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1 – 10 of 276Tarso Souza Ramalho, Elisangela Lazarou Tarraco, Cesar Akira Yokomizo and Roberto Carlos Bernardes
The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare seven case studies of strategic innovation projects of the Brazilian army; these projects present high transformational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare seven case studies of strategic innovation projects of the Brazilian army; these projects present high transformational potential and high investments and are supported by technology and science policies.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors present herein multiple case studies in which the authors conduct a documentary analysis of the innovation processes in the Brazilian army, as well as semi-structured interviews conducted with eight servicemen with more than 15 years of working experience.
Findings
The results obtained suggest that the innovation process occurs in four stages: creation, selection, development and diffusion of ideas.
Practical implications
The research is relevant because it presents how the interaction between the Brazilian army, companies and academia strengthens the innovation ecosystem, stimulating the development of best practices for the management of strategic projects.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study is to present the strategic project management of innovation based on public policies and investment in projects of the Brazilian army, which are drivers for the development of ecosystems that promote the creation and expansion of companies, the diffusion of technological knowledge in universities, and suitable solutions for the military sector.
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Lucas Bonacina Roldan, Peter Bent Hansen and Domingo Garcia-Perez-de-Lema
Innovation is today considered a competitive differential for improving the performance of companies, and technology parks are seen as environments with favorable conditions for…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation is today considered a competitive differential for improving the performance of companies, and technology parks are seen as environments with favorable conditions for such innovation. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for analyzing favorable conditions for innovation in technology parks, the innovations produced and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, the authors conducted bibliographic research and in-depth interviews with managers of companies based at the Tecnopuc Science and Technology Park, and managers of the park itself, to establish practical support for previous theoretical findings.
Findings
As a result, a framework was developed to link the favorable conditions for innovation, and organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis model proposed here synthesizes the contributions made by several scholars on the theme, allowing for a more detailed and integrated interpretation of the phenomenon, namely, the ways through which the effective development of innovation takes place in companies residing in technology parks and the contribution of innovation to the specific performance of companies.
Practical implications
The use of the proposed framework can help direct park managers’ action towards those relationships or activities that prove to be ineffective in achieving desired goals.
Originality/value
The use of the proposed model in empirical surveys will allow for better understanding of the phenomenon involving the features of technology parks and their effects on innovation and the performance of companies installed there, considering that such parks allow them to access resources with lower transaction costs.
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Suzana Xavier Ribeiro and Marcelo Seido Nagano
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how certain characteristics of the university–industry–government collaboration facilitate knowledge creation and management, hence…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how certain characteristics of the university–industry–government collaboration facilitate knowledge creation and management, hence innovation focusing on particularities of the Brazilian scenario.
Design/methodology/approach
As a conceptual basis, there are correlations between theories of knowledge management and the Triple Helix, a model referenced to university–industry–government cooperation. The research was conducted through a multiple case study at two National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs in Portuguese).
Findings
The main results show the importance of participation in the INCT program, as it enables the creation of an organizational structure with the coordinator’s leadership, who directs the flow of knowledge among organizations and stimulates innovation.
Originality/value
The choice of the topic is justified by the lack of studies on the identification and analyses of the main aspects of this type of collaboration in an integrated way.
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Cristiano Goncalves Pereira, Rodrigo Ribeiro Da Silva, João Ricardo Lavoie and Geciane Silveira Porto
The establishment of partnerships between companies, government and universities aims to enhance innovation and the technological development of institutions. The biotechnology…
Abstract
Purpose
The establishment of partnerships between companies, government and universities aims to enhance innovation and the technological development of institutions. The biotechnology sector has grown in recent years mainly driven by its cooperative business model. Compared to other countries, this sector is slowly advancing in Brazil, with delays in science, technology and innovation, especially in the private sector. This paper aims to examine, through social network analysis, the collaborative networks between institutions that filed patents in biotechnology – medicinal preparations from plants – whose inventions had Brazil as the priority country.
Design/methodology/approach
The study of technological cooperation using patent documents is a reliable approach as they serve as good indicators of the interactions between organizations that focus on innovation and development of new product. Social network analysis of cooperation networks helps to understand the connections between patent assignees, and how they establish relationships.
Findings
Results show that public universities are the institutions that most deposit patents, as well as those that co-operate the most, especially Universidade of Campinas. The study also reveals the critical role of Research Support Agencies in stimulating research and technological development, which result in new technologies.
