Comportamento de firmas industriais industriais em fluxos de conhecimento: uma análise para dois aglomerados produtivos

Abstract

The central theme of the paper is the industrial firms' behavior in networks of technological
knowledge. The importance of knowledge flows is recognized in the economic
discussion of technological change as an essential element for firms to innovate. The
aim of the study is to understand the behavior of cognitive firms located geographically close when establishing knowledge flows considered relevant to their processes for
improvement and development of new products and processes. A field survey using
the methodology Social Networks Analyses was performed in two agglomerations
of machines for footwear producers: one from Italy and one from Brazil. The results
revealed the existence of knowledge flows restricted to some firms and rarefied as well
as different cognitive behaviors, indicating that in the two clusters coexist heterogeneous
firms that play different roles, some well articulated while others isolated from
the technological knowledge network.