Análise da contribuição ao desenvolvimento de empreendimentos de base tecnológica pela ótica da visão baseada em recursos: o caso das incubadoras e aceleradoras de empresas de Minas Gerais

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the contribution of incubators and accelerators from Minas Gerais, from a comparative and relational perspective, to the development of technology - based ventures through the provision of resources. Business incubators and accelerators, members of so-called innovation ecosystems, have been playing an important role in the development of new technologies. However, the literature points out that there is still no clear delineation of the function of each of these environments, of the resources that each of them offers, as well as of the level of ideal maturity of the enterprises. The theoretical perspective used in this study is the Resource Based View, which considers the resources and capabilities of a company as sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, this study sought to describe and analyze comparatively the resources offered by the Minas Gerais’ incubators and accelerators from the perspective of the Resource Based View, as well as to identify possible interactions, overlaps and complementarities between the roles played by the incubators and accelerators. The study is classified as exploratory-descriptive, of a qualitative nature. Through the use of the single and integrated case study method, the innovation ecosystem of the state of Minas Gerais was selected as the object of study, and the incubators and accelerators as integrated units of analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven incubator managers, three accelerator managers and eight founders of companies linked to these environments. As main results, it was evidenced that among the incubators, the resources with the greatest potential of competitive advantage for the incubated enterprises are the proximity to the Universities, the access to modern laboratories and equipment, and the support to the capture of fomentation resources. Among the accelerators are the mentoring and acceleration methodologies. There are indications that the Minas Gerais incubators are seeking to offer typical resources of accelerators, as a way of updating themselves to the needs of the entrepreneurs. It was also verified that there is overlap in the performance of the incubators and accelerators of Minas Gerais, being this issue viewed in a negative way by the former and positive by the latter. The complementarity between incubators and accelerators is seen as natural and desirable, in spite of the need for a better understanding of the roles of these environments by the actors of the Minas Gerais innovation ecosystem.