Recognizing the importance of innovation, we see that entrepreneurship and its supporting ecosystem contributes to increased prosperity in society. We also understand that the entrepreneurial phenomenon increases in efficiency through internationalization. Within the international context, knowledge transfer can be complex and requires people of multicultural background for successful interpretation. Demanding abilities to code and decode the transferred knowledge and integrate it into practices, interactions and learning for successfully creating new knowledge as a result. Our purpose for this research was to emphasize and give clarity of the process from initiatives to internationalization to successfully transferring knowledge. Being master students in an entrepreneurial program and working with related projects in our worklife, we were accustomed to- and possessed necessary background information for the topic. This gave us abilities to contact and form interviews for various science and technology parks (STP). We were motivated to collect data through a qualitative study, interviewing STPs with practical insight measuring selected theories presented in our literature review. Our findings correlate the selected theories, and give impressions that networking platforms provided by government, universities and international organizations contribute significantly in connecting STPs to international players. We also record that the government’s position is crucial in providing infrastructure and financial support to STPs. Further the challenge of knowledge transfer is positively related to complementary interest and trust, which is better resolved through awareness of multicultural networks. Further research can be recommended to investigate the objectives of institutions in an entrepreneurial ecosystem, between and in relation to the tenants. For direct understanding of international activities, we would also like to propose a research measuring science and technology parks’ engagement for internationalization and the financial results of tenants within the same time period.

Lern- und Innovationsprozesse erfordern den Zugang zu externem Wissen und die Zusammenführung von Wissensbasen verschiedener Akteure und Akteursgruppen (u.a. Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, öfffentliche Verwaltung, sowie weitere Innovationsträger). Wissenschafts- und Technologieparks (WTP) sind in diesem Zusammenhang ein wichtiges Instrument der wissensbasierten Regionalentwicklung, um konkrete Orte des Lernens und von Innovationen zu schaffen. Jedoch die relativ schwache Interaktion zwischen Unternehmen und Wissenschaft in diesen Innovationsräumen sowie die gleichzeitig zunehmend empirisch belegte Relevanz von globalen Wissensflüssen und Innovationsnetzwerken erfordern die Spezifizierung der maßgebenden Einflußfaktoren von Wissensbeziehungen. Mehrdimensionale Nähe- und Distanzbeziehungen kennzeichnen interorganisatorische Beziehungen des Wissensaustauschs und der Wissensgenerierung. Diese Arbeit analysiert die spezifischen Nähekonstellationen zwischen Unternehmen und wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen in direkten sowie - durch Wissensnetzwerk-Management systematisch organisiert - in indirekten Wissensbeziehungen. Die konzeptionellen Ansätze der Proximity-Forschung sowie des Wissensmanagements bieten die Grundlage für die empirische Untersuchung der Wissensnetzwerke von Technologiefirmen in den WTP Berlin-Adlershof und Sevilla-Cartuja. Unterschiedliche Typen von Technologieunternehmen in Hinblick auf die Struktur und räumliche Dimension der Wissensbeziehungen zu Wissenschaft und Forschung stellen ein wesentliches Ergebnis der Arbeit dar. Die Arbeit belegt zudem die Funktion mehrdimensionaler Nähe in den Wissensbeziehungen. Des Weiteren wird die Organisation notwendiger und wichtiger Nähedimensionen durch Instrumente des Wissensnetzwerk-Managements aufgezeigt, um Wissensbeziehungen zu erschließen, zu aktivieren und nutzbar zu machen. Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen werden Handlungsempfehlungen für das Management von WTP und weiteren räumlichen Innovationssystemen abgeleitet. / In the knowledge-based ecomomy, innovation is characterized by a dynamic and interactive learning process involving diverse actors; industry, science, public administration, as well as other entities and sub-systems. In this regard, science and technology parks (STP) have become a prominent instrument of regional governments to create specific localities of learning and innovation. However, empirical evidence increasingly points to rather weak local industry-academia interaction in STPs in specifically and the equivalent importance of local and non-local connections as roots of knowledge diffusion and innovation more generally. Multi-faceted proximity determines the multi-scalar process of knowledge sourcing and knowledge interaction. This dissertation thesis analyses the specific proximity configurations given in direct ties and organized through knowledge network management (KNM) in STP resident firms’ indirect linkages to scientific knowledge sources. The theoretical approaches of the proximity framework and knowledge management provide the analytical framework for the empirical analysis of egocentric knowledge networks to academia of high-technology firms located in the Berlin-Adlershof and Seville-Cartuja science parks. Based on this theoretical and methodological framework, I identify distinct types of knowledge-seeking STP resident companies in regard to the quality, form and geography of interactive ties to science. Furthermore, the thesis sheds light on the specific proximity configurations relevant in successful industry-academia knowledge relations. Furthermore, it reveals the underlying mechanisms of specific KNM instruments organizing necessary and critical proximities in order to forge, activate and harness knowledge networks on distinct geographical scales. Based on the analysis’ findings, specific policy recommendations for the management of STPs and other kinds of territorial innovation systems are developed.

