Distritos industriais e inovação: o sector dos moldes em Portugal

Com base no estudo aprofundado de empresas nacionais do sector dos moldes, pretendeu determinar-se onde e como estas empresas adquirem o conhecimento necessário para as suas actividades de inovação. A ênfase deste trabalho foi o estudo das interacções entre vários elementos do sistema, sejam eles internos ou externos à empresa. Pretendeu responder-se às duas questões seguintes: Se a inovação reflecte aprendizagem, como é que as empresas aprendem e como inovam? A que se deve o desempenho inovador do sector dos moldes nacional? O estudo efectuado resultou na criação de um modelo de observação do sector dos moldes, relativo ao tipo de relações existentes entre as empresas e entre estas e outras instituições, permitindo uma sistematização e uma generalização na análise da dinâmica inovadora deste sector. A capacidade inovadora do sector é também relacionada com certas características intrínsecas do mesmo. Ao estudar as empresas, bem como as interacções existentes, constatou-se a presença de características particulares dos distritos industriais italianos. Na verdade, pode afirmar-se que este sector da indústria nacional possui algumas características idênticas à de um distrito industrial italiano, e este facto influenciou e condicionou o seu desempenho inovador

Network relations and innovative performance

Eight firms of the Portuguese moulds industry, all located in the region of Marinha Grande, were analysed as it regards their patterns of relationships with other actors within the sector or outside the sector, and its correlation with innovative performance. The information obtained through intensive observation allowed for the creation of an observation model of the moulds industry. This model is based on the type of existing interactions between firms (customers, suppliers, competitors) and between firms and other institutions (academic institutions, technological centres, research institutions). The firms were not randomly chosen, and it was determinant for their inclusion in the sample their innovative reputation or performance. Although all the sample firms belong to the same industrial industry, different characteristics have emerged, allowing their grouping and classification along the lines of a value chain. Some of the firms are typically and almost exclusively producers, and their project and engineering capacity is very limited. R&D activities and product engineering and design activities are non-existent. A second category of firms have very well developed project and engineering capacities, as well as productive capacity, and are able to develop innovative solutions to demanding costumers. Information sources for innovation are essentially internal, coming out of R&D, and product engineering and design activities, developed internally. There is another category of firms that have no internal production capacity, which is contracted out to other firms. The firms have different innovative behaviours, depending on the partner with whom informal relations are established. In general, the relations between firms and other firms, with firms and customers, with firms and suppliers, and even with firms and their competitors are extremely strong. However relations between firms and academic institutions, technological centres or research institutions are, as a rule, rarer and weaker, but the firms that have more relations with these kind of partners are also the more innovative ones and the more independent of customers. The relations that are established by the firm vary according to the characteristics of the firm, namely its particular abilities which are associated with each nuclear area, their strategic position for the knowledge acquisition (i.e. from external sources) and knowledge creation (i.e. own R&D activities), and the position in the industry value chain. A model was constructed, based on the different relations profiles of the firms, on the position within the value chain that the firm occupies, and on the level of innovative capacity of the firm. The model proves to be very useful in the analysis of the behaviour of the industry, by permitting a categorisation of each firm, and providing a clear picture of the industry as a whole. This research work is important because it permits the systematization and generalisation of the innovative dynamics in this industry

Barriers to innovation amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal

The importance of innovation on the survival and competitiveness of organizations is an undeniable fact. Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 99,99% of all Portuguese firms. This reality is shared by other European countries and therefore it is relevant to study their innovative behaviour and attitudes in order to achieve competitiveness and sustainability. The present study inquires about barriers to innovation, namely, what are the barriers faced by domestic companies, which barriers are easier to recognize and overcome and what is the level of importance they have on the firm point of view. The course of the investigation consists primarily in undertaking literature review on topics such as innovation, barriers to innovation, SMEs, strategy and competitiveness. The theoretical support, resulting therefrom leads to the building line of work that is embodied in two surveys. The results achieved made possible the creation of two new models of classification and segmentation of the barriers. The BARINOV Model that evidences the existence of internal or external barriers and flashes upon the concept of deviation barrier. The BARIFASE Model embodies the innovation process through three phases and evidences the occurrence of the barriers to innovation during these stages

