SUMMARY
This study aimed to evaluate if social network and social capital theories are enough do encompass the complexity of management of cooperatives works in order to get superior performance. The subject of this study arises on the relationship of inter-organizational social networks in managerial capabilities of Brazilian cooperatives operating in the dairy segment. We utilized a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data. The questionnaire was sent by email and by mail to the leaders of 414 cooperatives. We obtained 348 responses and, after treatment of missing data, 331 of them were analyzed. A theoretical model based on the theoretical framework was proposed and then validated by analysis of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Thus, it was established that inter-organizational social networks generate capital and that the cooperatives make use of networks, albeit incipiently. It was noted, too, that inter-organizational social networks can benefit cooperatives’ performance.