Inovação de produto a partir dos processos de gestão do conhecimento e da inovatividade no setor têxtil

Abstract

One main feature of the organizational environment is the speed with which the globalization process is driven by information, the availability of new information technologies and an increasingly demand from the consumers. In this context, the objective of this research was to examine the relationship between the processes of knowledge management, innovation and product innovation in the Brazilian textile sector, based on a theoretical model that represents the positive impact that the processes of knowledge management Innovation and product innovation. In that context, this research bases itself from the theories of Resource Based Vision, Knowledge Based Vision, Dynamic Capabilities and Innovation Diffusion. The research method consisted of a quantitative approach, followed by a qualitative one. The quantitative phase, which included a survey of 157 Brazilian textile industries, allowed us to test the proposed theoretical model, while the qualitative phase, conducted with interviews and content analysis, made possible to complement the quantitative results. In the quantitative phase, a structured questionnaire was sent to the 157 textile industries from 13 Brazilian States. In the qualitative stage, data were treated by content analysis, through interviews categorization coding, and open, axial and selective analysis. The quantitative results showed that the knowledge management processes impact on product innovation through “linear process”, which differs from the proposed model between knowledge management process and product innovation. The qualitative results originated in a third model; an integrated model of knowledge management and product innovation. The qualitative results also indicated that the knowledge management processes can be both linear and dynamic, which generated a third model that covers both proposed models. Therefore, this research contributes to the generation of two specific models. An alternative one, which represents the researched reality where knowledge management processes occur one after the other, to result in product innovation through innovativity. An integrated one, which joins quantitative results to qualitative results, from the view of ten specialists of the Brazilian textile sector, based on a linear proposition of dynamic relations between knowledge management process and product innovation.