Simone Vasconcelos Ribeiro Galina

Environmental innovation: in search of a meaning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a definition of the term “green/environmental innovation”, based on a systematic literature review.Design/methodology/approach – The literature review conducted in this research was based on papers published in ISI Web of Science and Scopus databases.Findings – Environmental innovations are organizational implementations and changes focusing on the environment, with implications for companies’ products, manufacturing processes and marketing, with different degrees of novelty. They can be merely incremental improvements that intensify the performance of something that already exists, or radical ones that promote something completely unprecedented, where the main objective is to reduce the companys environmental impacts. In addition, environmental innovation has a bilateral relationship with the level of proactive environmental management adopted by companies. Increasing of environmental innovation tends to come up against many barriers.Originality/value – ...

The methylic versus the ethylic route: considerations about the sustainability of Brazilian biodiesel production

AbstractBrazil is considered one of the world’s leading producers of biofuels given the predominance of ethanol fuel in its energy matrix. However, despite the prominence of Brazil in ethanol production, the vast majority of biodiesel production plants in Brazil use methanol instead of ethanol as the alcohol for transesterification reaction, as is generally the case in the rest of the world. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the transesterification process in the Brazilian biodiesel production in terms of sustainability. In this regard, it was necessary to evaluate the way in which the industrial process is currently carried out, the role of government incentives or subsidies for the use of ethanol to produce biodiesel, and the investments of companies in technology development for the same purpose. This study presents indications that the development of the biodiesel market in Brazil is still oriented toward a production model which is inconsistent with the environmental and social aspects of sustainability.

Internacionalização de atividades de P&D: participação de afiliadas brasileiras mensuradas por indicadores de C&T

This paper aims to analyse the participation of Brazilian subsidiaries of foreign transnational companies in their global R&D processes. For this, we analysed some Science and Technology (S&T) indicators from the widest companies of the most innovative industries in Brazil in order to compare data from their subsidiaries located in countries that directly compete to the Brazilian units.

Does the Size Matter for Dynamics Capabilities?: A Study on Absorptive Capacity

The objective of this study is to understand how organizational size influences dynamic capabilities in Brazil. To arrive at this understanding, structural equation modeling analysis was performed using the Brazilian Innovation Survey (PINTEC) database to test for differences between SMEs and large companies in respect to the relationship between absorptive capacity (AC) dimensions and innovation performance. The results show that in large companies, Potential AC and Realized AC impact innovation performance, whereas in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), only Realized AC has an influence. In addition, SMEs are, in fact, better at converting Realized AC into innovation performance than large companies, probably due to their flexibility and agility. These findings reveal that organizational sizes influence the impact of dynamic capabilities on performance.

The role of business incubators for start-ups development in Brazil and Portugal

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study about features, services and networks offered by business incubators (BI) to encourage start-ups development in Portugal and Brazil. Recently, these countries have revealed several cases of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems and Brazil receive a special position on Latin America; besides comparative studies between European and Latin American countries are scarce. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a qualitative research methodology to study the role of BI in creation and growing of start-ups in Portugal and Brazil. Findings – The results do not reveal particular differences between Brazilian and Portuguese BI, except in international profile of tenants; in Portugal, probably due the market size, most of the firms born global or intend to internationalize. Research limitations/implications – The BI results depend on the wide services provided, networking platforms and support provided by BI staff individually to their ...

Interorganizational innovation networks of Brazilian and Spanish biotechnology companies: Dynamic comparative analysis

This study has the purpose of conducting a dynamic comparative analysis of interorganizational innovation networks of Brazilian and Spanish biotechnology companies. It aims to explore the differences between the network characteristics and their actors’ positions and types as well as to analyze the temporal evolution of these networks. Although analyses of the evolution of networks are relevant in supporting comprehension of paths for innovation, they are incipient, particularly as cross-country studies. Considering that, this comparison between Brazil and Spain, which are at different levels of biotechnology development, may contribute to the advancement of this area. Social network analysis techniques are employed to draw and measure the network characteristics constructed under the information of patent applications by biotechnology companies located in Brazil and Spain in the period of 1990–2012. The results demonstrate an impressive growth of innovation networks from both countries but show an inferior position for Brazilian data in terms of constancy, volume of partnerships, partner diversity, and main actor types. Thus, this article reveals patterns of evolution over time for each country, which allows for the determination of the implications for public policy and managerial experts.

