The objective of this work is to revaluate the Miles' strategy model, which was presented in 1970, and insert it in a theoretical frame of business networks, since both the original author and posterior works put the uncertainty of the environment and the relations between companies as the foundation for strategic decision, which are principles of the network theories. The lead proposition is that the option for one of four strategies from the model by small businesses can be explained by its connections in the network in which they are immersed. The argument is sustained by the analysis of the convergence of international articles about the basis and capacities of the model and by the analysis of brazilian researches with small businesses, in which the model was applied, searching for its relations with demographic, economic and companies' resources variables. Our interpretation is that these works have utilized the principles of networks, although not explicitly. The article creates a theoretical benefit with the support of the network theory for the model; it creates a methodological benefit by indicating that the network variables, such as centrality, density, flow content and commitment, would be the main antecedents to determining the strategic position of the company; and it creates a managerial benefit by presenting a model which is applicable to small businesses, with the capacity of distinguishing between the four strategies, in other words, it is possible to determine the strategy that the company is following, even when it is not made explicit by its managers and the possibilities of movement to new positions.
Strategy; Network Theory; Miles' Strategy Model
