Aurora A.C. Teixeira

Mapping the (in)visible college(s) in the field of entrepreneurship

Despite the vitality and dynamism that the field of entrepreneurship has experienced in the last decade, the issue of whether it comprises an effective network of (in)formal communication linkages among the most influential scholars within the area has yet to be examined in depth. This study follows a formal selection procedure to delimit the ‘relational environment’ of the field of entrepreneurship and to analyze the existence and characterization of (in)visible college(s) based on a theoretically well-grounded framework, thus offering a comprehensive and up-to-date empirical analysis of entrepreneurship research. Based on more than a 1,000 papers published between 2005 and 2010 in seven core entrepreneurship journals and the corresponding (85,000) citations, we found that entrepreneurship is an (increasingly) autonomous, legitimate and cohesive (in)visible college, fine tuned through the increasing visibility of certain subject specialties (e.g., family business, innovation, technology and policy). Moreover, the rather dense formal links that characterize the entrepreneurship (in)visible college are accompanied by a reasonably solid network of informal relations maintained and sustained by the mobility of ‘stars’ and highly influential scholars. The limited internationalization of the entrepreneurship community, reflected in the almost total absence of non-English-speaking authors/studies/outlets, stands as a major quest for the field.

A bibliometric portrait of the evolution, scientific roots and influence of the literature on university–industry links

The study of university–industry (U–I) relations has been the focus of growing interest in the literature. However, to date, a quantitative overview of the existing literature in this field has yet to be accomplished. This study intends to fill this gap through the use of bibliometric techniques. By using three different yet interrelated databases—a database containing the articles published on U–I links, which encompass 534 articles published between 1986 and 2011; a ‘roots’ database, which encompasses over 20,000 references to the articles published on U–I relations; and a ‘influences’ database which includes more than 15,000 studies that cited the articles published on U–I relations—we obtained the following results: (1) ‘Academic spin offs’, ‘Scientific and technological policies’ and (to a greater extent) ‘Knowledge Transfer Channels’ are topics in decline; (2) ‘Characteristics of universities, firms and scientists’, along with ‘Regional spillovers’, show remarkable growth, and ‘Measures and indicators’ can be considered an emergent topic; (3) clear tendency towards ‘empirical’ works, although ‘appreciative and empirical’ papers constitute the bulk of this literature; (4) the multidisciplinary nature of the intellectual roots of the U–I literature—an interesting blending of neoclassical economics (focused on licensing, knowledge transfer and high-tech entrepreneurship) and heterodox approaches (mainly related to systems of innovation) is observed in terms of intellectual roots; (5) the influence of the U–I literature is largely concentrated on the industrialized world and on the research area of innovation and technology (i.e., some ‘scientific endogamy’ is observed).

Are finance, management, and marketing autonomous fields of scientific research? An analysis based on journal citations

Although there is considerable consensus that Finance, Management and Marketing are ‘science’, some debate remains with regard to whether these three areas comprise autonomous, organized and settled scientific fields of research. In this paper we aim to explore this issue by analyzing the occurrence of citations in the top-ranked journals in the areas of Finance, Management, and Marketing. We put forward a modified version of the model of science as a network, proposed by Klamer and Van Dalen (J Econ Methodol 9(2):289–315, 2002), and conclude that Finance is a ‘Relatively autonomous, organized and settled field of research’, whereas Management and (to a larger extent) Marketing are relatively non-autonomous and hybrid fields of research’. Complementary analysis based on sub-discipline rankings using the recursive methodology of Liebowitz and Palmer (J Econ Lit 22:77–88, 1984) confirms the results. In conclusions we briefly discuss the pertinence of Whitley’s (The intellectual and social organization of the sciences, 1984) theory for explaining cultural differences across these sub-disciplines based on its dimensions of scholarly practices, ‘mutual dependency’ and ‘task uncertainty’.

International R&D Cooperation between Low-tech SMEs: The Role of Cultural and Geographical Proximity

Although there is a considerable amount of empirical evidence on inter-firm collaborations within technology-based industries, there are only a few works focussing on R&D cooperation by low-tech firms, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Providing further and new evidence based on a recently built database of CRAFT projects, this study analyses the relationship between technology and proximity in international R&D networks using HOMALS and statistical cluster techniques. The resulting typology of international cooperative R&D projects highlights that successful international cooperative R&D projects are both culturally/geographically closer and distant. Moreover, and quite interestingly, geographically distant projects are technologically more advanced whereas those located near each other are essentially low-tech. Such evidence is likely to reflect the tacit-codified knowledge debate boosted recently by the information and communication technology (ICT) “revolution” emphasized by the prophets of the “Death of Distance” and the “End of Geography”.

