Relational Capability and Strategic Alliances for Research and Development

Reviewers: Dimária Silva e Meirelles (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Brazil). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2755-5570. Paulo Cruvinel (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária - Embrapa, Brazil). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-8233

Authors

Taísa Scariot Preusler. Rua Vergueiro, nº 235/249, Liberdade, 01504-001, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail: taisa.s@hotmail.com

Priscila Rezende da Costa^** Corresponding Author Rua Vilela, nº 750, Tatuapé, 01156-050, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail:priscilarezende@yahoo.com.br

Tatiane Baseggio Crespi. Rua Vergueiro, nº 235/249, Liberdade, 01504-001, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail: tatianebaseggiocrespi@gmail.com

Geciane Silveira Porto. Av. Bandeirantes, nº 3900, Monte Alegre, 14040-905, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. E-mail: geciane@usp.br

Authors' Contributions

1^st author: Lead researcher of the study, reviewed the literature, collected and analyzed the data. Main writer of the article.

2^nd author: Advisor of the study, assisted in the construction of literature review, methodological path, supervision and validation. First reviewer of the article, responsible for article submission and correspondence with the scientific journal.

3^rd author: Final revision of the article, including new references and bringing complementary perspectives to the discussion of results.

4^th author: Final revision of the article, including new references and bringing complementary perspectives to the discussion of results.

Conflict of Interest: The authors have stated that there is no conflict of interest.

Nature	Qualitative (Creswell, 2017Creswell, J. W. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: SAGE publications.).
Approach	Exploratory (Creswell, 2017Creswell, J. W. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: SAGE publications.).
Method	Case study (Godoy, 1995Godoy, A. S. (1995). Introdução à pesquisa qualitativa e suas possibilidades. Revista de Administração de Empresas, 35(2), 57–63. Retrieved from https://rae.fgv.br/rae/vol35-num2-1995/introducao-pesquisa-qualitativa-suas-possibilidades https://rae.fgv.br/rae/vol35-num2-1995/i... ).
Research context	EMBRAPA
Analysis unit	Three strategic R&D alliances formed by EMBRAPA and external partners

Guiding questions of the analysis category	Analysis categories and propositions	Data collection procedures	Data analysis procedures
In general, does the initiative to form R&D partnerships stem from your institution or the partner? Does the institution have a formal department, manuals, norms, guide, etc.? Is there a differentiation in the formalization of partnerships for research and partnerships for development? Does the institution adopt mechanisms to avoid opportunistic behavior, theft of information and unilateral knowledge? Is the level of formalizing partnerships standardized or are there differences according to the goals of the alliance or nature of the partner? How is each R&D partnership coordinated? How are activities synchronized? Is it common for there to be requests for “procedural” or “contractual” changes in partnerships? Is it common for conflicts of interest to emerge in partnerships?	Institutionalization of RC (P1)	Interview, document analysis (contracts and projects) and non-participant observation (field diary).	Content analysis and triangulation
What is the institution’s perception with regard to forming partnerships to conduct R&D? What knowledge, resources or assets were sought for this partnership? Did your institution succeed in learning from its partners? Are there any transfer processes for this knowledge? Which activities were developed by each partner? What is the partner’s main expertise? What are the main impacts that this innovation generated?	Overflow of processes inherent to research and development (P2 and P3)	Interview, document analysis (contracts and projects) and non-participant observation (field diary).	Content analysis and triangulation