Os parques tecnológicos são ambientes de inovação em que procura-se reunir condições para instalação e desenvolvimento de empresas de base tecnológica. Atualmente, a grande maioria das empresas residentes nesses parques, em todo o mundo, é do setor de tecnologia da informação, entretanto, diversas empresas desse setor estão fora dos parques. A partir dessa constatação, este estudo tem por objetivo geral investigar o que leva certas empresas de tecnologia da informação a buscarem e outras a não buscarem parques tecnológicos para serem instaladas. Para atender a esse objetivo, cento e trinta indicadores de fatores de localização foram identificados a partir da revisão da literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidade, em dez fatores de localização, e submetidos à avaliação de relevância e satisfação por dezenove empresas, residentes e não-residentes em parques tecnológicos, por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa com questões fechadas. A Janela do Cliente foi utilizada para o tratamento dos dados coletados, o que possibilitou a comparação das médias dos níveis de relevância e satisfação das empresas pesquisadas com relação aos indicadores de fatores de localização identificados. Como principal resultado, percebeu-se que, dentre os dez fatores de localização, dois podem ser considerados capazes de influenciar na localização dos dois grupos de empresas pesquisadas: disponibilidade de recursos humanos e apoio do poder público. / Technology parks are innovation environments where the foundation and development of technology companies is sought. Nowadays, most of the companies established in these parks, all around the world, belong to the information technology area, however, a portion of these companies is out of these parks. Based on this premise, the main objective of this work is to research what leads some of the information technology companies to look or not to look for technology parks to establish themselves. To satisfy this objective, one hundred and thirty location factors indicators were identified based on literature, gathered according to affinity into ten location factors, and submitted to the relevance and satisfaction evaluation of nineteen companies, established and not established in technology parks, through a research instrument containing closed questions. The Customer Window was used to work with collected data, this way, comparison between relevance and satisfaction average levels against location factors indicators identified was possible. As a key result, it was noticed that, two out of the ten location factors can be considered capable to influence location of these two groups of researched companies: human resources availability and government support. / Los parques tecnológicos son ambientes de innovación en los que se busca reunir condiciones para la instalación y desarrollo de empresas de base tecnológica. Actualmente, la gran mayoría de las empresas residentes en estos parques, en todo el mundo, pertenece al sector de tecnología de información, sin embargo, diversas empresas de este ramo están fuera de los parques. A partir de esa constatación, este estudio tiene por objetivo general investigar qué lleva a ciertas empresas de tecnología de información a buscar o no parques tecnológicos para instalarse. Para alcanzar ese objetivo, ciento treinta indicadores de factores de localización fueron identificados a partir de la revisión de la literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidad, en diez factores de localización, y sometidos a la evaluación de relevancia y satisfacción por diecinueve empresas, residentes y no residentes en parques tecnológicos, por medio de un instrumento de investigación con preguntas cerradas. La Ventana del Cliente fue utilizada para el tratamiento de los datos recolectados, lo que hizo posible la comparación de los promedios de los niveles de relevancia y satisfacción de las empresas investigadas con relación a los indicadores de factores de localización identificados. Como principal resultado fue percibido que, entre los diez factores de localización, dos pueden ser considerados capaces de influir en la localización de los dos grupos de empresas investigadas: disponibilidad de recursos humanos y apoyo del poder público.

