Innovative capabilities, entrepreneurial process and the dynamic growth of university spin-outs: A process-oriented study with evidence from China

This research aims to develop a conceptual framework in order to enquire into the dynamic growth process of University Spin-outs (hereafter referred to as USOs) in China, attempting to understand the capabilities configuration that are necessary for the dynamic growth. Based on the extant literature and empirical cases, this study attempts to address the question how do USOs in China build and configure the innovative capabilities to cope with the dynamic growth. This paper aims to contribute to the existing literature by providing a theoretical discussion of the USOs' dynamic entrepreneurial process, by investigating the interconnections between innovation problem-solving and the required configuration of innovative capabilities in four growth phases. Further, it presents a particular interest on the impact to the USOs' entrepreneurial innovation process by the integrative capabilities, in terms of knowledge integration, alliance, venture finance and venture governance. To date, studies that have investigated the dynamic development process of USOs in China and have recognized the heterogeneity of USOs in terms of capabilities that are required for rapid growth still remain sparse. Addressing this research gap will be of great interest to entrepreneurs, policy makers, and venture investors. ©2009 IEEE.

In search of innovative capabilities of communities of practice : a systematic review and typology for future research

Peer reviewed

Foreign MNEs and domestic innovative capabilities: are there conditions for reverse spillovers in the spanish industry?

We analyse, over 2004-2008, a sample of approximately 700 foreign subsidiaries and 4,500 domestic firms located in Spain in order to understand the relationship between local R&D cooperation and innovativeness of the firm. Our ultimate objective is to understand whether foreign subsidiaries are likely to make a contribution to local innovative capabilities or if, conversely, they may eventually benefit from conditions for reverse spillovers. Using a variety of specifications for the innovation-related activities of the firm, we find that foreign subsidiaries are more cooperative than the average firm located in Spain, but not necessarily more than affiliated domestic firms (entrepreneurial groups). However, foreign subsidiaries are more cooperative than affiliated domestic firms in sectors considered highly dynamic by international technological standards, whether Spain has a technical advantage in these specific sectors or not. When we focus on companies which are more innovative than the two-digit industries in which they operate, we find that foreign subsidiaries tend to be more cooperative than domestic firms in sectors where Spain displays technological advantage. These sectors comprise traditional industries displaying little innovation dynamism from an international point of view. This finding suggests that there may be conditions for reverse spillovers in these specific Spanish sectors (though measuring them is beyond the objectives of this paper).

Innovative Capabilities and Market Performance: The European Union in International Comparison. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 12, No. 7, September 2012

This paper investigates the EU’s international positioning in terms of innovative capabilities and global market performance by using most recent quantitative data on a wide branch of indicators. The EU’s performance is compared to the standings of its most important economic competitors and emerging economic powerhouses: the USA, Japan, China, Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. By doing so, this paper offer insightful and deep information about the EU’s power to compete and rank in international economic affairs. It will be proofed that the European Union ranks in many of the indicators related to innovative capabilities in good position and the EU’s overall global market performance is excellent, whereas the BRICS are underachieving.

Entrepreneurial innovation problems associated with the dynamic growth of university spin-outs in China: A capabilities perspective

This research aims to develop a capabilities-based conceptual framework in order to study the stage-specific innovation problems associated with the dynamic growth process of university spin-outs (hereafter referred to as USOs) in China. Based on the existing literature, pilot cases and five critical cases, this study attempts to explore the interconnections between the entrepreneurial innovation problems and the configuration of innovative capabilities (that acquire, mobilise and re-configure the key resources) throughout the lifecycle of a firm in four growth phases. This paper aims to contribute to the literature in a holistic manner by providing a theoretical discussion of USOs' development through adding evidence from a rapid growth emerging economy. To date, studies that have investigated the development of USOs in China recognised the heterogeneity of USOs in terms of capabilities still remain sparse. Addressing this research gap will be of great interest to entrepreneurs, policy makers and venture investors. © Copyright 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Globalização de competências tecnológicas inovadoras no contexto de industrialização recente: evidências de uma amostra de institutos de pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) em Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC) no Brasil

