Fatores de Competitividade à Luz do Diamante de Porter: Estudo Multicaso no Segmento Salineiro do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte

This study aims to identify competitiveness factors, in light of Porter's Diamond, in the salt industry of Rio Grande do Norte. A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory and multi-case study was conducted with three salt mines, developed through triangulation of semi-structured interviews with the manager of each company, direct observation and content analysis. Subsequently, the data transcripts were imported into the ATLAS.ti 8.4 software, where the networks were developed. The results show that natural resources are favorable to the salt industry activity, and that the conditions influence the production factors, stimulating the innovation of technological resources. The salt produced satisfies the external market. As for related industries, it was found that the lack of support from government spheres is unfavorable to logistics. The dimension of strategy, structure and rivalry is identified in the excellence of the salt quality, constituting the mechanism for competitive advantage. The contribution of this study is the understanding of the competitiveness factors for the progress of salt industry organizations in the market.