CAPACITY CREATION IN SYSTEMS INTEGRATION: THE CBERS PROGRAM CASE DOI: 10.5585/rai.v7i2.431

Abstract

Companies that lead successful efforts of technological innovation have increasingly used a model of industrial organization based on systems integration. These companies establish temporary project-based organizations, define architectural systems and delegate part of their activities - design and production of subsystems – to a hierarchical network of organizations, and take responsibility for the final integration of these systems. The article uses a resource-based view as theoretical reference and analyzes challenges for the production of intensive capital goods in technology in newly industrializing countries especially that of complex systems. As a case study, a program of technological cooperation between Brazil and China was used for the production of remote sensing satellites. Taking the project as the unit of analysis, this article supports that in environments characterized by high complexity and intense technical change the capabilities of integration systems on various levels are an effective way of technological progress. The ability to manage the lifecycle of complex systems, conceived with a view to meet the requirements of local stakeholders - rather than adapting conceived systems to other physical and social environments – allows for the introduction of effective technical change in the economic system.