THE IMPORTANCE OF INCUBATORS IN THE CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE BASED TECHNOLOGY FIRMS: A CASE STUDY OF GENESIS INSTITUTE OF PUC-RIO AND THE FIRM MINDS at work

Abstract

Technological innovation can be defined as the conversion of technological knowledge into new products, processes or organizational models, followed by its success inside the market place. The influence of the technological innovation for the business `development and competitiveness is nowadays universally acknowledged as necessary. Also the economic analysis has shown that innovation is the main driving force of economic growth in industrialized countries and at the same time, an important factor that contributes to the social and cultural development of regions. In this scenario came the incubators, important actors in the S&T&I context of infrastructure and known as an “innovation habitat”. These “locus” housing nascent organizations, often derived from scientific and technological research, which involves design of innovations and offers subsidized spaces and services to entrepreneurs who own their companies, often technology-based companies - EBT incubated (Lalkaka, 1990). This paper aims to demonstrate the general management model of an incubator that houses innovative technology-based firms. The case study will be the firm named Minds at Work, incubated in the incubator at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro – PUC/RJ (or PUC-Rio), called Genesis Institute.

Keywords: based technology firms; incubator; spin-off; innovation; technology innovation