The aim of this research project was to investigate the benefits, in terms of acquisition of technological capabilities, generated by a learning network established by building companies. Fieldwork was conducted to evaluate the technological history of eleven companies, focusing on three specific functions: production process and organization, design and equipment. The relational structure of the network was examined, associating the centrality of each company in the network to its innovative performance. The results pointed out the following facts: (a) although the companies have been progressing, particularly in the last few years and since joining the network, they have not achieved innovative levels of technological capability; (b) the density of the network formed in order to disseminate technical knowledge is less intense than the relations established with other aims (commercial and social); and (c) innovative performance is related to the position occupied by the company in the network as a knowledge provider. In terms of theoretical implications, this study increases understanding of the impact of the knowledge generated by the companies that participate in learning networks on the accumulation of technological capabilities.
Technological capability; Learning networks; Construction industry
