ANALISYS OF STRATEGIC ADAPTATION PROCESS OF A SUGGAR CANE BRANDY COMPANY PRODUCER UNDER THE LIGHT OF INSTITUTIONAL THEORY AND RESOUR-BASED VIEW

Abstract

The accomplishment of this work had as main goal knowing the process of strategic adaptation of Vargem Bela Company, producer of sugar cane brandy in the swamp of Paraiba. First of all, the critical events occurred during the period between 1961 to 2007 were identified, and were verified the conditions under which these events occurred, to then analyze them under the perspective of Institutional Theory and the Resource Based View. With this purpose, a review was made in the existing literature on these theories, with emphasis on the work of DiMaggio and Powell (2005), when referring to the Institutional Theory, and Peteraf (1993) and Barney and Herterly (2007) in what refers to the Resource Based View. The work is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory, that was made through a case study that had his support methodology based on the work of Pettigrew  (1987), on methods of strategic adaptation of firms, where three elements of change are investigated: the context (internal and external), content and process. The research led us to conclude that the strategic adaptation process experienced by the company, presents different characteristics in two different time periods. The first period, which runs from 1961 until  1986, in which the organizational posture assumed in the change process is more proactive, tangible and intangible assets were purchased that were able to build sustainable competitive advantages by making the company more competitive and market leader. However, in the second period, which lasts from 1986 to 2007, the posture taken by the company becomes  more reactive, in a show of organizational inertia, starting to act in order to convene environmental pressures.