Innovation Process in Publicly Traded Companies of Serra Gaúcha

Dutra, Catherine Chiappin; Pavinato, Cristiano Wagner Tesser; Carrer, Maria Luiza Furlanetto; Camargo, Maria Emília; Olea, Pelayo Munhoz

doi:10.5902/1983465932663

Catherine Chiappin Dutra

University of Caxias do Sul, Graduate Program in Business Administration, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0117-9335

Cristiano Wagner Tesser Pavinato

University of Caxias do Sul, Graduate Program in Business Administration, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0801-1882

Maria Luiza Furlanetto Carrer

University of Caxias do Sul, Graduate Program in Business Administration, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4284-4239

Maria Emília Camargo

University of Caxias do Sul, Graduate Program in Business Administration, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3800-2832

Pelayo Munhoz Olea

Federal University of Rio Grande, Graduate Program in Business Administration, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2183-8112

Catherine Chiappin Dutra - Master in Business Administration from University of Caxias do Sul E-mail: pacagi.dutra@gmail.com

Cristiano Wagner Tesser Pavinato - Master in Business Administration from University of Caxias do Sul E-mail: cristiano.pavinato@gmail.com

Maria Luiza Furlanetto Carrer - Master in Business Administration from University of Caxias do Sul E-mail: marialuizacarrer@gmail.com

Maria Emília Camargo - CNPq PQ Scholarship. Professor of the Graduate Program in Business Administration, PPGA/UCS, Caxias do Sul/Brazil. Doctor degree in Production Engineering - Federal University of Santa Catarina - UFSC - Brazil E-mail: mecamarg@ucs.br

Pelayo Munhoz Olea - CNPq PQ Scholarship. Professor of the Graduate Program in Business Administration, PPGA/FURG, Rio Grande/Brazil. Doctor degree in Business Administration - Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Spain E-mail: pelayo.olea@gmail.com

Contribution of authors

Conflict of Interest - The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Innovation Dimensions	Definition
Product Innovation	[…] is the introduction of a good or service that is new or significantly improved with respect to its characteristics or intended uses. This includes significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user friendliness or other functional characteristics.
Process Innovation	[…] is the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method. This includes significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software.
Organizational Innovation	[…] is the implementation of a new organisational method in the firm's business practices, workplace organisation or external relations.
Marketing Innovation	[…] is the implementation of a new marketing method involving significant changes in product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing.

