Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

This project is concerned with developing an understanding of systems of regional renewal (defined as where a restructuring of regional industries or technologies takes place or where new firms or industries emerge). The framework used for the study was an adapted version of the Holmen-McKelvey analytical tool designed for the systematic study of regional renewal. This included analysing social capital, organisations, and path dependency. As the study was concerned with understanding the operation of regions which by nature are complex systems, the study made use of a qualitative case study method. Four case studies were analysed in depth, two each from Germany and Australia: Dresden, Freiberg, Adelaide, and the Barossa. The conclusions from the research are twofold. The thesis argues that the Holmen and McKelvey framework varies across regions and that that the variation can be explained by the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature. That is, regional renewal systems work differently in different regions because regions are part of a national political-institutional context (or variety of capitalism). First, the paths to regional renewal vary across regions. There are many and varied contributing factors to regional renewal and a holistic approach is needed in analysing the sources of regional renewal as well as in formulating regional policy. Social capital and path dependency in particular were important across all four cases, suggesting that social capital can enable the mobilisation of regional attributes and that historical and context specific aspects of a region need to be considered in regional direction setting. While some contribution by these factors was consistent across all four cases, their apparent strength and the nature of their contributions varied. The roles of universities, government bodies, multinational corporations, small-and-medium-sized enterprises, technology parks, non-university research bodies, and industry associations displayed even more variation amongst the cases suggesting that there can be no ‘cut and paste’ or one-size-fits-all approach to regional renewal. Before policy is formulated and implemented, there needs to be a systemic analysis of regional assets and deficiencies. Second, the thesis suggests that renewal systems work differently in different regions because regions are part of a national political-institutional context. Different paths to regional renewal can be explained in terms of different institutional capacities for state-led coordination and governance of the regional institutional environment. The thesis puts forward the proposition that we might expect national structures to impact on the functioning of systems of regional renewal. The case analysis suggests that we might expect coordinated attempts at regional renewal involving several actors to be more successful in coordinated market economies than in uncoordinated market economies. The four cases in this research indicate the national business system impacts on the local level. Five key differences between the German and Australian cases were: the approach of the state at a regional level, social capital, the education and training system, policy continuity, and multinational embeddedness. National policies provide a critical role of strategic planning at the local level. How can an uncoordinated market environment at the national level which includes a focus on competition and anti-trust facilitate cooperation between firms and other actors at the local level which is seen as critical for coordinated attempts at regional renewal? Thus a key lesson from this research is that to achieve regional renewal, different regions require locally appropriate policies supported by national directions.

Thesis (M.A.)--Duquesne University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-122) and index.

Orientadores: Wilson Suzigan, João Eduardo de Moraes Pinto Furtado / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T03:53:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Urias_EduardoMunizPereira_M.pdf: 794007 bytes, checksum: 1103909e72363b7f6498da306c90d92e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: O presente trabalho possui três objetivos principais, perseguidos por meio de entrevistas com atores da indústria, da coleta de informações em fontes secundárias, de um Painel de Especialistas, somados a elementos teóricos de Economia Evolucionária e de Economia Institucional. O primeiro deles, apresentado no Capítulo 1, consistiu em desenvolver a evolução do setor farmacêutico brasileiro desde sua formação, ainda no final do século XIX. Buscaram-se elementos que permitissem compreender o porquê de as atividades científicas e tecnológicas - características do setor em nível global - terem sido alijadas da rotina da indústria local. O segundo objetivo, abordado no Capítulo 2, teve início com a observação de que algumas mudanças institucionais verificadas na década de 1990 - com destaque para a da Lei de Propriedade Intelectual (nº 9.279 de 14/05/1996) e para a Lei do Medicamento Genérico (nº 9.787 de 10/02/1999) - direcionaram as principais empresas de capital nacional à realização de atividades de pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação. Relatando esforços em inovação observados no setor no período recente, argumenta-se ao longo do trabalho que tal mudança de postura ocorreu porque a conjugação das duas leis inviabilizou as estratégias predominantemente oportunistas e rentistas praticadas pelas principais empresas de capital nacional do setor. Porém, também são destacados gargalos e desconexões observados, que tornam limitada a possibilidade de afirmar que existe um sistema de inovação farmacêutico no Brasil. O terceiro objetivo, retratado no Capítulo 3, ressalta a importância da dependência da trajetória para o posicionamento das empresas no novo ambiente que emergiu recentemente, destacando os elos existentes entre experiência, capacitações técnicas e estratégia tecnológica das empresas. Através de um estudo de caso com três empresas, buscou-se relatar como a definição e implementação de uma estratégia tecnológica tendem a apresentar elementos de inércia organizacional ao estarem impregnadas por padrões de comportamento herdados do passado. Por fim, as conclusões ressaltam que tanto os críticos quanto os defensores da exceção patentária para o setor farmacêutico observada no Brasil entre 1945 e 1996 erraram em seus prognósticos. Além disso, é ressaltada a importância de as empresas se livrarem das amarras que ainda as prendem ao ambiente competitivo anterior - sobretudo o foco de curto prazo e a relutância de investir em atividades de maior risco - bem como de se articular as políticas econômica, industrial, de ciência e tecnologia e de saúde, para que se crie um ambiente favorável à constituição de um verdadeiro sistema de inovação. O erro daqueles que acreditaram na exceção patentária como vetor do aprendizado e do desenvolvimento da indústria farmacêutica pode estar hoje sendo repetido, na crença de que basta distribuir dinheiro público para que as empresas invistam - a sério - em pesquisa e inovação de base tecnológica. / Abstract: This dissertation deals with a path-dependence analysis of the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry to show how the local firms are incorporating innovative activities, having elements of both Evolutionary and Institutional Economics as the theoretical background. By means of interviews with industry's players, the gathering of secondary source's information, and a panel of experts its three main objectives are presented and discussed as follow. Chapter 1 develops the evolution of the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry from its formation, in the late nineteenth century, to actual days. Evidences are analyzed in order to comprehend why the scientific and technological activities - characteristics of the sector at a global level - were eliminated from the routine of local industry. Some important institutional changes occurred in the 1990s - in particular the Law of Intellectual Property and the Law on Medicines Generic - and have directed the major companies of national capital in conducing research, development and innovation activities. Chapter 2 takes this in consideration by reporting the innovative efforts of the industry that has been observed in the recent period. It is argued throughout this study that this change of attitude occurred because the combination of those two laws that has resulted in opportunistic and rent-seeking strategies by major companies of national capital. Nonetheless, observed bottlenecks and disconnections are also highlighted, limiting the opportunity to affirm that there is an actual system of pharmaceutical innovation in Brazil. The third objective is depicted in Chapter 3. In here it is emphasized the importance of path-dependence in the positioning of the new business environment that has emerged recently. Links between experience, training techniques and technology strategy of firms are highlighted. A three companies case study shows that the definition and implementation of a technology strategy tend to have elements of organizational inertia because they are impregnated by patterns of behavior inherited from the past. Finally, research findings conclude that both critics and defenders of the patent exception for pharmaceutical sector were incorrect in their predictions. Furthermore, it draw attention to the importance of companies to get rid of the ties that have linked them to the previous competitive environment (especially the shortterm focus and unwillingness to invest in activities of greater risk) and to articulate the economic and industrial policies, as well as science, technology and health ones in order to create a favorable environment for the set up of a genuine system of innovation. The mistakes of those who believed in the patent exception as a vector of learning and development of the pharmaceutical industry may be being repeated today by the belief that only public money is necessary for companies to seriously invest in research and technology-based innovation. / Mestrado / Mestre em Política Científica e Tecnológica