Originality/value
The study applied the social network analysis to provide an overview of the interactions among Brazilian institutions with the purpose of helping in decision-making and inciting public policies to leverage the biotechnology sector.
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Cassiane Chais, Paula Patrícia Ganzer and Pelayo Munhoz Olea
This paper aims to research how technology transfer occurs, based on the Schumpeterian approach to innovation trilogy focusing on the interaction between the university and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to research how technology transfer occurs, based on the Schumpeterian approach to innovation trilogy focusing on the interaction between the university and the company.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology used for this study was the analysis of two cases with an exploratory and qualitative approach. The case study subjects were two Brazilian universities: University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS). Semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection technique, whereas content analysis was used as the analysis technique.
Findings
The main results showed the need of companies and universities to understand that working in collaborative technology research contributes to the transformation of applied research into technological innovations that can transform society.
Research limitations/implications
The research’s limitations were the unfeasibility of studying the government helix, the lack of clear and established processes within universities so that a comparison between the cases would be possible and the lack of access to technology contracts, as they are considered confidential. In addition, the use of two cases is considered a limitation, as it is not possible to generalize the conclusions pointed out by the study.
Originality/value
With this research, the authors were able to conclude that the university–industry interaction process has been improving, but it still needs to advance in organizational aspects. Some of the aspects to be considered are the adjustments for the institutions’ internal policies, the existing negotiations, the researchers’ behavior regarding the dissemination of the innovation culture and the performance of the technological innovation centers, which gradually are being trained to work in the market as well as in the university. It is necessary that primarily companies and universities understand that they must join efforts in collaborative technological research, so that the financial resources invested are not only accepted as published articles in qualified journals but also turn into technological innovations accepted by the market. All this investment must return as new products, services and technologies that generate local, regional, national and even international impact, implementing new types of businesses and new markets and yielding an economic impact in the country, thus generating innovation and social well-being.
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André Cherubini Alves, Bruno Fischer, Paola Rücker Schaeffer and Sérgio Queiroz
The purpose of this paper is to analyze this phenomenon and identify its determinants using data from Brazilian higher education institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze this phenomenon and identify its determinants using data from Brazilian higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a data set comprehending 2,230 university students from 70 different institutions across the country, the authors develop five Probit models to assess impacts related to individual traits and systemic conditions on five dependent dimensions: entrepreneurial activity, potential entrepreneurs, high-impact entrepreneurship, serial entrepreneurship and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.
Findings
The lack of significance in many of the variables included in estimations suggests that student entrepreneurship seems to be a rather random phenomenon in Brazil.
Research limitations/implications
Findings pose challenges for student entrepreneurship, as targets for intervention are not clear.
Originality/value
Over the past decades, universities have been receiving an increasing demand to go beyond their role of producing science and technology to explore its knowledge potential to produce novel commercial applications. However, while there is a growing interest in ways to foster scientific academic entrepreneurship, universities also serve as a positive environment for student entrepreneurship training, knowledge sharing, testing ideas and learning. So far, the importance of student entrepreneurship has received far less attention than it likely deserves.
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Vinícius Rosa Cota, Cleiton Lopes Aguiar, Bezamat de Souza Neto and Miguel Benegas
The purpose of this paper is to argue in favor of the open hardware philosophy (open-source hardware – OSH) as a technological innovation and academic entrepreneurshipmodel in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue in favor of the open hardware philosophy (open-source hardware – OSH) as a technological innovation and academic entrepreneurshipmodel in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
This argument is based on three pillars. The first one refers to a bibliographic review of theoretical frameworks related to academic entrepreneurship and technological innovation to emphasize the disruptive innovation capacity of academia. Second, a few elements related to the Brazilian political, economic and structural scenario, which entail a (more) favorable environment to technological innovation and academic entrepreneurship, is presented. Finally, concepts related to OSH and its business model are approached to demonstrate the facilitating effect toward the whole process.
Findings
As a result of the argument made herein, it is possible to perceive the viability of the OSH model in terms of entrepreneurship and technological innovation in the academic sphere, and to perceive its benefits before social and economic needs in areas such as health and education.
Research limitations/implications
There are no empirical or quantifiable data in the literature that enable comparison between OSH and traditional technological innovation models.
Originality/value
The considerations on the philosophical value of OSH and its business models are scarcely explored in international literature. As far as we know, relating OSH to technological innovation entrepreneurship in the academic sphere, as well as its singularities in Brazil regarding the innovation national system and social and economic demands, is a unique approach in literature.