Characteristics	Brief description

	Alliance (1) Anatomical packaging for fruit	Alliance (2) Barley cultivar - BRS Quaranta	Alliance (3) INOVA-Bti – biological insecticide
Type of innovation	Agroindustrial process	Product (eco-innovation)	Product
Associated theme	Agroindustry, food safety, health and nutrition.	Family farming, agroindustry, genetic improvement and vegetable production.	Bioproducts, formulations and similar.
Year of launch	2011	2002	2016
Year of conclusion	2015	2015	2016
Main applications	Transport and storage of fruit	Winter culture	Reservoirs of water for consumption, appropriate locations for proliferation or linked to other means of mosquito control.
Main impacts	Reduced loss and waste of fruit; greater efficiency at work; faster decomposition in nature.	Higher productivity; partial or total dispensation of fungicide applications.	Control of the larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads the Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viruses; does not harm the environment.
Patent deposits	39	1	Not applicable (industrial secret).
Publications	4 articles and 2 book chapters	1 pamphlet	1 pamphlet
R&D activities	blems farmers experience regarding the transport and storage of fruit and vegetables; selection of the most suitable fiber to form composites. Development: include fiber in the composite, modeling and design of packaging.	Development: genetic improvement of barley. Research: experiments to evaluate the agronomic performance of the strains.	Identification of strains (bacteria); optimization of the production process of the strains; development of high quality formulations and evaluation of the toxicity of products.
Main partners	IMA (not connected to the market) and INT (not connected to the market).	AmBev (connected to the market) and FAPA (not connected to the market).	IMAmt (not connected) and COMDEAGRO (connected to the market).
Alliance begun	2010	2002	2016
Duration of alliance	5 years (medium term)	12 years (long term)	1 year (short term)
Formalization instrument	Term of agreement	Contract of technical and financial cooperation	Technical cooperation contract
Purpose of the alliance	Development of recoverable packaging for fruit and vegetables.	Establishment of conditions for technical and financial cooperation between EMBRAPA, AmBev and FAPA to achieve new barley cultivars.	Development of products based on Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelenses and Bacillus sphaericus, to control Simulium spp, Culex quinquefasciatua, Anopheles spp and Aedes aegypti.
Composition of funding	BNDES: R$ 7,500,217; IMA, INT and EMBRAPA: R$ 4,179,000 (contribution)	R$ 4,199,195.30, with R$ 1,568,972.30 being the share of EMBRAPA; R$ 1,362,612 from AmBev; and R$ 1,267,611 from FAPA.	Without the transfer of funds between the institutions. Sums contributed: EMBRAPA R$ 120,000; IMAmt R$ 60,000; COMDEAGRO R$ 60,000.
Role of EMBRAPA	Identification of the needs for each product, appropriate characteristics of the packaging.	Crossing activities; advancement of generations and selection of progenies and evaluation tests and value of cultivation and use (VCU) tests.	Obtaining the necessary authorizations to comply with legislation on access to genetic heritage; being responsible for the Work Plan; and providing the strains to be used in the contract.
Role of Partner 1	IMA: selecting, handling and characterizing agricultural rejects that could be used in polymer composites; selecting the most suitable polymer materials to prepare the composites.	AmBev: conducting evaluations of the quality of malt and beer and validating the agronomic performance of cultivars registered under the name of EMBRAPA.	IMAmt: providing human resources to execute the contract, being responsible for the payment of expenses; hiring researchers; making purchases (consumables and equipment) and engaging services.
Role of Partner 2	INT: development of projects for primary, secondary and tertiary packaging in the field of design.	FAPA: conducting evaluation tests of the quality of malt and beer; validating agronomic performance of cultivars registered in the name of EMBRAPA; evaluation tests and VCU tests of strains developed by EMBRAPA.	COMDEAGRO: obtaining the authorization required to regulate compliance with legislation and access to genetic heritage; responsible for managing the process of registering products with the competent authorities and producing the bioinsecticide.

Propositions linked to the institutionalization of RC processes			Compliance with the propositions

