HELLO THERE! Stefan Bernat – former Brazilian colonel and recent PhD student at Linköping University.

Last year, he retired from his 30-year career in the Brazilian army to focus on digital transformation research. In his doctoral thesis, Stefan Bernat studied the innovation capacity of companies in emerging economies.

Congratulations on your PhD! You have a good understanding of the Brazilian defense industry and its business operations. Why did you want to study the innovation capacity of companies?

– To understand how companies in emerging economies can boost performance, create sustainable competitive advantages, expand market presence abroad and ensure long-term resilience. This is particularly relevant for companies in the Brazilian defense industry, as the domestic market is not sufficient for many of them.

– Developing innovation capacity in emerging economies also poses major challenges for businesses. Unlike their counterparts in developed economies, they have limited resources, skills and opportunities. Businesses also face a lack of training, a lack of innovative suppliers, and political and economic instability.

What have you found in your research?

– To become competitive, firms in emerging economies must go through a process of multiple activities in two major stages: the proximate stage and the challenging stage. In the intermediate stage, companies focus, among other things, on learning and accumulating technical capacity. For example, one company in the study, which is developing a Brazilian control system for thrusters, sounding rockets and space vehicles, used three different sources of knowledge to learn the technology: technology literature, technology transfer from Germany and reverse engineering of an existing system. Another company attended international conferences, engaged national and international consultants and used other proactive learning methods.

– After overcoming the initial obstacles, companies can start competing with leading companies in developed economies. So in the challenging stage the activities are more sophisticated as it involves a lot of competition and risks. For example, the ability to perceive changes in technology, markets and public policy can create opportunities for companies to compete with market leaders. The challenging stage is also very much about keeping companies focused on their strategic goals and making the most of the resources they have.

Did you get any results that surprised you?

– Yes, what surprised me most was the crucial role played by the project managers. One of my studies focused on how R&D projects accumulate technical capacity through team organization, equipment purchase, staff training and knowledge generation. In these projects, the project managers took on the role of entrepreneurial leaders, identifying market opportunities and getting sponsors and authorities to support their projects. These tasks were far beyond their normal duties, but were essential to implement the projects that developed the innovation capacity of the companies.

Who benefits from your results and how?

– From a practical perspective, technology managers and business leaders in emerging economies can benefit from my research. They can qualitatively evaluate their company’s positioning in relation to the two steps – approach and challenge – and its activities. The evaluation can be used as a roadmap to organize relevant activities to develop innovation capacity in companies.

What will you do now after your PhD?

– The plan is to stay in Sweden and continue exploring digital transformation. The phenomenon, which is seen as an opportunity for companies in emerging economies, is also a major challenge for companies in developed economies. Adapting established businesses to digital technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G, augmented reality and Industry 4.0 seems to be the technological paradigm that businesses will be grappling with in the coming years. And the framework in my thesis can serve as a guide as companies navigate their way through the business landscape.

Contact stefan.bernat@liu.se

More about the thesis
Stefan Bernat recently defended his dissertation at Linköping University with the thesis From Approaching to Challenging the Forerunners: A Study of Innovation Capability Building in Brazilian Firms. .

Read also the interview with Bernat’s colleague José Adalberto.