Os parques tecnológicos são ambientes de inovação em que procura-se reunir condições para instalação e desenvolvimento de empresas de base tecnológica. Atualmente, a grande maioria das empresas residentes nesses parques, em todo o mundo, é do setor de tecnologia da informação, entretanto, diversas empresas desse setor estão fora dos parques. A partir dessa constatação, este estudo tem por objetivo geral investigar o que leva certas empresas de tecnologia da informação a buscarem e outras a não buscarem parques tecnológicos para serem instaladas. Para atender a esse objetivo, cento e trinta indicadores de fatores de localização foram identificados a partir da revisão da literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidade, em dez fatores de localização, e submetidos à avaliação de relevância e satisfação por dezenove empresas, residentes e não-residentes em parques tecnológicos, por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa com questões fechadas. A Janela do Cliente foi utilizada para o tratamento dos dados coletados, o que possibilitou a comparação das médias dos níveis de relevância e satisfação das empresas pesquisadas com relação aos indicadores de fatores de localização identificados. Como principal resultado, percebeu-se que, dentre os dez fatores de localização, dois podem ser considerados capazes de influenciar na localização dos dois grupos de empresas pesquisadas: disponibilidade de recursos humanos e apoio do poder público. / Technology parks are innovation environments where the foundation and development of technology companies is sought. Nowadays, most of the companies established in these parks, all around the world, belong to the information technology area, however, a portion of these companies is out of these parks. Based on this premise, the main objective of this work is to research what leads some of the information technology companies to look or not to look for technology parks to establish themselves. To satisfy this objective, one hundred and thirty location factors indicators were identified based on literature, gathered according to affinity into ten location factors, and submitted to the relevance and satisfaction evaluation of nineteen companies, established and not established in technology parks, through a research instrument containing closed questions. The Customer Window was used to work with collected data, this way, comparison between relevance and satisfaction average levels against location factors indicators identified was possible. As a key result, it was noticed that, two out of the ten location factors can be considered capable to influence location of these two groups of researched companies: human resources availability and government support. / Los parques tecnológicos son ambientes de innovación en los que se busca reunir condiciones para la instalación y desarrollo de empresas de base tecnológica. Actualmente, la gran mayoría de las empresas residentes en estos parques, en todo el mundo, pertenece al sector de tecnología de información, sin embargo, diversas empresas de este ramo están fuera de los parques. A partir de esa constatación, este estudio tiene por objetivo general investigar qué lleva a ciertas empresas de tecnología de información a buscar o no parques tecnológicos para instalarse. Para alcanzar ese objetivo, ciento treinta indicadores de factores de localización fueron identificados a partir de la revisión de la literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidad, en diez factores de localización, y sometidos a la evaluación de relevancia y satisfacción por diecinueve empresas, residentes y no residentes en parques tecnológicos, por medio de un instrumento de investigación con preguntas cerradas. La Ventana del Cliente fue utilizada para el tratamiento de los datos recolectados, lo que hizo posible la comparación de los promedios de los niveles de relevancia y satisfacción de las empresas investigadas con relación a los indicadores de factores de localización identificados. Como principal resultado fue percibido que, entre los diez factores de localización, dos pueden ser considerados capaces de influir en la localización de los dos grupos de empresas investigadas: disponibilidad de recursos humanos y apoyo del poder público.

