The objective of this study is to analyze the intervening factors in breaches of contract between filling stations and distributors in the Brazilian fuel sector. The Logit and Probit models and the least squares method were used. The sample comprised 6030 filling stations (retailers), the names of which were obtained from reports provided by ANP (Brazilian Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency). Various factors that intervene in breaches of contract are identified and analyzed as a function of the legal, political and economic environment. It was found that a lack of supervision and efficient monitoring in the fuel sector has influence on the performance of the organizational arrangements found in the Brazilian fuel sector. Stronger supervision and monitoring are necessary because of the characteristics of the fuels, which require technical analysis to determine their quality and origin. The "dominant flag" (oil companies' own gas stations) arrangement, where there is high control, has proved to be the best organizational form, with less probability of breaches of contract occurring than other arrangements.
Contracts; breaches of contract; contract monitoring; fuels; organizational arrangements
