How do institutions shape the formation of technological cooperation? Evidence from Brazil

Presented at the GLOBELICS 6th International Conference 2008 22-24 September, Mexico City, Mexico.Interorganisational patterns of collaboration have long been recognised in the literature for their potential to promote learning and innovative capabilities. Yet they are scarcely found in underdeveloped Innovation Systems such as the Brazilian one and little is known about why or how they are established. Drawing upon a study of a number of interorganisational collaborations, this paper investigates how technological cooperation emerges in Brazil. The focus lies on role of institutions in the formation process of R&D partnerships. Regular institutional patterns across cases are identified, alongside with the mechanisms by which they operate. The findings indicate that the formation of technological cooperation is a co-evolutionary process, which emergences from the practice of knowledge sharing with external partners, as well from the connecting effort of linked scientists