Management of innovation, performance and added value:

a case study in the agrobusiness chain

Abstract

This paper describes the innovation management and the added value through the study carried out in a metal-mechanics, manufacturing agricultural machines, member of the agro businesses chain. In the first stage, there was a diagnosis and an analysis of the learning processes and the trajectories of the accumulation of technological competences, based on existing analytical structures in literature, adapted to this type of industry. The technological competences were studied in the functions of the processes and organization of the production, products and equipment. In the second stage, the impact of the accumulation of competences in the performance of production of the industry is studied, evaluating: the final conformity of the product; performance of the components of the final product; monthly and annual execution planning; work productivity; time and resources motivated by the product delivery outside the terms; security in the information and rotation of stocks; loss due to obsolescence of the components; and implementation of the manufacturing program. The results suggest that innovation management, acquisition and socialization of new knowledge and accumulation of technological competences, play an important role and influence positively on the improvement of the production performance.