One of the main purposes of Administration is the systematization of best practices that support the achievement of organizational objectives, mainly shareholder value in the case of for-profit companies. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the factors identified as explanatory for achieving success in American companies were also present in Brazilian companies with similar value performance. This is a descriptive study based on field survey design. A 24-year (1988-2012) data survey of market value of all Brazilian private equity companies listed on the BM & F BOVESPA identified seven companies that met the performance parameters established in the research. Executives, or former executives, from these companies collaborated with this study, answering questions about the seven explanatory success factors identified in the research Good to Great, Collins. The adherence - or degree of alignment - observed for each factor is as follows: continuous improvement (90%); attitude toward problems (86%); strategic focus (86%); discipline (86%); leadership (82%); team (80%) and relationship with technology (78%). We conclude that, in general, the factors identified as explanatory for the high performance of American companies also significantly explain the success of Brazilian companies. This research contributes to endorse market value as a performance indicator for long-term analysis of Brazilian companies; identify Brazilian listed companies with sustained high performance; improve the understanding of strategic competitiveness factors of high performance Brazilian companies; identify possible ways to improve the performance of companies; and identify opportunities for future studies on the value of companies, competitiveness and explanatory factors.
Competitiveness; Performance indicators; Success factors; Strategic management; Capital market
