Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of innovation in the industry; factors that condition technological competitiveness at Magneti Marelli Controle Motor; analyse the risks and opportunities involved in the process of diffusion and management of flexfuel technology. Design/methodology/approach – The methodological approach was qualitative/descriptive case study, supported by the theoretical framework on risk analysis and strategic analysis. Findings – In a Brazilian market context, new technologies need to make cars more competitive in cost/price terms. Magneti Marelli had an innovative and important role in the development and implementation of this technology. Thus, it achieved a higher share of market and recognition of its entrepreneurial character. Originality/value – There are few academic papers that relate the topics risk, strategy and Innovation. Moreover, the paper reports a successful case of Brazilian innovation in the global automotive industry.

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A COMMENTED TRANSLATION OF ACIDS AND BASES BY GILBERT NEWTON LEWIS. Gilbert Newton Lewis was a distinguished scientist in 20th century History of Chemistry. His work remains relevant for physical chemistry, organic chemistry and coordination chemistry nowadays. Lewis is well known by his propose for chemical bond, based on electron sharing. In 1923 he published two theoretical explanations for acids and bases: the former collaborating with Bronsted and Lowry and the later in his book Valence and the Structure of Atoms and Molecules (1923). In this book, the role of electron pairs in acid base reactions was highlighted decentering explanations from detachment/transfer of hydrogen ion. As a result, more substances could be classified as acids and bases. Also, in the context of organic and coordination chemistry new interpretations for reaction mechanisms showed up. The paper translated here, Acids and Bases (1938), makes a strong empirical description of acids and bases behavior. Lewis designed phenomenological criteria as speed of neutralization reactions, strength of the species acid-base titrations, and its applications as catalysts. In this manuscript, we carried out a commented translation of Lewis Acids and Bases published in 1938, considering it an inspiring source for research and educational applications for Portuguese speaking countries.