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-15T20:18:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGL.pdf: 3006673 bytes, checksum: 0fd137db42f48d0d1a29683f8016502b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-16T19:19:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGL.pdf: 3006673 bytes, checksum: 0fd137db42f48d0d1a29683f8016502b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-16T19:19:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGL.pdf: 3006673 bytes, checksum: 0fd137db42f48d0d1a29683f8016502b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-16T19:19:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissGL.pdf: 3006673 bytes, checksum: 0fd137db42f48d0d1a29683f8016502b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-20 / Não recebi financiamento / Companies incubators can be considered the center of a relationship network comprised by companies, government agencies, universities and research centers. The support offered to incubated companies was designed to accelerate the implementation of new organizations and make them competitive in the market. Therefore, companies networks inserted in these environments favor the exchange of information and cooperation for use of these resources to the development of new products, thus supporting innovation and business competitiveness. Considering that, the aim of this study was to investigate the social networks and resources of Softnet incubator and their incubated software companies, analyzing the networks, regarding its structure, nodes, connections and flows, and identifing shared resources between companies belonging to Softnet. For this, we interviewed the managers of Softnet incubator and Cubo TI, Onion and NeoInfinito interprises. Our results demonstrated the close relationship between available resources and cooperated social networks, since most available resources drives companies to seek the creation of networks, leading to the perception that cooperation provides benefits that would hardly be achieved in isolation and contributed to the understanding of the organizational environment in which incubated technology-based companies operate and Softnet incubator. / As incubadoras de empresas podem ser consideradas o centro de uma rede de relacionamento composta por empresas, agências governamentais, universidades e centros de pesquisa. O apoio oferecido às empresas incubadas tem o objetivo de acelerar a concretização de novas organizações e torná-las competitivas no mercado. Entende-se, portanto, que redes de empresas inseridas nestes ambientes favorecem as relações de troca de informações e de cooperação para o aproveitamento de recursos e desenvolvimento de novos produtos, sustentando assim a inovação e a competitividade das empresas. Assim, o presente trabalho abordou as redes sociais e recursos da incubadora Softnet e das empresas de software ali incubadas. Teve como objetivo a análise das redes, no que diz respeito a sua estrutura, nós, ligações e fluxos, e a identificação dos recursos compartilhados nas relações de empresas pertencentes à Softnet. Para atingir o propósito, foram entrevistados os gestores da incubadora Softnet e das empresas Cubo TI, Onion e NeoInfinito. A presente pesquisa deixou evidente a intensa relação entre recursos disponíveis e redes sociais de cooperação estabelecidas, uma vez que a maior disposição de recursos impulsiona as empresas a buscar a criação de redes, levando a percepção de que a cooperação propicia vantagens que dificilmente seriam alcançadas isoladamente, bem como contribuiu para a compreensão do ambiente organizacional no qual estão inseridas as empresas de base tecnológica incubadas e a incubadora Softnet.

Os parques tecnológicos são ambientes de inovação em que procura-se reunir condições para instalação e desenvolvimento de empresas de base tecnológica. Atualmente, a grande maioria das empresas residentes nesses parques, em todo o mundo, é do setor de tecnologia da informação, entretanto, diversas empresas desse setor estão fora dos parques. A partir dessa constatação, este estudo tem por objetivo geral investigar o que leva certas empresas de tecnologia da informação a buscarem e outras a não buscarem parques tecnológicos para serem instaladas. Para atender a esse objetivo, cento e trinta indicadores de fatores de localização foram identificados a partir da revisão da literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidade, em dez fatores de localização, e submetidos à avaliação de relevância e satisfação por dezenove empresas, residentes e não-residentes em parques tecnológicos, por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa com questões fechadas. A Janela do Cliente foi utilizada para o tratamento dos dados coletados, o que possibilitou a comparação das médias dos níveis de relevância e satisfação das empresas pesquisadas com relação aos indicadores de fatores de localização identificados. Como principal resultado, percebeu-se que, dentre os dez fatores de localização, dois podem ser considerados capazes de influenciar na localização dos dois grupos de empresas pesquisadas: disponibilidade de recursos humanos e apoio do poder público. / Technology parks are innovation environments where the foundation and development of technology companies is sought. Nowadays, most of the companies established in these parks, all around the world, belong to the information technology area, however, a portion of these companies is out of these parks. Based on this premise, the main objective of this work is to research what leads some of the information technology companies to look or not to look for technology parks to establish themselves. To satisfy this objective, one hundred and thirty location factors indicators were identified based on literature, gathered according to affinity into ten location factors, and submitted to the relevance and satisfaction evaluation of nineteen companies, established and not established in technology parks, through a research instrument containing closed questions. The Customer Window was used to work with collected data, this way, comparison between relevance and satisfaction average levels against location factors indicators identified was possible. As a key result, it was noticed that, two out of the ten location factors can be considered capable to influence location of these two groups of researched companies: human resources availability and government support. / Los parques tecnológicos son ambientes de innovación en los que se busca reunir condiciones para la instalación y desarrollo de empresas de base tecnológica. Actualmente, la gran mayoría de las empresas residentes en estos parques, en todo el mundo, pertenece al sector de tecnología de información, sin embargo, diversas empresas de este ramo están fuera de los parques. A partir de esa constatación, este estudio tiene por objetivo general investigar qué lleva a ciertas empresas de tecnología de información a buscar o no parques tecnológicos para instalarse. Para alcanzar ese objetivo, ciento treinta indicadores de factores de localización fueron identificados a partir de la revisión de la literatura, posteriormente reunidos, por afinidad, en diez factores de localización, y sometidos a la evaluación de relevancia y satisfacción por diecinueve empresas, residentes y no residentes en parques tecnológicos, por medio de un instrumento de investigación con preguntas cerradas. La Ventana del Cliente fue utilizada para el tratamiento de los datos recolectados, lo que hizo posible la comparación de los promedios de los niveles de relevancia y satisfacción de las empresas investigadas con relación a los indicadores de factores de localización identificados. Como principal resultado fue percibido que, entre los diez factores de localización, dos pueden ser considerados capaces de influir en la localización de los dos grupos de empresas investigadas: disponibilidad de recursos humanos y apoyo del poder público.

