The dynamics of innovation in CoPS industries: evidence from the Brazilian aerospace industry

This article frames the central role played by mission-oriented public procurement in the Brazilian aerospace industry. The difficulties in mastering and promoting the evolution of several disciplines at the firm level, with a relative scarcity of funds for an R & D-intensive industry and an incomplete national innovation system represent merely a fraction of the threat faced by those dealing with Complex Products and Systems. The culture of financing flagship projects using public procurement narrows the potential solutions for complex problems, imposes time constraints to mature critical technologies and exposes these endeavours to high levels of risk. By taking the Dynamic Capabilities as a theoretical framework and Technological Readiness Level as a yardstick to the decision-making process, we have developed a construct to explore two in-depth cases. A cultural shift is required, aiming at providing the means to the progressive maturation of critical technologies using public procurement for innovation.