The intellectual capital and the creation of value in research units linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation

Abstract

The study investigated the understanding of the directors and managers of the Research Units (Unidades de Pesquisa – UP) linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia & Inovação – MCTI) on the creation of value and innovations from Knowledge and Intellectual Capital management, analyzing their understanding of the theme and the way in which the intangible assets – mainly information and knowledge – are transformed by the UP. To develop the objective and research question, it was necessary to (i) characterize the organizational context of the UP, (ii) to discuss the applicability of the relevant conceptual framework to Knowledge Management, Intellectual Capital and Intangible Assets in order to follow the value created within the UP, (iii) demonstrate the recognition of the innovations achieved by the UP and the way they are viewed by the managers, and (iv) portray the understanding of the directors and managers about the Intellectual Capital within the unit in which they are inserted. A descriptive approach was adopted, with functionalist discussion and quantitative research to measure the relationship between the data and test hypotheses about the sample – the interdependence between value creation drivers and the differentiated perception about value creation via intangible drivers. The findings allow to affirm that there are distinct clusters of UP, with greater importance, in general, attributed to Relational Capital.