Endogenous and exogenous features of innovation processes in Brazil: two case studies at a Brazilian university

Abstract

Brazil has still a great challenge to overcome: the difficulty in translating scientific knowledge into economic development. This study explores this subject beginning with the endogenous and exogenous characteristics of the innovation process. Endogenous characteristics are those directly related to the innovation process, while exogenous characteristics address where the innovation processes occur and describe formal structures. This study consists of two innovation case studies of scientific research mostly carried out within a Brazilian university. A historical approach is used to investigate the knowledge path up to its application in the form of the innovation. In this manner, the study sought to identify what these two case studies demonstrate about the Brazilian innovation process. Our results indicate that the success of the innovation process depends on the satisfaction of needs from both the endogenous and exogenous dimensions of the innovation process.