A dinâmica do processo de coinovação: uma análise de interações entre múltiplos atores

Abstract

Global changes in technological, social, economic aspects of society and in terms of the development of countries and social classes in the global market have imposed agility in the business arena that has never seen before. Innovation in this highly dynamic context has become a requirement for organizations aiming to survive in the market. New models of inter-organizational relationships have developed and the sharing of resources, capabilities, and knowledge for the development of innovations has become fundamental. It is in this context of agility that this thesis is inserted focusing on the understanding of the co-innovation process adopted by organizations in this environment. In this sense, this thesis aims to propose a theoretical-conceptual framework that enables the understanding of the dynamics of interactions between multiple actors during the co-innovation process. Co-innovation, in this work, refers to the interactive joint open innovation process of value co-creation performed by multiple actors. As the central point of the concept appear the interactions between the multiple actors, since it has been seen as a fundamental point for the co-creation to occur during the innovative process. This is also the central point in this study given its relevance to the major concept. To do so, it takes the empirical context of hackathons, programming marathons focused on developing technology-based solutions for challenges posed by sponsoring organizations. These events have such a special applicability of the central concept explored here, since they have a variety of actors, be they organizers, designers, clients or technology and market experts who interact with each other in favor of creating an artifact capable of solving a specific market issue dictated by the sponsors. In this sense, a multiple integrated case study was carried out based on five hackathons promoted by local, national and international organizations that had the development of solutions focused on social impact, product and technology exclusively. From the comparative analysis of these five cases, the five elements of the dynamics of the interactions for co-innovation existing in these events were elucidated by integrating three units of analysis (actors involved, event dynamics and teams’ dynamics), constructing the theoretical-conceptual framework intended in this study. As contributions of this thesis, firstly the study of hackathons from the point of view of co-innovation environments, nonexistent in the literature. In addition, the study of the five elements driving co-innovation interactions in a joint and empirical manner, differently from previously conceptual and separate perspectives previously developed. This study was able to compose a theoretical framework by inferring that elements of communication, convergence, coordination, engagement, and sharing aims are directly related to the interactions that occurred during the co-innovation process. Also, different antecedent components of these five elements were located, composing three new sets of antecedents previously not located. As a third contribution, the applied exploration of the concept of co-innovation in the context of hackathons, suggesting both the concept and the event, as strategies of the relationship between the organizer and its ecosystem, an important factor for practitioners and scholars of innovation management. Finalizing the thesis are presented some limitations faced and suggestions for future research, especially from the point of view of the deepening of the relations studied here.