Paulo N. Figueiredo is a researcher studying the process of technological capability building at the level of firms and industries, its causes and consequences for industrial innovation and economic growth in developing economies.
He is Professor of Technology and Innovation Management at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE) at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), in Brazil. He joined EBAPE/FGV in 1999.
He is Senior Research Associate at the Department of International Development, University of Oxford, UK.
He holds a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit, at the University of Sussex, UK.
Paulo began his professional activities in the early 1980s, in the industry, where he took up managerial tasks until the early 1990s. Since the mid-1990s, he has been fully dedicated to research and teaching in the field of technological innovation in developing countries.
In 1999 he created, and still heads up, the Research Programme on Technological Learning and Industrial Innovation in Brazil at EBAPE/FGV. Within this Research Programme, he has led more than 20 original research projects.
As a passionate researcher – and a disciplined fieldworker – he engages in research projects with creative and dynamic designs and analyses. His research generates novel findings and explanations, which advances our understanding of the intricate process by which firms and industries in developing economies accumulate (or fail to accumulate) technological capabilities and achieve (or fail to achieve) leading industrial innovation and competitiveness.
Ultimately, his research seeks to contribute to furthering our understanding of whether and how micro-level technological innovation processes impact industrial development and economic prosperity, in developing economies.
His research been published in the form of scientific articles in international and Brazilian academic journals, books, and book chapters. His research findings also appear in industry and policy related publications.
Through his dedication to teaching activities over the past 25 years, Paulo has been sharing his knowledge with – and learning from – students from undergraduate courses, master’s and doctorate programmes, as well as from executive training programmes. He has supervised nearly 50 theses.
He extensively communicates his research findings to policy makers and industry stakeholders. By doing so, he contributes to improving decision-making on industrial innovation, particularly in Brazil.
On the editorship side, Paulo is the founder and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development (Inderscience, UK).
To know more about Paulo N Figueiredo’s professional activities, please explore this website.