This dissertation adds new evidences and explanations to two distinct streams of debate. The first one refers to the globalisation (or dissemination) of technological innovative capabilities in the context of newly industrialised economies. The second one refers to common generalisations about the deterioration of the innovative capabilities in Latin American countries after 1990. This study was motivated by a lack of empirical studies focused on the relationship between the globalisation of innovative capabilities and sources to build them up in emerging organisations, especially R&D institutes. This dissertation is focused on the globalisation of innovative capabilities at the information and communication technology industry in Brazil. The globalisation of innovative capabilities is measured by the technological capabilities types and levels of 18 national R&D institutes related to this industry. Besides, this dissertation examines sources to build up innovative capabilities in the sampled institutes, namely: their intra-organisational learning processes and the linkages established with firms and the technological infra-structure. The study is based on first-hand empirical evidences, collected by different data-gathering sources in an extensive fieldwork. The data were examined with analytical frameworks, organised in the light of the theoretical basis of the study. The study has found the dissemination of innovative capabilities has been occurring in the Brazilian ICT industry with the involvement of the technological infra-structure with innovative activities. Besides that, the variety of the intra-organisational learning processes and the types of linkages established with technological infra-structure and firms have been influencing the development of innovative capabilities. The evidences that emerge from this study contradict common generalizations and arguments about the inexistence of innovative activities and about the technological infra-structure weakness in emerging or newly industrialized economies.

Globalização de capacidades tecnológicas inovadoras e o papel de subsidiárias de empresas transnacionais (ETNs) no contexto de países em desenvolvimento: a trajetória de uma empresa do setor de TIC no Brasil

This dissertation seeks to add new evidence to the international debate on globalization of innovation in the developing countries context. Globalization of innovation, in this dissertation, is defined and measured by the types, levels and rate of innovative technological capability accumulation and the underlying technological learning processes (sources of capabilities) at the firm level in late-industrializing countries ¿ or developing countries. This relationship is examined within a large transnational corporation (TNC) subsidiary of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Brasil: Motorola do Brasil during over the period from 1996 to 2006. In the international literature there is a strong debate on the extent to which innovative technological capabilities have been spreading internationally. But, the most of the studies are focused on early industrialized countries. In other words, there is still a scarcity of analysis, mainly at the firm level, from the perspective of developing countries. This dissertation supports itself in analytical basis developed in the international literature on accumulation of technological capabilities and learning in the context of developing countries. The learning processes examined in this dissertation are: (i) intra-firm learning processes; (ii) inter-firm learning processes (links between mother and sister companies); and (iii) links between the firm and other organizations of the innovation system (universities, research institutes, among others). Based on first-hand empirical evidence, qualitative and quantitative, collected on the basis of extensive fieldwork, this dissertation examines these issues with adequate level of detail and depth, in this large company in Brazil. The study results suggest that: Concerning the path of the technological capability accumulation, the firm exhibited heterogeneity in the path of accumulation of technological capabilities to distinct functions. For the functions Software Engineering and Process and Management Project the firm reached the Level 6 (Innovative Intermediate Superior), on a scale that ranges from 1 to 7; In relation to technological capability sources, the firm deliberately sought and built sources of knowledge in order to develop and sustain its innovative technological capabilities. The dissertation, thus, contributes to adding new empirical evidence to the debate on globalization of innovative capabilities from a late-industrializing perspective.

Trajetórias De Acumulação De Capacidades Inovadoras, Mecanismos De Aprendizagem E Fatores Organizacionais Relativos A Atividades Em Gestão De Projetos: Estudo De Caso Comparativo Inter-Empresarial Na Indústria De Bens De Capital E De Celulose E Papel No Brasil

