Networks of technological knowledge production: a Brazilian governamental project

Abstract

This article presents the results of our research on a State government project concerning the development of a shared production network that focuses on the creation of public softwares in Brazil. The acquisition and evaluation of the results were based on the theoretical principles of the Social Network Analysis (WASSERMAN; FAUST, 1994). Contemporary concepts associated to the context of the networked information economy (BENKLER, 2006) were critically debated when related to the data obtained. The main goal of the research was to analyze the economic, political and social implications of the social network that constitutes the project. Characteristics of the actors, such as their practices, relations and norms, and also specifi c ways of obtaining social capital and technological-informational capital were examined.