Study goals
Technological incubators are habitats created with the objective of stimulating entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative businesses capable of positively transforming the environment in which they operate and impact the development of technological solutions for the country. In addition to acting as catalysts for the triple-helix efforts (government, companies and educational institutions), they support entrepreneurial initiatives through a pool of differentiated services, collaborative spaces, specialized advisory services and connections with partner networks.
In this way, the environment in which they operate requires efficient management, supported by innovative tools capable of facilitating the storage, access and distribution of information, acting as an intelligent ally in knowledge management (KM). In line with this perspective, and with the concern of directing incubators to professional management with strategic planning and defined process flows, Anprotec jointly with the Brazilian Micro and Sebrae Support Service created the Cerne methodology, a platform that aims to improve results incubators through the insertion of good practices.
In view of this, the study opportunity arises with the general objective: To propose and validate a digital knowledge management tool - KM for Unochapecó Technological Incubator - INCTECh. And as specific objectives: i) analyze web tools for KM; ii) establish characteristics, segmentation and level of information feed; iii) Identify the most appropriate KM tool for INCTECh; iv) Validate the tool with different users in the INCTECh incubation process.
Relevance / originality
Technological incubators are habitats committed to creating innovative businesses whose main asset is knowledge. Thus, performing an efficient knowledge management is fundamental to the success of these organizations. In view of this, the opportunity of this study arises with the general objective: To propose and validate a digital Knowledge Management tool for the Unochapecó Technological Incubator - INCTECh.
The relevance is to contribute with this network of habitats so important for the country's innovation ecosystem: incubators, which may indicate a management system that contributes positively to the professionalization of your information, serving as a pilot and being able to be used in other incubators in the country. Brazil.
The originality is in managing knowledge with the use of free software in business incubators.
Methodology / approach
Based on the established research objective, the investigation was structured from an exploratory and descriptive approach, framed by Morgan (1980) in the structuralist (interpretive) quadrant, in which the subject-object interaction prevails (SACCOL, 2009), also allowing a critical definition of the world and its phenomena. In this sense, we opted for the qualitative strategy of the Case Study, having as instruments of data collection interviews with the company managers and analysis of the characteristics of the digital tools of Knowledge Management.
the search for data was carried out through interviews with the incubator's management team at first and, subsequently, with incubated entrepreneurs. The interviews were later transcribed and analyzed to identify the fundamental aspects required for analysis. In addition to the questions, the identification and analysis of the digital KM tools took place according to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology (UTAUT), which is based on the expectation of performance, expectation of effort, social influence and facilitating conditions; in addition to four moderators, namely: gender, age, experience and voluntary use (VENKATESH et al., 2003).
From the data obtained, the data analysis process emerges (LAKATOS, MARCONI, 2003). In this stage, the aim was to understand the logic of specific pre-defined objectives, in order, therefore, to i) analyze web tools for KM; ii) establish characteristics, segmentation and level of information feed; iii) Identify the most appropriate KM tool for INCTECh; iv) Validate the tool with different users in the INCTECh incubation process.
Main results
5 Results
Firstly, the identification of the best KM tool applied to INCTECh's demands was completed, then validation was carried out with the Incubator team.
5.1 Identification of tools
Based on the characteristics identified, in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, a ranking was performed to define which software would be tested and validated, indicating Trello (12 characteristics) with the best option.
5.2 Validation of tools
The validation process took place through a two-stage working group. The first step was the presentation of the tool to the incubator's management team, who started the process of studying and using the software. Subsequently, the analysis of the most efficient methodology for the migration of information offline to online was carried out. In the planning process, INCTECh decided to use the software both for the management of the incubated enterprises and for its incubation process, using Trello as a tool that integrates the stages of KM.
Once the tool was validated, it was time to present the results to the entrepreneurs and collect feedbacks. All respondents were unanimous in stating that the tool met the expectations of KM, making it simple and agile to create up to the sharing of knowledge between incubators and incubators. They concluded by reporting that Trello is indeed intuitive and that they have also adopted it for their endeavors.
Theoretical / methodological contributions
Theoretical and methodological contributions are presented especially in the test and report on the use of the main web software for Knowledge Management, with free versions, using technology (UTAUT), which is based on performance expectations, effort expectations, social influence and facilitating conditions; in addition to four moderators, namely: gender, age, experience and voluntary use (VENKATESH et al., 2003).
The results presented are available to researchers and innovation habitats interested in effective knowledge management tools.
The study was limited to a case study. For future research contributions, we suggest: a) testing the model adopted by INCTECh in other innovation habitats, and b) analyzing other tools adopted by incubators in their KM process.
Social / management contributions
Business incubators work essentially with the knowledge generated by them and specially created by the incubated enterprises. Thus, carrying out KM is essential in the efficient management of these innovation habitats. Through the fulfillment of specific objectives, it was possible to meet the general objective of this study, proposing the Trello software as a web tool for knowledge management at INCTECh, validating its usability and efficiency with the stakeholders involved in the incubation process that presented positive feedbacks.
Trello, a tool that allows you to work with more collaboration and productivity, managing projects through tables and lists in a fun, flexible and visual way (Trello, 2019) after validated, was implemented in the incubator's GC, and was even adopted by several enterprises incubated. The adoption of this software contributed to INCTECh achieving its Cerne certification, fulfilling the purpose and relevance of this study.
The methodology adopted by INCTECh using Trello, is available at https://trello.com/b/9uiQfaOu/modelo-quadro-incubados, allowing other incubators to adapt to their reality, and fulfilling one of the management objectives knowledge: knowledge sharing and dissemination.