Abstract
In the current economic climate, companies must seek new ways to manage innovation, which has recently become a key method of differentiation in competitive markets. The general goal of this article was to study the process of innovation management in a petrochemical company. A case study performed at Braskem showed that the ability to manage and use knowledge is the major drive of technological innovation. The evidence obtained also showed that partnerships with academic and research institutions have a direct impact on organizational R&D, accelerating results and reducing costs.
Highlights
In the current economic climate, companies must seek new ways to manage innovation, which has recently become a key method of differentiation in competitive markets
Data were collected between June and July of 2012, in two stages: (I) three technical visits were made to the organization’s Center for Technology and Innovation, and a fourth visit was organized to the industrial plant, both of which are located in the city of Triunfo, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul; (II) two in-depth interviews were performed with employees responsible for innovation management and who effectively participate in research and development (R&D) activities in the company’s Polymer Science and Innovation Performance Management sector, within the Polymer Unit
In early 2002, Braskem arose as a result of the fusion of six companies, each of which had its own innovation methods
Summary
In the current economic climate, companies must seek new ways to manage innovation, which has recently become a key method of differentiation in competitive markets. The general goal of this article was to study the process of innovation management in a petrochemical company. A case study performed at Braskem showed that the ability to manage and use knowledge is the major drive of technological innovation. In light of this market structure, and due the relevance this segment to Brazilian economy, the general goal of this article was to study the process of innovation management in a petrochemical company. To achieve this goal, we aimed to (i) Characterize the petrochemical industry; (ii) Define the general concept of innovation in the organizational setting; and (iii) Describe innovation and its underlying organizational practices
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