Over the last 40 years there has been a profusion of studies about the ccumulation of technological capacities in firms from developing economies. However, there remain few studies that examine, on a combined basis, the relationship among: the trajectories of technological capacities accumulation; the underlying learning mechanisms; and, the implications of organizational factors for these two variables. Still scarcer are the studies that examine the relationship among these variables along time and based on a comparative case study. This dissertation examines the relationship among the trajectory of accumulation of innovative capacities in complex project management, the learning mechanisms underlying these technological capacities and the intra-organizational factors that influence these learning echanisms. That set of relationships is examined through a comparative and a long-term (1988-2008) case study in a capital goods firm (for the pulp and paper industry) and a pulp mill in Brazil. Based on first-hand quantitative and qualitative empiric evidence, gathered through extensive field research, this dissertation found: 1. Both firms accumulated innovative capacity in project management at the international frontier level (Level 6). However, there was variability between the firms in terms of the nature and speed of accumulation of those capacities. It was also observed that, at this level of innovation, the innovative capacities of both firms are not confined to their organizational boundaries, but they are distributed beyond their boundaries. 2. So that these companies could accumulate those levels of innovative capacities it was necessary to manage several learning mechanisms: leveraging of external knowledge and its internalization in terms of internal apacities of the firm. In other words, as the companies accumulated more innovative levels of capacities for project management, it was necessary to manage different cycles of technological learning. 3. Further, the relationship between the ccumulation of technological capacities and learning was affected positively by intra-organizational factors, such as 'authority disposition', 'mutability of work roles' and 'intensity of internal crises', and negatively by the factor 'singularity of goals'. This dissertation revealed divergent results between firms in two of the four factors studied. These results contribute to advance our understanding of the complexity and variability involved in the process of accumulation of innovative capacities in firms from developing economies. This highlights the growing importance of the organizational and the human resource dimensions of innovation and technological capacity as the company approaches the international frontier. The results suggest to managers that: (i) the good performance in project management in the two firms studied did not occur simply as a result of the pulp and paper Brazilian industry growth, rather as a result of the deliberate construction and accumulation of the capacities through an intensive and coordinated cyclical process of technological learning, (ii) to develop innovative capabilities in project management, besides looking for learning mechanisms they should also look at the organizational factors that influence the learning mechanisms directly, (iii) performance of pulp mill¿s projects is better when projects are implemented together with technology suppliers than when performed only by the mill. This dissertation concludes that capital goods firms have been having a fundamental role for the innovative capabilities accumulation in project management of pulp mills in Brazil (and vice-versa) for a long time. This contradicts some authors' propositions that affirm that: a) equipment suppliers for the pulp and paper industry have been creating little, if any, development of processes or engineering projects in Brazil; b) firms in the pulp and paper industry have little capacity for machinery and equipments projects only taking place in few technological activities, being internal or external to the firm. Finally, some studies are proposed for future research.

Acumulação de competências tecnológicas e os processos subjacentes de aprendizagem na indústria de bens de capital: O caso KVAERNER PULPING no Brasil

This dissertation is concerned with the implications of the learning processes for the technological capability accumulation at the firm level. This relationship was examined in Kvaerner Pulping over the period from 1980 to 2000. The firm is located in Curitiba/PR and supplies equipment and complete plants (capital goods) for pulp mills. In other words, based on an individual case study, this dissertation examines how the learning processes influence the building and accumulation of technological capability. The accumulation of technological capabilities is crucial for the survival and the competitive performance of the firms. An analytical framework already available in the literature was used to describe the paths (way and speed) of technological capability accumulation in the firm studied. However, the framework was adapted specifically for the capital goods industry for the pulp & paper sector. The paths of technological capability accumulation are analysed for three different technological functions: ¿engineering activities and project management¿, ¿operational processes and practices¿ and ¿process equipment¿. The learning mechanisms were examined in the light of four key features: variety, intensity, functioning and interaction. During the 1980s and 1990s the firm accumulated different levels of technological capability in the technological functions studied. It was only when the firm started to coordinate systematically the efforts to acquire and convert the knowledge from the individual to the organizational level, at the mid 1990s, that the accumulation of technological capability was accelerated. By the end of this decade the firm was able to accumulate innovative capabilities in all the functions analysed. Similarly to previous studies that investigated other types of firms, the conclusion of this dissertation suggests that the way and rate by which the firm accumulates technological capability can be explained by the learning process and its key features over time.

Globalização de capacidades tecnológicas inovadoras e o papel de subsidiárias de empresas transnacionais( ETNs) No contexto de países em desenvolvimento: a trajetória de uma empresa do setor de TIC no Brasil

This dissertation seeks to add new evidence to the international debate on globalization of innovation in the developing countries context. Globalization of innovation, in this dissertation, is defined and measured by the types, levels and rate of innovative technological capability accumulation and the underlying technological learning processes (sources of capabilities) at the firm level in late-industrializing countries ¿ or developing countries. This relationship is examined within a large transnational corporation (TNC) subsidiary of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Brasil: Motorola do Brasil during over the period from 1996 to 2006. In the international literature there is a strong debate on the extent to which innovative technological capabilities have been spreading internationally. But, the most of the studies are focused on early industrialized countries. In other words, there is still a scarcity of analysis, mainly at the firm level, from the perspective of developing countries. This dissertation supports itself in analytical basis developed in the international literature on accumulation of technological capabilities and learning in the context of developing countries. The learning processes examined in this dissertation are: (i) intra-firm learning processes; (ii) inter-firm learning processes (links between mother and sister companies); and (iii) links between the firm and other organizations of the innovation system (universities, research institutes, among others). Based on first-hand empirical evidence, qualitative and quantitative, collected on the basis of extensive fieldwork, this dissertation examines these issues with adequate level of detail and depth, in this large company in Brazil. The study results suggest that: Concerning the path of the technological capability accumulation, the firm exhibited heterogeneity in the path of accumulation of technological capabilities to distinct functions. For the functions Software Engineering and Process and Management Project the firm reached the Level 6 (Innovative Intermediate Superior), on a scale that ranges from 1 to 7; In relation to technological capability sources, the firm deliberately sought and built sources of knowledge in order to develop and sustain its innovative technological capabilities. The dissertation, thus, contributes to adding new empirical evidence to the debate on globalization of innovative capabilities from a late-industrializing perspective.

