The political dynamics of corporate co-evolution: Replicating and extending a case study

Abstract

Although a significant body of knowledge about the strategies that companies use in their interactions with their environments exists, much less is known about the political dynamics of these interactions in situations of co-evolution between companies and environments. In this case study, we analyze the interactions between the representatives of producers (RPs) of ornamental rock and government authorities (GA) in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo (ESS). These interactions involved the regulation of heavy cargo transportation and resulted in a significant reduction in road accidents. In this analysis, we replicate a recently published case (Child, Tse & Rodrigues, 2013). Replicating cases is important to establishing validity and extending the generalizability of theoretical results (Vissak, 2010). However, replication is seldom conducted (Pacheco, York, & Hargrave, 2011). We address the following questions: Are the conclusions of Child et al. (2013) compatible with our observations in ESS? Do their concepts help explain the political dynamics of this current case? We conclude in the affirmative to these three questions but identify differences that are attributable to the differing contexts of these situations.