Sur la base d’une étude historique des rapports entre les cycles techno-économiques du système mondial et le processus de transformation économique, politique et idéologique d’un pays périphérique comme l’Équateur, cette recherche présente une analyse critique sur le processus de développement du champ technoscientifique de ce pays et le projet de modernisation postnéolibéral mis en place par son gouvernement entre 2007-2017. L’exposition est organisée en deux parties. La première analyse les rapports entre les transformations techno-économiques mondiales et les cycles économiques et politiques locaux ; les rapports entre ces cycles, les vagues de modernisation du système d’éducation supérieure équatorien et la reproduction des élites locales ; et enfin, les rapports entre ces deux derniers et le processus de développement scientifique, technologique et industriel du pays. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l'étude en détail du dernier de ces cycles, caractérisé par la mise en place du projet postnéolibéral de modernisation technoscientifique. Cette étude se focalise particulièrement sur trois projets : la réforme de l’éducation supérieure, le programme de bourses d’étude à l’étranger et le projet de construction de Yachay, une ville dédiée à la science, à la technologie et à l’innovation. Les résultats de ces analyses dévoilent le caractère idéologique de ces projets, conçus et dirigés par un même réseau d’intellectuels et financés par l’essor des exportations de matières premières qui a accompagné cette phase ascendante du cycle périphérique. Enfermés dans leur quête idéologique d’un modèle de développement alternatif et les contraintes imposées par les processus de transformation du système mondial, ces acteurs ont fini par produire un projet de modernisation contradictoire basé sur une abstraction empirique adaptée à leurs besoins de légitimation politique. La fin de l’essor économique a dévoilé les limites de ce projet idéologique dont les résultats concrets sont une plus lourde bureaucratie, le gaspillage des ressources publiques et l’accumulation de pouvoir. Nous suggérons que ce résultat est un effet du décalage entre les cycles de transformation à la périphérie et au centre du système mondial et du processus de reconfiguration global liée à la montée de l’influence chinoise et au déploiement de la dernière vague de transformations techno-économiques. Cette recherchée s’inscrit ainsi dans la lignée de réflexion sur les transformations du système mondial. / Based on a historical study of the relationship between the techno-economic cycles of the global system and the economic, political and ideological transformations in Ecuador, this research presents a critical analysis of the development process of the technoscientific field in this country and the post-neoliberal modernization project implemented by its government between 2007-2017. The thesis has two parts. The first one develops an analysis on three levels: the relationships between the global techno-economic cycles and the political and economic transformations in Ecuador; the relationships between these transformations, the waves of modernization of the Ecuadorian higher education system and the reproduction of local elites; and the relationship between the latter and the scientific, technological and industrial development of the country. The second part presents a detailed study of the last cycle, characterized by the implementation of the post-neoliberal project of technoscientific modernization. This study focuses, particularly, on three projects: the higher education reform, the scholarship program for studies abroad and the Yachay technopole project. These analysis results reveal the ideological character of these projects, designed and directed by the same network of intellectuals and financed by the rise of commodity exports which accompanied this upward phase of the peripheral cycle. Trapped in their ideological quest for an alternative development model and the constraints imposed by the transformation processes of the global system, these actors have finally produced a contradictory modernization project based on an empirical abstraction adapted to their needs for political legitimization. The end of the economic upswing has unveiled the limits of this ideological project whose concrete results are a heavier bureaucracy, waste of public resources and the accumulation of power. We suggest that this result is an effect of the three interrelated processes: the gap between the transformation cycles at the periphery and at the center of the global system, the global reconfiguration linked to the rise of Chinese influence and the deployment of the latest techno-economic wave of innovation. This research aims thus to contribute to the debate on the historical transformations of the global system.