Speed dating or marriage? Brazilian business fairs according to a sample of metal/mechanic companies

Purpose This paper aims to focus on Brazilian business fairs primarily attended by metalworking companies. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative and exploratory approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews answered by exhibitor companies from two of the most relevant Brazilian states in this industrial sector: Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Findings The results recognize the four pillars of the interorganizational relationship developed among exhibitors at business fairs and launch serious implications for the effective development of business fairs as spaces of interorganizational relationship and of value creation. Originality/value This is the first study discussing the trade fairs of the Brazilian emerging industry related to the metal-mechanic sector of two of the most significant states in the country: Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.