Title: Technological trajectories and sustainability: trends in Brazilian subsidiaries of Swedish multinational corporations

Authors: Rita Santos; Folke Snickars; Evando Mirra

Addresses: Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Dr. Kristinas väg 30, Stockholm, SE-100 44, Sweden ' Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Dr. Kristinas väg 30, Stockholm, SE-100 44, Sweden ' Center for Strategic Studies and Management in Science, Technology and Innovation (CGEE), SCN Quadra 2, Ed. Corporate Financial Center, 70712-900, Brasília, Brazil

Abstract: This paper focuses on the prospective interactions between technological trajectories and levels of environmental improvements that provide long-term sustainability issues. It is best illustrated by certain sectors of Brazilian subsidiaries of Swedish multinational corporations (MNCs) as organisational units with ability to generate positive technological externalities in host countries. Technological trajectories are observable as: 1) successive incremental innovations for environmental optimisation of product; 2) a sequence of steps towards radical innovation, associated with new products to redefine the market leading to a socio-environmental structural change. The aim of the paper is enlarge the understanding of technological pathways towards this issue based on newly industrialised countries (NICs) and to give foresight in identifying long-term trends in sustainability.

Keywords: technological trajectories; multinational corporations; MNCs; sustainability; sustainable development; industrial sectors; environmental improvements; Brazil; subsidiaries; Sweden; prospective interactions; organisational units; positive externalities; technological externalities; host countries; successive innovations; incremental innovations; environmental optimisation; product optimisation; radical innovation; new products; socio-environmental change; structural change; market redefinition; technological pathways; newly industrialising economies; NIEs; newly industrialised countries; NICs; long-term trends; scenarios; pulp industry; paper industry; electrical machinery; ICT; information technology; communications technology; foresight; innovation policies; innovation strategies; strategy planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFIP.2013.051760

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 2013 Vol.9 No.1, pp.39 - 55

Published online: 28 Feb 2014 *

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