Investimentos em inovação e sistemas de gestão qualidade asseguram desempenho financeiro superior? um estudo quantitativo de empresas de capital aberto

Abstract

Investments in innovation and in quality management systems have long been presented as instruments that boost the performance of companies. In Brazil, empirical, systematic and rigorous research that investigates such relationships are still largely unexplored. In view of the described panorama, this study aimed to verify, through multiple linear regressions, how investments in innovation, adoption of the six sigma methodology and adoption of ISO 9001 certification impact financial performance, in terms of profitability, of Brazilian listed companies. The results of the regressions show that efforts in R&D have a positive and significant impact on profitability, through the ROA indexes, but a negative effect on Net Margin and that ISO 9001 certification has a positive impact on ROA. Evidence was found that R&D investments combined with ISO 9001 had a synergistic, positive interaction effect on Net Margin variable, and that R&D investments associated with Six Sigma had a synergistic, or negative interaction effect. These findings demonstrate evidence that Brazilian listed companies are achieving little success in terms of financial results through their Six Sigma efforts. In addition to contributing to the business field, helping companies to direct their efforts towards initiatives capable of positively impacting profitability, such findings also contribute to the advancement of academic knowledge and construction of dialogue between the academic and business environments.