Estratégia de multi-integração nas cadeias produtivas do agronegócio do sul do Brasil.

Abstract

This study analyzes the perception of industrial organizations, operating in different productive chains, on the propensity of adoption of a multi-integrated production system in the form of business alliance, next to the small family farms in southern Brazil, as an opportunity to strengthen their activities. Research of exploratory and descriptive nature, with a qualitative approach, was performed with fifteen companies. The data collection took place from in-depth interviews with managers who have influence on the decisions. Six theoretical propositions were made, where three are related to the perception of the integrators on the integrated property (P1), the access to productive structures (P2) and the actions developed in order to maintain this resource (P3), and the others related to the possibility of structuring a complementary model of multi-integrated production. The results found show seven homogeneous organizational characteristics which are: environmental factors; business strategy; availability of resources; dependence per resources; regulations and legislation; specialization in production; and quality and productivity. Similarly, six production factors were homogenous in these supply chains: physical space; manpower availability; demand for diversification; production scale; mechanization and psychosocial aspects. The integrators companies understand the small property as a strategic resource, competing amongst themselves for the access and implementation of their productive structures. It is also possible to conciliate supplementary shaped activities aiming for the development of multi-integrated structures of production, as long as this does not negatively impact the productive structures. The formation of strategic partnerships aiming at multi-integration can ensure the maintenance of the integrated systems of production, having as main determinants: access to family properties; sharing of resources, costs and risks; strengthening of productive structures and the possibility of retention of family labour. Although such results suggest the feasibility of structuring of these systems, it was found that only ten of the fifteen companies interviewed manifested themselves likely to participate in an initial project aiming to evaluate the feasibility of forming strategic alliances in production multi-integration model. Overall, the results support the theoretical propositions created to perform this research, since the family farm property is considered a strategic resource by agricultural processing industries (first proposition), that, by operating with integrated production systems, compete for access to these properties (second proposition), imposing the need to develop specific strategies to ensure access to this resource (third proposition). As such, from the establishment of cooperative relations between processing agribusinesses, it would be possible to guarantee the access to new family farms, promoting the development of their productive structures, strengthening of family agriculture and its qualification as suppliers of essential raw materials to the agro-industries (fourth proposition), which can develop into the composition of a multi-integrated system based on sharing resources, costs and risks (fifth proposition). Therefore, the structure of a multi-integrated system of production between companies positioned in 8 different production chains, assume characteristics of strategic alliances, to ensure access to strategic resource: the family farm (sixth proposition). As such, we can conclude that the development of an inter-organizational cooperation process through the multi-integration industry-industry, involving integration of different production chains integrating companies may be feasible, as long as the interests and common strategic objectives are considered.