Demandas de inovação tecnológica em empresas da região do crajubar cearense: uma análise à luz da escala Demand Readiness Level e da teoria da capacidade absortiva

Abstract

Innovation and technology transfer are strategic factors for business competitiveness, influencing productivity and value creation. However, their effectiveness depends on the alignment between technological supply and the maturity of organizational demands. In this context, this dissertation aims to identify and analyze the main innovation demands of medium and large-sized companies in the Crajubar region, based on the Demand Readiness Level (DRL) scale to verify their level of maturity, as well as to characterize their profiles, understanding their evolution in light of absorptive capacity. The justification for the research lies in the need to identify the degree of readiness of these demands in order to guide strategic actions focused on innovation. The methodological design adopts a mixed-methods approach. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews with 12 companies, distributed among the industrial, commercial, and service sectors. The collected data were initially systematized and organized on an analytical basis, and subsequently classified according to the levels of the DRL scale. Based on this categorization, descriptive statistics were applied, allowing for the identification of patterns, mapping of the distribution of levels, and characterization of the maturity stage of innovation demands in the investigated organizations. Complementarily, the open-ended responses were subjected to content analysis, enabling a deeper interpretation of the quantitative results and highlighting the main barriers, facilitators, and motivations that condition the observed readiness levels. The results show a polarization in maturity levels, concentrated in the initial (DRL 1–3) and advanced (DRL 7–9) stages, with no intermediate records. A predominance of demands oriented towards operational efficiency and incremental improvements was observed, while disruptive or strategic initiatives showed a lower incidence. The analysis also demonstrated that the Potential Absorptive Capacity (PACAP) is relatively developed, but the Realized Absorptive Capacity (RACAP) manifests itself predominantly operationally, functioning as a selective mechanism that conditions the advancement of demands on the DRL scale. As a contribution, this study advances methodologically by integrating the DRL scale with the Absorptive Capacity theory, allowing for an understanding of the maturity of demands based on the internal capabilities of organizations. In practical terms, the results indicate that policies and strategies aimed at strengthening regional innovation should prioritize not only access to external knowledge, but also the development of internal mechanisms for knowledge transformation and exploitation.