BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP: A STRATEGY FOR THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES OF THE TOURISM SECTOR

The markets opening promotes small and medium sized enterprises to adopt collective strategies of cooperation and partnership that allow them to face the international competition from the local, through the development of competitive advantages. Within these strategies the partnership is highlighted, conceived as a mechanism for cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises, which are linked to the implementation of joint actions that will achieve a preset goal. In this context, this study is presented, which object has been to set up a business partnership model in the practice area of the tourism sector in the Paraguana Peninsula, located in Falcon state, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. To achieve this aim, a documentary and fieldwork research was carried out, supported on constructivist design. The data collection was done through the implementation of a structured questionnaire to managers of enterprises in the tourism sector. The results allow to identify the capacity of partnership that these organizations have and the elements that contributed to give shape to the partnership model. It is concluded that to implement the proposed model, it is necessary to strengthen the local social capital, as well as the presence of an articulator agent that directs the implementation of each phase.