Barreiras para inovação e sustentabilidade nas pequenas e médias indústrias de transformação do Oeste do Paraná

Abstract

The objective of this research was to analyze the main barriers to innovation and sustainability faced by small and medium-sized manufacturing industries in the Western region of Paraná, Brazil. Data were collected through a questionnaire based on a Likert scale, with a total of 25 respondents from seven different manufacturing sectors across six cities in the region. Descriptive statistics and a correlation matrix were employed to analyze the data. The results indicated that the primary barriers to innovation were political and/or economic uncertainties, high initial costs, and lack of financial resources—factors that are interconnected and prevalent in the context of developing countries. Regarding sustainability, the identified obstacles included the difficulty in measuring financial return, challenges related to laws and regulations, and high initial costs, all of which are commonly observed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in other regions as well. Distinct barriers were observed across different sectors and company sizes. In terms of innovation, the food and furniture sectors identified political and/or economic uncertainties as the main barrier, differing from the metallurgy and chemical sectors. As for sustainability, the difficulty in measuring financial return was the main barrier for the metallurgy and food sectors, diverging from the others. When analyzing company size, political and/or economic uncertainties were the main innovation barrier for micro enterprises, while high initial costs and lack of financial resources were the primary obstacles identified by small and medium-sized enterprises, respectively. Regarding sustainability, micro enterprises reported high initial costs as the main impediment, whereas the difficulty in measuring financial return and challenges with laws and regulations were identified as key barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises, respectively. The analysis also suggests potential correlations between certain barriers to innovation and sustainability, such as high initial costs and lack of financial resources. This research contributes to advancing knowledge on the subject within the region and offers a practical approach with concrete actions for mitigating or eliminating these barriers through targeted public policies or private initiatives, thereby benefiting companies operating within this context.