CREATION OF TECHNOLOGICALLY-BASED FIRMS IN BRAZIL: THE INFLUENCE OF INCUBATORS ON THE SET-UP OF NEW BUSINESSES

Abstract

This article looks at the creation of technologically-based firm from an organizational learning standpoint. It considers the entrepreneurship as a dynamic phenomenon by which managers and firms adjust their behaviors and trigger changes based on the influence of their network of relationships. The theoretical model that underpins the research had the following assumptions: i) the characteristics of entrepreneurs are one of the inputs of the entrepreneurial process; ii) entrepreneurship is a dynamic process subjected to learning mechanisms; iii) organizational learning occurs in individuals although it crystallizes in the organizational routines and actions; iv) organizational learning requires the incorporation of both cognitive and behavioral elements and v) learning is a cycle which consists of the action, reflection and conceptualization, among others. Another assumption of this article is that incubators are mechanisms for transferring managerial knowledge. Grounded on these, one introduces the results of the research, which was carried out in seven firms originated in incubators, in order to understand how the firms were organized as well as the influence of the incubators on the creation and development of the firms. In general, the results suggest that the ties between incubators and incubated firm could be considered as weak and that the incubators had a minimal role in the knowledge transfer.