Análise do grau de desenvolvimento dos ambientes de inovação: o caso da governança dos parques tecnológicos e incubadoras do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This study has aimed to identify the degree of development of the network governance of the innovation environments of Rio Grande do Sul, limited by technological parks and incubators seat in Porto Alegre, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Santa Maria, Lajeado and Rio Grande, based on the governance model proposed by Provan and Kenis (2008) of the Administrative Organization of the Network (NAO), through the factors: Trust, Number of Participants, Objectives Consonance, Necessity of Competences, and Conflicts and Tensions. The method chosen was the qualitative approach, exploratory character through multicase study. The data collection was deep interviews with managers in the parks and incubators, besides secondary data, which were analyzed based on content analysis. Results have showed, in all innovation environments, there was a high necessity of competences in relation to skilled workforce, internally for management and governance and externally for the weak entrepreneur environment, besides the need of a larger amount of available people to carry on administrative functions on theses environments. In case of mature innovation environments, it was concludes those have a formalized and well-structured governance, very similar to the NAO. Specifically to innovation environments considered as embryonic and growing / developing, it is suggested as a starting point the need for a better structuring regarding issues related to the management and internal development of these environments, since the critical points of these environments, at that moment, are not at the network level, but there are in an internal level. Thus, the results outlined by this study contribute not only to the theoretical knowledge about the phenomenon of network governance in innovation environments such as technology parks and incubators, but also to help the difficulties of structuring these environments. This gap in the innovation environments is even greater when it comes to regional studies, being limited to more consolidated parks and incubators, so this research can bring initial points of discussion within the innovation environments in Rio Grande do Sul. Regarding the limitations of the study, the results it provides are restricted to the governance of the studied innovation environments, as well as suggestions for future research, it is necessary to deepen the studies with other environments in several phases of development, mainly with mature innovation environments, seeking to understand the issues that go beyond the environment, but of the entire ecosystem of innovation involved, seeking to bring the opinion of several agents involved in the process, such as: City halls, universities, entrepreneurs, business people, accelerators, coworking environments, and conduct comparative studies of these environments and ecosystems of mature Brazilian innovation with mature ecosystems and environments at international level. As far as less developed innovation environments are concerned, it is important that studies go beyond understanding the governance, deepening questions related to the management of these environments, in this way trying to propose actions that can be developed to structure and to consolidate these environments, mainly with respect to effective models of management and actions of skills qualification in network.