The local innovation agents program: a literature review on the largest Brazilian small business innovation support program

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the characteristics of Brazilian micro and small businesses (MSBs) and the main lessons derived from the largest small business innovation support program in the country, the Local Innovation Agents - Agentes Locais de Inovacao (ALI) Program. Design/methodology/approach In total, 34 papers were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases (28), as well as from the Revista de Administracao e Inovacao - RAI (6), a seminal Brazilian innovation journal. The papers were analyzed in terms of the regional context, methodological approach and main findings. Regional complementary analyzes of some program figures were also performed by Spearman correlation and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Findings The review revealed a low innovation level among Brazilian MSBs and that the platform (incremental product) and brand (marketing) innovation dimensions were the most developed across different regions and industries. Reviewed papers also showed that all MSBs were able to improve innovation over the program independent of previous management and innovation levels, besides positive relationships between management and innovation. The complementary analysis provided a regional panorama of the program figures and corroborated MSBs innovation improvement. Research limitations/implications This review analyzed relevant papers and figures related to the program, summarized main lessons and provided future research venues. Practical implications Different innovation strategies reviewed may be implemented by MSBs owners. Policymakers may also benefit from the program experience. Originality/value Despite the high number of publications and the relevance of the largest Brazilian innovation support program, there were still no literature reviews comprehending the diverse lessons derived from the ALI Program, as well as a regional panorama of the program figures.