A influência dos relacionamentos e características das empresas na capacidade de absorção num cluster industrial

Abstract

The objective of the research is to identify and evaluate if the relationship between companies of an industrial low-tech cluster (footwear) and their individual characteristics can act on the absorption capacity of companies inside the cluster. The research was conducted inside the footwear cluster in Biriguí/SP. Absorption capacity is recognized as essential input to innovation and a prerequisite for identifying opportunities in your environment that will create and sustain competitive advantages. Companies with greater absorption capacity levels are more proactive and then get more dynamic movements towards the exploration of opportunities. It addresses the type of cluster, relationships and characteristics of the companies that compose it. As relevant methodological approach to collecting and processing data, we opted for the research development in two phases. The first one carried out through interviews with major producers and research works that tell the story of the studied cluster, which has resulted in the description and characterization of the research object: the footwear cluster in Biriguí/SP. The second one evaluates the absorption capacity in the cluster by collecting data and information for the dependent and independent variables and statistical calculations. To obtain data, we used an instrument classified as survey in 80 companies of various sizes (large, medium, small and micro), in order to identify their characteristics, the intra-cluster relationship and how it affects the absorption ability of cluster companies. The survey development has showed that business characteristics and how they relate among them intra-cluster affecting the absorption capacity of companies inside the cluster. The study has limitations such as the number and distribution of respondents, composition of the unbalanced answers in relation to the actual composition of the cluster companies and the difficulty of collecting data that made not possible to measure the performance variable which verify the absorption capacity in relation to this variable. As a contribution, it has a better understanding of the characteristics of the company in relation to the absorption capacity in low technology clusters and regarding the relationship with the type of cluster. It also enables the orientation of executives in the category governance clusters and public policy related to incentives to increase competitiveness of these companies.