Authors

• Pablo Marcello Baquero, HEC ParisFollow

Abstract

As innovation cycles accelerate, companies seeking to remain at the forefront of the knowledge economy increasingly partner with sophisticated firms to co-create innovation. These collaborations involving pervasive uncertainty are structured through hybrid contractual arrangements that combine features of market-based independence with those of the close coordination typical of the firm. To date, contracting for innovation has been examined primarily in the context of the Global North. In the United States, the literature has focused on the governance mechanisms that parties employ to continuously define their obligations and mitigate opportunism amid profound uncertainty. In Europe, scholarship on contractual networks or organizational contracts has also addressed governance mechanisms, but has focused mainly on how contractual doctrine and interpretation should adapt to these novel forms of collaboration. In the Global South, by contrast, studies on the existence, design, and legal implications of contracting for innovation remain scant. This Article aims to fill this gap by presenting the results of empirical research conducted in Brazil on contractual practices to co-create advanced innovation. The findings reveal, first, that contracting for innovation exists in Brazil within a narrow segment of globally connected firms that employ sophisticated governance mechanisms. Second, they show the presence of a heterodox element in certain initiatives, where public-private collaborations and ad hoc arrangements between the state and the market are designed to foster the conditions necessary for collaborations to innovate to flourish. The Article argues that this heterodox approach may offer inspiration—for Brazil and other jurisdictions alike—on how to diffuse collaborative relationships for innovation, thereby contributing to a more inclusive knowledge economy.

Recommended Citation

Pablo Marcello Baquero, Contracting for Innovation in the Global South: Empirical Evidence from Brazil, 20 FIU L. Rev. 1253 (2026), https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.20.4.8.