Capacidades de dinâmicas baseadas em conhecimento para a criação de um ecossistema de inovação: o caso de uma universidade

Abstract

Currently, organizational structures, specifically private companies, universities, and the public sector, seek innovation and technology in their processes to become more competitive in the market. These structures are known as Innovation Ecosystems, which are characterized as innovative activities that rely on collaboration agreements between companies and local institutions namely universities, research institutes, technology transfer centers, among others. (AUTIO; THOMAS, 2014). In this context, universities appear as a significant influencer and facilitator of the Innovation Ecosystems creation and development process. (FOSS; GIBSON, 2015). For delimitation purposes, this master's thesis is based on the perspective of ecosystemas-affiliation. (ADNER, 2017). Thus, a university may work as an ecosystem organizer, strategically applying its intellectual, reputable, and financial capitals to establish and maintain a well-built ecosystem. To do so, strong Dynamic Capabilities are required from it, and it is precisely in this sense that these capabilities provide a useful framework to think about ecosystems. Dynamic Capabilities, or DCs, refer to a company's ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external resources/competencies to innovate in rapidly changing environments (TEECE; PISANO; SHUEN, 1997; TEECE, 2007). In other words, from the recombination of current capabilities and their available resources, especially knowledge (as an intangible resource), a possible competitive advantage is obtained. The concept of Knowledge‐Based Dynamic Capabilities (KBDC) emerges from this DCs' perspective. In this sense, it is worth noting that it is essential to use the dimensions of Zheng, Zhang and Du (2011) to understand the influence of the microfoundations of the KBDC throughout the development of an innovation ecosystem. Thus, this thesis focuses on analyzing the microfoundations of the Knowledge‐Based Dynamic Capabilities for the development of an innovation ecosystem in a university. This empirical research employed a qualitative case study approach through interview conduction and data transcription. This study addresses four main contributions, which are (1) empirical pieces of evidence show that certain microfoundations exist during the university phases; (2) microfoundations related to different knowledge-based dynamic capabilities; (3) empirical pieces of evidence show the influence on ecosystem creation concerning different Knowledge‐Based Dynamic Capabilities; and (4) how dynamic capabilities impact ecosystem's creation. The results obtained in this study are intended to foster further research and discussion on different ways to analyze the microfoundations of the KBDC for the creation of an ecosystem in a university.