Governança, gestão e capital social em redes horizontais de empresas : uma análise de suas relações com o desempenho das empresas participantes.

Abstract

This study was motivated by the theoretical gaps that exist in the network governance, network management and social capital of entrepreneurs and their relations with the performance of network firms. It is argued that despite the academic interest in interorganizational cooperation, studies overemphasize the reasons and benefits of cooperative strategies and give little attention to the internal aspects of the network organization. Besides that, it is currently estimated that in Brazil approximately 1,000 horizontal networks have been created. Such networks consist mainly of micro and small firms, which maintain their individuality, but enjoy the benefits that networking brings. Through a survey of 218 firms associated to 34 horizontal business networks in Brazil, the study analyzed how the governance and management practices adopted by the network and social capital of entrepreneurs are related to business performance. The study highlights that the network governance changes according to the characteristics of the network on duration, number of members and geographic coverage. In addition, there was a negative influence of centralized decision-making in networks, both for the performance of member firms and for the social capital of entrepreneurs. This result points to a dilemma that the Brazilian networks must face as they grow: develop governance systems that ensure the participation and alignment of decisions with the interests of members, while being sufficiently agile and efficient in highly competitive markets. The analysis also confirmed the role of the entrepreneurs’ social capital as a source of information and resources positively related to the performance of the firm, as well as the role of network management practices to enhance this performance. One of the theoretical contributions of the study is to adopt a new perspective on the concept of governance in horizontal business networks, understood here as the 'rules of the game' of the cooperation. The study also confirms the importance of the number and diversity of contacts, the quality of relationships and cognitive similarity that entrepreneurs have with their contacts for business performance. It was also found that the level of access to information acts as a mediating variable of the influence of social capital on corporate performance.