Mensuração do grau de competitividade de empresas atuantes num mesmo ramo de atividade a partir do uso de variáveis quantitativas e de variáveis qualitativas nominais dicotômicas: uma pesquisa documental envolvendo os quatro maiores bancos de capital aberto que atuam no Brasil.

Abstract

This study presents a method for measuring the degree of competitiveness among companies operating in the same sector, based on a combined analysis of quantitative and qualitative variables. Its theoretical foundation draws on concepts of competitiveness and benchmarking, characteristics of the Brazilian banking sector, financial indicators, and brand value (as quantitative variables), as well as qualitative variables deemed relevant by modern society—specifically occupational health and safety, sustainability, scholarship programs, opportunities for women, and subsidized agricultural credit. The influence of these variables was assessed jointly through the use of statistical cluster analysis techniques. The documentary research covered the four largest publicly traded banks operating in Brazil; the study calculated the competitive distance of each bank relative to the one established as the benchmark. These results allow for comparison with existing rankings—such as the 2022 ranking by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies (DIEESE), which was used to define the benchmark itself. It is worth emphasizing that this is a strictly academic study aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of the employed technique and suggesting its utility as a decision-support tool; at no point was the intention to investigate specific qualities or shortcomings of the financial institutions involved, let alone to tarnish the image of any of them. As the study relied on documentary research, anonymizing the institutions involved was not required. After calculating the competitive distance between each of the three banks and the fourth—which served as the sector reference—the study identified which bank was closest to the benchmark based on the selected variables and determined which variables prevented the other banks from attaining that position, thereby demonstrating the methodology's potential as a decision-support instrument.