PRODUCT DESIGN AND SOCIAL NEEDS - THE CASE OF NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Product design has a significant role within the overall process of in novation. It is through design that ideas and demands from the market are expressed in material form and transformed into hardware. This pap er presents the findings of a survey of small firms producing light en gineering products in Paraiba, a state in the north-eastern region of Brazil. The aim of the survey was to obtain an overview of the activit ies of entrepreneurs, evidence of innovation, methods used in new prod uct development, and the level of training and institutional support a vailable. It argues that this important aspect of innovation has been neglected in the development literature. Recognition of this innovativ e potential is crucial to the development of small firms in developing countries.