Management of External Sources of Technological Information and Innovation Performance in Brazilian Large Enterprises

The objective of the research presented in this paper is to study the relationship between practices for managing external sources of information and the innovative performance of the enterprise. The research can be characterized as quantitative. The data had been collected through questionnaires received from enterprises seen as having substantial technological innovation activities. The findings of the study suggest many significant relationships between the innovation performance of the enterprise and the types of sources of technological information used as well as with the access modalities to their external sources of technological information. The results indicate a trend towards increased use of external sources of information.