MARKET AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES IN ASSOCIATED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OF BRAZILIAN COMPANY

Resumo

The study examines the fuzzy front end of the largest Brazilian socks manufacturer when its managers decided to diversify their business. At the time, further growth possibilities were stagnant and the option to increase earnings was to develop a new product platform to support a new business. This paper aims to analyze and understand the content of the decision making that led to the development of new sporting goods platform, brand and franchise. The company’s existing capabilities were taken into account for that related diversification strategy. Comparing with International sports brands the company had a larger network of clients. The company finally decided to proceed with the creation of a new and shop franchise focused on sportswear. Despite initial uncertainty, the company’s experience with its FFE (Fuzzy Front End) became clearer and less diffuse and the decision to initiate a new platform project tends to be strongly grounded on established capabilities.