Company	Number of respondents
C1	7
C2	10
C3	1
C4	5
C5	1
C6	10
Total	34

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES
2. How many professionals work in the Research and Development (R&D) sector according to the level of education/training?	Education			Complete		Ongoing
	Education			n	%		n	%
	Doctorate (Ph.D.)			4	4%		3	3%
	Master			9	8%		7	6%
	Especialization/MBA			8	7%		1	1%
	Undergraduate			17	16%		3	3%
	Technical education			47	44%		0	0%
	High school			9	8%		0	0%
	Elementary school			0	0%		0	0%
	Untrained			0	0%		0	0%
6. Does the company have activities that encourage the frequent implementation of innovations?	I completely agree		I agree		I disagree		I completely disagree
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	8	24%	20	59%	6	18%	0	0%
10. Regarding procedures, the organization:	Has procedures for all services		Has procedures for some services		Has procedures in the implementation phase		Has no procedures
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	22	69%	10	31%	0	0%	0	0%
11. Do leaders encourage people to take the initiative?	Frequently		Occasionally		Rarely		They do not encourage
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	21	62%	13	38%	0	0%	0	0%
12. Do the leaders promote a strong emphasis on maintaining the group's relationship?	Frequently		Occasionally		Rarely		They do not encourage
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	14	42%	16	48%	3	9%	0	0%
13. Does the company value when people take risks, even when failures occur?	I completely agree		I agree		I disagree		I completely disagree
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	2	6%	19	56%	12	35%	1	3%
14. Does the company place high priority on learning and experimenting with new ideas?	I completely agree		I agree		I disagree		I completely disagree
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	5	15%	19	56%	10	29%	0	0%
15. I believe that the amount of each type of resource devoted to innovations is:	Inexistent		Scarce		Sufficient		Abundant
Resource type	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Financial resources	0	0%	10	30%	20	61%	3	9%
Materials, space and equipment	0	0%	9	27%	20	61%	4	12%
Management care	0	0%	4	12%	27	79%	3	9%
Qualified personnel	0	0%	4	12%	26	76%	4	12%
16. The resources for making innovations are:	Own	Banks	Suppliers	Clients	Research institutes		Government support
	n
	34	3	4	1	10		11
	%
	100%	9%	12%	3%	29%		32%
19. From 2014 to 2016, were Research and Development (R&D) activities carried out to implement new products or processes?	Yes, they were.						No, they were not.
	Continuous			Occasional			No, they were not.
Environment of activities	n		%	n		%	n	%
Internal R&D	30		91%	2		6%	1	3%
External R&D	11		33%	9		27%	13	39%
Training (for innovations)	3		10%	26		87%	1	3%
25. What is the level of difficulty associated with each of the situations exposed below, faced by the company during the attempt or implementation of innovations?	Level of difficulty
	High		Medium		Low		Not applied
Situations	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Economic risk	13	38%	14	41%	7	21%	0	0%
High innovation costs	17	52%	8	24%	8	24%	0	0%
Shortage of appropriate sources of funding	4	12%	22	67%	5	15%	2	6%
Organizational rigidity	3	9%	15	44%	16	47%	0	0%
Lack of qualified personnel	1	3%	22	65%	10	29%	1	3%
Lack of information about the technology	2	6%	13	38%	19	56%	0	0%
Lack of information about markets	0	0%	9	26%	25	74%	0	0%
Scarce possibilities for cooperation with other companies/institutions	3	9%	12	36%	17	52%	1	3%
Difficulty in conforming to standards, norms and regulations	3	9%	5	15%	23	68%	3	9%
Lack of institutions with the power to validate new technologies	3	9%	17	50%	13	38%	1	3%
Poor customer response to new products	2	6%	25	74%	6	18%	1	3%
Scarcity of adequate external technological services	3	9%	8	24%	22	65%	1	3%

INNOVATION CONTEXTS
7. How do you characterize the economic environment in which the company is inserted?	Very dynamic		Dynamic		Stable		Very stable
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	10	29%	21	62%	2	6%	1	3%
20. In the period from 2014 to 2016, was (were) acquired/developed:	Yes, they were						They were not
	New			Updates			They were not
	n	%		n	%		n	%
Softwares	13	34%		24	63%		1	3%
Machinery and equipment	29	74%		9	23%		1	3%
21. In the period from 2014 to 2016, was (were) acquired/developed:	Yes, they were						They were not
	National			International			They were not
	n	%		n	%		n	%
Patents and intellectual property records	20	56%		7	19%		9	25%
22. Inform the importance of external sources for the realization of innovations	Degree of importance
	High		Medium		Low		Irrelevant
External sources	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Supplyers	27	79%	6	18%	1	3%	0	0%
Clients	17	50%	10	29%	7	21%	0	0%
Competitors	11	32%	18	53%	5	15%	0	0%
Consultancies	4	12%	11	33%	16	48%	2	6%
Universities	11	32%	12	35%	8	24%	3	9%
Professional training centers	5	15%	8	24%	7	21%	14	41%
Research institutes	13	38%	4	12%	15	44%	2	6%
Testing, assays and certification companies	15	44%	11	32%	5	15%	3	9%
Fairs/Congresses	11	32%	8	24%	15	44%	0	0%
Technical Journals	5	15%	7	21%	18	53%	4	12%
23. Inform the frequency of use of external sources for the realization of innovations:	Frequency
	Frequently		Some times		A few times		Never
External sources	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Supplyers	25	74%	7	21%	2	6%	0	0%
Clients	13	38%	14	41%	7	21%	0	0%
Competitors	7	21%	15	44%	6	18%	6	18%
Consultancies	5	15%	6	18%	20	59%	3	9%
Universities	8	24%	14	41%	8	24%	4	12%
Professional training centers	1	3%	4	12%	21	62%	8	24%
Research institutes	5	15%	9	26%	16	47%	4	12%
Testing, assays and certification companies	12	35%	15	44%	5	15%	2	6%
Fairs/Congresses	9	26%	18	53%	7	21%	0	0%
Technical Journals	6	18%	5	15%	20	59%	3	9%

