Bruno Fischer, Sergio Salles-Filho, Camila Zeitoum and Fernando Colugnati
The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive perspective on different facets of knowledge management and their effects on the performance of knowledge-intensive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive perspective on different facets of knowledge management and their effects on the performance of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical setting involves small and medium-sized enterprises located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Primary data for 223 knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) firms was obtained through questionnaires applied to ventures which applied to the innovative research in small business program, a small business innovation research-like initiative run by the São Paulo Research Foundation. Econometric results assessed the drivers of competitiveness in terms of firm growth, research and development intensification and technology transfer.
Findings
Results highlight the complexity involved in establishing effective knowledge management processes in terms of driving KIE performance. Notwithstanding, some interesting insights on the moderation effects of strategic knowledge management (SKM) systems over technical skills could be identified with particular emphasis for the case of academic spin-offs. Ecosystem drivers present a good explanation power for technology transfer practices but fall short in providing answers for firm-level growth dynamics. It is also noteworthy that public and private investments in KIE firms are similarly associated with positive impacts – contrary to the view that private investors perform better than governmental sources in picking promising small ventures.
Originality/value
The assessment has provided novel evidence for a sample of KIE ventures concerning the appraisal of performance drivers associated with three dimensions of knowledge management, namely, technical knowledge, SKM and ecosystem features. Firms’ outcomes were addressed from a multidimensional perspective, thus providing a comprehensive perspective of the events under scrutiny.
Details
Keywords
Bruno Fischer, Maribel Guerrero, José Guimón and Paola Rücker Schaeffer
Frugal innovation has gained prominence based on its potential contribution to sustainable development and the new opportunities that it offers to low-income customers. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Frugal innovation has gained prominence based on its potential contribution to sustainable development and the new opportunities that it offers to low-income customers. This paper aims to analyse the strategic knowledge transfer practices implemented by an entrepreneurial university for fostering frugal innovations within an emerging economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a case study methodological approach. The selected case was the University of Campinas (Unicamp), one of the leading universities in Brazil in terms of research quality and technology transfer. The study built upon 14 interviews with key informants and secondary sources of data (official and public documents).
Findings
The findings highlight the multidimensional dynamics of frugal innovations arising from university–industry relationships. Key dimensions considered include the internal capabilities of universities to foster frugal innovations and connect them to markets, the surrounding innovation ecosystems in which the university is embedded and the overarching institutional framework.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis of strategic management practices for frugal innovation requires an evolutionary perspective, but the findings lacked sufficient longitudinal information for a formal evaluation. Also, as our empirical analysis is based on an in-depth case study of one university, further validation in other contexts would be necessary.
Practical implications
This study offers new insights regarding the effectiveness of university-business collaboration partnerships for developing frugal innovations in emerging economies. Policymakers should promote societal programs enhancing the active participation of all agents involved in the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. University managers should understand the challenges and the opportunities behind the adoption of an inclusive and societal orientation.
Social implications
By adopting frugal innovation practices, universities can enhance their contribution of meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Originality/value
The literature on frugal innovation has emphasized the importance of networking between different types of firms, NGOs and governments, but the role of universities in frugal innovation remains mostly unexplored. This study addresses this gap by exploring how entrepreneurial universities participate in frugal innovations to meet societal challenges.
Details
Keywords
Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes, Bruno Fischer, Sergio Salles-Filho, Dirk Meissner and Marina Dabic
Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms (KIE) strongly rely on scientific and strategic research and development (R&D) capabilities to achieve higher performance levels. Hence…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms (KIE) strongly rely on scientific and strategic research and development (R&D) capabilities to achieve higher performance levels. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to disentangle the effects of scientific capabilities and strategic R&D on KIE performance; and how the constituent elements of these dimensions can be configured to generate conditions for high performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ empirical setting involves companies that submitted projects to the Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE) program in Brazil. The authors then run partial least square structural equation modeling to verify how scientific and strategic R&D capabilities influence the performance construct. Second, the authors apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify configurations that are equifinal in terms of generating superior performance.
Findings
Findings indicate a strong association between scientific capabilities and KIE performance. The configurational approach outlines the existence of multiple paths to success, but human capital stands as a core condition throughout estimations.
Practical implications
The authors’ assessment has implications for how KIE firms are managed according to their organizational profiles and trajectories. Also, it advances the authors’ comprehension on how entrepreneurship policies can better target these distinct profiles.
