New technology-based firms and technology acquisition in Portugal: Firms' adaptive responses to a less favourable environment

Abstract

This paper summarizes an empirical study of NTBF creation and early evolution in Portugal. It focuses on the implications of being created and operating in a country with a weak national system of innovation for the process of acquisition of technological knowledge and technology necessary for formation and subsequent development of the firm. It is agreed that start-up conditions concerning the acquisition of the initial technology and the relationships then established have important implications for the subsequent process of technology acquisition, and a number of patterns of behaviour are identified. The main options for the launch of an NTBF are analysed. One stereotype is firms which have a privileged link with a particular source of technology which they use in a more or less ‘symbiotic’ way. A second stereotype is the firm which has a more independent stance — by choice or out of necessity — but is able to build alternative forms of technology acquisition. The privileged relationship appeared to have a number of advantages, although it is a relatively recent experience whose implications are not yet completely clear. The experience of firms which did not have the privileged relationship shows that technology access is often a complex undertaking for NTBFs in less well-endowed environments. The strategies followed by firms to guarantee the acquisition of relevant technological knowledge are thus adaptive responses, devised to cope with the limitations of their environment.