Abstract
Starting from the theoretical formulations of Pierre Bourdieu about the economic sociology, this study analyzed the origin, structure and transformations of the dental equipment industry in Brazil. It is an exploratory study, based on documentary analysis of company websites, newspapers and magazines from the economic field, semi-structured interviews, and balance sheets from 2012 to 2020. The space of the dominant dental equipment firms in Brazil was constituted of DabiAtlante, Gnatus, Alliage and Olsen, which have structured this space since the 1940s with the merger of DabiAtlante and Gnatus into Alliage, these have continued strong in the sector. The financial capital presents transformations between 2012 and 2020, with stable profit for Olsen and profits and losses in the rest. The important capital valued by the companies is their technological capital, namely their research, development and innovation capacity to compete in the market; their symbolic capital and their commercial capital, which requires further investigation. The relationship with the State, the organizations representative of the sector, the expansion of the distribution network, exports, and public sector demands warrant subsequent studies.
Highlights
The Brazilian healthcare medical-industrial complex, an expression initially formulated by Hesio Cordeiro in 1980 for the pharmaceutical industry, has been the object of a number of subsequent studies (Gadelha, 2003; Gutierrez et al, 2020)
It can be said that the field of production of dental equipment is relatively small in Brazil compared to other industrial parks, such as that of Bologna in Italy (Barroso, 2016), and it is constituted of medium- and large-sized family businesses run by men, being fractions of the Brazilian industrial bourgeoisie of states in the southeast and south regions of the country (Chart 1)
Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Gnatus In the symbolic capital analysis, regarding recognition capital, that is, how the company is known and recognized in the space, the analysis indicated that the Health Care Management magazine from Grupo Mídia publishes the Os Cem Mais Influentes da Saúde (The Hundred Most Influential in Health) list, which consists of the consecration of an event held annually since 2013, in São Paulo, with the presence of executives from the healthcare sector in Brazil, featuring the constant presence of CEOs from the dental industry, including the main CEOs of the three companies investigated (Figure 3)
Summary
The Brazilian healthcare medical-industrial complex, an expression initially formulated by Hesio Cordeiro in 1980 for the pharmaceutical industry, has been the object of a number of subsequent studies (Gadelha, 2003; Gutierrez et al, 2020). Its current denomination is the “healthcare productive complex” (Gadelha Maldonado et al, 2014) or “healthcare economicindustrial complex” (Gadelha 2018) and, for Brazilian dentistry, the “oral health economic-industrial complex” (Manfredini, 2006; Manfredini et al, 2006). The latter originated in the 1940s and has subsequently expanded, the formation of a space of medical-hospital supplies and equipment businesses is more widely mentioned as of the. The concept of medical-industrial complex is closely related to the infrastructure component of health systems. Studies on the distribution of capital in the bureaucratic field already reveal the potential of Pierre
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
