This study sought to apply the ELECTRE III to classify four production clusters of micro and small enterprises, located in Minas Gerais, according to the ability to develop a survival strategy through the relationship with the supplier, customer, distributor, competitors and public and private support companies. The combined effect of these variables defines the ability they have to develop competitive strategies. The results showed that the grouping of demolition wood manufacturers is the most appropriate regarding the success factors of a cluster, followed by clusters of and iron and weaving loom products, which apparently are not different from one another. The cluster of tin artifacts was the last one in the classification, showing a lower capacity for firms in developing joint strategies for survival. Robustness analysis was performed to confirm the results obtained with the application of ELECTRE III, confirming the initial ranking.
Performance Evaluation; Robustness Analysis; ELECTRE III; MSE's cluster
