The historical evolution of the Brazilian aeronautical sector: a combined approach based on mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) and sectoral innovation system (SIS)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aims to present the evolution of the Brazilian aeronautical industry, focusing on mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) and sectoral innovation system (SIS) theories. We argue that a consolidated arrangement in national boundaries was useful to improve a leading national firm to compete at the international level. This was achieved through changes in MOIP over time, from a Type-1 strategy for a heterogeneous one, combining Type-1 and Type-2 features (Robinson, D. K. R., and M. Mazzucato. 2019. “The evolution of mission-oriented policies: Exploring changing market creating policies in the US and European space sector.” Research Policy 48: 936–948). We identify three main periods of industrial evolution from the 1930s until now. As main conclusions, we highlight that the joint observation through MOIP and SIS theories is important to explain the evolution of the aeronautical sector in Brazil. As technological, market, and institutional conditions shift, government policies change, new results are achieved, and new goals are being established, in line with the MOIP theory. Hence, the need for evaluation and adjustment over time would be seen as a more general lesson from this study, and the role of government intervention emerges as a particular strategy for each nation-state. Moreover, these responses to particular strategies need to be coherent with industry preconditions (each country’s internal features) and industry discontinuities.