Isak Kruglianskas

Managing technology-based projects in multinational environments

This paper examines the managerial issues involved in executing technology-based projects that span international borders. The results of a bilateral comparative field study, conducted in Brazil and the United States, show that in spite of considerable social and cultural differences between two international operating environments, successful integration of multinational projects may not require fundamentally different management approaches. This, however, does require strong senior management support and efforts in developing effective organizational linkages and alliances. Managers must need to have focus on cross-boundary relationships and fine-tune their people skills to deal effectively with complex forms of negotiations, delegations, and commitments in systems which are often weak on formal command and control.

Gestão de inovação: a lei de inovação tecnológica como ferramenta de apoio às políticas industrial e tecnológica do Brasil

The main objective of this article is to debate, from the experiences of some successful countries in industrial and technological implementation of politics, if the construction of an institutional modern system in the area of scientific and technological development, in which must be enclosed the question of innovation, is essential for the economic growth of the country. In this effort, we search to deepen the quarrel on the politics of management of innovation in Brazil, in special on the Law of Technological Innovation - LIT (Federal Law no 10,973, 02.12.2004) - that establishes measurements of incentive to innovation and the scientific and technological research in the productive environment, with sights to the qualification and the reach of the technological autonomy and to the industrial development of the country through the analysis of the main measures defined in its text. It is an evidence that the approval of the innovation law, although its deficiencies, represents an excellent instrument of support to the industrial and technological politics of Brazil.

Fatores críticos de sucesso para a criação de um processo inovador sustentável de reciclagem: um estudo de caso

The objective of this work is to show the critical success factors for the creation of a sustainable recycling process that involves the coordination of several economic and social agents. This was done trough an exploratory study of an exceptional case that brought gains to all the stakeholders, especially to society. This work highlights the barriers found, how they were overcome and extract evidences over which are the critical success factors, that are the following: high administration strategic vision and commitment, an adequate reverse logistics structure and a business structure that guarantees economic results and their adequate distribution.

MANAGEMENT OF EXTERNAL SOURCES OF TECHNOLOGICAL INFORMATION AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

The objective of the research presented in this paper is to study the relationship between practices for managing external sources of information and the innovative performance of the enterprise. The research can be characterized as mostly quantitative. The data had been collected from a sample of Brazilian enterprises recognized as being very commited with technological innovation activities. The findings of the study suggest many significant relationships between the innovation performance of the enterprise and kind of sources of technological information used as well as with the access modalities to this external sources. The results suggest, also, a trend towards an increasing of the use of external sources of technological information and the existence, regarding this matter, of a large space for improvements of the actual managerial practices adopted by the enterprises.

Indicadores e características da gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica e do desempenho inovador de empresas brasileiras

The study is part of a larger research project that sought to analyze the relationship between some management practices of external sources of technological information with the innovative performance of the enterprise. In this paper are presented the main practices for the management of external sources of technological information and some of the main indicators of innovation performance. The sample was composed of industrial enterprises associated with ANPEI and by companies on the mailing list of PGT/USP. The final sample had 72 subjects (38% of the research universe). The results suggest that most of the companies in the sample are large and belong to technologically sophisticated industrial sectors. The main access modalities to technological information are performed by: technology acquisition, partnership with suppliers and with universities. The main sources of technological information are: the R&D Department, Other Departments, Suppliers, Fairs and Exhibitions, Universities, Clients, Network and Research Institutes. The main innovation performance indicators used are closely related to products and/or processes. Finally, the results of the research suggest that the management of external sources of technological information for innovation lacks more formalization and strategic perspective.

