Capital social nas relações interorganizacionais entre supermercadistas e fornecedores

Abstract

Considered one of the largest and most important sectors of the Brazilian and world economy, retail is present in almost all daily activities. The globalized market demands more and more the preparation of the retail companies so that they can bring to the end consumer products and services of quality with competitive prices. Scientific research on retailing involves the study of the relationship in the supply channel, especially regarding the relationship between buyers and suppliers. The objective of this research was to describe the context of the interorganizational relations existing between supermarkets and their suppliers, trying to identify the presence and influence of social capital in these relationships. The study has an exploratory and descriptive character, composed by a bibliographical and documentary analysis, showing a case study. The case study was carried out in a network of supermarkets in Minas Gerais, where 7 retailers and 12 suppliers were interviewed. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique, through the mixed categorization grid. By the obtained results, it was possible to characterize the relationships between retailers and suppliers, forms of communication, types of contracts, negotiation conditions, power and dependency relations and existing conflicts, as well as to demonstrate the presence of social capital in relations, their positive and negative effects, level of information sharing and trust, and mutuality of expectations among stakeholders. The interviewees were grouped by the degree of presence of social capital.