Purpose: This paper investigates the roles and activities of the orchestrators of innovation networks constituted within cities. In this sense, the authors expected to contribute for research related to the roles and activities of the orchestrators of innovation networks constituted in the scope of cities given the large number and diversity of complex and multiple dimensions social actors (Castells & Borja, 1996; Reypens, Lievens & Blazevic, 2019).Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an exploratory research with a single case study in depth. The case chosen for the paper is the case of Pacto Alegre. The case selection criterion was the relevance of the Pacto Alegre Case in the construction of an innovation network in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The Pacto Alegre network was proposed by the Alliance for Innovation (composed of the three main Universities in the city: UFRGS, PUCRS and UNISINOS) and by the Municipality of Porto Alegre. In addition to these actors, the network counts on financial and development institutions as sponsors, with media partners, with design partners, with an advisory board (composed of five professionals considered references in different themes) and composed by more than 100 companies, associations and institutions from different areas (Pacto Alegre, 2019). Data were collected from 09/20/2020 to 11/30/2020 through in-depth interviews, documentary research and non-participant observation.Findings: In this research, the authors highlighted the city as a community that involves and integrates various actors, such as citizens and companies, to collaborative innovation activities. For this, they proposed a framework on innovation networks and network orchestration. In this direction, seven dimensions of the “orchestration of innovation networks” were assumed as a result of the combination of previous studies by Dhanaraj and Parke (2006), Hurmelinna-Laukkanen et al. (2011) and da Silva and Bitencourt (2019). In the sequence, different roles of orchestrators associated with the literature were adopted based on the work by Pikkarainen et al. (2017) and Nielsen and Gausdal (2017).Research limitations/implications: The authors’ results advance in relation to other fields by promoting the expansion of the “orchestration of innovation networks” model with the combination of distinct elements from the literature in a coherent whole (agenda setting, mobilization, network stabilization, creation and transfer of knowledge, innovation appropriability, coordination and co-creation) and in the validation of its applicability in the context of the innovation network studied. In addition, when relating different roles of orchestrators to the seven dimensions studied, it was realized that there is no linear and objective relationship between the dimensions and roles of the orchestrator, as in each dimension there may be more than one role being played in the orchestration.Practical implications: Therefore, the findings suggest two theoretical contributions. First, the authors identified a role not discussed in the literature, here called the communicator. In the case analysis, the authors observed the communicator role through functions performed by a media partner of the innovation network and by a group of civil society engaged in the city's causes. Second, the authors indicated a new dimension of orchestration related to the management of communication in the innovation network and its externalities such as p. ex. civil and organized society, characteristic of an innovation network set up within a city.Originality/value: Although several studies have proposed advances in the understanding of the orchestration of innovation networks (Dhanaraj & Parkhe, 2006; Ritala, Armila & Blomqvist, 2009; Nambisan & Sawhney, 2011; Hurmelinna-Laukkanen et al., 2011), the discussion on the topic is still a black box (Nilsen & Gausdal, 2017). More specifically, the authors identified a gap in the literature about the role and activities of actors in the city level. Few studies connected the regional dimension with the roles and activities of the orchestrators (Hurmelinna-Laukkanen et al., 2011; Pikkarainen et al., 2017), raising several challenges and opportunities to be considered by academics and managers.

Open social innovation in living labs

Este ensaio teórico problematiza conteúdos relacionados a orquestração de recursos. Ao incorporar a noção de complementaridade de recursos que se estendem além dos limites da empresa, a “orquestração de redes de inovação” é apresentada como uma capacidade dinâmica necessária para assegurar a ação gerencial sobre recursos não compartilhados e compartilhados em uma rede no modelo de inovação aberta. São apresentadas algumas proposições a partir dos novos discernimentos obtidos, que podem servir de ponto de partida para a formulação de questões de pesquisa e de problemas a serem investigados. Em síntese o estudo fornece (a) uma visão integrada da literatura existente no campo da estratégia sobre a visão baseada em recursos e as capacidades dinâmicas, bem como (b) amplia a discussão sobre gestão do portfólio de recursos para além dos limites da empresa em direção ao entendimento da orquestração de recursos (gestão de recursos e orquestração de ativos), promovendo (d) uma abordagem sobre as capacidades dinâmicas em campos complementares de investigação, como neste caso, a inovação aberta. Possibilita para gestores de redes de inovação (e) discernimentos sobre como as ações gerenciais na rede de inovação e sobre ela possibilitam a melhoria do desempenho da empresa e a obtenção de vantagem competitiva. Palavras-chave: Capacidades dinâmicas. Orquestração de redes de inovação.

