Os serviços intensivos em conhecimento no Brasil: estrutura e dinâmica inovativa

Abstract

This dissertation aims to analyze Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS), presenting their structure and innovative dynamics in Brazil, and comparing them with the country's Manufacturing Industry. The analysis is structured in three chapters. The first chapter addresses the literature on innovation in services, highlighting the overcoming of the traditional view that attributed a passive character to the sector, emphasizing the importance of its innovative dynamics. Definitions, classifications, and the role of KIBS in innovation systems are presented, as well as an international overview, with data from organizations such as UNCTAD, World Bank and OECD, demonstrating the growing economic importance of knowledge-intensive services. The second chapter empirically characterizes KIBS in Brazil, using data from PAS and RAIS between 2007 and 2021. The results show that, although KIBS represent a still modest portion of the Brazilian productive structure compared to industry, they present a consistent growth trajectory in the number of companies, net operating revenue, and formal employment relationships. Furthermore, an internal analysis of KIBS reveals a clear heterogeneity between T-KIBS and P-KIBS in the labor market. The last chapter compares the innovative behavior of KIBS and the Manufacturing Industry, based on several editions of PINTEC for the period 2008-2017. The results indicate that, although industry invests larger absolute volumes in R&D, KIBS show a greater relative intensity of innovative effort and prioritize process innovations. Industry, in turn, maintains broader and more consolidated cooperation networks with its production chain (suppliers, customers) and focuses more on incremental innovations. In summary, the results indicate that KIBS are a dynamic and strategic segment in the Brazilian economy, with a distinct and complementary innovative profile to that of industry. The results reinforce the need for innovation support policies that recognize the specificities of knowledge-intensive services, promoting their integration with other sectors to strengthen the country's competitiveness and technological development.