The level of human capital in innovative firms located in China. Is foreign capital relevant

Studies on the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Chinese economy have essentially focused on the relationship between FDI, productivity and economic growth, revealing a tendency toward sectoral, regional and macroeconomic empirical studies. This work aims to complement these approaches and contribute to the rather limited literature on the relationship between FDI, Human Capital and Innovation at a corporate level. Based on a set of large and innovative firms (national and foreign capital) located in China, we have concluded that (1) the direct impact of foreign capital on the level of human capital in firms is negative, that is no evidence was found suggesting that FDI has a positive influence on their human capital and (ii) in indirect terms, by means of investment in R&D (research and development) activities, FDI has a positive impact on general human capital (i.e. formal education). These results suggest that for China to benefit from FDI, it is necessary to implement a selective policy to attract FDI, taking into account more technologically advanced, R&D-based projects.

Organizational Characteristics and Performance of Export Promotion Agencies: Portugal and Ireland compared

Export Promotion Agencies (EPAs) have been in operation in developed countries since the beginning of the 20th century to improve the competitiveness of firms by increasing knowledge and competences applied to export market development. Several studies have focused on assessing the real effectiveness of the EPAs, mostly from the viewpoint of firms. There are also some quantitative studies on the influence of organizational characteristics on EPAs performance, but, to the best of our knowledge, no case studies have yet been conducted that analyze, detail and explain which of the EPAs organizational characteristics are associated to their differing levels of success. Therefore, our research aims to fill this gap by assessing whether certain internal traits of EPAs are associated to their distinct performance and which ones in particular. To accomplish this task, a case study analysis is performed comparing a laggard (Portuguese) and a highly efficient (Irish) EPA in terms of export promotion. In methodological terms, a detailed survey is applied to the employees of the two EPAs who deal directly with enterprises in terms of exports promotion, encompassing several dimensions of their organizational performance; strategy, innovation strategy, knowledge management, structure, human resources, processes, procedures, and systems. Using the non-parametric test of Kruskal Wallis, it was found that there are clear differences between the agencies for all the dimensions, except for Structure and Procedures. Furthermore, a factor analysis shows that the hidden factors found for each agency are different, revealing that greater importance is given to strategic decisions in the case of Enterprise Ireland (EI), and to internal matters such as communication and knowledge management in Agencia para o Investimento e Comercio Externo de Portugal (AICEP). Consequently, AICEP emerges as an organization without any clear component of intentionality, being more concerned with internal matters rather than with actions directed at the market. In contrast, EIs philosophy is more market-oriented and taking the clients needs into consideration is a priority.

Determinants of International Technology Transfer: an Empirical Analysis of the Enterprise Europe Network

This paper explores the key factors that foster technology transfer within the triad university-industry-government in an international context, i.e., the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Based on 71 technological Partnership Agreements (PAs), estimation results indicate that PAs associated to partners that provide their collaborators with the appropriate training in technology transfer-related issues, present substantial past experience in international or technological projects, and participate in extensive networks, are those that achieve better performances in terms of international technology transfer. High levels of formal schooling per se are not a key determinant of international technology transfer; the critical factor is highly educated human resources who receive complementary training in technology transfer issues.

Attitudes of Higher Education Students to New Venture Creation: The Relevance of Competencies and Contextual Factors.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) play an important role in the generation of high-tech ‘entrepreneurial capacity’. As entrepreneurship education gives greater attention to the creation of new ventures, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of the attitudes of students, potentially the entrepreneurs of the future. Logit estimates using 4,413 responses from students enrolled in Portuguese HEIs show that students who have business-related competences and live in an environment that fosters and encourages entrepreneurship have a stronger desire to become entrepreneurs. This supports the contention that entrepreneurship is a process that can be learned and that HE establishments, teachers and other institutions and individuals are in a position to encourage entrepreneurial behaviour.

The impact of class absenteeism on undergraduates’ academic performance: evidence from an elite Economics school in Portugal

The empirical literature focusing mainly on the USA suggests that class absenteeism undermines students’ academic performance and that an enforced mandatory attendance policy may be beneficial. Based on a different cultural and economic context, and using data on 146 second-year management students enrolled in a macroeconomics course at an elite economics school in Portugal, it is shown that even when controlling for potential endogenous factors associated with attendance and academic performance, absenteeism considerably lowers the students’ final grade (about 2 points in a 0–20-point grading scheme). In addition, it is established that a compulsory, though flexible, attendance policy contributes to improving students’ academic performance.

Entry mode choices of multinational companies (MNCs) and host countries' corruption: A review

Despite voluminous literature on corruption and the entry mode choices of multinational companies (MNCs) in isolation, a comprehensive account which details the mechanisms through which host country corruption impacts on MNCs’ entry modes is lacking. To overcome such a gap, we systematically review and provide an up-to-date overview of the empirical literature on corruption and the entry mode choices of MNCs. The review demonstrates that, in general, when in presence of markets with high levels of corruption, MNCs prefer low equity (that is, joint-ventures with local partners) or non-equity (namely exports and contracting) entry mode choices. Nevertheless, it also reveals that, in some specific cases, such as cultural proximity, even when there is pervasive corruption, MNCs may enter via wholly-owned subsidiaries. Such conclusions uncovered an interesting path for future research by exploring a rather neglected context, where the entry mode choices of MNCs are made from developed countries in Africa possessing historical and cultural ties.