Patterns of interaction between national and multinational corporations and Brazilian universities/public research institutes

This paper aims to investigate the patterns of interaction between national and multinational corporations located in Brazil and universities/public research institutes (PRIs) in that country. To this end, we used a database involving 319 questionnaires answered by those responsible either for R&D activities, or for the interactions with universities and PRIs in firms located in Brazil. Such data were evaluated through a descriptive analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis method to verify the existence of distinct patterns of university-firm interactions concerning national and multinational corporations. The conclusions of the study suggest that there are no significant differences between the cooperation patterns of national and multinational corporations with Brazilian universities/PRIs.