Abordagens da estratégia inovativa de imitação (cópia) na indústria de vestuário

Abstract

Copying or productive imitation is not recent, having been argued by classic authors, such as Schumpeter (1911) and Nelson and Winter (1982). However, the specialized bibliography has discussed the phenomenon from specific views. Aiming to contribute to the understanding concerning the complexity of this phenomenon, economic concepts and the theory of administration are used in this project to base and to make possible the understanding of the point of view of its distinct agents. For this, a bibliographical research was made in order to theoretically contextualize the subject and, for the collection of data, semistructured interviews with 17 agents (businessmen, representatives of the institutions of support and the local public power) of a local productive arrangement of confections in Minas Gerais had taken place. For the analysis, content analysis was used specifically with the technique of thematic categorical analysis. The results corroborate the theoretical approaches, but at the same time they show that, individually, no perspective by itself covers the complexity of the phenomenon. It is highlighted that the imitation practice is criticized in local scope, given its perverse effects for the strategy of the companies, however its effects are favorable when promoting the reinforcement of trends. In synthesis, the study points out the necessity of a deeper comprehension of the phenomenon.