<b>Racionalidade Econômica e Relações Sociais em uma rede de pequenos varejos<\b>

Abstract

The dominant approach in the study of networks of organizations has emphasized structural elements, both in economic and sociological aspects. The relational aspects have been considered either tangentially or as obstacles to efficiency in the performance of arrangements. Internal conflicts have been treated as a noise or dysfunctions that must be fought through a structure of “governance”. That is, seeking to “see” the network as a structural form – or a mechanism – it has failed to see what is important and fundamental to the social and organizational life. Therefore, the theoretical and empirical analysis conducted in this study assumes the challenge of trying to understand the networks in motion. An empirical study on a network of small family retails in southern Brazil is taken as reference. The significance of changes occurring as from the membership of this network is analyzed – the reasons for entry and stay, explicit and implicit resistance, and the consequences of a family business in the dynamics of capitalist competition.