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  • Ways to open innovation: main agents and sources in the Portuguese case
    Publication . Fernandes, Silvia; Cesário, Marisa; Barata, J. M.
    Facing increasing open innovation trends, Portuguese enterprises are considering the related processes and impacts. Thus, this work aims to identify the sectors whose enterprises most engage in open innovation (such as cooperation on this issue) and which sources/agents are most used. This is analyzed by sector and type of innovation as an interesting way of differentiation for better open innovation strategy delineation. Using the data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS-2012), it first appraises the nature of the innovation process, either cooperative or firm-based, as the starting level of analysis. Then, it differentiates the results by sector illustrating which cooperation sources/agents are most used (scope) and relative intensity of use (scale). This is important to assess levels of openness and related factors. Results show that main innovating sectors in Portugal are of three types: research-based, knowledge-based and service-based. They reveal an increasing focus on knowledge and services, trends that have been leading to more active openness towards innovation. For instance, health and construction are increasing their openness for innovating and internationalizing processes. However, Portuguese innovation is still more firm-based (in-house) than cooperation-based, especially concerning new products' launching. This work and future analyzes around it can contribute to encourage the open innovation strategy in more sectors of the economy as an easy and effective way to cope with rapid trends and changes. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
  • The use of design as a strategic tool for innovation: an analysis for different firms' networking behaviours
    Publication . Cesário, Marisa; Agapito, Dora; Almeida, H.; Fernandes, Silvia
    Current research indicates that the use of design strategy in companies is related to innovation and leads to competitiveness. This research aims empirically to analyse the relationship between firms' networking behaviours and their propensity to engage in design activities. Although much of the literature on networks focuses on the relationship between the development of external linkages and innovation, we argue that small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs)' relationships with different agents and intermediaries, on diverse geographic scales, play an important role for how companies use design as an element of innovation. Using the Community Innovation Survey (CIS 2012) database for Portugal, a logistic regression was performed using the strategic use of design' as a binary dependent variable. We found that firms' engagement in informal relationships with heterogeneous agents, such as public customers, consultants or conference partners, is positively associated with the strategic use of design. The use of firms' internal assets as information sources also proved to be significant. Regarding market relations, the results indicate that a geographic scaling-up contributes to increasing the odds of a firm recognizing the strategic role of design for competitiveness.
  • Cooperation for innovation in services: learning from consultancy in Portugal
    Publication . Fernandes, Silvia; Cesário, Marisa; Jesus, Bruno; Barata, Jose Monteiro
    This study addresses the effects of different sources on types of innovation introduced by the Portuguese consultancy firms. It distinguishes the most influent factors in product, process, organisational and marketing innovations. The assessment framework incorporated three steps: 1) evaluating the propensity to use information sources and cooperate with external agents; 2) identifying the sources used most often during innovation; 3) deriving profiles of the sampled firms. The underlying methodology consisted of logistic regressions which have identified predictors and emphasised disparities concerning the use of internal/external sources and agents. Results suggest the potential of complementing internal sources with external knowledge for innovation purposes. Due to the economic crisis, investments tend to postpone product/service innovation type. Nevertheless, effective innovation drivers can come from customers, as sources for more tailored products/services, and from certain processes that can contribute to firms' integration and internationalisation.