FOCUS OF INNOVATION
3. How do you describe the innovations made by the company? More than one type of innovation can be highlighted.	Product		Process		Organizational		Marketing
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	30	88%	28	82%	24	71%	17	50%
8. When the organization's goals are achieved:	Those involved are rewarded		Individuals are rewarded		The awards are symbolic		No prizes are awarded
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	1	3%	10	29%	15	44%	8	24%
9. When goals are not achieved or when failures occur:	The group's attention is drawn		The individual's attention is drawn		There are severe penalties		New opportunities are provided
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
	20	59%	1	3%	0	0%	13	38%
17. In the last two years, the company has introduced innovations:	Innovation type
	Product		Process		Organizational		Marketing
Public	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
for companies	18	53%	15	44%	13	38%	3	9%
for the market	31	91%	7	21%	7	21%	13	38%
18. The innovations implemented are:	Innovation type
18. The innovations implemented are:	Product		Process		Organizational		Marketing
Innovations	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Completely new	22	65%	4	12%	7	21%	7	21%
Solution enhancement	28	82%	25	74%	10	29%	7	21%

ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
4. Based on the innovations pointed out in question 3, please indicate the degree to which these innovations have met the organization's initial expectations.	Exceeded expectations		Acceptable		Almost reached		Has not reached
Type of innovation	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Product Innovation	7	22%	23	72%	1	3%	1	3%
Process Innovation	1	4%	25	93%	1	4%	0	0%
Organizational Innovation	2	7%	21	78%	4	15%	0	0%
Marketing Innovation	7	35%	10	50%	2	10%	1	5%
5. Still, considering the innovations pointed out in question 3, how would you rate the effectiveness of the implemented innovations?	Very good		Good		Regular		Poor
Type of innovation	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Product Innovation	18	56%	10	31%	4	13%	0	0%
Process Innovation	9	33%	15	56%	3	11%	0	0%
Organizational Innovation	5	19%	14	54%	6	23%	1	4%
Marketing Innovation	5	28%	10	56%	2	11%	1	6%
24. Point out the degree of importance of each of the impacts generated by innovations in your company.	Importance level
	High		Medium		Low		Not relevant
Impacts generated by innovations	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Enhanced quality of goods and services	23	68%	11	32%	0	0%	0	0%
Expansion of goods/services offered	22	69%	8	25%	2	6%	0	0%
Improved aesthetics/design	14	41%	3	9%	7	21%	10	29%
Maintenance of market share	27	79%	6	18%	1	3%	0	0%
Increased market share	26	76%	7	21%	1	3%	0	0%
Opening of new markets	13	38%	16	47%	5	15%	0	0%
Increase in production capacity or services provided	9	26%	22	65%	3	9%	0	0%
Increased flexibility in production or service provision	13	38%	11	32%	10	29%	0	0%
Reduced production costs	22	65%	12	35%	0	0%	0	0%
Reduction of raw material costs	19	56%	8	24%	7	21%	0	0%
Reduction of water and/or energy consumption	7	21%	8	24%	18	53%	1	3%
Reducing impact on environment/health/security	11	32%	10	29%	13	38%	0	0%
Implementation of significant changes in corporate strategy	9	26%	15	44%	10	29%	0	0%
Implementation of advanced management techniques	4	12%	10	29%	18	53%	2	6%
Implementation of significant changes in the organizational structure	5	15%	14	41%	14	41%	1	3%
Significant changes in marketing concepts/strategies	5	15%	11	33%	17	52%	0	0%
Significant changes in architecture/aesthetics/design or subjective changes	8	24%	4	12%	17	52%	4	12%
Implementation of new control and management methods to meet certification standards (ISO9001, ISO14000, QSTS, OSHAS 18001, others)	8	24%	8	24%	14	42%	3	9%

[1] Catherine Chiappin Dutra - Master in Business Administration from University of Caxias do Sul E-mail: pacagi.dutra@gmail.com

Brasil

Brasil

Innovation Process in Publicly Traded Companies of Serra Gaúcha

Processo de Inovação em Empresas de Capital Aberto da Serra Gaúcha

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

Design/methodology/approach:

Findings:

Originality/value: