A gestão da inovação tecnológica e da sustentabilidade e os resultados das cooperativas agroindustriais

Abstract

This thesis aims at analyzing the relationship between the management of technological innovation and sustainability and the results of agroindustrial cooperatives in the southern region. The methodology used in this study was the mixed method with an inclusion of quantitative and qualitative data. In the quantitative phase, data collection was developed by survey, with a questionnaire application. The survey was treated using the statistical package SPSS, with the execution of the statistical tests (Chi-square, Pearson’s r, Fisher Test), which were analyzed through descriptive analysis. In the qualitative phase, data collection was made from the Multiple Case Study with semistructured interviews, and publications and reports of cooperatives indicated by the managers themselves. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and, with the publications and reports of cooperatives, they were submitted to content analysis. Data analysis was perfomed by tabulation in categories. The level of analysis was constituted by agroindustrial cooperatives participating in the survey and the Multiple Case Study. The analysis units were the managers of the agroindustrial cooperatives, through the questionnaire or the interview. The results indicate that the Management of Technological Innovation and Sustainability are not fully developed and formalized in agroindustrial cooperatives, however there are isolated efforts and processes that contribute to a generation of innovation and sustainability results, respectively. There is also strategic orientation for an integration between the Management of Technological Innovation and Sustainability. There was a correlation between the Technological Innovation Management and the Results of the Cooperatives; between Sustainability Management and the Results of Cooperatives; and between an Integration of the Management of Technological Innovation and Sustainability and the Results of Cooperatives, which confirm the research hypotheses. The better the Management of Technological Innovation and Sustainability, and the greater the integration between the Management of Technological Innovation and Sustainability, the better the results of agro-industrial cooperatives. It is argued that the slight superiority of the correlation between Sustainability Management and the results of cooperatives is due to the fact that, despite incipient, the efforts and the sustainability process generate results both in terms of Corporate Sustainability and in terms of Results of the Cooperatives, the latter being associated with innovation through technological modernization and agroindustrialization, and economic, social and environmentally dimensioned. This illustrates the breadth of the results of Agroindustrial Cooperatives that naturally involve broad aspects, covering both innovation and sustainability.