Relational capability: A study of the Brazilian agricultural research corporation

Abstract

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) plays an important role in Research and Development (R&D) for generating innovations. Most innovations are generated through R&D alliances with external partners, stimulating relational capability (RC), that is, a construct of strategic management of alliances with propositions for procedures that have not yet been empirically verified. In this context, we investigated how relational capability processes contribute to generating innovations. We conducted qualitative research using a case study based on interviews, document analysis, and observation. Three strategic R&D alliances involving EMBRAPA and external partners constituted the analysis corpus. The main contribution to knowledge advancement is a multidimensional fraProgmework for generating innovations from strategic R&D alliances, based on the empirical evidence of processes of EMBRAPA relational capability and its external partners. This new framework sheds light on how a public research enterprise absorbs knowledge and uncovers the processes of institutionalization and relational capability spillover.