STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: A STUDY OF THE BRAZILIAN PETROCHEMICAL SECTOR

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to evaluate the vality of Porter’s typology applied to the polyethylene resins industry. The main generic strategies and industry major strategic groups were identified and also the occurrence of hybrid strategies. A total of 112 observations, using a Likert importance scale, has been got from 71 firms, accounting for 26 competitive methods related to Porter’s generic strategies typology. Using the multivariate data analysis method (factor, cluster and discriminant analysis) it was possible to identify six factors or strategy dimensions and to define four strategic main groups.