The text offers a review of the perspectives of Institutional and Resource Dependence, and shows a practical application based on the analysis of organizational strategic adaptation in the case study of a family-run furniture manufacturer and retailer. While the institutional perspective emphasizes environmental determinism as an influencer of the organization's strategic responses, the Resource Dependence perspective emphasizes voluntarism as a key aspect in the response of organizational decision makers. The key factors for the study of strategies proposed in the adaptation process range from the degree of organizational compliance, dictated by the former, to resistance to institutional pressures, explained by the latter. This article aimed to show that in the process of organizational adaptation, both are important aspects of the decision making of organizational leaders. This research is of the exploratory type, with a qualitative approach. This type of approach involves interviews and observations, resulting in descriptions of the results and impressions of the events. The results of the interviews show that the transformations of the environment are partly due to the actions of managers, who seek to bring the characteristics of the environment more in line with the specific interests of their organizations.