Dimensions of the imitation among enterprises: A study in the brazilian manufacturing industry

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to identify the dimensions of the imitation construct between companies and to propose an operating procedure to measure it in business sectors. The imitation was conceptualized as a copy of capabilities. Putting them into operation was made possible by the ease of understanding them. The perceptions of 112 managers from 14 sectors of the Brazilian economy in the State of Sao Paulo were collected. The database of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp) was used. The dimensions underlying the construct were identified by exploratory factorial analysis. The results indicate that the less that research and development (R&D) activities are carried out, the less the importance of the level of schooling in productive processes, the lower the technological content of products and processes and the less significant the assembly of products, the greater the imitation tends to be in one sector.