Technological Capability and Firm Performance

This research aims to investigate the relationship between investments in technological capability and economic performance in Brazilian firms. Based on economic development theory and on developed countries history, it is assumed that this relationship is positive. Through key indicators, 133 Brazilian firms have been analyzed. Given the economic circumstances of an emerging economy, which the majority of businesses are primarily based on low and medium-low-technology industries, it is not possible to affirm the existence of a positive relation between technological capability and firm performance. There are other elements that allow firms to achieve such results. Firms of lower technological intensity industries performed above average in the economic performance indicators, adversely, they invested below average in technological capability. These findings do not diminish the merit of firms’ and country’s success. They in fact confirm a historical tradition of a country that concentrates its efforts on basic industries

Capacidades e desempenho inovador na indústria brasileira de maquinário agrícola

Objetivo Este estudo identifica como fabricantes brasileiros de máquinas agrícolas combinam diferentes capacidades para inovar. Essa indústria tem potencial para aumentar a produtividade na agricultura, um setor que é marcadamente relevante no Brasil, um dos principais produtores de alimentos e de commodities agrícolas do mundo. Referencial teórico As empresas foram abordadas através das lentes de um modelo com quatro capacidades de inovação (desenvolvimento, operação, gestão e transação). Pesquisas anteriores sobre inovação no setor de máquinas e equipamentos foram aprofundadas para dar apoio aos resultados obtidos. Metodologia Para identificar as combinações das capacidades de inovação, a técnica fuzzy-set QCA (análise qualitativa comparativa) foi empregada. Os dados foram coletados por meio de uma pesquisa realizada com 103 empresas brasileiras. Resultados Os fabricantes de máquinas agrícolas inovam por meio de duas combinações de capacidades: desenvolvimento, operação e gestão (DC*OC*MC) ou operação e transação (OC*TC). A inovação surge quando a excelência na fabricação é complementada por melhorias nos produtos existentes e nos processos gerenciais (DC*OC*MC), ou nas habilidades de negociação e nos processos de comercialização (OC*TC). Implicações práticas e sociais da pesquisa Pesquisas anteriores já haviam identificado que o setor de máquinas e equipamentos, em economias emergentes, é focado em melhorias relacionadas à produção. Entretanto, o presente estudo mostra que isso não é suficiente para as empresas inovarem. Como implicação prática, são indicadas duas trajetórias para as empresas de máquinas agrícolas alcançarem um alto desempenho inovador. Contribuições As pesquisas sobre inovação na indústria de máquinas e equipamentos geralmente apenas objetivam entender como as empresas desenvolvem novos produtos e novos.This study identifies how Brazilian agricultural machinery manufacturers combine different capabilities to innovate. This industry has the potential to increase productivity in agriculture, a sector that is notably relevant in Brazil, one of the main food and agricultural commodities producers in the world. Theoretical framework Firms were approached through the lens of a four innovation capabilities model (development, operations, management and transactions). Previous research about innovation in the machinery and equipment industry was examined in depth to support the results obtained. Design/methodology/approach To identify the combinations of innovation capabilities, the fuzzy-set QCA (comparative qualitative analysis) technique was applied. Data were collected through a survey, conducted with 103 Brazilian companies. Findings Agricultural machinery manufacturers innovate through two combinations of capabilities: development, operations and management (DC*OC*MC), or operations and transactions (OC*TC). Practical & social implications of research Previous research had already identified that the machinery and equipment industry of emerging economies is focused on production-related enhancements. However, the present study demonstrates that this is not sufficient for firms to innovate. As a practical implication, we indicate two paths for agricultural machinery companies to achieve high innovative performance. Originality/value Research about innovation in the machinery and equipment industry generally aims to only understand how firms develop new products and production processes. This study fills a gap by approaching this industry through broader lenses, demonstrating the relevance of new managerial and transactional process development for these firms

The 100,000 most influential scientists rank : the underrepresentation of Brazilian women in academia

