Vertical Relationships and Financial Performance of Brazilian Companies in the Electricity Distribution Supplier Sector (2001-2003)

Competition and the quest for competitive advantages on the market are prompting companies to reshape the profiles of their relationships with their customers and suppliers. They are opting for approaches based more on cooperation, trust, loyalty and quality, instead of bargaining power or clout that that might well be used by vertical scope participants as a way opportunistically pressuring these relationships. Based on the constructs of Durand (1999), this paper investigated the relationship between the possibility of substituting relationships with suppliers and buyers, viewed as resources by companies in the power generator, transformer, electric motor and control and distribution equipment sectors, and the financial and market performance of these firms, grounded on a resource-based view. The findings demonstrated that the less substitutable their relationship with customers, the worst the financial performance of the companies in the target sectors. Inversely, the less substitutable the relationships with their main suppliers, the better their financial performance. Financial performance was measured by the following variables: return on assets, operating margin or return on sales and the profits generation capacity rating. Based on the homogeneity and specific characteristics of the target sectors, the findings may be explained by other theories, such as the Transaction Costs Theory and the industrial organisation itself, as noted by Porter (1980) and often neglected. These findings will certainly direct the academic community towards new research projects and reflections, in addition to offering a contribution to studies involving non-financial variables that affect the value creation of the companies, which is an international trend