Originality/value
The authors’ analysis provides new evidence on the inherent complexity behind the generation of high performance in KIE when addressing their portfolios of knowledge-related capabilities. More than that, the authors were able to identify the existence of heterogeneous profiles that can equally lead to higher levels of performance.
Details
Keywords
André Cherubini Alves, Bruno Fischer, Paola Rücker Schaeffer and Sérgio Queiroz
The purpose of this paper is to analyze this phenomenon and identify its determinants using data from Brazilian higher education institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze this phenomenon and identify its determinants using data from Brazilian higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a data set comprehending 2,230 university students from 70 different institutions across the country, the authors develop five Probit models to assess impacts related to individual traits and systemic conditions on five dependent dimensions: entrepreneurial activity, potential entrepreneurs, high-impact entrepreneurship, serial entrepreneurship and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.
Findings
The lack of significance in many of the variables included in estimations suggests that student entrepreneurship seems to be a rather random phenomenon in Brazil.
Research limitations/implications
Findings pose challenges for student entrepreneurship, as targets for intervention are not clear.
Originality/value
Over the past decades, universities have been receiving an increasing demand to go beyond their role of producing science and technology to explore its knowledge potential to produce novel commercial applications. However, while there is a growing interest in ways to foster scientific academic entrepreneurship, universities also serve as a positive environment for student entrepreneurship training, knowledge sharing, testing ideas and learning. So far, the importance of student entrepreneurship has received far less attention than it likely deserves.
Details
Keywords
Anne Kathleen Lopes da Rocha, Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes and Bruno Fischer
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the microfoundations of student entrepreneurship, a cornerstone of innovation ecosystems. To this end, this paper assesses how perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the microfoundations of student entrepreneurship, a cornerstone of innovation ecosystems. To this end, this paper assesses how perceived university support for entrepreneurship influences entrepreneurial characteristics and intentions in students enrolled at Amazonas and São Paulo State Universities.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach based on multivariate data analysis using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was applied to a sample of 420 respondents.
Findings
Results indicate that the university environment positively influences entrepreneurial behavior and intention in students. Nonetheless, further integration between academia and external dimensions of the ecosystems is necessary to drive more intense entrepreneurial activity in students. The educational contexts of Amazonas and São Paulo present significant differences in the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial intention with a stronger influence found for Amazonas. This finding suggests a relative lack of propensity of students from São Paulo to engage in entrepreneurial venturing.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations involve the use of non-probabilistic sampling procedures and students’ heterogeneity in terms of academic seniority.
Practical implications
This research offers guidance for policies targeting the generation of entrepreneurial activity in universities embedded in developing countries’ innovation ecosystems and facing distinct levels of socioeconomic development.
Originality/value
This research presents a novel analysis of the microfoundations driving student entrepreneurship within different educational contexts in a developing country. Results highlight the necessary conditions for universities to foster entrepreneurial activity and, incidentally, feed innovation ecosystems with entrepreneurial talent.
Details
Keywords
Edmundo Inacio Junior, Eduardo Avancci Dionisio, Bruno Brandão Fischer, Yanchao Li and Dirk Meissner
Based on an efficiency analysis of the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), the purpose was to demonstrate that the Key Performance Indicators’ analysis leads to a…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on an efficiency analysis of the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), the purpose was to demonstrate that the Key Performance Indicators’ analysis leads to a misinterpretation of the dynamics of National Systems of Entrepreneurship (NSEs). This might hamper the formulation of sound initiatives in other economies, with relevant implications for developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study categorized GEI indicators into output and input indicators. Following this procedure, each dimension was analyzed separately and then compared to each other, considering countries’ productivity rates. The main focus is given to the case of the US, the usual benchmark for NSEs and leader in the GEI Index. Lastly, a taxonomy of NSEs according to their efficiency levels was developed.
Findings
The findings of the analysis demonstrates that innovation-driven economies with lower positions in GEI ranking often have higher productivity rates when compared to economies with higher positions in GEI ranking. Specifically, the US appears not to be a good benchmark in terms of NSE efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s approach is limited in scope by data availability on NSEs and the use of GEI, a representation of aggregate patterns of country-level entrepreneurial dynamics. More refined data are needed in order to clarify some insights from this research.
Practical implications
The perception of systemic efficiency should be considered more thoroughly when designing dedicated entrepreneurship-oriented policies in other countries that aim at establishing a more vibrant entrepreneurial system while facing resource constraints.