Despite the progress observed in recent years, women are still underrepresented in science worldwide, especially at top positions. Many factors contribute to women progressively leaving academia at different stages of their career, including motherhood, harassment and conscious and unconscious discrimination. Implicit bias plays a major negative role in recognition, promotions and career advancement of female scientists. Recently, a rank of the most influential scientists in the world was created based on several metrics, including the number of published papers and citations. Here, we analyzed the representation of Brazilian scientists in this rank, focusing on gender. Female Brazilian scientists are greatly underrepresented in the rank (11% in the Top 100,000; 18% in the Top 2%). Possible reasons for this observed scenario are related to the metrics used to rank scientists, which reproduce and amplify the well-known implicit bias in peer-review and citations. Male scientists have more self-citation than female scientists and positions in the rank varied when self-citations were included, suggesting that self-citation by male scientists increases their visibility. Discussions on the repercussions of such ranks are pivotal to avoid deepening the gender gap in science

Aplicação e benefícios das tecnologias digitais para as cadeias de valor agroalimentares : evidências de um país emergente

Purpose: Many academic and technical studies have explored information and communications technology (ICT) applications in the agri-food sector from the farmers’ perspective. However, the technology supplier perspective on the ICT application has been largely overlooked. This paper aims to analyze how digital technologies are used within the agrifood value chain and their benefits and advantages from the technology supplier perspective. Originality/value: First, the study analyzed the benefits of ICT for the agri-food sector from the technology supplier perspective. Second, it comprised the integrated analysis of the complete set of ICT applied to the entire agri-food value chain. Third, we guaranteed the study’s replicability by using a straightforward methodological approach. Design/methodology/approach: Exploratory study with a descriptive approach was employed to map the complete set of digital technologies commercialized by 131 agri-food technology companies. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) (2018) typology for ICT solutions was used to identify technology types. The NVIVO software cluster analysis was applied to the data related to the benefits and advantages of the firms’ ICT solutions. Findings: We identified that cost reduction and rapid decision-making are the essential benefits of ICT. It was found that the ICT field in the agri-food sector is composed of different companies’ generations, and many are not startups. We identified two new phenomena: agricultural servitization, which comprehends the increasing importance of services as crucial input for agricultural production, and agricultural manufacturing, which refers to increasing control over production factors in agriculture.Objetivo: Diversos estudos técnicos e acadêmicos exploraram as aplicações das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC) no setor agroalimentar do ponto de vista dos agricultores. No entanto, a perspectiva do fornecedor de tecnologia na aplicação de TIC foi amplamente esquecida. O objetivo deste artigo é analisar como as tecnologias digitais estão sendo utilizadas na cadeia de valor agroalimentar e quais são seus benefícios e vantagens na perspectiva dos fornecedores de tecnologia. Originalidade/valor: Em primeiro lugar, o estudo analisou os benefícios das TIC para o setor agroalimentar na perspectiva dos fornecedores de tecnologia, permitindo a análise integrada do conjunto completo de TIC aplicadas em toda a cadeia de valor agroalimentar. Finalmente, usando uma abordagem metodológica robusta, garantimos a replicabilidade do estudo. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Foi empregado um estudo exploratório com abordagem descritiva para mapear o conjunto completo das tecnologias digitais comercializadas por 131 empresas de tecnologia agroalimentar. Usou-se a tipologia da Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE) (2018) para classificar os tipos de tecnologias. Por meio do software NVIVO, a análise de cluster foi aplicada aos dados de benefícios e vantagens das soluções digitais comercializadas pelas empresas. Resultados: Identificaram-se a redução de custos e a rápida tomada de decisão como os benefícios mais importantes das TIC. No setor agroalimentar, essas tecnologias são criadas por diferentes gerações de empresas, sendo a maioria delas startups. Identificaram-se os fenômenos de servitização agrícola, compreendendo a crescente importância dos serviços como insumo-chave para a produção agrícola, e de manufaturização agrícola, que trata do incremento do controle sobre os fatores de produção na agricultura

The impact of risk-taking and creativity stimuli in education towards innovation: A systematic review and research agenda

Academic research on educational stimuli of risk-taking and creativity to foster innovation can contribute to overcome the challenges faced by organizations in the marketplace. To explore the contributions provided in this field, this study developed a bibliometric and systematic review on academic production in the domain of creativity, risk-taking and innovation through an educa- tional perspective. The bibliographical databases adopted were Web of Science and Scopus and outcomes were analysed using the Bibliometrix tool in R software. Research findings point to three main clusters of academic production: (i) Tools and techniques to boost creativity; (ii) Educational interventions towards innovativeness; and (iii) Antecedents of entrepreneurial ac- tivity. This study pictures entrepreneurial education as a field that is still in its infancy and, thus, provide opportunities for research and education policies and programs design. It was revealed that there are two relevant fields that can be envisaged as motor themes for policies and programs design: (i) “social innovation, design education, and design thinking” and (ii) “education, design, and design process”. Both fields point to the dominance of multidisciplinary approaches and design as a central vehicle to creativity, risk-taking, and innovation diffusion.Campus Lima Centr

