The Interrelationship between Competitiveness and Value Chain: Case Study in a Metal-Mechanical Company in Santa Catarina

Abstract

Objective: To understand the interrelationship between the analysis of competitiveness and the value chain for the strategic diagnosis of a company in the metal-mechanical industry and its importance for the identification of a competitive advantage.

Method: This study is predominantly a qualitative, descriptive and interpretative approach.  Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews with four company executives as well as documentary research.  The analysis was based on the content analysis technique.

Originality / Relevance: Competitive advantage is built from the adequacy of the competences developed by the company with the demands of the environment.  This research sought to integrate a real case and analysis of the competitive forces along with the analysis of the value chain, with a systemic look of the company’s ability to meet the target audience’s needs.

Results: We found that the company built a competitive advantage directly linked to the adequacy of its value chain, achieved through automation and the effectiveness of the primary activities of internal logistics, production, external logistics and sales operations.  The primary competitive advantage is based on the differentiation of a robust quality that guarantees customer satisfaction.  While the company does not achieve cost leadership in the industry, it manages to be competitive due to the level of automation and consistency of processes.

Theoretical / methodological contributions: The proposal to establish the intersection between value chain analysis and the five competitive forces model to identify the competitive advantage was methodologically adequate and relevant for the company under study.