Mário Franco

Students' entrepreneurial intentions: an inter‐regional comparison

Purpose – The central research questions which the paper aims to answer are: What are the entrepreneurial intentions of university students in different European regions? What are the factors that most contribute to entrepreneurial intentions and the potential differences between the regions?Design/methodology/approach – This cross‐sectional study explores the prospective career paths of 988 university students from eastern and western Germany as well as from central Portugal. In exploring the “regional dimension” it uses a wide range of variables such as demographic profile, social background, motives for occupational choice and participation in entrepreneurship education.Findings – Just a small fraction of students is disposed to step into self‐employment, and the vast majority has not yet made the decision. When characterizing the potential “founders”, the findings reveal a non or weak influence of demographic profile, social background and participation in entrepreneurship education, but the underlyin...

Entrepreneurship: an organisational learning approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the interface between learning and entrepreneurship, i.e. to show how entrepreneurship can be studied as a never‐ending, dynamic learning process.Design/methodology/approach – By applying the typology of learning concepts at different organisational levels, the paper will elucidate how the entrepreneurs learning process is fundamental in his quest for new business opportunities and describe learning as a crucial factor for entrepreneurial activity.Findings – From observations, a new definition of the entrepreneur is derived (entrepreneur as a learner) and a conceptual model of entrepreneurial learning theory is synthesized.Research limitations/implications – The newly developed conceptual model has not been empirically validated. In terms of the guidelines for future research, this topic should be addressed by collecting information to expand the conceptual model presented here.Originality/value – Key entrepreneurial learning components are iden...

Firm resources and entrepreneurial orientation as determinants for collaborative entrepreneurship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate what factors drive collaborative entrepreneurship. To do so, the authors examine the joint influence of both firm resources and entrepreneurial orientation on the decision to establish interfirm alliances. The paper considers new variables which are likely to determine the phenomenon.Design/methodology/approach – Based on a random sample, the authors performed a cross‐sectional study among 84 Portuguese firms. Data collection was made by an online questionnaire with a personalised link and answer control codes. For data analyses, the authors used descriptive statistics and logistic regression (logit model).Findings – The results indicate that several resources and some dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation are linked with collaborative entrepreneurship, but the effects are rather mixed. In particular, financial, commercial and administrative resources, as well as innovative potential and collective capability, seem to be most relevant for the allia...

An exploratory study of entrepreneurial marketing in SMEs

Purpose – Marketing has been seen as one of the greatest problems faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but simultaneously one of the most important activities for their growth and survival. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine the importance and role of entrepreneurial marketing in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – To reach this goal, a qualitative approach was adopted, with two case studies (SMEs) selected. As data-collecting instruments, interviews and documentary analysis were used, and the data-treatment technique was content analysis. Findings – The empirical evidence obtained shows that the importance of entrepreneurial marketing is recognized, but that it differs considerably according to firm size. In the SMEs studied, marketing is informal and reactive to market opportunities and the founder-entrepreneur has an influence on the decision-making process. Practical implications – The study contributes to the existing research about the role the founder-entrepreneur ...

Individual Entrepreneurship Capacity and Performance of SMEs

This paper analyses the importance of human capital and organizational capital on the determination of SME’s performance, by proposing and testing a conceptual model about Individual Entrepreneurship Capacity, and its impact both on non-economic and economic performance. This constitutes an innovative approach in the sense that uses information collected at the individual level, that is, the entrepreneur. Moreover, it constitutes a first attempt for facing the caveat in the literature on the relationship among types of capital and entrepreneurial performance. A model where the individual entrepreneurship capital is defined as a function of two types of capital: Human and Organizational; is proposed and empirically tested. For the Human Capital we consider three dimensions: (a) Individual Characteristics; (b) Managerial Push; and (c) Managerial Pull. As concerns the Organizational Capital, four dimensions are considered: (i) Individual Entrepreneurial Behavior; (ii) Collective Entrepreneurial Behavior; (iii) Managerial Practices; and (iv) Organizational Culture (in terms of the Superstructure and the Socio-Structure). The use of the stepwise method provides the selection of significant variables that impact on SME’s performance. When only non-economic indicators are considered for measuring the performance, in what respects the human capital we find out that the only significant variable is: enthusiasm at work. In what concerns the organizational capital the significant variables are: efficient organizational structure; participative management; incentives for interdisciplinary discussion and dialogue; and frequent meetings of working groups. For its turn, when economic indicators are considered for measuring the performance, we find out that the significant human capital determinants are: entrepreneur’s intuition; and propensity for innovating activities. In terms of organizational capital determinants we reveal that the significant variables are: efficient organizational structure; and use of external indicators for improving entrepreneurial performance. The main policy implication of the paper is the possibility of creating, at an individual level, new incentives and motivational tools based on the identification of the most important variables of human capital and organizational capital, for fostering SME’s performance.