Company Size Effect in Innovative Performance

The study presents the result of a research that had the objective of evaluate the influence of the size of the company in the practices of management of external sources of technological information and the correspondent impacts of these practices in the innovation performance of the enterprise.. The survey was carried based on data collected from a set of Brazilian industrial companies that are considered innovative The analysis of the relation between the management of external sources of technological information and the performance, according to the size of the companies disclosed that although being limited to a smal number there are some significant differences in aspects related to the access to technology and the types of external sources of technological information used by the firms. Some significant differences between small and larger firms on how these managerial practices affect the innovative performance were also detected

The Internationalization Process of Brazilian Companies: a Study of Multiple Cases in the Heavy Construction Industry

The aim of this article is to describe and to analy ze how the consolidation in the international marke ts of Brazilian construction companies occurred. The methodological procedures had been classified as descri ptive conclusive research and data was collected under a qualitative orientation. A study of four companies was conducted: Andrade Gutierrez, Mendes Junior, Norberto Odebrecht and Queiroz Galvao. A theoretical model with four analytical levels was considered: the mac ro context, the institutional environment, the indu stry and the firm. The results indicate that consolidation in in ternational markets occurred largely as a result of factors concerning strategic management in response to the institutional processes and the appropriateness of the sector’s competitive conditions. In theoretical ter ms, this article makes progress when understanding internationalization processes is concerned in that it proposes a model that integrates knowledge from the fields of study of administration, organizations and inter national business. Although the model may be refine d in future research, we believe that it reflects an important step toward the development of a broad theoretical frame of reference capable of covering the wealth and divers ity that are typical of international activity.

Gestão estratégica da sustentabilidade e inovação

The sustainable development, global competitiveness and rapid technological change increasingly challenge companies to innovate with a focus on sustainability. The objectives of this study were to identify the critical success factors in business management and identify the challenges to implement sustainable products. This is an exploratory, descriptive and qualitative research, using the case study method. Data were collected through semi-structured and in-depth interviews with executives from the marketing and innovation departments, complemented by secondary sources, including sustainability reports, websites and other company documents. The content analysis revealed the critical success factors to implement sustainable products, highlighting the involvement of senior leadership, setting goals and long term vision, the involvement of the value chain in the search for sustainable solutions and have a area of innovation with sustainability goals. The key challenges identified are related to the involvement of the supply chain, using the principles of the life cycle assessment, marketing communication and measurement of results and environmental benefits.

Gestão das fontes externas de informação: uma análise dos fatores que influenciam o desempenho inovador

The aim of this study is to understand the different processes for managing outside sources of technology information with a major focus on practices that companies actually adopt. The specific goal of the study is to construct a theoretical and practical frame of reference for developing processes of sustainable technological innovation. Managing sources of information not only helps an organization harmonize the potential inside and outside sources of information but also helps organizations broaden their activities geared to stimulating and bringing about innovation. Companies today are setting up more and more alliances in order to make use of outside sources of information for innovation, but they still lack explicit management strategies. A survey was carried out in Brazilian industrial companies with innovative characteristics, and the aim was to provide new inferences on the relationships between the management of outside sources of technology information and the innovative performance of the companies studied. The objective of the research presented in this paper is to study the relationship between practices for managing external sources of information and the innovative performance of the enterprise. The research can be characterized as quantitative. The data were collected through questionnaires from enterprises seen as having substancial technological innovation activities. The bivariate and multivariate independent and dependent variables suggest the existence of an association between the management of outside sources of technology information and innovative performance. Especially important here is how the different types of sources of information influence the indicators related to products innovation and how the type of access to technology affects the indicators related to processes innovation. The findings of the study suggest many significant relationships between the innovation performance of the enterprise and the types of sources of technological information used and the access modalities to their external sources of technolgical information. The results indicate a trend towards increased use of external sources of information.

R&D in Brazilian Industry: Recent Indicators

OVERVIEW:On the assumption that the intensity with which firms engage in building technological capability is a key to entrepreneurial success, Brazil is implementing a Technology Indicators Database of industrial companies. Longitudinal analysis and comparisons among businesses from different sectors, size and origin of capital are the focus of this project, which is being undertaken by the National Association for R&D of Industrial Firms (ANPEI). Data already stored in the base, with reference to 1994, involving 500 companies that account for almost 41 percent of Brazils industrial GNP, indicate that these firms spent, on average, US