Knowledge Integration and Open Innovation in the Brazilian Cosmetics Industry

Kleber Luís Celadon

doi:10.4067/s0718-27242014000300003

Kleber Luís Celadon

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-27242014000300003

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Abstract

This article is based on a thesis that examined open innovation in the Brazilian cosmetics sector and its relationship with knowledge integration, comparing less open and more open firms. The ability to integrate knowledge is related to competitive advantage, and this study sheds light onto OI at each different firm. The main findings show that, different levels of openness in innovation, demand firm-specific mechanism for KI. Also, openness increases complexity in management. The understanding of how firms select their knowledge for appropriation and differentiation is also considered. The Brazilian cosmetics market was chosen because it occupies the 3rd position in the world´s ranking and this industry is under researched. A cross-case comparison is used.

Highlights

Research questionsMaking use of external and internal ideas to advance knowledge is claimed to bring more competitiveness for companies in general.The inflow and outflow of knowledge, which are part of this process, involve practices that should encourage participants to explore a wide range of innovation opportunities through multiple channels (West & Gallagher, 2006)
Large case firms demonstrated an advantage in building processes that enable OI.these firms have the ability to launch new products faster than SMEs due to their advantageous financial status that allow for large investments in marketing and publicity.Apart from that, large firms normally have their own laboratories and can compete with multinational in category 2 products, a higher regulated category of cosmetics that SMEs have difficulties to produce
The preliminary questionnaire applied in the phase 1 of data collection resulted in two ‘more open’ firms, four ‘hybrid’ and three ‘more traditional’ in the nine case firms

Summary

Introduction

Research questionsMaking use of external and internal ideas to advance knowledge is claimed to bring more competitiveness for companies in general.The inflow and outflow of knowledge, which are part of this process, involve practices that should encourage participants to explore a wide range of innovation opportunities through multiple channels (West & Gallagher, 2006). Emerging markets can be explored according to changes in socio-economic conjectures This implies interaction and integration of knowledge, suggesting a relationship with another concept, that is, Knowledge Integration, which has been explained as a learning process within organizations and, has been seen as a critical process for understanding firm’s competitiveness. It depends on people’s attitudes towards learning, it varies in scope (the greater the harder for competitor to replicate) and it can be more or less flexible in relation to the capacity an organization has to build one innovation initiative on the top of another M. Grant, 1996a; Huang & Newell, 2003)

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