Innovation strategies of institutional agents in the context of the mid-2010s economic crisis in Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v45.24884

Keywords:

innovation strategies of institutional agents, economic crisis, national innovation system, global technological transitions, Brazil

Abstract

This article analyzes the innovation strategies of institutional actors in response to Brazil's economic crisis within the context of shifts in the international techno-economic paradigm. These strategies consist of ideas and expectations that guide alliances and intentional actions aimed at combining diverse resources to foster innovation. We empirically examined the responses of institutional actors to changes in Brazil’s national innovation system brought about by the economic crisis of the 2010s. We used information from databases and the organizations themselves to analyze the performance of the country’s innovation activities and capabilities. We also conducted semi-structured interviews with leaders from ten relevant national organizations (academic, governmental, and business) to understand innovation strategies. Three distinct strategies were identified: adapting to new foreign technologies to leverage comparative advantages, controlling the science and technology agenda to promote social justice in the face of technological contradictions, and expanding linkages to generate innovations within the country by emphasizing productive strengths.

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Author Biographies

Sandro Ruduit Garcia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Sociologist, PhD in Sociology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Associate Professor IV in the Department of Sociology and Permanent Professor in the Graduate Program in Sociology at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH/UFRGS). Recipient of the 2007 CAPES Thesis Award for Best PhD Dissertation in Sociology.

Co-editor of The Brazilian Innovation System in Global Technological Transitions: Crises, Changes and Accumulations, Porto Alegre: Cirkula, 2025 (with Rodrigo Wolffenbuttel, Robson Souza Júnior, Rosângela Mendonça, and Patricia Rivero). Author of Global and Local: The Automotive Hub of Gravataí, São Paulo: Annablume, 2009 (Work and Contemporaneity Collection).

Co-editor of the thematic dossiers: Social Contestation, Transformation and Market Stabilization, in Sociologias, 2023 (with Marcelo Carneiro); Social Studies of Innovation, in Em Tese, 2023 (with Rodrigo Wolffenbuttel and Robson Souza Jr.); Innovation, Markets and Politics, in Revista Pós Ciências Sociais, 2021 (with Marcelo Carneiro); Territory and Innovation, in Geographia Meridionalis, 2020 (with Giovana Oliveira); Economic Sociology and New Global Issues, in Ciências Sociais Unisinos, 2019 (with Elder Alves); and Sociopolitical Processes and Economic Development in Brazil, in Latitude, 2017 (with Elder Alves).

His main field of research is Economic Sociology, with a particular focus on innovation, labor relations, and globalization. He is a member of the research line Society, Economy and Labor in the UFRGS Graduate Program in Sociology (PPGS-UFRGS) and leads the Innovation Studies Group (GEI/CNPq).

Robson Rocha de Souza Júnior, Universidade Federal de Lavras

Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration at the Federal University of Lavras (DAP-UFLA) and Coordinator of UFLA’s Public Administration undergraduate program. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (2017–2022), a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (2012–2014), and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from the same institution (2006–2011).

During his undergraduate studies, he participated in an exchange program at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in partnership with Universität Passau (Germany), attending the Bachelor Sprache und Text program (2009–2010). His doctoral dissertation, defended in the Graduate Program in Sociology at UFRGS (PPGS-UFRGS), entitled “Innovative Governance: State–Business Relations in the Implementation of Prosoft by BNDES,” was selected to compete for the 2022 ANPOCS Award for the Best Doctoral Dissertation of the Year in the field of Social Sciences.

He served as a Contract Professor at the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET/MG), in Leopoldina (2013–2015), and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Sciences at the Minas Gerais State University (UEMG), Barbacena Campus (2018–2023).

His current research examines economic phenomena from a sociological perspective, within the field of Economic Sociology, with particular emphasis on Innovation Studies, State–business relations, and the digitalization of the Brazilian economy. These research efforts are carried out in collaboration with the Innovation Studies Group (GEI), affiliated with the Graduate Program in Sociology at UFRGS (PPGS-UFRGS).

Rodrigo Foresta Wolffenbüttel, Universidade Estadual de Campinas

PhD in Sociology (2020) and holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He is a Visiting Researcher at the Department of Scientific and Technological Policy (DPCT/Unicamp), where he completed his postdoctoral research. He currently serves as an Affiliated Professor and Educational Affairs Specialist at the Distance Education Secretariat of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

He completed a visiting doctoral research period at the University of Turin, with funding and a scholarship from CAPES. He is a member of the Innovation Studies Group (GEI – PPGS/UFRGS). He has experience in Sociology, with an emphasis on Economic Sociology and the Sociology of Education, and works primarily on the following topics: regional development, markets, innovation, distance education, and sustainability.

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Published

2026-08-27

How to Cite

Ruduit Garcia, S., Rocha de Souza Júnior, R., & Wolffenbüttel, R. F. (2026). Innovation strategies of institutional agents in the context of the mid-2010s economic crisis in Brazil. TOMO Review, 45, e24884. https://doi.org/10.21669/tomo.v45.24884

Issue

Vol. 45 (2026): TOMO Journal (Rolling Pass)

Section

Special Issue: Economic Sociology in Brazil: Reconfigurations of Markets and Power Disputes

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Copyright (c) 2026 Sandro Ruduit Garcia, Robson Rocha de Souza Júnior, Rodrigo Foresta Wolffenbüttel

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