Gestão da inovação no setor público: acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e os processos subjacentes de aprendizagem: evidências da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional do Brasil durante o período de 1986 a 2005

Estudo de caso, referente a acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e aos processos subjacentes de aprendizagem no âmbito da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional do Brasil - entre 1986 a 2005

Variações em trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas em nível intra-empresarial: uma análise empírica da VALE S.A.

Esta tese relaciona-se ao tema da acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas em nível de empresa, suas fontes (mecanismos de aprendizagem) e suas implicações para a performance competitiva empresarial, em indústrias relacionadas a recursos naturais no contexto de economias emergentes. Durante os últimos 40 anos muito se avançou no campo da pesquisa sobre acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas em nível de empresas em economias emergentes. Porém, ainda há importantes lacunas a serem exploradas particularmente em relação a natureza e dinâmica de trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas intra-empresariais, no contexto de indústrias relacionadas a recursos naturais, especialmente na mineração. O objetivo da pesquisa aqui reportada é contribuir para minimizar esta lacuna. Particularmente, esta tese explora variações intra-empresariais de trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas, suas fontes (mecanismos subjacentes de aprendizagem) e algumas implicações que são geradas para a performance competitiva da empresa, no âmbito da indústria de mineração no Brasil, especificamente na empresa mineradora Vale, no período entre 1942 e 2015. Para alcançar este objetivo, a pesquisa apoia-se na combinação das literaturas de acumulação de capacidade tecnológica, inovação, aprendizagem e desenvolvimento industrial para a construção da base conceitual. Em paralelo, a pesquisa vale-se de um desenho de pesquisa qualitativo e indutivo baseado em evidências primárias com base em extensivos trabalhos de campo. Esse desenho de pesquisa é operacionalizado a partir de um estudo de caso individual em profundidade na Vale, no âmbito de três grandes áreas tecnológicas: prospecção e pesquisa mineral, lavra, e processamento mineral. Por meio da implementação dessa estratégia, a pesquisa encontrou: (1) Trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas relativamente distintas entre as três áreas de análise. Especificamente: (i) na área de prospecção e pesquisa mineral observou-se uma trajetória de seguidora tecnológica que alcança posição de liderança mundial em inovação e produção; (ii) na área de lavra também evidenciou-se uma trajetória de seguidora tecnológica que alcança posição de liderança mundial em inovação e produção, porém, com acumulação tardia de capacidades tecnológicas; e (iii) na área de processamento mineral houve o alcance precoce de posição de liderança mundial em inovação e produção a partir da criação de uma trajetória distinta da já mapeada pelos líderes globais. As trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas convergem para uma situação similar a partir de 2011 quando as três áreas apresentaram posição de liderança mundial em inovação e ao mesmo tempo demonstraram indícios de entrada em um processo de estagnação, que restringe as oportunidades de entrada em novas trajetórias tecnológicas e de entrada em novos negócios. (2) As variações encontradas nas trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas são explicadas pela maneira pela qual diferentes mecanismos subjacentes de aprendizagem foram combinados e utilizados pela empresa. Foram encontradas quatro combinações de mecanismos de aprendizagem que contribuíram para explicar as diferentes direções das trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas. (3) As variações nas três trajetórias de acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas geraram implicações distintas para a performance competitiva, mais especificamente em termos de performance inovadora, operacional/ambiental e de novos negócios. Os resultados da pesquisa geram contribuições para o entendimento do relacionamento intra-empresarial entre acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e os mecanismos de aprendizagem subjacentes. E contribuem para o entendimento da mineração como uma indústria que oferece oportunidades para inovações significativas que, inclusive podem implicar na diversificação do tecido industrial nacional. Portanto, tal indústria deve receber atenção especial por parte de decisores de políticas públicas e de ações empresariais para evitar que empresas com alto potencial inovativo desconstruam suas capacidades inovadoras e consequentemente limitem seus impactos para o desenvolvimento tecnológico e econômico no contexto de economias emergentes.