Institutional arrangement and the use of governance mechanisms: Applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the inter-organizational relationships as influenced by the use of the governance mechanisms Applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA). The empirical case that illustrates the discussion was an agglomeration of whey producers located in the State of Minas Gerais. A multiple case study involving thirteen dairy companies was developed. The study was qualitative and descriptive in its nature. The relations between the characteristics of the institutional arrangements and the adoption of governance mechanisms were analyzed using fsQCA. The main conclusion is that the participants of the arrangement adopt a bigger diversity of governance mechanisms as a way to improve the inter-organizational relationships inside the cluster and related supply chains. The intensification of the interactions between the participants of the arrangement is dependent on the existence of a flow of information established between them. The study allows one to conclude that understanding the relationship between the characteristics of the institutional arrangement and the mechanisms of governance enables the analysis of the aspects that structure and define a collective decision-making, the roles and functions of the actors involved, and the relationships that are established in cooperative arrangements. Understanding these dynamics is essential to understand the governance and the relationships in situations of horizontal interdependencies between heterogeneous actors.

Keywords: institutions, cooperation, governance.