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Through an investigation of data available from the Brazilian Innovation Survey (Pesquisa de Inovação) of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) and from a national survey on university–firm interactions (the BR Survey), the authors show that Brazilian industrial firms lack qualified individuals for two key activities: the promotion of innovation and the establishment of a dialogue between universities and firms. Brazilian firms’ weaknesses and the inadequacy of the workforce supply generate scarce (or inadequate) ‘know-why’. Furthermore, a restricted perspective in Brazilian universities, focused on creating a more educated society rather than augmenting the stock of technological knowledge, constrains the generation of ‘know-what’ and ‘know-who’.

The motivation for this article comes from the proposition in the literature that Latin American universities are detached from the research needs of the productive sector and that they limit their role to the human resources and training missions. The authors investigated the Brazilian scenario, using data from a survey conducted in 2008–2009 with universities and firms that interacted with each other. They found that some university–firm interactions in Brazil were diversified and embraced sophisticated knowledge generation and exchange. They also found that interactions with firms reinforced universities' missions of human resources and training provision and generated new knowledge for universities. Brazilian firms themselves have also been changing. They have been increasingly involved in innovative activities and also in more sophisticated interactions with universities.