Comparative analysis of the innovation process in Brazilian ports under public and private management

Abstract

With the acceleration of the globalization process and the expansion of supply chains, the importance of the process of development of new innovation practices in organizations increases. International physical distribution systems, as they act as facilitators and are often determining factors for business success, must follow this evolution and, in this sense, the understanding of the best innovation practices in ports becomes necessary. In this context, this study compares the innovation practices in three Brazilian ports, two public and one private: the port of Paranaguá, under state public administration; the port of Vitória, of federal administration, and the port of Itapoá, a private-use terminal. For this purpose, the study of multiple cases was conducted as a research strategy, with a qualitative approach, empirical data collection through interviews with the managers in the investigated organizations, complemented with non-participant non-systematic observation and documental survey, submitting the empirical evidence to content analysis. The results showed greater adoption of innovation practices in the port of Itapoá, which has a specific sector for this purpose. On the other hand, in the ports of Vitória and Paranaguá, although some innovative practices were identified, such as the search for greater contract flexibility within public management and improvements in operational efficiency and commercial performance, wasn´t found an organizational structure and planning process effectively oriented to the development of innovation practices.