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Livestock farming plays a significant role in Rio Grande do Sul state. The current global dynamics of grain appreciation have triggered the advance of agricultural production, especially soybean, over the gaucho Pampa biome. These changes determine the path of production system sustainability; however, it remains unclear how sustainable these production systems are. A typology of 90 family livestock production systems in the Pampa biome was performed as a function of sustainability using the MESMIS method and cluster analysis. The production systems were grouped into three different groups: SPPF, least sustainable, with a higher percentage of crops in the systems, more soybean crops, lower share of income from livestock production, and less native field area. SPPF more sustainable, presented greater sustainability, with smaller crop areas in relation to the total area, more native field in the systems, a more standardized herd, greater crop diversification, and a higher level of formal education and producer participation. SPPF intermediary presented higher productivity then the least sustainable SPPF, self-sufficiency equal to that of the other groups, and similar results to SPPF least sustainable for the other attributes (p < 0.05).

As one surveys the field of cooperative strategies and alliances, some misconceptions are discernible concerning which are the main theoretical frameworks and how they can be articulated among themselves when they focus upon issues such as the strategic process, cooperation and the environment. This article offers a theoretical contribution to this subject. It uses, as a methodological approach, an extensive study and review of the contextual literature. Seven main theoretical outlooks are advanced: military theories; the game theory; the transaction cost theory; the positioning approach; the social networks theory; the resource-based theory; and learning theories. Each one holds a particular set of premises and is derived from specific foundations. Some are compatible with one another, while others are not. The results allow both a more comprehensive view of the whole and an outlook on the possibilities for articulations among the different perspectives and their repercussions on empirical research.