Gestão do conhecimento no processo de preparação do sucessor rural em negócio familiar no Brasil: uma teoria substantiva

Abstract

Farm family businesses represent approximately 98% of all farms and are responsible for 53% of the world’s food production. Brazil plays a crucial role in food security by presenting itself as a potential food supplier for a global population estimated at more than 9 billion inhabitants in 2050. The aging of the farm population and the emptying of farm family businesses are realities evidenced by Brazilian indicators. Succession is a gradual process of transferring managerial control from one generation to another. This phase can be critical for the property, affecting the sustainability of the business and the continuity of agricultural systems. In rural areas, poor preparation of the successor can compromise the succession process, with possible consequences such as emptying the field with a consequent reduction in food production, loss of accumulated knowledge, uncertainty, family tension, stagnation of property, concentration of production in larger areas, within others. This thesis was developed in Brazil, with a doctoral internship at a university in Spain. The research problem is based on the little of preparation or inexperience of the farm successor can compromise the management of the family business. The objective was to understand knowledge management focused on the process of preparing farm successors in family businesses, from the perspective of the successor. The research strategy was qualitative, using the Grounded Theory method, Strauss and Corbin (2008). The method has a solid empirical basis and is positioned within the interpretivist paradigm. The research consists of seven stages: area of investigation, research question, definition of instruments, selection of informants, coding (data collection and analysis – using the ATLAS.ti software), return to the literature and evaluation. Ten farm family successors were interviewed in the five regions of the country. A substantive theory was developed that has as its central category the knowledge formation of the farm family successor and four other categories: personal characteristic, learning, experience and network. The fundamental hypothesis inferred was: “Knowledge management focused on the process of preparing rural successors in family businesses is achieved through their knowledge formation, which is mutually related to personal characteristics, learning, external experience and network of the farm successor family”. The theory that emerged from the data is dense, being composed of: eleven properties, thirty dimensions, and a set of interrelated categories (ten propositions), nine conditions, three actions/interactions and three consequences. The investigation contributes to a greater understanding of the farm successor's knowledge management in a rural environment, which may favour a successor who is more prepared to work in the farm.