Innovation and industrial clusters

On this case study the aim was to understand the mechanisms for knowledge acquisition and its transformation in innovation performance by Portuguese firms of the moulds industrial sector. Emphasis was put on the study of interactions between several external or internal elements of the system. Information obtained through intensive observation and study of eight firms of the moulds sector, all located in the region of Marinha Grande, in Portugal, allowed for the creation of an observation model of the moulds sector, in relation to the type of existing interactions between firms and between firms and other institutions. The study permits systematization and generalisation in the analysis of the innovative dynamics of this sector

The relevance of external sources of information on the innovative performance of waste management firms : case studies

Este trabalho, baseado no estudo de seis empresas do sector de gestão de resíduos, pretendeu determinar onde e como estas empresas adquirem o conhecimento necessário para o desenvolvimento das suas actividades de inovação, o que implicou responder às seguintes questões de investigação: Quais são os parceiros com que as empresas se relacionam? Qual o papel diferenciado de cada um desses parceiros? Deste modo, tomouse como quadro conceptual as abordagens actuais sobre a temática da inovação, desenvolvendo-se um suporte teórico e empírico, que permitiu identificar e analisar os factores externos que influenciam o comportamento inovador destas empresas. Permitiu, verificar que o padrão de relacionamentos destas empresas do sector de gestão de resíduos envolve outras empresas, nomeadamente clientes, fornecedores e concorrentes, bem como instituições académicas e centros de investigação, e consultores e instituições de investigação privadas. Também permitiu constatar que são mais consistentes as ligações que estas empresas mantém com outras empresas, sejam estas clientes ou fornecedores, do que com instituições académicas e centros de investigação, e consultores e instituições de investigação privadas. E, confirmou, que apesar das ligações serem pontuais, as empresas mais inovadoras, isto é, as que desenvolvem inovações do tipo “novo para o mercado” são as que mais se relacionam com instituições académicas.This research work, based on a multiple case-study of six firms in the sector of waste management, sought to determine where and how these firms acquire the necessary knowledge to develop their innovation activities. This aim required answering the following questions: Which are the partners that interact with the firms? What is the unique role of each partner? Thus, as a conceptual framework the current approaches on the topic of innovation were documented, developing a theoretical and empirical support, which helped identify and analyze the external factors that influence the behavior of these innovative firms. It disclosed that the pattern of relationships of these firms involves other firms, such as customers, suppliers and competitors, as well as academic institutions and research centers, consultants and private research institutions. It also revealed as more consistent the networks developed between these firms and others, being those customers or suppliers, than the established with academic institutions and research centers, and consultants and private research institutions. Furthermore, this study identified the following framework, even though connections may be sporadic, the most innovative firms, i.e. those that develop innovations "new to market", are the most linked to academic institutions

Barriers to innovation in SMEs: An international comparison

The Portuguese business frame is mainly compounded of small‐sized companies, namely small and medium enterprises, which represent 99.99% of all Portuguese firms. This reality is common to other countries and makes it relevant to study their behavior and attitudes towards competitiveness and sustainability. The present study proposes to inquire about the issue of barriers to innovation in the following circumstances: what are the barriers faced by domestic companies, how do they deal with and overcome them, and finally what is the importance of each barrier. The research identifies the main barriers in the companies surveyed which revealed as of extreme importance the current economic climate and showed the similarities between the barriers revealed in Portugal and barriers to innovation on other countries where similar studies occurred.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A importância das redes no desempenho inovador : sector dos moldes em Portugal

