refined, real-world data could be updated automatically, either by search engines or by APIs (which are a type of connection between databases).
An example. The highway patrol would provide real-time data on the number of accidents, tickets, traffic arrests, etc. News websites would reproduce, through thematic panels, articles, notifications, whatever, content that dispenses with intellectual work. Robots would write:
"Two people were arrested for driving without a license during the holiday weekend";
"Traffic jam on BR-277 stretches for 2 km towards the coast, starting at the Botanical Garden";
"Emergency: Fog at the entrance to the Serra do Mar reduces visibility to 5 m";
The reporter spared from roadside reporting would have time to propose what machines couldn't do in an unprecedented way, like reporting on the transgenerational consequences of violent deaths. Do families repeat the pattern of dying on the road?
Or routine things.
How much does the government invest in educational campaigns?
How long do they last?
How is their reach measured?
What research is used for their creation?
Does the taxpayer speed because they pay tolls?
Do people who get speeding tickets enjoy driving?
When will telephone companies install internet access all the way to the beach?
The soundtrack used in Eweb is from the album "Deep Cuts", released in 2003, by the Swedish siblings of "The Knife". In 2020, French state television Franceinfo used one of the songs from this album for a program promo.
Leia insights sobre a interação de humanos com modelos de linguagem de IA, e sobre os ODS no Brasil. Lab Educação 2050 Ltda, que mantém este site, é signatária do Pacto Global das Nações Unidas.
Robots handle basic tasks, freeing reporters for in-depth investigation.
Real-time data fosters trust, aiding collective growth.
UFSC study shows prolonged tenure leads managers to favour conservative actions.
A recent study published in the *Revista Turismo, Visão e Ação* (RTVA) reveals that older managers with longer tenures in restaurants tend to be more risk-averse in their corporate decisions. The research, conducted by researchers at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), analyzed data from over 2,000 restaurants in Europe between 2014 and 2016.
The study, titled "Influence of Management Team Characteristics on Risk Decision-Making: Evidence from the Restaurant Sector," utilized the Amadeus database and employed the least squares method to analyze the relationship between manager characteristics – age, tenure, gender, and team size – and the companies' level of financial leverage, used as a risk-taking indicator.
The results showed a significant negative correlation between the age and tenure of managers and their propensity for risk. Older managers and those who had held the same position for a longer period demonstrated a preference for more conservative decisions, opting to maintain the status quo rather than adopting innovative or risky strategies.
Contrary to some expectations, the study found no significant relationship between the size of the management team or female participation and risk-taking. Although previous research has suggested a possible influence of these factors, the data analyzed did not confirm this hypothesis in the specific context of the restaurant industry.
The authors suggest that the risk aversion demonstrated by more experienced managers may be related to the prioritization of stability and the reputation built throughout their careers. Familiarity with the sector and a concern to preserve accumulated gains may lead them to avoid decisions that represent potential threats to the business.
The study's findings have significant implications for restaurant management. The research suggests that the composition of the management team can directly influence the strategy and performance of companies. Restaurants with younger managers may be more willing to innovate and take risks, while those led by more experienced managers may prioritize stability and financial security.
The researchers highlight the need for further studies to deepen the understanding of the relationship between manager characteristics and decision-making in restaurants. Investigating psychological factors, such as individual risk tolerance, and analyzing data from a longer period could enrich the discussion and provide more precise insights for the sector.
Lack of updates and context erodes reader trust.
A journalistic suite is the continuation of a news story in new articles that update previous ones. Something like: "Two people were injured in an accident"; then, "Men injured in accident undergo surgery"; further, "Men injured in accident discharged from hospital"; and finally, "Company responsible for accident involving injuries fined." All these sensational headlines relate to the same original event.
Not every type of news warrants a continuation. Some events and accomplishments have the momentum for a single appearance. However, to appear once or several times in the newspaper, the "thing" must truly be news, which basically means it's not advertising or propaganda – but that's a topic for another time.
In terms of format, a suite is no different from a new news story. After all, a continuation only exists when a new fact is revealed. But it's in style, from what I've observed, that the "marmita das suítes azedou" – meaning why they've lost momentum in recent years. ("Marmita das suítes azedou" is an idiom meaning roughly that the suites have gone stale or lost their appeal).
Let's take a police investigation as an example. Journalism of both good and poor quality is interested in criminal stories. However, in both types of quality, a flavor of vice remains, perhaps originating from the pleasure of "scooping" (when a journalist is the first to report something). It's a haste that hinders more than it helps: not infrequently, versions are presented that collaborate with a story one wants to tell, which may have nothing to do with what actually happened.
In the case of Armed man threatens Black youth in São Paulo, and police officer refuses to act because she's 'off-duty'; watch video (sense-based translation), for example. This is a story that quickly captured the attention of journalists and the public because a video proves not only the omission of a police officer but also her aggression against a young man. Here, whether the police officer was right or wrong is not under discussion. At the same time, due to the lack of suites, the broader context of the three-minute video was missing.
A story told because of its intriguing nature can yield minutes of viewership and an increase in website visitors. However, without continuity, it's shooting oneself in the foot. In 2023, the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report identified that Brazilians' trust in journalism is 43%, a decrease of 19 percentage points since 2015. Statistically, the downward trend may reach 41% in 2024. In this scenario, all resources of intelligence and integrity are welcome to improve these numbers.
Suites are an opportunity to assure the public that editorial choices represent, even if against the majority view, the vehicle's commitment to a story told from beginning to end, with all its nuances. For this, the editorial line as a whole, and even more so the reporters and editors, must approach investigative activity with the detachment of recounting things as they are, and not as they should be.
