The wide institutional and market reorganization that resulted from the privatization of public utility concessions in Brazil in several economic sectors made evident the increasing need to take strategic business initiatives with a view to attaining the expected performance from these concessions. Embedded in uncertainties, concessions such as piped gas distribution have been hardly considered in strategic management research. From a relational perspective this study investigated the impact of macro-environmental factors on the performance of CEG and CEG RIO - gas distribution companies in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, privatized in July, 1997. In accordance with Yin's case study method (1994), a triangulation of methods was adopted. Thus, data was collected by way of documental/telematic investigations, a survey of management perceptions with the help of a predominantly structured questionnaire and complementary interviews. Data interpretation and analysis were carried out with the help of a relational framework and Macedo-Soares's model (2002) for relational strategic analysis. The results suggested that the firms' strategies were indeed adequate, confirming that the relational perspective added value to the traditional perspective, contributing with new insights to the companies' strategic decision-making processes and to the management of public utility concessions in general.
strategy; strategic planning; strategic management; concessions; piped gas distribution; macro-environmental factors; strategic alliances
