Sep 21, 2013

Articles in journals

Godinho, M.M., Rosa, A.

8

13

Relegated to second place on the agendas of innovation for many years, mature sectors have attracted increasing interest. Either because these sectors continue to dominate the economies of developed countries, or because some empirical studies have shown that companies operating in traditional sectors are quite innovative, even with investments in research and development close to zero. Yet, studies of innovation in mature sectors are still quite scarce, particularly in Portugal. This article describes a case study of a Portuguese innovation horticultural company. The study focuses on the obstacles and opportunities that certain institutional, cultural and technological changes , which occurred in Portugal since 1986, have created for the Portuguese horticultural sector. The case describes the process by which an enterprise of a technologically mature industry is able to market a product based on an emerging technology, illustrating in detail the evolution of the complex process of innovation in an environment of 'real-life'.

Innovation,Industrial Mature Sectors,Agri-food Sector,High-pressure Technology