THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS AS DETERMINANT OF THE STRATEGIC CHOICES IN AGRIBUSINESS: A CASE STUDY IN A POULTRY INDUSTRY FIRM

Abstract

The economic changes in 1990’s year determined a new competitive environment marked by modifications in the Brazilians consumption profile. In the agribusiness an outstanding example was observed in the poultry meat consumption. In this context, this article brings some considerations about the bases in which settle down the competitive strategies in the Brazilian poultry agribusiness. The article starts, based on a systemic view, from a business environment analysis, the competitive structure and the strategic behavior of the poultry agro-industry. So, a case study was lead with a agro-industrial cooperative placed on the central region of the Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Being used a theoretical approach found in the Theory of the Industrial Organization, Porter’s Approach and Transaction Costs Economics, it was concluded that the researched organization follows a mixed strategic profile, situated among the analytical and defensive postures and that the positioning strategy prevails, combining product differentiation, costs control and preferential markets orientation.