BRAZILIAN TECHNOLOGY PARKS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Innovation, especially the revolution in innovation, is linked to the creation of a favorable enabling environment. According to Sabato and Botana (1968), innovations are the result of multiple and coordinated actions between three elements: government, structure of production, and scientific-technological infrastructure. Technology parks are the institutions which, par excellence, combine these three elements. In Brazil, they take many different legal forms, the spectrum ranging from private to public. There are examples of parks established as joint stock companies, social organizations, foundations, OSCIPS (civil society organization of public interest), and also are directly linked to the administration itself. The difference in legal structure is reflected directly in legal regimes and different management models. Differences in management and legal form may play a role in the ability of the park to offer suitable conditions for innovation. Of all the existing models, three presented themselves as the main foundations, joint stock companies, and social organizations. This is due to both the number of parks that follow these models and their importance of its relevance, since currently the parks have been created based on these three different structures. The objective of this study is to analyze seven technology parks Brazilians made according to these three models, in order to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the legal form chosen, and thus the conditions of each to foster innovation.