Fab Labs Network in Developing Countries: Knowledge Spillover Effects or Managing Technology Development within the Scarcity Economy?

Abstract

This article is aimed at identifying the nature and restrictions observed in the innovating Free Fab Labs in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The use of developed country business models in developing countries is always reason for concern, especially because of the different socioeconomic and industrial development stages. In developed countries, the Fab Labs initiative results from the accumulation of technological knowledge and entrepreneurship. However, in developing countries, which are still very susceptible to political and economic instability, the Free Fab Lab initiative represents a change in paradigm in the way new services are created and in the manufacturing of new products and technology. In opposition to the capitalist logic, of exploration of abundant resources, Fab Labs are based on resource sharing, using the power of creativity and individual talent originated from the concept of knowledge society. This article reports the Free Fab Lab experience in the city of Sao Paulo and is based on a qualitative, exploratory analysis, supported by non-structured interviews with the Fab Labs coordinators. Results point towards a Free Fab Labs vision as an alternative to unemployment, but furthermore and even more importantly, as a potential opportunity, even though still in its embryonic stages, for the new generation of technological entrepreneurs to adopt Fab Labs as a creativity laboratory, whose work is widely based on the concepts of shared economy.