Innovation Management Reflections: A Brazilian Market Perspective

By reconciling theory and practice, this chapter aims to provide the reader with a view of the innovation process from the perspective of the Brazilian market, as an emerging nation. The case studies presented will illustrate both the theoretical references and the empirical analysis running throughout the sections. This chapter is composed of five sections, and is organized as follows. Section 1, “The context,” presents a brief overview of innovation in Brazil and a case study of Azul Brazilian Airlines, named one of the world’s 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company magazine (2011). The case emphasizes the accomplishments of the Brazilian businessman David Neleman, co-founder of Soutwest, West Canada and Jet Blue. In Section 2, “Process management and its relevance in a strategic context,” we detail innovation and process management, as we understand that it is not possible to begin a reflection on innovation management in companies without recognizing that they are managed through systematic processes, in a systematic way. We present the Embraer case study, where we address the importance of customers and the supply chain. In Section 3, “Innovation management,” we focus on innovation as a process. Our objective is to analyze the main concepts of innovation and their applicability to emerging countries. We present the model of innovation created by the FDC (Fundação Dom Cabral, a Brazilian business school), which was developed based on research conducted with Brazilian companies. To illustrate this section, we introduce the case study of Fiat Automóveis. In Section 4, “Cost management aligned to innovation in Brazilian companies,” we focus on cost reduction and interdepartmental links. The Brazil team is known for its competence in cost reduction and concern for the use of raw materials and their impact on the environment, as noted in the Alstom case study. Finally, in Section 5 we present our conclusions and we outline and synthesize our findings and their managerial implications.