Ciclo de Vida das Empresas Familiares Brasileiras de Pequeno Porte: Uma Análise das Características e Dinâmica Estrutural em uma Rede de Revenda de Gás Liquefeito de Petróleo

The succession process is an important moment in the organizations’ life cycle, particularly in family companies, because according to the way the process is led, the results may represent a competitive advantage or rupture / discontinuity in their life cycle. In this paper we discuss the structural and dynamic characteristics of small family companies, trying to point out elements of analysis that were ignored in the organizational studies based in the Brazilian reality. People understand that in the structure and the dynamic of family companies we can find explanatory elements to the Brazilian family companies longevity. The empirical study was carried out in small Brazilian family companies that work with the retail trade activity in liquefied petroleum gas. Secondary data were used, to identify the sample companies, and also primary data, which were collected by interview technique and analyzed by the techniques of content analysis and discourse analysis. We conclude that the small Brazilian family company longevity is linked to the competitiveness levels expansion which depends on an organizational structure supported by systemic thought and understanding of the organizational dynamic that bind family and company in the same dimension.