			Alliance (1) Anatomical packaging for fruit	Alliance (2) BRS Quaranta Barley Cultivar	Alliance (3) INOVA-Bti – biological insecticide
(P1) The organizations institutionalize inter-organizational coordination processes, proactiveness in alliances, organizational learning and alliance transformation, the more mature relational capacity will be	Interorganizational coordination		COMPLIANT Establishment of a Work Plan with R&D activities, work methodology, resource forecasting, and activity schedule. A researcher was allocated from each institution to coordinate activities. Committee created to monitor activities; monthly meetings; exchange of e-mails; drafting of technical and financial reports; visits to research laboratories, suppliers of raw materials and farmers.	COMPLIANT Establishment of a Work Plan with R&D activities, work methodology, resource forecasting, and activity schedule. A researcher was assigned from each institution to coordinate activities. Coordination was by telephone, exchange of e-mails, annual meeting with the drafting of a report and technical visit to experiments; an EMBRAPA employee was responsible for the renewal of the alliance.	COMPLIANT Establishment of a Work Plan with R&D activities, work methodology, resource forecasting, and activity schedule. A researcher was assigned from each institution to coordinate activities. An administrative manager of the contract to evaluate the progress of activities; and a manager to monitor the enforcement of the contract. There were meetings, technical evaluations and reports, and a partner was designated to be responsible for the purchase of materials and equipment and the hiring of staff for R&D activities.
	Alliance proactiveness		COMPLIANT EMBRAPA sought potential partners to complement expertise.	NON COMPLIANT EMBRAPA was sought by partners because of its scientific knowledge, experience in R&D and resources (laboratories, genetic materials).	NON COMPLIANT EMBRAPA was sought by partners because of its scientific knowledge, experience in R&D and resources (laboratories, genetic materials).
	Learning resulting from knowledge exchange in the alliance		COMPLIANT Absorption of technical and scientific knowledge in the field of polymers and post-harvest; knowledge transfer to research teams through discussions, meetings and technical presentations to students through teaching; and to the laboratory team; publication of scientific articles, book chapters and patent registration	COMPLIANT Absorption of market knowledge regarding the quality of beer and malt; understanding the demand and need of the market; acquisition of knowledge regarding the needs and production in specific regions; technical and scientific knowledge regarding the development of cultivars, disease control, direct plantation, soil conservation; knowledge transferred through lectures, seminars, field days, training and barley meetings.	COMPLIANT Absorption of knowledge regarding formulation and production; knowledge related to research processes with biological microorganisms and biological control; knowledge transfer through seminars.
	Transformation of the alliance		COMPLIANT Alterations in responsibility for submitting patents; alterations to the number of molds for packaging; financial and chronological adaptations.	COMPLIANT Adjustments to research activities; updating contractual clauses and financial values upon renewal of the contract.	COMPLIANT Adjustments to the schedule due to delays in the installation of equipment.
(P1) À medida que as organizações instituciona-lizam os processos de coordenação interorgani-zacional, proatividade em aliança, aprendiza-gem organizacio-nal e transforma-ção das alianças, mais madura será a capacidade relacional. Proatividade na aliança Aprendizagem decorrente da troca de conhecimento na aliança Transformação da aliança		Coordenação interorganizacional	ADERENTE Estabelecimento de Plano de Trabalho, com atividades de P&D, metodologia de trabalho, previsão de recursos, cronograma das atividades. Foi designado um pesquisador de cada instituição para coordenação das atividades; criação de comitê para o acompanhamento das atividades, reuniões mensais, troca de e-mails, elaboração de relatórios técnicos e financeiros; visitas aos laboratórios de pesquisa, fornecedores de matéria-prima e produtores.	ADERENTE Estabelecimento de Plano de Trabalho, com atividades de P&D, metodologia de trabalho, previsão de recursos, cronograma das atividades. Foi designado um pesquisador de cada instituição para coordenação das atividades; a coordenação era realizada por contato telefônico, troca de e-mails, reunião anual com a elaboração de relatório e visita técnica aos experimentos; um empregado da EMBRAPA foi responsável pelo processo de renovação do instrumento.	ADERENTE Estabelecimento de plano de trabalho, com atividades de P&D, metodologia de trabalho, previsão de recursos, cronograma das atividades. Foi designado um pesquisador de cada instituição, para coordenação das atividades; um gestor administrativo do contrato, para avaliação do andamento das atividades; e um gestor para controle da vigência. Houve realização de reuniões, avaliações técnicas e relatórios e determinado o parceiro responsável pela aquisição de materiais, equipamentos e contratação de pessoas para atividades de P&D.
		ADERENTE EMBRAPA buscou parceiros em potencial para complementação da expertise.	NÃO ADERENTE EMBRAPA foi procurada pelos parceiros, em decorrência do conhecimento científico, experiência em P&D e seus recursos (laboratórios, materiais genéticos).	NÃO ADERENTE EMBRAPA foi procurada pelos parceiros, em decorrência do conhecimento científico, experiência em P&D e seus recursos (laboratórios, materiais genéticos).
		ADERENTE Absorção de conhecimento técnico-científico na área de polímeros e pós-colheita; transferência do conhecimento para equipes de pesquisa, por meio de discussões, reuniões e apresentações técnicas; para os alunos, por meio da docência; e para equipe do laboratório; publicações de artigos científicos, capítulos de livros e registro de patentes.	ADERENTE Absorção de conhecimento mercadológico sobre a qualidade da cerveja e do malte; compreensão da demanda e necessidade do mercado; aquisição do conhecimento das necessidades e produção de regiões específicas; conhecimento técnico-científico acerca do desenvolvimento de cultivares, controle de doenças, plantio direto, conservação do solo; conhecimento transferido por meio de palestras, seminários, dias de campo, treinamento e reunião da cevada.	ADERENTE Absorção de conhecimento de formulação e produção; conhecimento relacionado aos processos de pesquisa com microrganismos biológicos e controle biológico; transferência de conhecimento por meio de seminários.
		ADERENTE Alteração da responsabilidade de submissão de patentes; alteração no quantitativo de moldes de embalagens; adequações financeiras e cronológicas.	ADERENTE Ajustes das atividades de pesquisa; atualização de cláusulas contratuais e valores financeiros realizados na renovação do contrato.	ADERENTE Ajustes do cronograma, em decorrência do atraso na instalação de equipamento.

Propositions linked to RC overflows	Compliance with the propositions

	Alliance (1) Anatomical packaging for fruit: a process innovation	Alliance (2) BRS Quaranta barley cultivar: a product innovation	Alliance (3) INOVA-Bti – biological insecticide: a product innovation
(P2) In strategic R&D alliances, processes inherent to research overflow from the public research company to the partners (connected or not connected to the market).	COMPLIANT Development at IMA of a line of research on packaging with the adoption of EMBRAPA research processes.	COMPLIANT FAPA diversified the research and the source of barley cultivars and adapted the contractual clauses in accordance with the models adopted in research conducted by EMBRAPA.	COMPLIANT COMDEAGRO constructed a factory to produce the insecticide based on the orientation in research and training by EMBRAPA.
(P3) In strategic R&D alliances, processes inherent to development overflow from the partners (connected or not connected to the market) to the public research company.	NOT APPLICABLE Alliance formed with an institution not connected to the market with expertise in polymers.	COMPLIANT Adaptation at EMBRAPA of the R&D methodology for the development of barley resulting from knowledge of the demand of the industry (AmBev) and climate and producers from regions of Paraná State, obtained from FAPA.	COMPLIANT Use at EMBRAPA of similar formulation and production processes that were the expertise of the partner COMDEAGRO.

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Relational Capability and Strategic Alliances for Research and Development

ABSTRACT

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