| dc.description.abstract | The increase of competition between companies has led them to develop organizational models that differ from the dichotomy make/buy. Among the options available to small and medium enterprises, the development of cooperative horizontal networks can be highlighted. The literature has documented several gains or benefits of this kind of organization of economic activity. In this thesis, it is considered that the competitive gains alone do not guarantee success of horizontal networks, namely their continuity indefinitely. Besides the competitive gains, in the present work, trust and satisfaction with the network are considered as influence factors for the intention of permanence of companies in horizontal networks. The issue of interorganizational trust, though widely discussed, has been limited to theoretical studied with few empirical studies developed in horizontal networks of companies. Another theoretical gap identified is the lack of studies that consider the companies’ satisfaction with the network and intention to remain in the networks. In this context, this thesis aims to analyze how trust, competitive gains and satisfaction with the network influence the companies to remain in retailers horizontal networks. The comparison between models, through structural equations, showed that the originally proposed model represented more adequately the proposed relationships between constructs. Thus, from the original model, were supported hypotheses which indicated the influence (positive) i) (H1a, H1b, H1c, H1d) of trust over the competitive gains (economic gains, social relations, legitimacy and learning and innovation); ii) (H2a) of economic gains over satisfaction with the network; iii) (H4) of trust over the intention to remain in the network; and iv) (H5) of satisfaction with the network over the intention to stay in the network. Together, the results of this thesis show that trust, economic gains and satisfaction with the network are the factors that determine the intention of the companies remain in retailers horizontal networks. | en |