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Tatiane Baseggio Crespi, Priscila Rezende da Costa, Taísa Scariot Preusler and Geciane Silveira Porto
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organizational structure and R&D management alignment in an internationalized public company.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organizational structure and R&D management alignment in an internationalized public company.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors performed a descriptive qualitative research using the single case method of EMBRAPA.
Findings
The results indicated that EMBRAPA organizational structure provides a structural framework for R&D management, promoting knowledge and infrastructure sharing. The internationalization, especially through LABEX, allows researchers to interact with research centers of excellence abroad. This makes strategic planning (Sistema de Inteligência Estratégico da EMBRAPA – Agropensa, portfolios and project arrangements) results in R&D projects, through macro programs, generating innovations for Brazilian agriculture.
Research limitations/implications
It should be noted that this study presents some limitations, among them, the fact that only one company is being analyzed.
Practical implications
Therefore, EMBRAPA’s organizational structure provides a structural framework for R&D management, promoting knowledge sharing and infrastructure. This makes the strategic planning (Agropensa, portfolios and arrangements) to result in R&D projects, via macro programs, generating innovations for the Brazilian agriculture. On the contributions to the advancement of knowledge with regard to the professional management of public research institutes, it is worth synthesizing, therefore, the following practical evidence in the field and that they were key to the successful management of R&D activities in EMBRAPA.
Originality/value
The choice of this company is due to its importance for the Brazilian agricultural development, to the innovations generated for the modernization of agriculture and due to it being a public, internationalized R&D company, and with a trajectory of four decades of existence.
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Flavia Cristina Silva, Fabio Ytoshi Shibao, Isak Kruglianskas, José Carlos Barbieri and Paulo Antonio Almeida Sinisgalli
In total, 19 practices of circular economy divided into three groups, internal environmental management, ecological design and investment recovery were studied in a local network…
Abstract
Purpose
In total, 19 practices of circular economy divided into three groups, internal environmental management, ecological design and investment recovery were studied in a local network composed of small companies and individual entrepreneurs related to common product and by-product flows. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This research presents an applied nature, is characterized as exploratory and adopted the case study as a technical procedure using sources and methods of data collection. The primary data were collected through direct observation of the processes and semi-structured interviews with managers and owners.
Findings
The most widespread practices are related to product design. However, in most cases, the implementation was punctual and did not present continuous and corresponding actions, which highlights the embryonic contours of European Commission (EC) in the observed network. The practices from the management category were less observed, which revels the environmental variable is not included in the strategic business planning.
Research limitations/implications
The research documents the application of CE practices in a local network and brings this current paradigm shift to the Brazilian context.
Practical implications
To overcome barriers to the implementation of EC practices, it is suggested to restructure commercial relations, to formulate public policies and to develop infrastructures that facilitate the materiality of flows and the market.
Social implications
The study highlights the need of public policies that promotes cross-sectoral cooperation in accordance with NSWP objectives.
Originality/value
Despite the focus on EC implemented practices this study offers a framework of the research routes on the main barriers and suggests actions to overcome the challenges in the transition from the economy to the circular model.
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Crystyane Ferreira Bernardino, Joseane Viola Debortoli, Washington Gonçalo Rodrigues Veloso, Adriana Gontijo Nunes and Lilian Bambirra de Assis
The puropose of this study is to analyze the functioning of the triple helix interaction in Minas Gerais, through the case study of the Minas Gerais State Research Support…
Abstract
Purpose
The puropose of this study is to analyze the functioning of the triple helix interaction in Minas Gerais, through the case study of the Minas Gerais State Research Support Foundation (Fapemig).
Design/methodology/approach
The information was collected from the Activity Reports published by Fapemig. Quantitative methods were used for structural analysis and data tabulation of the researched and qualitative programs for a procedural and documentary analysis of projects promoted by Fapemig between the years 2009 and 2018.
Findings
The Fapemig showed itself to be a fundamental agent for innovation and the development of interactions between the state, universities and companies in Minas Gerais, through the creation of programs, offered in public notices, financing them and creating a space of consensus among the agents.
Originality/value
There is few research on triple helix interaction for the state of Minas Gerais; most research on this topic is concentrated in some regions of the country, and the present work contributes to fill this research gap, besides demonstrating, in a case study, applications of recent and still little-explored concepts of the literature on triple helix.
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