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.

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.

O propósito deste artigo foi investigar a prática do modelo de negócios e a existência real da inovação de modelo de negócios em uma organização de biotecnologia agrícola no Brasil. Este é um estudo qualitativo, de caráter exploratório, com procedimentos de estudo de caso fundamentados em referências bibliográficas e documentais e em entrevistas em profundidade, analisadas com base na técnica de análise de conteúdo. Após descrever os núcleos de significado dos conceitos de modelo de negócios e de inovação de modelo de negócios e aplicar esses conceitos à Monsanto do Brasil S.A. e sua trajetória histórica, o estudo permitiu concluir que a Monsanto, ao incorporar a biotecnologia aos negócios, inovou seu modelo de negócios. Os resultados mostraram que a inovação se fundamentou na oferta de proposições de valor inéditas aos clientes da empresa (os agricultores) e em mudanças em alguns componentes do modelo de negócios da empresa, como a administração da infraestrutura e os aspectos financeiros.

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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.