Innovation management of internationalised IT companies in Brazil and Portugal

Internationalised companies in innovative industry need to create means to innovate no matter the country they are from, because globe is the competitive arena for all. Thus, internationalised IT companies from both developing and developed economies must carry out similar innovation management. However, studies comparing countries in different stages of development are scarce. Through an exploratory approach, this study compares the process of innovation management of four international IT companies from an emergent economy (Brazil) and a small-developed economy (Portugal). The results suggest some differences: Brazilian firms present a more undeveloped way to manage both intellectual property and their internal structures of R%D, while Portuguese companies implies higher investment in R%D and a faster and earlier process of internationalisation. Thus, this study contributes to a reflection on the traditional innovation model through the perspective of country of origin and of the impact of companies' internationalisation on their innovation process.