INFORMATIONAL PRACTICES IN REVERSE LOGISTICS:
FRAGMENTATION BETWEEN THE PRESCRIBED AND THE LIVED
Keywords:
reverse logistics, informational practices, tacit knowledgeAbstract
This article explores, from an epistemological perspective, informational practices within the reverse logistics process of a large-scale mining company located in the city of São Luís. Its main objective is to examine the topic through the theoretical lens of praxiology, developed by Schatzki (2002) and later expanded by Peters (2020). The central ideas discussed throughout the text focus on understanding how knowledge is socially constructed through everyday interactions among individuals, adopting the theoretical perspectives of praxiology and contextual ontology. A qualitative and exploratory approach was adopted, methodologically grounded in a case study. Through an exploratory literature review, the study seeks to understand and examine the various epistemological possibilities related to the object of study, emphasizing, at this stage, the “praxiological turn” as described by Peters (2020). The treatment of qualitative data followed the principles of thematic content analysis, aiming to identify recurring discursive patterns, shared meanings, and, fundamentally, divergences between what is formally prescribed and what is actually experienced in everyday practices. The analysis of informational practices revealed a substantial fragmentation between the prescriptive dimension of the Operational Procedure (PRO) and the lived dimension of daily activities. The findings empirically demonstrate that the effectiveness and traceability of reverse logistics depend not only on the existence of formalized PRO or technically sophisticated Information Systems, but fundamentally on the quality, clarity, and integration of the informational practices that guide employees in their everyday activities.