A Multinational Company Operating in a Protected Trade Environment - A case study of DeLaval within the stainless steel industry in Brazil

Abstract: It’s essential for a multinational company to understand its trade environment. The trade environment is based on networks of actors, which have their specific interests. Therefore it is important to identify the main actors and their influencing power in the network, especially when operating in a protected trade environment. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of a protected trade environment: identify the main actors, describe how they influence this environment, and investigate how the trade environment influences a multinational company’s possibilities to operate and source raw material within the stainless steel industry in Brazil. This is a qualitative single-case study of the DeLaval Cooling Factory in Brazil. The empirical data was gathered through interviews in Brazil. The trade environment of the stainless steel industry in Brazil is characterised by a small number of players with a strong presence in the network. The main actor has strong linkages with the government, which protects the industry from foreign competition through several measures. These measures harm the competitiveness of DeLaval internationally, but also secure a protected market in Brazil.