The contribution of information sources to organizational innovation: a study in companies served by the Productive Extension and Innovation Project

Abstract

Innovation is a topic of common interest and object of public policies. One of the determinants of innovation is information, which can be obtained from several sources. The objective of this research was to evaluate the relationship between information sources and innovation in management practices in micro, small and medium companies served by the Productive Extension and Innovation Project (PEPI). Quantitative research, explanatory and operationalized by the survey procedure. The nonprobabilistic sample totaled 89 organizations. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and linear regression. The results show that internal sources and professional sources contribute to organizational innovation in management practices. Among the sources analyzed, the ones that presented the greatest potential to foster innovation in management practices were management control systems and the Productive Extension and Innovation Project. Identified as an instrument of public policy, PEPI seeks to increased production, employment and income, constituting itself as an action that fostered organizational innovation in the organizations surveyed.