From Technology Transfer to Disruptive Innovation: The Case of EMBRAER

The aircraft industry is a high-tech market with very high barriers to entry. Particularly considering the commercial aircraft market, only a handful of competitors account for most of the market share. Amongst this select group, Embraer is the only one from the developing world. This paper proposes Embraer approach to innovation as a major factor for The Company's global success. As part of a country-wide strategy, Embraer has for decades, systematically employed technology transfer to build R&D capabilities. More recently, Embraer identified a gap in the market for larger regional jets and in collaborating with risk partners has launched a very competitive product line, considered an example of disruptive innovation. The regional jet market has recently received a lot of attention with the launch of Bombardier's C-Series. In this context, this paper attempts to validate its claims about Embraer by triangulating, primary and secondary sources of information, describing Embraer's trajectory and current position in the market. From Embraer's case, practical and conceptual implications are proposed. Additionally, limitations and opportunities for future research are also discussed.