Modelo de acumulação de capital social em empresas de construção civil

Abstract

The construction industry has been characterized for decades by derogatory aspects related to manufacturing such as: low productivity, non-compliance with deadlines, high level of waste and rework. Thus, in order to develop strategies to improve the sector’s performance and productivity, the application of the supply chain management philosophy has been evaluated. The expectation is that the more professionalized (more developed processes) the relationship between the construction company and the suppliers, the more mature, qualified and perfected is the relationship, making it a valuable asset, that is, a social capital that contributes to obtaining a competitive advantage. The company’s ability to increase social capital in strategic buyer-supplier relationships contributes to improved performance and value creation. In this sense, this study aims to develop a model for the accumulation of social capital through integration with the supplier and the maturity of the relationship between the construction company and the supplier. Applying the theory of social capital, it is hypothesized that the relationship between supplier integration and maturity of the relationship between construction company and input suppliers leads to an increase in social capital. An applied, quantitative and transversal research was carried out in 111 active building construction companies based in the Brazilian national territory. Data were collected through a survey, with the application of a self- administered electronic questionnaire, with responses recorded in the cloud. With the data in hand, a descriptive analysis was performed, which aimed to investigate the data structure, allowing a global view of the observed variations. The level of maturity of the relationship between construction companies and suppliers was also evaluated. In sequence, structural equation modeling techniques were applied in order to estimate the hypothesized relationships. As a result, it was found that the relationship between construction companies and suppliers is characterized by collaborative partnership with alignment in a single project. The model developed indicated that the relationship between supplier integration and social capital accumulation is mediated by the maturity of the relationship between the construction company and the supplier. The equation referring to the social capital efficiency index (IECS) was also extracted from the model. Based on the equation, a prototype of a management information system in Python language was elaborated, which makes it possible to monitor the evolution of the construction company’s social capital. It was concluded that supplier integration is directly related to the maturity of the relationship, which positively reflects on social capital. The greater the integration between the construction company and its main suppliers, the greater the level of maturity of both and, consequently, the greater the social capital.