Innovation in the Portuguese manufacturing industry: analysis of a longitudinal company panel

Two projects on innovation were developed in the 1990s under the scope of a Portuguese university research center: the Industry/Innovation project (INDINOVA) (1989-1991) and the System for the Observation of Technology and Innovation in Portuguese Industry project (SOTIP) (1997-2000). The two main objectives in this paper are: 1) to compare the results of the first project and the last project; and 2) to explain the evolution that took place between these two periods in regard to the Portuguese ‘system of innovation. In particular, the aim is to focus attention on the evolution (trajectories) followed by a specific group of 165 companies included in both surveys during the 1990s. The final step is to link the evolution of economic and business performances to innovation management practices. In instrumental terms, we utilize factor analysis.