Eduardo Vasconcellos

The future of technology management

General Motors spent

Transport and environment in developing countries: Comparing air pollution and traffic accidents as policy priorities

90 billion during the 1980s on technology in the form of plant, equipment, and acquisitions while losing more than ten points of market share. With this massive acquisition and deployment of technology, GM’s “leadership” has created a highcost automobile producer, which is 40 percent less productive than Ford and lost, on average,

Improving the R&D-production interface in industrial companies

1500 on each of its 3.5 million automobiles produced in 1991.

A new graphic format to facilitate the understanding of technological innovation models: the seesaw of competitiveness

Abstract Transportation in the developing world results in air pollution and injuries or deaths from accidents. In developed countries, policy initiatives to reduce pollution levels are given highest priority, primarily because the injury/fatality rate from accidents is relatively low. In the developing world, however, the reverse would seem to be preferable. This paper argues that developing countries need safer streets more than cleaner cars, and that a change in current priorities is therefore required.

Barriers and Facilitators of Collaborative Management in Technological Innovation Projects

Today, technological innovation is considered an essential component of corporate success. However, investment in R&D will result in innovative products only if research findings are transferred to production. This paper presents the results of a study on the barriers to and facilitators of this transfer process. Data were collected from 60 R&D division managers and 58 production managers from 61 companies in Brazil. Size of the R&D unit and the nature of the technology were considered in the analysis. Recommendations to improve the links between R&D and production are presented. >

A Subcultural Analysis of the Brazilian Knowledge Industry: When Nation, Industry, and Organizational Cultures Collide

Many models exist in the literature to explain the success of technological innovation. However, no studies have been made regarding graphic formats representing the technological innovation models and their impact, or on the understanding of these models by non-specialists in technology management. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to propose a new graphic configuration to represent the technological innovation management. Based on the literature, the innovation model is presented in the traditional format. Next, the same model is designed in the graphic format – named ‘the see-saw of competitiveness’ – showing the interfaces among the identified factors. The two graphic formats were compared by a group of graduate students in terms of the ease in understanding the conceptual model of innovation. The statistical analysis shows that the seesaw of competitiveness is preferred.

Industry Environment, National Culture, and Verbal Networks in Organizations: An Exploratory Study

Discussions about innovation tend to a more systemic and cooperative approach in which those networks focused on scientific and technological development are considered. This article aims to identify the barriers and facilitators in the collaborative management process of technological innovation projects and a study has been carried out by the cooperation action for innovation with 17 industries in Brazil. The primary evidence refers to the crucial role of project managers when leading the structural demands, and clarity on the relevance of the communication of strategic guidelines among the organizations involved for the achievement of the results in the industries.

Innovation process in the automobile MNCs: implications for the role of the international subsidiaries

ABSTRACT This exploratory research seeks to better understand the relationship between national and industry culture, concentrating particularly on the case of the Brazilian knowledge industry. Perceptions of real and ideal corporate values were obtained from 98 professional and managerial staff from Brazil and 40 from the United States. The results were also compared to those of a multi-industry Brazilian sample reported in Nelson and Gopalan (2003). The Brazilian knowledge industry respondents view of their organizational culture was much more favorable than the US knowledge industry respondents perceptions. The Brazilian knowledge industry sample also contained unique subcultures that varied by employment regime and favorably reflected on the industrys ability to adapt to modern trends. This configuration of results does not clearly favor any of the major theories of organizational culture but suggests a complex pattern of interaction between country, industry, industry position, and employment regime. The results do, however, suggest that interaction effects of country by industry may be much stronger than the main effects of either industry or nation.

Technological threats and opportunities identification and technological roadmap as tools to improve the portfolio of technological projects

This paper describes an empirically derived typology of the verbal networks of 66 organizations from diverse industrial environments in Brazil and the United States and speculates about the possible origins and dynamics of network configurations across organizations. We identified three distinct configurations of verbal networks: high‐density, low‐factionalism, weak‐tie networks; low‐density, high‐factionalism, strong‐tie networks; and an intermediate category with high factionalism in frequent ties but a preponderance of weak ties and intermediate density. The different types were associated with different degrees of volatility and munificence in industrial environment and with different proportions of Brazilian and U.S. firms.

The adoption of e-business from a strategic perspective: the case of the Celta at General Motors Brazil

The scope of the present work is to provide insights into the emerging flows of innovation in the multinational corporations (MNCs) and to present some reflections for executives as how to leverage on the potential of the so called reverse innovation. Our study focuses on the automobile industry, and investigates the dynamics of innovation in three MNCs, whose focal subsidiaries are located in Brazil. According to our evidence, the reverse innovation phenomenon is accompanied by a radical transformation of the roles, responsibilities and activities located among the parent company and its subsidiaries. What clearly emerges is the fact that innovation flows are less and less parent-to-subsidiary. The subsidiary-to-parent flow of innovation is increasing, and a subsidiary-to-subsidiary stream is emerging. This phenomenon is redefining the relevance of the parent company in managing the innovation processes within an MNC.