Acumulação de capacidades tecnológicas e aprimoramento de performance operacional sob diferentes regimes industriaisevidências em nível de empresa da indústria química no Brasil (1980-2007)

Resumo

This dissertation examines the technological capability development and its impacts on the improvement of operational performance indicators through two different policy regimes. This relationship was examined in a unit of a large chemical company in Brazil (Clariant S.A. – Unidade de Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro) over the period from 1980 to 2007. By doing so, the study covered two policy regimes experienced by the Brazilian economy with opposites characteristics: the inward-looking regime (Import Substitution Industrialization), and the outward-looking regime (New Economical Model). Even though much has been written along the last fifteen years concerned about the accumulation of firm-level technological capabilities into the developing countries, only a few studies have analyzed the implications of those capabilities for the operational performance improvement. Much less yet are studies which consider the relationship between those two variables along two different policy regimes. Reaching out to contribute to the fulfillment of this gap in literature, this dissertation examines these questions based on analytical framework available in the international literature in respect of the accumulation of technological capacities in the context of developing countries. This technological capability is examined through a special metric measurement which identifies types and levels of capabilities for different technological functions. It is understood as the resources needed to generate and manage technological change. Such resources are accumulated and embodied in skills, knowledge, experience and organizational systems (Bell & Pavitt, 1993). Additionally, due to its diffuse nature, the technological capability is stored in at least four elements: (a) technical systems; (b) individuals; (c) organizational system; and (d) products and services. Based on the first-hand empirical evidences, qualitative and quantitative, collected through an extensive field work, this dissertation has come upon the following results: 1. The studied firm has reached innovative levels of technological capability in all of its analyzed functions. In a range of 1 to 7, the company accumulated level 5 in Project Engineering; level 7, not completed, in Processes and Organization of the Production; the level 6 in Product-related and levels 5 and 6, uncompleted, in Equipment-related. The functions Processes and Organization of the Production and Products-related were prioritized mainly during the outward-looking regime the accumulation rate (speed) of capability has shown variations through the hole period with had been studied, although the highest rates had occurred during the transition of the industrial regimes 2. There was substantial improvement of the operational performance indicators. For example, the labor productivity has shown high increasing rates during the outward-looking regime vs. inward-looking regime (12,4% vs. 2,85%). The improvement of this and of the other indicators, seem to be directly associated to the development of innovative technological capability of the firm which took place, mainly, during the outward-looking regime. In line with previous studies, this dissertation concludes that the firm has positively responded to the change of policy regime by accumulating innovative technological capabilities which have directly influenced the improvement of operational performance. The evidences confirm the argument that the relation between technological capabilities and performance of the firm is much stronger and direct in an open economy policy regime in the wide-word competition.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Dissertação

Ano

2008

Instituição

Fundação Getulio Vargas

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Não informado

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/25868

Temas

Desenvolvimento EconômicoDados

Palavras-chave

Capacidades tecnológicasPerformance operacionalTechnological capabilityOperational performanceAdministração de empresasInovações tecnológicas - BrasilPolítica industrial - BrasilIndústria química - BrasilConcorrência