Inovação aberta no contexto do agronegócio: o estado da arte e o sistema nacional de inovação brasileiro

Abstract

The current agribusiness scenario is influenced, in addition to the intense economic competition, by various factors such as global population growth, the limitation of fossil resources and climate change and its possible effects on food security. The need to meet an increased demand for food, fiber and fuel requires increased productivity in line with the preservation of natural resources available. In other words, it is imperative to change the patterns of production and consumption to more sustainable modes under the environmental, economic and social approaches. Innovations play a crucial role in this transition, as they account for creating, modifying or simply adopting new products, processes or services. No matter how radical these might be, it is preponderant develop them at all levels of the supply chain and with the participation of various actors in the National Innovation System, so that we can successfully generate more and more systemic and complex innovations needed for the sector. The way in which these organizations establish external relations is based on the principles of open innovation, a recent practice still little discussed in the scientific literature, especially when related to agribusiness. Therefore, an objective of this study was to present the state of the art on the subject, explaining the development of the practice in the industry and future research opportunities. Based on bibliometry and content analysis, it was found that this is an area of study predominantly discussed in the industrial field, particularly in European countries. Soon, there is a research opportunity to contribute to the debate in other contexts and locations, as in the case of Brazil, where the publications are scarce. As a country where agribusiness is the socio-economic base, the government created a policy of encouraging partnerships for innovation, called Inova Agro. From a survey with the companies selected by the first tender, they were also identified, described and analyzed open innovation practices in the Brazilian National Innovation System. Through content analysis, the results showed that this policy contributed to implementing projects, reduce risk and encourage inter-organizational partnerships. It was found that Brazilian organizations are used the open innovation as a complementary strategy and realize innovation positive impacts on their Research & Development activities. Innovations generated by partnerships intend to overcome some gaps of Brazilian agribusiness, contributing to increased competitiveness of the sector, which is very socio-economic important to the country.