Governance and Cooperation in Local Productive Arrangements (APLS): A Study of Multiple Cases in Sergipe

Abstract

The Local Productive Arrangements (APL) have been presented as a strategy for micro, small and medium enterprises to increase their chances of survival and overcoming the barriers for their growth. The present study aimed to examine how governance and cooperation between the institutional and economic agents may influence the development of APL in the state of Sergipe. This article used methodological procedures concerning the study of multiple cases. The level of analysis considered was the APL, and the unit of analysis were the institutional and economic agents. 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the APL agents from Sergipe. Based on the analysis of the cases, it was observed that, in the studied APL, there is a predominance of micro and small companies with low technology and using local/regional and regional/national markets for the production destination. The largest clusters in number of existing productive units and generation of formal jobs were the Cerâmica Vermelha de Itabaianinha and Confecções de Tobias Barreto. The nature of coordination and integration among located firms tends to be low and is characterized by inordinate competition and low levels of confidence. It was found that the practice of unfair competition has caused the isolation of entrepreneurs and reduced the probability of joint actions.