Innovation and Innovation Management in Latin America

In recent years, a combination of different factors has led many Latin American companies to turn to innovation. International companies have increased their operations in that part of the world. At the same time, Latin American companies are competing in other parts of the world. As a consequence, innovative products and services, at competitive prices, become of fundamental importance at home and abroad. Innovative products and services mean new or improved products and services and competitive prices depend on innovative processes. As a consequence, Latin American companies are concerned with innovations in products, services and processes. On the other hand, increasing costs of R&D have opened up new possibilities for joint efforts of foreign companies with Latin American companies. Other intervening factors are the increasing concerns over sustainability, the impact of government regulation and policies, new innovation practices, social change, etc.

The goals of this special issue are to present insights into the concepts of innovation and  innovation management in Latin America, that are relevant to scholars and practitioners concerned with the challenges of innovation in that part of the world.

Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

•         Product, service and process innovation challenges for Latin American companies
•         Innovation strategy, collaboration and competition
•         Innovation and technology for sustainable development
•         Open and user innovation in Latin America
•         Government innovation policy and regulation for innovation
•         Innovation systems in Latin America
•         The role of venture capital in supporting innovation in Latin America
•         Trends in innovation management in Latin America
•         New business models in Latin America
•         Practices for managing knowledge in innovation management
•         Employment of technology in innovation
•         Effectively coordinating innovation activities across borders
•         Managing virtual teams and environments for innovation
•         Challenges to entrepreneurial innovation in Latin America
•         Product- and service-innovation alignment with corporate sustainability efforts

We encourage full research papers based on ample empirical evidence but we also seek papers that are conceptual in nature. Papers that compare policies and practices across different countries in Latin America are also welcome.

Submission
Deadline for submission: October 8, 2012
Papers for the Special Issue should be submitted to lucilia.silva@coppead.ufrj.br with the title of the Special Issue in the Subject Line.
Papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Formatting basics
File types and font: Word or PDF, 12 point Times New Roman.
Text: double-spaced, not to exceed 30 typed pages including abstract, keywords, references, tables, figures, and appendixes.
Title page (separate file): should include title, author(s) name/title, institution, address, telephone number, email address, and acknowledgments, if applicable.
Authors should also supply a shortened version of the title suitable for the running head, not exceeding 50 character spaces.