Innovation in Industrial Clusters: A Survey of Footwear Companies in Brazil

Hélcio Martins Tristão,Daniel Jugend,Sérgio Luis Da Silva,Pedro Carlos Oprime

doi:10.4067/s0718-27242013000400005

Abstract

The aim of this study is to characterize the relationships in innovation and business clustering processes in the productive chain of small and medium enterprises (SME) of Brazil. The object of study are SMEs the local procuctive cluster of the shoes in Franca, State of Sao Paulo. The conceptual model developed is based on the following constructs: vertical integration, innovation and characteristics of the cluster, and it is focused on identifying the agents that act predominantly in product innovation processes in the cluster. A survey was conducted. It was found that there is cooperation between the companies in the productive arrangement studied, and that shoe manufacturers are those who, predominantly, stimulate innovation within the cluster.

Highlights

Companies need to continuously improve their performance to remain competitive, which justifies the constant demand for new technologies related to products, processes, and management. Riis, Johansen and Waehrens (2007) highlighted that the economic environment in which companies operate has forced them to introduce changes in their product lines in order to gain positioning in new market segments
Based on the assumption that there is an asymmetry in the management of innovation and in the correlation between groups of companies in the same tier of the productive chain, this study aims at addressing innovation in the context of industrial clusters
The three means groups of footwear companies are considered in this study: i) shoe manufacturers; ii) sole manufacturers, iii) and tanneries.This study considers that there is a local production system or a cluster in the footwear industry the region of Franca – State of São Paulo, as proposed by Porter (1999), and that strategic alliances with the aim of increasing the systemic competitiveness of the local productive chain are developed within the cluster.The hypothesis to verify which factors represent the characteristics of innovation and cooperation processes in the industrial complex under study were extracted from the theoretical framework of vertical integration, clustering, and innova

Summary

Introduction

Companies need to continuously improve their performance to remain competitive, which justifies the constant demand for new technologies related to products, processes, and management. Riis, Johansen and Waehrens (2007) highlighted that the economic environment in which companies operate has forced them to introduce changes in their product lines in order to gain positioning in new market segments. There has been a transition from a resource-based to a knowledge-based production In this paradigm, seeing competitiveness from a systemic rather than individual point of view is a more effective approach since the problems are solved by multidisciplinary teams.This perspective, needs further analysis considering that different groups of companies have different approaches to management. This implies adopting different strategies to face a more competitive environment.As the center of this discussion, innovation is seen from different points of view by different businesses. Based on the assumption that there is an asymmetry in the management of innovation and in the correlation between groups of companies in the same tier of the productive chain, this study aims at addressing innovation in the context of industrial clusters

Objectives

Results

Conclusion