The relationship between the focus on innovation and economic efficiency: a study on Brazilian electric power distribution companies

Law 9.991/2000, which provides about investments in research and development (R&D) to the electric sector in Brazil, prioritizes innovations that provide advances to the sector. In the electricity distribution segment, the focus is on improving the overall efficiency of companies. Therefore, this paper aims to verify the correlation between the focus on innovation and relative economic efficiency. The survey was conducted in 2014 covering data from 2010 to 2013 of 20 exclusive electricity distribution companies listed on BM&FBovespa. This research is applied and descriptive, with a quantitative approach. In the data collection, the documentary strategy was used, with a technique of content analysis, collecting data in available documents. From the literature consulted, a scale was proposed to quantify the focus on innovation. To quantify the efficiency scores, Data Envelopment Analysis was used through Frontier Analyst software, based on accounting data. The main results with the scale of innovation indicate low focus on innovation in the companies surveyed. When there is no significant correlation between the innovation scores and the economic efficiency scores, other existing studies point out that, in Brazil, innovation efforts, in addition to being incipient, seek to comply with the relevant legislation rather than the benefits of innovation.