Information sources for environmental scanning: do industry and firm size matter?

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to enhance the knowledge about environmental scanning at the corporate level. It seeks an answer to the research question: Is there an influence of industry sector and firm size on the use of external information sources?Design/methodology/approach – To verify three research hypotheses, the authors performed a cross‐sectional study among 165 Portuguese firms. The explorative data analyses consisted of multivariate analysis of variance and Tukeys honestly significant difference test.Findings – Overall, the range of frequently used external information sources is relatively limited, consisting of both personal and impersonal sources. Results suggest a certain “industry effect” and indicate above all a “size effect”. Besides this, the service sector possesses most sourcing peculiarities, and smaller firms underuse some relevant sources.Research limitations/implications – The research design applied limits the sample to Portuguese firms and their environment. This geo...

Competitive intelligence: a research model tested on Portuguese firms

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of economic intelligence used by Portuguese firms and to identify the attributes that may increase the probability of their adoption.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was designed and addressed to the CEOs of Portuguese firms. The authors used the mixed logit method to select a number of significant variables that influence the use of economic intelligence by firms in the sample.Findings – From the results, the authors concluded that firm size, information and environmental scanning connected to the markets, social networks, economic diplomacy and public policies, namely clusters and industrial policies in the context of competitive intelligence, were some of the attributes relevant in this study. It is concluded that the probability of firms adopting competitive intelligence practices lies in two spheres: in orientations of business policy and strategy and in public policies that improve business context in the perspective of compet...

Organisational learning and leadership styles in healthcare organisations: An exploratory case study

Purpose – This paper aims to understand the association between organisational learning and leadership styles in the healthcare context.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative approach was applied in two continuous care units in the same Portuguese healthcare organisation (single case study). Data were obtained from a survey of 28 collaborators and an interview with its manager‐leader/general director. Documental analysis was also used.Findings – The findings attested to the central role of organisational learning and leadership in organisational performance/effectiveness within healthcare organisations. Different levels of performance were identified in the organisation selected. The practical implications of findings are also discussed.Research limitations/implications – The study of a single case has been analysed, with the consequent disadvantage of not considering generalisation. For this reason, further research should be carried out to detect structural and cultural differences in healthcare or...

Determining factors in the success of strategic alliances: an empirical study performed in Portuguese firms

Despite alliances being seen as one of many strategies that can lead firms to success, they are not always successful. This study intends to identify the determining factors of success in strategic alliances. To attain this objective, we present the results obtained from an empirical investigation based on some key informant interviews and a sample of 109 alliances formed by Portuguese firms. The most outstanding factors affecting alliance success are shown to be a good relationship with the partner, mutual trust, a minimum commitment between the parties, and clear objectives and strategy. The logistic regression results also suggest that strategic alliance success is influenced more by process than structural factors. Finally, we conclude that to examine strategic alliance success, potential partners, managers and institutions are advised of several dimensions: (a) relationships and compatibility, (b) harmony and organisational culture, (c) interaction between partners and (d) government policies and pre...

Scanning practices and information sources: an empirical study of firm size

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the environmental scanning practices and information sources used by large companies as well as by small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), the latter being relatively absent from scientific scrutiny. In doing so, it endeavours to contribute to a better understanding of the scanning and information‐gathering behaviour of SMEs, in order to develop measures to overcome their potential disadvantages in this respect.Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 165 Portuguese firms. Respondents were required to evaluate their use of 11 different environmental scanning practices and 12 information sources. For data analysis, the variables were classified using principal component analysis. Subsequently, the retained components and variables underwent a one‐way variance analysis.Findings – Results indicate that smaller firms do not scan as broadly and as frequently as their larger counterparts. Although external information sources are used equally by ...