摘要
This study aimed to explore how processes of innovation are perceived and managed in micro and small service-oriented companies in Campinas, i.e., verifying how people in these companies understand, identify, and manage innovation （what tools or methodologies）. Innovation is not a new concept, but its perception as a process, detached from randomness, is. This understanding is what allows its management as a tool to improve results and competitiveness, and to the perpetuation of the company. The research had a qualitative approach that consisted in the content analysis of structured interviews held with 10 respondents of five different companies, using eight innovation-focused questions, adapted from the Brazilian National Quality Foundation （FNQ）. After interviews, four categories were identified： innovation understanding, innovative ambience, innovation process management, and learning during the process--the first two regarding the subjective features of innovation and the latter two the objective features. Analysis outcome has shown that companies understand the concept and importance of innovation, but still do not see it as a process, which leads them to try isolated initiatives, usually executed by instinct only. Due to the fact that innovation is not considered as a process, most practices encourage generation of ideas, instead of goals, key performance indicators （KPIs）, and learning--this latter one, only occurs informally and over time.