Social implications
Simplistic views of systemic aspects may hamper the formulation of sound entrepreneurship-oriented initiatives with particularly relevant implications for public policy in laggard economies.
Originality/value
The value of this article relies on applied a simple metric – efficiency ratio – order than, e.g. data envelopment analysis to portray a key issue related to the interpretation of supranational rankings related to the entrepreneurship ecosystem make mainly by policymakers and scholars that is: pick the 1st one, follow the leader.
Details
Keywords
Gabriela Trindade Pinheiro, Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes and Bruno Brandão Fischer
Social contexts and academic environments are key elements in the debate about drivers of entrepreneurial intention and behavior in tertiary students. Nonetheless, the underlying…
Abstract
Purpose
Social contexts and academic environments are key elements in the debate about drivers of entrepreneurial intention and behavior in tertiary students. Nonetheless, the underlying dynamics of student entrepreneurship remain elusive. This study aims to contribute to this discussion by creating an original model that addresses the perception of entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs regarding the relationship between social norms, the university environment of support to entrepreneurship and the perceived satisfaction about universities’ conditions to nurture entrepreneurial orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate the hypotheses, a quantitative approach has been chosen through multivariate data analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling applied to a sample of 595 students from 66 Brazilian universities.
Findings
The results indicate that social norms affect how students perceive their university environment in terms of entrepreneurial support. In turn, students’ impressions about such environment shape their levels of satisfaction. However, in contrast with the theory of intention–action gap, differences between actual and potential entrepreneurs could not be identified.
Originality/value
The originality of the research lies in filling an entrepreneurial intention–action gap among undergraduate students, with consistent results in a developing country. Additionally, the research presents new insights for researchers, policymakers and practitioners, exploring the students’ perceived satisfaction in relation to the university environment to support entrepreneurship.
Details
Keywords
Bruno Fischer, Leonardo Gomes, Roberto Carlos Bernardes and Kadigia Facin
Matheus Dermonde, Bruno Brandão Fischer and Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes
We investigate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and the internationalization pathways of Brazilian franchises. Our aim is to unravel the patterns of…
Abstract
Purpose
We investigate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and the internationalization pathways of Brazilian franchises. Our aim is to unravel the patterns of firm-level entrepreneurial characteristics vis-à-vis their corresponding processes of internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
We extracted and curated data from the directories of the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF). Additionally, we scrutinized the International Intensity, International Complexity and EO degree of 27 Brazilian franchises engaged in international activities. Associations between these dimensions were assessed through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).
Findings
Our findings suggest that franchisees can enhance their international activities by adopting various configurations of EO attributes. This discovery illuminates the intricacies of EO and its association with firms’ operations and performance. Accordingly, we empirically demonstrate that EO is not a monolithic element. Instead, it should be perceived as a multifaceted and dynamic construct.
Originality/value
This study aimed to examine the internationalization process of franchises through the EO lens, a perspective that has not been explored in the existing literature. This unique approach offers novel insights about the internationalization processes of this particular business model. Furthermore, our research delves into the intricate relationship between firm-level EO and the trajectories of firm-level internationalization.
Details
Keywords
Matheus Dermonde, Bruno Brandão Fischer and Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes Moraes
We adopt the conceptual lens of the Dynamic Capabilities Approach to evaluate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), Digital Marketing Capabilities (DMC), and…
Abstract
Purpose
We adopt the conceptual lens of the Dynamic Capabilities Approach to evaluate the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), Digital Marketing Capabilities (DMC), and Performance in Brazilian franchises.
Design/methodology/approach
We applied a survey with franchisors at the Brazilian Franchising Association Expo 2022. Data were collected for 145 franchise systems. We used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and tested two distinct models. Model 1 presents the direct effects of EO and DMC on Performance. In Model 2 we include the mediation effect of DMC on the relationship between EO and Performance.
Findings
Aligned with prior literature, in our first model we found a direct association between EO and Performance and between DMC and Performance. In our second model, when analyzing the combination of EO and DMC, we observed a full mediation effect of DMC in the relationship between EO and performance, and an indirect effect of EO on performance.
Originality/value
We advance in the debate of the relationship between EO and Performance in the franchise context, adding to our model the DMC perspective. Findings shed light on the importance of digital marketing capabilities for franchise systems. These elements open important avenues for dedicated research to further understand how digitalization process can be redefining the drivers of performance in entrepreneurial firms.