Analysis of the Organizational Innovation Level: Evidence from Brazil

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated that innovation is a factor that can add a competitive differential among small- and medium-sized enterprises. The literature presents several types of companies that have invested in the process of organizational innovation. Recently, one type of company that has drawn attention is called “graduated”, that is, one that went through the incubation process and received support from an incubator. Research shows that graduated companies (GCs) have enough competencies to develop themselves in their market. This research analyzes the level of organizational innovation in nine GCs in an emerging economy, such as Brazil. To achieve the proposed objective, this study (i) identifies the profile of these companies; (ii) identifies the proposed innovation actions; (iii) applies the innovation radar and (iv) analyzes the dimensions proposed by the innovation radar. The results revealed that the GCs are occasional innovators, with an average of 3.60. Among the nine companies analyzed, seven presented averages above 3.0, considered as occasional innovators and the other two companies, with averages a little above 2.0, were analyzed as little or not at all innovative. GCs, in their majority, are innovative companies. From the theoretical perspective, the results highlight the possibility of improvements and the suggestion of new dimensions for the innovation radar. In the practical scenario, the participating GCs were able to reflect on themes and day-to-day situations that, for lack of time, or even planning, were not analyzed.