Concepções de controle dos frigoríficos brasileiros: uma análise sobre a JBS, Marfrig e Minerva

Abstract

This paper analyzes the transformations in the conceptions of control of the main companies in the Brazilian meatpacking companies: JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva, addressing how their strategies and management models were reconfigured in the context of the sector's consolidation and the financialization of the economy. The theoretical framework is based on Fligstein's economic sociology, especially the notion of conceptions of control. It engages with the literature on financialization and the Varieties of Capitalism approach, situating the Brazilian case within its specific institutional arrangement. It starts from the premise that conceptions of control express internal power dynamics within companies and their position in a field marked by disputes, state mediation, and market pressures. Methodologically, a multiple case study approach was adopted, analyzing the trajectory of the companies based on documentary analysis of corporate reports and corporate documents from 2007 to 2024. The investigation focused on dimensions such as acquisitions and mergers, shareholding composition, capital structure and leverage, profiles of the board of directors and management boards, and dividend distribution, allowing for a processual understanding of organizational transformations. The results indicate that the expansion of the companies, which became dominant in the national market and protagonists in the global protein trade, was driven by growth strategies via mergers and acquisitions, financed by leveraged capital structures and access to the stock market. The initial public offering (IPO) represented a turning point, redefining performance criteria and expanding the influence of institutional investors. A progressive professionalization of management and a reconfiguration of the role of the founding families were observed, in an environment increasingly driven by financial metrics. In terms of control concepts, the consolidation of shareholder value orientation was identified as the dominant principle throughout the analyzed period. The dynamics of the sector thus reveal a field of strategic action in which the State, companies, and investors interact, highlighting a hybrid form of financialization in Brazilian capitalism. It is concluded that the transformations in the conceptions of control of these corporations express broader changes in the organization of agro-export capitalism in Brazil, contributing to a critical understanding of financialization in emerging economies and its effects on governance and business action.