Integrando abordagens da economia e da sociologia em análises da produção tecnológica

It is generally accepted that analyses of knowledge production and technological artifacts lack a multidisciplinary approach. Particularly the interaction is very weak between analysts who adopt sociological approaches and those who study scientific knowledge and technological artifacts from an economic perspective. This article reports an attempt to integrate these two modes of analysis, identifying the main differences and convergent points between them. It is argued that while Economics overlooks important elements for the understanding of these processes- such as the interests of the social actors, the power structures and the influence of the political aspects - Sociology, disregards many of the basic economic aspects of technological production, such as economic agencies, institutions and systems. The result is the occurrence of vague spaces of analysis that could be better explored if a complementary effort existed between both disciplines. This study explores the possibilities of dialogue between one approach of Economics thought, represented by the Evolutionary Economics (EE), and two approaches of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge, represented by the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and the Actor Network Theory (ANT), arguing that the analytical categories of each approach may complement the others, thus allowing a more consistent characterization of the production of technological artifacts.Os enfoques disciplinares para tratar a produção do conhecimento em ciência e tecnologia, em geral, e os artefatos tecnológicos, em particular, são reconhecidamente insuficientes. Mesmo assim, a interação é muito fraca entre aqueles que estudam a construção de artefatos tecnológicos com abordagens sociológicas e aqueles que o fazem a partir de enfoques econômicos. Aproximar essas duas vertentes de análise, identificando suas diferenças e, principalmente, seus pontos convergentes é do que se trata esse artigo. Enquanto a Economia tende a não incorporar elementos importantes para a compreensão desse processo tais como, os interesses dos atores sociais, as estruturas de poder e a influência dos aspectos políticos, a Sociologia desconsidera algumas das características fundamentais para a estrutura econômica de produção tecnológica, como agências, instituições e sistemas econômicos. O resultado é o surgimento de espaços ociosos de análise que poderiam ser mais bem explorados se houvesse interdisciplinaridade. Este trabalho explora as possibilidades de entrecruzamentos do enfoque econômico, representado pela Economia Evolucionária (EE), e do sociológico, representado por dois ramos da Sociologia do Conhecimento Científico: a Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) e a Actor Network Theory (ANT), argumentando que as categorias de análise de um e outros se complementam, oferecendo uma caracterização mais consistente da produção do artefato tecnológico2517192It is generally accepted that analyses of knowledge production and technological artifacts lack a multidisciplinary approach. Particularly the interaction is very weak between analysts who adopt sociological approaches and those who study scientific knowledge and technological artifacts from an economic perspective. This article reports an attempt to integrate these two modes of analysis, identifying the main differences and convergent points between them. It is argued that while Economics overlooks important elements for the understanding of these processes- such as the interests of the social actors, the power structures and the influence of the political aspects - Sociology, disregards many of the basic economic aspects of technological production, such as economic agencies, institutions and systems. The result is the occurrence of vague spaces of analysis that could be better explored if a complementary effort existed between both disciplines. This study explores the possibilities of dialogue between one approach of Economics thought, represented by the Evolutionary Economics (EE), and two approaches of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge, represented by the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and the Actor Network Theory (ANT), arguing that the analytical categories of each approach may complement the others, thus allowing a more consistent characterization of the production of technological artifact