A expansão do número de associados em redes interorganizacionais como estratégia de crescimento: proposição de um modelo

Abstract

Interorganizational networks emerge as important strategy, according Atouba and Shumate (2010), Lee and Monge (2011) and Müller- Seitz (2012), because are able to provide the generation of results that transcend the sum of organizational resources earned individually. As well as individual organizations, interorganizational networks also need to act to ensure the growth and strengthening, which impels them to generate new benefits to members, strengthen the ties between members and expand their activities. Gulati (1998) considers the importance of making the most attractive network for new members and Verschoore and Balestrin (2008) believe that the growth of the number of members in a network enables economies scale and market power gains, benefits that meet members s purpose of achieving financial gains (LIMA, 2007; GAZLEY, 2008; KUNZLER, BULGACOV, 2011). In this sense, the expansion of the number of members enables the achievement of member s main objectives, contributing to the strengthening and consolidation of them. Therefore, considering the importance of expanding the number of members in interorganizational networks when the target is better performance this study aimed to propose a model for the expansion of the number of members specific to interorganizational networks. For this, the literature of other types of interorganizational relationships contributed to the construction of the survey questionnaire and the formulation of semi-structured interview guide. The data collection was carried out with the application of 120 questionnaires to interorganizational network managers and 18 interviews on the same sample. Data from questionnaires and interviews were analyzed separately and together, enabling information complementation. As main results the sample of interorganizational networks have a heterogeneous profile regarding time of work (1-38 years) and the number of members (4-410 members), and this sample has an average growth potential of the number of members of 264.45 % with the current structure. Also, younger networks (formed from 2006) have a higher average number of companies entering and fewer companies out annually, which brings out the information that these have greater capacity to generate benefits to members. The "t" test identified a statistically significant relationship between the implementation phase by the networks and the importance given to each phase. In this sense the phase of legal agreements is developed by the largest number of interorganizational networks of the sample (100) and it is considered by those with an average importance of 4,707. The model proposed for the expansion of the number of members in interorganizational network consists of 11 stages, from the creation of a team to expand the number of members to the follow-up phase of new members. It contributes theoretically in order to fill a research gap and, in practical terms, serves as a guide to interorganizational networks that seek to increase the number of members.