Innovation Ecosystems in Brazil: Research Universities as Drivers of Competitiveness

Abstract

Universities are increasingly perceived as agents involved with regional development. It is now recognized that academic contributions to the socioeconomic environment go well beyond scientific investigations and teaching activities, incorporating market-oriented initiatives to the academic mission. However, these effects are geographically bounded. Given these conditions, this article aims at addressing universities' impacts upon output vectors of localized innovation ecosystems. Using data from cities and microregions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, we address universities impacts on the local-level generation of patents and utility models, software production and emergence of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship. Findings support the proposition that major academic institutions lie at the heart of innovation ecosystems, but impacts are mostly local, happening more strongly at the level of cities.