The development of quality capabilities in Brazilian breweries: A Co-evolutionary approach

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have few internal resources compared to large firms. They may rely more on external partners to access the resources needed for developing their quality capabilities. How do the interactions between internal and external environments affect a firm's ability to develop its quality capabilities? This paper explores how firms that differ in size and have different characteristics regarding their internal resources interact with the external environment to develop their quality capabilities by adopting a co-evolutionary approach. A multiple case study was employed in four high-quality breweries in Brazil, including one plant belonging to a multinational firm and three SMEs. The findings suggest that internal resources play an important role in determining the co-evolutionary paths of firms when it comes to developing their quality capabilities. The large firm takes advantage of past corporate decisions and challenges in its plants worldwide to develop its capabilities mainly internally. On the other hand, SME breweries actively engage with the environment based on higher levels of multi-directional causalities, non-linearity, and feedback, which affect the co-evolutionary paths of these firms. This study also provides managers with guidance on how to implement strategies that help firms develop their quality capabilities.