The Brazilian system of innovation for ethanol fuel: an essay on the strategic role of the standardization process

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a case-study on the importance of the standardization process for the Brazilian system of innovation for ethanol fuel. The analysis on its evolution also shows evidence of the strategic role of the State to enjoy the oportunities opened during a paradigmatic change, as we defend to have started during the energy crisis in the 1970s, when the Brazilian government started setting-up the policies for the ethanol fuel sector. The standardization process gains attention in the recent context, in face of the strategy of transforming the product into an international commodity. The main contribution of this paper is therefore to call attention to the need – at odds with more conservative perspectives – that developing countries invest in industrial, technological and pro-innovation policies in order to promote their development, according to their particular interests and taking into account the investment on activities involved in the standardization process.