Adriana Beatriz Madeira and Viviana Giampaoli
This study aims to understand how the institutional and populational characteristics of a Brazilian city, that is, size, gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy, education…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how the institutional and populational characteristics of a Brazilian city, that is, size, gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy, education, violence and amount of workers benefiting from PAT (Workers’ Food Program) bias the agglomeration of fast-food companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved 7,653 units distributed among 270 brands of fast-food chains (9 foreign and 261 Brazilian) operating in 542 Brazilian cities in 2015 and institutional and populational characteristics information about them. It calculated the Herfindahl index and implemented mixed inflated beta models.
Findings
The study found out that the agglomeration of establishments is mainly associated with the city’s income per capita, education, GDP and with some differences regarding the origin of the company, Brazilian or foreign.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of the study are the availability of Brazilian cities' data and information about the fast-food companies, such as governance-related information and general infrastructure. The study was cross-sectional, which does not analyze the business installation speed.
Practical implications
This work provides data collection and analyzes which factors may contribute to the knowledge of the Brazilian fast-food market. It stands out that foreign companies do not seem to contemplate city violence. The proposed models can serve as an investors’ foundation to start, expand business and predict the number of establishments in a city.
Originality/value
The study highlights the relation between the cities’ institutional and populational characteristics and the aggregation of fast-food chains in Brazilian cities, using index commonly applied in industrial agglomeration.
Details
Keywords
Francesca Dal Mas, Maurizio Massaro, Paola Paoloni and Aino Kianto
This paper aims to analyse the role of business plan development as a knowledge translation tool, especially for the creation of start-ups. In a complex knowledge ecosystem…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse the role of business plan development as a knowledge translation tool, especially for the creation of start-ups. In a complex knowledge ecosystem populated by multiple diverse and autonomous actors (such as potential entrepreneurs, local companies, local public entities and business consultants) bonded together by a joint search for valuable knowledge, business plan development can work as a powerful enabler for the translation of knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative multi-case study approach by examining the results of a public programme devoted to the creation of new entrepreneurial ventures. The authors analysed 418 complete business plans and followed up with all the participants with an interview. In total, 40 cases were investigated more in detail.
Findings
Results show how business plan development can function as a bridge between academic, theoretical and general knowledge on start-up creation on the one hand and practical contextualised activities of potential entrepreneurs on the other.
Practical implications
The process of knowledge translation is crucial to ensure that relevant knowledge coming from both the inside (the entrepreneur) and outside (the stakeholders) of the organisation is effectively applied. To facilitate the translation process, key knowledge users should be supported in contextualising and making sense of the research knowledge. Initiatives carried out by local entities and other actors, gathering several stakeholders to develop business plans, can become valuable opportunities to facilitate the translation process for start-up development.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to knowledge management and knowledge translation literature by demonstrating the role of business plan development as an effective knowledge translation enabler. It also adds to the understanding of innovation management and entrepreneurial education by proving the relevance of the translation of knowledge for the creation of new business ventures.