The Role of Public Private Partnerships in the Formation of a Business Platform on the Brazilian Sugar Cane Sector

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the importance of public-private partnerships in the development of the Brazilian sugar cane market through competency exchanges between organizations and how this complementarity relation contributed in leveraging a “business platform” in the Brazilian sugar cane market. As methodological procedure we used a qualitative research through an exploratory study. The data were obtained from primary and secondary sources. The results showed that the public private partnerships between plants and public research centers for the development of new sugar cane varieties were fundamental in the restructuring of the sugar cane sector in the sector’s deregulation period. More than that, these partnerships allowed the organizations to exchange competencies, thus structuring a complementarity relation, that is, where the deficiencies of one are complemented by the strengths of others. This complementarity relation is fundamental for the development of innovations and the growth of the sector, therefore becoming the basis for a “business platform” structure.