Resumo

Innovation is usually linked as a result or process, however, recently, has been seen as a mindset (Kahn, 2018). Bounded on the idea of innovation mentality, much research, such as in the academic field as in the business field, stand out the importance of the innovation competences development (ICs) on professionals (Lappalainen, 2018). The ICs may be understood as a group of personal characteristics, knowledge, abilities and attitudes that have a direct relationship with the process of news generation, through the innovation processes collaboration (Hero et al., 2017).

In face of new demands of the XXI century, that show even more dynamic and challenging, prepare individuals with this kind of competence became a vital activity in the business field (Keinänen; Kairisto-Mertanen, 2019; Avvisati et al., 2013; Trilling; Fadel, 2009). Besides that, the Innovation Pedagogy approach has been developed aiming to build a teaching method able to prepare individuals to real work demands, thus developing qualified professionals in technical terms able to behave innovatively (Konst; Kairisto-Mertanen, 2020; Keinänen; Kairisto-Mertanen, 2019).

In a general manner, the majority of studies in this research area concentrates on the identification and measuring de ICs, and in the public of students of academic institutions (Konst; Kairisto-Mertanen, 2020; Andreu-Andrés et al., 2018; Hero et al., 2017; Marin-Garcia et al., 2016). Therefore, three theoretical gaps were identified: the lack of studies that demonstrate how to develop the ICs; deficiency of studies that approaches the ICs in emerging countries; the absence of the theme exploration within the corporative environment.

With the purpose of contribute to this effort, the objective of this study is to build a new tool that helps Brazilian companies with the collaborators’ innovation competences development. To reach this, a qualitative study was carried out, using the Design Science Research (DRS) methodology, that makes it possible to find solutions, instead of explanations to problems, generating bigger impacts through an artifact creation, which, in this study, was configured as a tool (JÚNIOR; LACERDA; DRESCH, 2015).

This work brings as its main result the proposition of the Cycle of Development of Competences and Innovation (ICDC), a tool that develops the collaborator’s ICs. The tool was validated in three different ways: validation with specialists (theory verification), Market validation (application verification), and the appliance of the proposition in a real environment (practical verification), with the intent of setting this tool as a solution to a problem situation.

As practical contributions, this research adds to the management field, delivering a tool that can be applied in private business companies. The main agents that can make use of the results of this work are innovation managers, Human Resources sectors, people development sector, directors, among others. Besides, this tool can also be explored by higher education teachers, delivering to the Administration students a solution that can be applied in their workplaces in the future.