COORDINATION, TECHNOLOGICAL CAPACITY AND INTEGRATION: AN INVESTIGATION IN THE PAPER AND CELLULOSE SECTOR IN BRAZIL 2008 – 2011

The central assumption of this project is that, in order to justify a change in the competitive condition of Brazilian companies, they are adopting a model of coordination different from that of international companies. This model does not discuss whether technological and competitive competences should be developed and sustained autonomously (internally verticalized), but rather what would be the best mix between internal and external competencies. In other words, what would be the mix of internal-external coordination needed to make firms within national boundaries establish hybrid governance arrangements without necessarily having property rights down the value chain while externally presenting themselves As holders of technological autonomy and competitive capacity?

The objective of this project, in seeking to answer this question, is to characterize the coordination profile necessary for Brazilian companies in the pulp and paper sector to maintain and expand their positions in the market dynamics, based on a sustainable development framework. What is wanted is to establish the contours of the type of coordination that seems to be behind the competitive success of pulp and paper companies (as well as other internationally successful Brazilian companies).