Innovation Systems: The Portuguese Case in the European Union Context

1. Innovation Systems: The Portuguese Case in the European Union Context Cristina Sousa ISEG – UTL 2004 Globelics Phd School Lisbon 25 May – 3 June

2. Two Important Concepts • Innovation: process of combination of different resources and capabilities, resulting in something new to the firm • System of Innovation: includes organisations and institutions that interact to produce, diffuse and use innovations, and the interactions between them

3. The Portuguese Case • Small open economy in the context of EU • Existence of performance’s gaps at several levels, including in innovation performance (catch up region) • Industrial structure dominated by SMEs in low and medium technological intensity sectors

4. A Sketch of the Portuguese IS • Financial System: • Bancos e Seguradoras • Mercados Financeiros • Emp. Capital de Risco • Business Angels • Support Organisations: • Centros de Transferência de Tecnologia • Centros Tecnológicos • Parques de C&T e Complexos Tecnológicos • Institutos de Novas Tecnologias • Intermediários Tecnológicos • Empresas de Consultoria • Associações Empresariais e Sindicais • Education/Learning System • Ensino Superior: Universidades e Politécnicos • Ensino Secundário • Escolas de Especialização Tecnológica • Escolas Profissionais • Institutos de Formação • Centros de Reconhecimento, Validação e Certificação de Competências Firms • Public Organisations (Promotion, Co-ordination, Management e Funding of R&D and Innovation • Ministério da Ciência e do Ensino Superior • Ministério da Economia • Ministério do Trabalho e da Seg. Social • Gabinetes de Gestão dos Sistemas Operacionais (POCTI, POE) • Agências Estatais: IAPMEI, AdI, FCT, ICCTI, OCTES, FCCN) • R&D System: • Laboratórios Públicos • Centros de Investigação Universitários • Unidades de Interface Universidade – Empresa • Outras Unidades de I&D • Regulating Organisations: • INPI • IPQ

5. Objectives • Identification of the different roles, capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of the those elements • Try to capture the learning and knowledge accumulation processes that the several agents undertake, considering the different types of knowledge and learning

6. Objectives (II) • Identification of linkages among the agents and characterisation of social, economic and institutional environment • Special attention is given to the patterns of innovative behaviour and learning of Portuguese firms

7. A General Characterisationof Portuguese SI • Growing in the number of agents • Weaknesses in terms of capabilities of agents and in terms of interaction between them • It shows a low creation of knowledge capability

8. Capabilities at the Firm Level • Identification of Firms Innovative Capabilities (Different types of firms) • Innovative capabilities are associated with the capacity to create new knowledge and with the capacity to assimilate knowledge that was created in other places

9. Capabilities at the Firm Level • majority of Portuguese firms concentrates their competence development in capabilities associated with using efficiently technological knowledge to assimilate, using, adapting already existing technologies. They not explore so intensely capacities associated with the creation of new technologies and the development of new products and processes

10. Firms innovative capabilities • are influenced by competencies in 6 areas: external relationships, organisational change, new products/services, learning, technology and innovation management, and adoption of new technologies