TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN INTENSIVE COMPANIES IN THE USE OF TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE: A STUDY FROM THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW (RBV)

Abstract

This study discusses the relationship between generation and or acquisition of knowledge and technological innovation, from the resource-based view (RBV), considering empirical evidences of 475 Brazilian companies in the intensive use of scientific and technical knowledge, from the sectors of electronics manufacturing, computer equipment and peripherals manufacture and communications equipment manufacturing. The main focus of the study is to make contributions to the subject in the Brazilian context. Although the relationship between knowledge and technological innovation are treated in the literature, there is a clear need for studies addressing the issue in the reality of Brazilian companies of high technology. The data was processed using multivariate modeling by Correspondence Analysis (COA) technique, which demonstrated the relationship between non-metric variables that went through the categorization process. The COA resulted in a perceptual map able to visually represent the associations between the study variables, providing evidence that different forms and intensities of knowledge can be applied simultaneously, even in a complementary way, in the implementation of innovations in products and or processes. Evidences also shows that the generation and or acquisition of different forms of knowledge can vary significantly between different companies and high tech industries. The study also presents findings that government policies to support innovation, such as tax incentives, economic subsidies and financing can enhance the generation or acquisition of knowledge in high technology companies, enabling these companies to liberate investments in innovative activities to improve their technological achievements.