Objective: This research aims to develop an artifact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can use to assess their network of relationships and identify partners for open innovation projects.Methodology/approach: The Design Science Research (DSR) method was used to create the artifact, which is based on a theoretical model that incorporates three mechanisms for analyzing interorganizational relationships: richness, receptivity, and reach. Three tests were run on the artifact during development. Afterwards, an evaluative test was conducted with four companies to determine whether the developed artifact met its objective and had good operation and presentation.Originality/value: In the absence of similar tools addressing the same class of problem, a new artifact was proposed, allowing SME managers to analyze their relationships and plan new open innovation projects.Main results: According to preliminary evaluations, the artifact is adequate for understanding which partners can participate in an innovation project and how to channel resources, however, it needs to be supplemented with other tools that allow knowing the partners.Theoretical/methodological contributions: As the research's main contribution, we present an operational artifact that is functional and well received by managers and has the potential to be used as an auxiliary tool in open innovation projects developed by SMEs.Social/management contributions: As an implication for the field of open innovation in SMEs, we consider the identification of the problem and the proposal of an artifact as a relevant formulation for raising new hypotheses and developing subsequent artifacts.

Este trabalho teórico-empírico busca examinar como a tecnologia promove resiliência, descrita como a meta-capacidade de lidar com situações adversas por meio de estratégias adaptativas, proativas e reativas, a partir de Instituições Científicas, Tecnológicas e de Inovação (ICT’s) no Brasil. Esta investigação é pautada em uma abordagem qualitativa e concentra-se em um único estudo de caso com múltiplas unidades de análise, além de ter como base a Aliança Estratégica para a Promoção da Inovação Tecnológica, integrada pela Associação Brasileira das Instituições de Pesquisa Tecnológica e Inovação (Abipti), pela Associação Nacional de Pesquisa, Desenvolvimento e Engenharia das Empresas Inovadoras (Anpei) e pela Associação Nacional de Entidades Promotoras de Empreendimentos Inovadores (Anprotec). Ou seja, a pesquisa se faz a partir das principais entidades que discutem e representam as ICT’s no Brasil, apoiada por uma análise jurídica das diferentes normas e documentos de referência que regulamentam as atividades de ciência, tecnologia e inovação no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. As evidências obtidas demonstram que as ICT’s podem promover a resiliência em condições que permitam a sua operação no modelo de hélice quadrupla/quíntupla onde o governo, as empresas, a academia, a sociedade e o ambiente possam se conectar a partir das ICT’s em relações colaborativas, semelhantes à noção de inovação aberta que envolve o uso de fluxos de entrada e saída de conhecimento para acelerar a inovação, para o desenvolvimento de soluções, além do escopo que quaisquer organizações ou pessoas que fariam individualmente. Entretanto, os processos colaborativos são difíceis de desencadear e mantendo-se sem políticas que assegurem um ambiente cultural e institucional de apoio às ICT’s. Dessa forma, há, de fato, a emergência de um tipo de ICT 4.0 que promova resiliência por meio da tecnologia para enfrentar os novos desafios da chamada quarta revolução industrial que produzem uma era de disrupções, expressa por dinâmicas que se refletem em novas tecnologias, modelo de negócios, produtos e estratégias em empresas e/ou startups que visam sacudir uma indústria e alterar seus padrões competitivos.