A apropriação da inovação em agrotecnologias: estudo multicaso em universidades brasileiras

Abstract

The objective of this research is to investigate the mechanisms of appropriation of technological innovations by universities. Thus, a qualitative multicase study was conducted in three public universities focused on “agro-technology innovation”: Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo (USP-Esalq), Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), and Federal University of Lavras (Ufla). The study found that the surveyed universities implemented a number of changes in recent years in order to establish mechanisms of direct and indirect appropriation and to reap the tangible and intangible benefits of the innovations generated. It was found that intangible benefits generate tangible benefits and, in a second moment, tangible benefits may generate other intangible benefits, creating a virtuous circle that may occur in a dynamic context associated to the institution’s environments, both indoors and outdoors. It was also found that these benefits go beyond the institutional environment and reach society, thus being considered “forms of social appropriability.” From these findings, a summary table was designed to describe the main modes and benefits of the appropriation of agro-technology innovations by the surveyed universities. The possibilities of an analytical generalization of the summary table are discussed in the end.