Advance or estagnation? SNI of major emerging economies in Latin America after the 1990s

Este estudo visa analisar o Sistema Nacional de Inovação (SNI) das principais economias emergentes na América Latina. Para isso, foram utilizados indicadores focados na ciência, tecnologia e educação, coletados a partir de diferentes fontes. Os resultados analisados demonstram que o Chile é o país que mais gera patentes, a Argentina foi a economia que mais apresentou pesquisadores atuando em P&D, o Brasil se destacou pela parcela do PIB destinada à educação e a Colômbia teve maior aumento geral nos indicadores. Ainda assim, os referidos países se encontram consideravelmente atrasados em relação aos países do Leste Europeu.This study aims to analyze the National Innovation System (SNI) of major emerging economies in Latin America. For this, indicators focused on science, technology and education were collected from different sources. The results show that Chile is the country that generates the most patents, Argentina was the economy that presented the most researchers working in R&D, Brazil stood out for its share of GDP for education and Colombia had the largest overall increase in indicators. Even so, these countries lag considerably behind Eastern European countries

Avanço ou estagnação? SNI das principais economias emergentes da América Latina depois da década de 1990

Este estudo visa analisar o Sistema Nacional de Inovação (SNI) das principais economias emergentes na América Latina. Para isso, foram utilizados indicadores focados na ciência, tecnologia e educação, coletados a partir de diferentes fontes. Os resultados analisados demonstram que o Chile é o país que mais gera patentes, a Argentina foi a economia que mais apresentou pesquisadores atuando em P&D, o Brasil se destacou pela parcela do PIB destinada à educação e a Colômbia teve maior aumento geral nos indicadores. Ainda assim, os referidos países se encontram consideravelmente atrasados em relação aos países do Leste Europeu

Technological Capability's Predictor Variables

The aim of this study was to identify the factors that influence in configuration of the technological capability of companies in sectors with medium-low technological intensity. To achieve the goal proposed in this article a survey was carried out. Based on the framework developed by Lall (1992) which classifies firms in basic, intermediate and advanced level of technological capability; it was found that the predominant technological capability is intermediate, with 83.7% of respondent companies (plastics companies in Brazil). It is believed that the main contribution of this study is the finding that the dependent variable named “Technological Capability” can be explained at a rate of 65% by six variables: development of new processes; selection of the best equipment supplier; sales of internally developed new technology to third parties; design and manufacture of equipment; study of the work methods and perform inventory control; and improvement of product quality

Types of innovation in low-technology firms of emerging markets: an empirical study in brazilian industry

Low-technology industry is still commonly regarded as an assistant role in the modern process of innovation and economic change. However, we believe that innovation may happen in all different types of industries and firms, including low-technology firms. The aim of this paper is to analyze the types of innovation in low-tech intensity industries of emerging markets. We conduct an exploratory study in 21 low-tech firms in Brazil. The results suggest that even firms with low technological intensity can be considered innovative, although they presented a different view regarding to changes, innovation and competitive differential. Considering that innovative performance is a result of four capabilities, the operational and transactional capabilities seem to be the most important for low-tech industry

Innovation Capabilities and the role of Strategic Intelligence

In rapidly changing environments, innovation allows firms to maintain their market competitiveness. A firm with well-developed innovation capabilities stands a better chance to sustain its competitiveness. Additionally, strategic intelligence practices will also contribute to positive results, as a firm\u27s economic sustainability depends on installed processes to obtain informational elements coming from the external environment to support its decision-making process. In this way, innovation often benefits from intelligence processes, especially when it provides new knowledge, monitors technological trajectories, and expands understanding of the external environment. To survive in a competitive market a firm needs innovation capabilities and strategic intelligence practices, but how are they related? Firms that are proactive in terms of their strategic intelligence practices have more developed innovation capabilities when compared to those reactive ones? This study aims to identify whether firms with activities associated with the strategic intelligence process differ in terms of their innovation capability level, verifying differences when comparing reactive and proactive groups. We analyzed secondary data of 1,331 Brazilian manufacturing firms. From the analysis, we have identified that development, operations and management capabilities are higher in those firms where there are strategic intelligence practices in place