Modelos de ‘excelência’ gerencial nos institutos e centros de P&D brasileiros: entre falácias, modismos e inovações

Abstract

This work opens the black-box of the Business Excellence Model of Brazilian Quality Award (MEG/PNQ) to analyze the emergence and dissemination, results and limitations of a program linked to it – ‘Projeto Excelência na Pesquisa Tecnológica (PEPT)’, an iniciative led by Brazilian Association of Research and Technology Organizations (ABIPTI), dedicated to improving the managerial performance of Brazilian Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs). The dynamic that rises from the co-evolution of technologies, institutions and organizations is central to the study since it helps in understanding the roles and importance of organizations that produce and disseminate knowledge in the formation of Innovation Systems – in this case, RTOs – and how they make decisions and relate to other organizations. Thus, the analysis focused on the the co-evolution of Brazilian RTOs who joined the PEPT, changes in the technical and scientific environment and in institutional set-up (national and international). PNQ encourages RTOs to review and refine their routines. However, the innovative capacity of RTOs can be limited, once immersed in cycles of continuous improvement, the RTOs can not perceive changes in the environment and that prevailing routines and capabilities do not meet new problems and requires further experimentation. PEPT was important because it was capable to mobilize RTOs and to promote a forum involving many workers of these organizations. Although PEPT has helped RTOs to introduce organizational routines and practices, its actual contribution is difficult to be perceived, because it is limited in a micro-institutional agenda, focused on optimizing organizational practices, insufficient to promote significant changes in organizations. Public policies and changing the posture of RTOs must converge to define the roles of RTOS and their contribution to technical-innovative and socio-economic development of Brazil. Construct absorption capabilities seems to be an important strategy for RTOs, because they value things like flexibility and autonomy, fundamental to these organizations.