The role of foreign direct investment for the development of innovative capabilities in the Brazilian offshore wind energy industry

Objective: To propose a model that identifies how Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) drives the development of Dynamic Capabilities (DC) to generate Innovation Capacity (IC) in the Brazilian offshore wind energy industry. Method: This is a qualitative case study research conducted with snowball sampling from 32 semi-structured interviews of 26 companies acting in the offshore wind energy industry. Content analysis was used to analyze all the data collected. Main Results: Our analysis revealed that FDI drives dynamic capabilities to generate innovation capacity and pointed out new categories (findings) such as Diffusion of Technological Innovation, Institutional Void, and Triple Helix for innovative technology development in the offshore wind energy industry. Relevance / Originality: This study’s major contribution relies on a contextual articulation between FDI, dynamic capabilities, and innovation capacity applied to the context of offshore wind energy companies and their development in the market. Theoretical / Methodological Contributions: We present a new model for literature articulated in FDI and dynamic capabilities generating innovation capacity, elucidating the originality of our findings through the presentation of new categories to examine the offshore wind industry, including Diffusion of Technological Innovation, Institutional Voids, and Triple Helix. Social / Managerial Contributions: FDI articulated by institutions to generate the adoption of new technologies at the institutional, organizational, and regulatory levels that can fill institutional voids through an innovative and technological ecosystem.