Ciclo de vida de produtos, empreendedorismo, tecnologia e globalização: um olhar através da Caverna de Saramago - doi: 10.4025/actascihumansoc.v35i1.20078

摘要

Based on an interdisciplinary perspective, current essay discusses products´ life-cycle, use of technology and globalization within the backdrop of José Saramago´s The Cave, published in Brazil in 2001. The novel written as a parable narrates the saga of a family of entrepreneurs which, through the Algores Pottery, has been offering crockery to the market for three generation. However, at some time in the story, the potters are informed that there is no demand anymore for the ceramic products produced and offered by them. In an attempt to survive, the potters start manufacturing clay dolls for decoration purposes. However, the initiative is not well received by the consumers. The impact of technology in the production of goods, whose spread has been facilitated by globalization, and the lack of the potters´ awareness on the changes in the consumer market, were crucial to its bankruptcy and forced them to redirect their lives. Current essay, therefore, addresses a subject which is directly related to organizations, marketing activity and contemporary society.