A growing number of Brazilian businesses could be classified as transnationals. They are big, competitive and operate globally because they have survived – through productivity, while ensuring liquidity and building image; grown – due to their capacity for creativity, innovation and renewal; and are on the path of perpetuity, based on the creation and reinvestment of the wealth that comprises their tangible assets, and their capacity to preserve their intangibles: their core principles, values and beliefs and the quality of their human capital.

This trend is good for Brazil because, aside from their leading role in this new era for our economy, these companies also have another important role to play that will reap benefits for them and their country: helping groom small and medium-sized Brazilian businesses to enter and compete in the global marketplace.

Our global companies are going through a period of expansion, and they could lead smaller businesses in the same direction as long as their activities are complementary. If Brazil already has “world champion” companies, it is because they subcontract a large number of small businesses that support and sustain their growth in a virtuous cycle.

The idea that a big company can or should abuse its power is archaic – part of a dying breed of capitalism. The continued growth of Brazilian global businesses, wherever they are present, is down to their ability to disseminate knowledge, transfer technology and share their success with all other economic agents.

A big company that oppresses or exploits small businesses with an immediate, short-term outlook does not understand that it is part of a supply chain whose links must never be out of balance, because if that happens, all will be at risk.

Global companies depend on smaller businesses for their very existence, and vice versa, but for small manufacturers, riding on the coattails of larger ones is the only way to internationalize their operations.

For this to happen, it is key for large businesses to view themselves as more than just sellers of products. They must also add value to those products by including services in all their business relationships and sharing their experience, innovations and best practices with their suppliers, subcontractors and clients.

In short, large Brazilian companies have a moral responsibility to foster the sustainable growth of small partner companies – and it is in their most strategic interest.