Enterprises networks: a study on the cooperation networks of the Rio Pardo and Taquari Valleys in Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The present study investigates the cooperation actions of small, medium and microenterprises located in Santa Cruz do Sul (RS) that participate in the Programa Redes de Cooperação5, implemented by the Secretaria Estadual de Desenvolvimento e Assuntos Internacionais (SEDAI) in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in the nucleus of the Taquari and Rio Pardo Valleys. The study was conducted by means of a qualitative and descriptive approach, due to the objective of characterizing and analyzing the formation of organizations in cooperation of interorganizational networks and the results reached by the participation in them. We verified that the main motivation factors of the associativism practice in the opinion of the interviewed are the experiences exchange with businessmen of the same productive sector and the cost reduction of the enterprise. The percentage of answers that cited the access to innovation, technology and aspects related to the suppliers was also high. In the network performance evaluation, the item that received the best evaluation was the exchange of information and experience, which is also considered the main motive to the association of enterprises in an entrepreneurial network. We perceived a conformation between the businessmen’s expectations and what the network propitiates in relation to this question. Other citations that refer to the positive aspects of the network are mainly the relation among participants, such as ethics, trust and integration and clarification of objectives and rules of the network. In relation to the improvements propitiated to the enterprises by the access to the cooperation networks, we highlight the possibility of smaller prices in the acquisition, increment in the marketing activities, improvement in the entrepreneurial management and customer service and sales increase. With an adequate management and higher visibility by the marketing tools used to client attraction and maintenance, the network enterprises can become much more competitive and increase their positions in the market. Due to the high number of cooperation networks recently created, the article contributes to the comprehension of the factors that stimulate the businessmen to the interorganizational cooperation, as well as permits the identification of the main results that these networks propitiate to the associated enterprises.