Competitive Advantages of RCEs and APLs

Globalization has brought about significant organizational changes in recent decades. Increased competition and uncertainty in economic markets have led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to opt for cooperation joining forces and enabling improvements to reduce risks and threats and make better use of opportunities to become more competitive through Business Cooperation Networks (RCEs) and Local Productive Arrangements (APLs). In this scenario the general objective of this research is to verify whether the competitive gains that occur in BCNs also occur in LPA. This research is characterized as a descriptive multiple case study involving a bibliographic and documentary survey conducted through semi-structured interviews with a qualitative approach to the data developed using content analysis techniques in which four RCEs and two APLs located in the state of Goiás were analyzed. The results of this research proved that the competitive gains provided by the RCEs studied were not equally identified in the APLs.