Mapping Open Innovation: A Bibliometric Review to Compare Developed and Emerging Countries

Business and academic interests in open innovation have increased; however, the evolution of this topic in the emerging countries is unknown. This article aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of open innovation in developed and emerging countries. The research has covered 1,925 articles between the years 2000 and 2014 in Web of Science (WoS) database. The terms ‘open innovation’, ‘user innovation’, ‘cumulative innovation, ‘trading know-how’, ‘mass innovation’, ‘distributed innovation’, ‘innovative cooperation’ and ‘collaborative innovation’ have been selected as research keywords, considering their presence in the title, abstract or based on the keywords of the articles. The countries were divided into two groups (developed countries, i.e., G7, and emerging countries, i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa [BRICS]) depending on the degree of research maturity described in their studies on open innovation. Data analyses have revealed a significant increase in the research on open innovation in the past years. However, it was found that a huge discrepancy exists between the two groups on the number of publications and citations. This study confirms, through a bibliometric analysis, some differences which could be found between the two groups and their influence on the reversal of this scenario, which indirectly affects the development of the emerging countries. It was also found that the groups G7 or BRICS are not statistically important factors for the further development of open innovation research. Analyzing individually, G7 countries have greater relevance in the conduction of studies on open innovation, whereas the BRICS countries are still at an embryonic stage of research on this topic.

Lean thinking: planning and implementation in the public sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how Lean office planning and implementation take place in a Brazilian regulatory agency and to investigate the adjustments needed for its implementation. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal case study was conducted. Interview was the main source of evidence. Between September and October 2012, data about the planning phase were collected; between April and May 2015, Lean office implementation was investigated. Altogether, five employees of the agency were interviewed. Findings The agency assumed its mission as value for the user, establishing control process, evaluating and improving processes to achieve perfection and recognising its weakness in a continuous improvement culture. Planning and implementation of Lean office in the regulatory agency followed the main recommendations in the literature. However, adjustments were necessary in accordance with the particularities of the public institution. Research limitations/implications Owing to the nature of this study, no generalisation was possible. Moreover, interviews with managers were about both Lean planning, which has taken place in the past, and Lean implementing, which is still running; thus, some information may be abstruse. Practical implications It was possible to list the main adjustments needed for planning and implementing the Lean office in the public agency and some are applicable for other public administration bodies. Originality/value Lean office studies are mainly related to private organizations, but this paper demonstrates that their fundamentals are preserved in public service, and thus it proved that Lean thinking may be applied to the public administration. It also raised a series of questions for future studies.

The BPM lifecycle: How to incorporate a view external to the organization through dynamic capability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that incorporates factors external to the organization into the business process management (BPM) lifecycle through dynamic capabilities (DCs), beginning with strategy and persisting through the business process transformation. Design/methodology/approach The study comprised four distinct phases. First, a literature review was conducted to identify validated theoretical models related to the topic. Then, a systematic review of the literature was conducted by accessing the EBSCOhost, ISI/Web of Science and Scopus databases, for the purpose of understanding how the relationship between BPM and DCs has been addressed. The third step was the identification of the meta-capabilities involved in the relationship between DC and BPM, the fourth step was the construction of a framework that integrated an external view into BPM through DC, and the final step evaluated these framework through a case study. Findings Ten texts were selected after a systematic literature review. The following main points of convergence were identified: DC contributes to the conceptualization and understanding of BPM, DC assists in the process of organizational change by promoting the adaptation of the company to the environment, and DC enhances BPM performance. A framework was developed and presented. Practical implications The proposed framework, which incorporates an external perspective into the BPM lifecycle through DCs, can be used by managers and researchers interested in the promotion of BPM. Originality/value The study shows how the sensing, seizing and transforming meta-capabilities can act to evaluate the outside-in perspective, serve as a benchmark for the alignment of business processes and enable the operationalization of emerging demands through the dynamic adaptation of processes.

What is a social enterprise? Revising old concepts and interviewing social entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT The concept of social enterprise (SE) has been developed by an emerging and collective effort of scholars over the world. However, a comprehensive meaning of ‘SE,’ which embeds traditional knowledge of organizational management has potential to be explored further. Due to the relevance of ‘SE’ in the contemporary society, new conceptual and practical insights are desirable. This study proposes to shed light on building up a definition for ‘SE’ that is inspired by existing definitions of organization and ‘SE’ and rely on real-world evidence. Literature review and comprehensive interviews with social entrepreneurs were conducted. Data analysis defines ‘SEs’ as an autonomous organization managed in a participative way and created by and for the community, with a relatively identifiable boundary, that strives to generate social wealth, and for this, produces goods and/or services that guarantee its financial viability, consequently, its continuity. Its integration into its environment generates consequences guided by social, economic, and environmental goals.