Com este trabalho de investigação pretendeu determinar-se onde e como oito empresas nacionais do sector dos moldes, todas elas localizadas na região da Marinha Grande, adquirem o conhecimento necessário para o desenvolvimento das suas actividades de inovação. A ênfase deste trabalho foi o estudo das diversas interacções entre os vários elementos do sistema, sejam eles internos ou externos à empresa. Com a informação recolhida das empresas estudadas, foi possível construir um modelo conceptual de observação das empresas inovadoras do sector dos moldes, relativo ao tipo de relações existentes entre as empresas (clientes, fornecedores, concorrentes) e entre estas e outras instituições (instituições académicas, centro tecnológico, centros de investigação), permitindo uma sistematização e uma generalização na análise da dinâmica inovadora deste sector. O padrão de relacionamento é diferenciado consoante as características da empresa, nomeadamente as diferentes competências específicas, associadas a cada área nuclear, e consoante o seu posicionamento estratégico face à aquisição e criação de conhecimento.In this case study the aim was to understand the mechanisms for knowledge acquisition and its transformation in innovation performance by eight Portuguese firms of the moulds industry, all located in the region of Marinha Grande. Emphasis was put on the study of interactions between several external and internal elements of the system. The information obtained through intensive observation allowed for the creation of an observation model of the moulds industry. This model is based on the type of existing interactions between firms (customers, suppliers, competitors) and between firms and other institutions (academic institutions, technological centres, research institutions). This research work is important because it permits the systematization and generalisation of the innovative dynamics in this industry. The pattern of relationship depends on the characteristics of the firm, namely its particular abilities which are associated with each nuclear area and according to their strategic position for the knowledge acquisition (i.e. from external sources) and knowledge creation (i.e. own R&D activities)

Fontes de informação como determinantes da capacidade inovadora de empresas de gestão de resíduos : estudo de casos

Este trabalho, baseado no estudo de seis empresas do sector de gestão de resíduos, pretendeu determinar onde e como estas empresas adquirem o conhecimento necessário para o desenvolvimento das suas actividades de inovação, o que implicou responder às seguintes questões de investigação: Quais são os parceiros com que as empresas se relacionam? Qual o papel diferenciado de cada um desses parceiros? Deste modo, tomou-se como quadro conceptual as abordagens actuais sobre a temática da inovação, desenvolvendo-se um suporte teórico e empírico, que permitiu identificar e analisar os factores externos que influenciam o comportamento inovador destas empresas. Permitiu, verificar que o padrão de relacionamentos destas empresas do sector de gestão de resíduos envolve outras empresas, nomeadamente clientes, fornecedores e concorrentes, bem como instituições académicas e centros de investigação, e consultores e instituições de investigação privadas. Também permitiu constatar que são mais consistentes as ligações que estas empresas mantém com outras empresas, sejam estas clientes ou fornecedores, do que com instituições académicas e centros de investigação, e consultores e instituições de investigação privadas. E, confirmou, que apesar das ligações serem pontuais, as empresas mais inovadoras, isto é, as que desenvolvem inovações do tipo “novo para o mercado” são as que mais se relacionam com instituições académicas

Strategic innovation through innovative services and business models supported in electronic platforms

Strategic innovation means the design of new business models that seek to reach new customers, to offer new products or services or to find new ways of make business. For Anderson and Markides (2006) strategic innovation is about discovering a new WHO, a new WHAT and a new HOW. An enabler of strategic innovation has been the development and diffusion of information and communication technologies. In this paper, ten selected case studies of innovative services and business models supported in electronic platforms are presented and discussed. They represent new opportunities for business model design and open innovation processes. These business models were analyzed through the business model canvas framework and in terms of strategic innovation. The findings and a set of hypothesis are presented and discussed at the end of the paper

What prevents Portuguese SMEs from innovating?

The importance of innovation on the survival and competitiveness of organizations is an undeniable fact. Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 99,99% of all Portuguese firms. This reality is shared by other European countries and therefore it is relevant to study their innovative behavior and attitudes in order to achieve competitiveness and sustainability. The present study inquires about barriers to innovation, namely, what are the barriers faced by domestic companies, which barriers are easier to recognize and overcome and what is the level of importance they have on the firm point of view. The course of the investigation consists primarily in undertaking literature review on topics such as innovation, barriers to innovation, SMEs, strategy and competitiveness. The theoretical support, resulting there from leads to the building line of work that is embodied in two surveys. The results achieved made possible the creation of two new models of classification and segmentation of the barriers. The BARINOV MODEL that evidences the existence of internal or external barriers and flashes upon the concept of deviation barrier. The BARIFASE MODEL embodies the innovation process through three phases and evidences the occurrence of the barriers to innovation during these stages