Abstract
The paper aims to understand the relationship between absorptive capacity (AC), skilled labor, internal R&D and innovation performance of firms that interact with universities. Data came from information collected in a survey with firms located in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) that interacted with universities, according to the 2010 Census of the CNPq Research Groups Directory. A Categorical Principal Components analysis was performed to measure the dimensions of AC and to relate them to firms’ innovative performance, internal R&D activity and the type of skilled labor. The main results are: R&D should not be treated as synonymous of AC; the prevalence of postgraduate workers is related to a greater potential and realized AC; the predominance of technical workforce is related to a higher realized AC; firms with higher AC are more innovative.References
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