Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the effects of the insertion in local and global value chains as a determinant of company innovation, identifying the main characteristics of the nature of the interactions that arise in the value chain, as well as the relationship between innovation, internal resources to the company and their insertion in value chains. Originality/value: This paper combines insights from different streams of literature to develop a more comprehensive framework for the analysis of firms’ innovation in emerging countries. We consider relationships among partners in the local and global value chain and the influence of the internal resources as crucially important for the access to external knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: Econometric analysis were performed using generalized linear models (GLM). The period of analysis covers the years 1998 to 2011. We investigate our hypotheses using different models to relate firms’ innovation capacity to local and global value chains and the ownership of internal and external resources. Findings: Using data from Brazilian firms from 1998 to 2011, we found that the relationship with all partners in global value chain contributed to the increase of the Brazilian firm’s innovation. The internal resources had a positive influence in firm’s innovation, suggesting that the firm’s internal resources are crucially important in the access to external knowledge, which means that the ability of firms to make use of this knowledge depends, in turn, on their absorptive capacity.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of external knowledge absorbed on the potential to innovate of multinational companies (MNCs), in the genetically modified (GM) seed sector from 2000 to 2018. Method: A quantitative approach was applied. Data was composed of the main patents filed by MNCs in the GM seed sector, collected from the Espacenet database, the MNCs’ annual reports, and the INPI database. Variables were analyzed using panel regression model. Main results: Results showed that the MNCs’ own resources, as well as the external knowledge absorbed were individually significant. The Interactive variable was not significant in the model. Relevance/ Originality: In addition to addressing literature gaps related for instance to the need to investigate the factors that influence the generation of innovation in multinationals, the present study focused on the agricultural biotechnology sector, which is of paramount importance for the innovations generated in agriculture.  Theoretical contributions: This study contributes by filling literature gaps related to the need to understand how important is the influence of the external knowledge and resources to the innovative capabilities of MNCs. Social contributions: This paper helps managers be conscious of the fact that innovation is not only developed internally, involving the MNC’s own network, but in fact, innovation requires relationships with other companies, allowing the access of external knowledge and resources.

Essa pesquisa teve como objetivo principal analisar, por meio de um estudo de casos múltiplos, como o relacionamento entre matriz e subsidiária e como a atuação da própria matriz podem influenciar no desenvolvimento de inovações na subsidiária. Quatro empresas brasileiras de setores diferentes que foram adquiridas nos últimos dez anos por empresas multinacionais, provenientes da Alemanha e da França, se tornando subsidiárias, foram selecionadas como unidades-caso. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental e entrevistas em profundidade com gestores e proprietários das subsidiárias pesquisadas. Os dados foram analisados por meio de análise de conteúdo temática. Os resultados mostraram que os processos de aquisição que inseriram as empresas brasileiras nas redes das multinacionais se traduziram em benefícios para os dois lados, principalmente para as subsidiárias que após os processos de incorporação tiveram algum tipo de inovação desencadeado.

This study evaluates the types of innovation that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) associated in networks develop in order to enjoy competitive benefits offered by those networks. The present study developed qualitative multiple case study of two networks from the supermarket sector, one vertical network and one horizontal network, which operate in southern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The results allowed concluding that organizational changes companies had to implement in order to enjoy the benefits they had considered competitive, enabled with their participation in the networks, can be considered organizational innovations. Data analysis revealed that innovations implemented by companies, resulted in other types of innovation, such as other organizational service innovations. It should also be mentioned that the innovation processes showed differences in their form in the two networks studied. In the vertical network, innovation occurred from the top-down. In the horizontal network, innovation occurred from the bottom-up.

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Objective: Our objective was to evaluate, through the analysis of the ‘business model,’ the strategy of a public agricultural research company for the creation and launch of an innovation for the agro-industrial coffee chain. Method: We developed a single instrumental case study for the qualitative research.  For data collection we used bibliographic and documentary research, as well as in-depth interviews and analyzed based on the thematic content analysis technique.  The instrumental case study has proved to be the most suitable methodology since it is used when a particular case is examined to provide information on an issue that can be generalized and used to understand a larger reality. Originality/relevance: In this paper we reexamined an unsuccessful innovation case associated with the lens of the business model theoretical construct.   This paper is willing to raise issues that restrict innovation in public research companies. Results: The paper unveiled difficulties related to the inconsistency of innovation promotion policies and legal uncertainty, in particular, by the contradictory positions of legal advisors, which inhibit researchers from engaging in innovative activities and in partnerships with private companies. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The instrumental case study developed, together with the analysis based on the construct of the business model, allowed a better understanding of the problems faced in public research environments in Brazil.  This analysis can be applied to similar cases, since the issue of innovation in the public sector and the difficulties of appropriateness are common to other companies.

This study's aim is to verify if the presence of an automotive assembling company contributes to the occurrence of spillovers in the form of product or process innovation to local supplying companies. The research method implemented was the multiple case study. Results indicate that relationships involving higher levels of commitment, cooperation and information exchange between local supplying companies and the assembling company contribute to the spillover occurrence in the form of product and process innovation, observed mainly for autonomous-link and constrained-link buyer-supplier relationships, and less intensively in market and power buyer-supplier relationships. Our findings contribute to the literature on spillovers from MNEs and have valuable implications for both research and practice. We attribute the paper's contribution mainly to the in-depth nature of analyzes and the methodology employed, which gave us the detail and richness that are presumably associated with the complexity of the phenomena. For academics, this research provides a theoretical framework that has not been previously applied to the Brazilian automotive industry context.