Vantagem competitiva para micro, pequenas e médias empresas: clusters e APLs

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), as a result of globalization and its impositions, have been seeking ways to achieve competitive advantage for survival in the market. Currently, many of them seek to associate themselves in local networks such as clusters and Local Productive Arrangements (APLs) as a way to combat competition with large companies. The present article studies, by means of a theoretical essay, which are the advantages of this association registered in the national and international literature. In conclusion, fourteen advantages were detected, which are divided into advantages of agglomeration power and advantages of sharing activities and processes. The archetype carried out will serve as a basis for empirical studies in order to illustrate its suitability to the reality of the companies participating in this type of network