Financing innovative start-ups in Portuguese context: what is the role of business angels networks?

Business angels provide both financing and managerial experience, which increase the likelihood of the survival of innovative start-ups. Over the last years, European countries with developing informal venture capital markets have seen governments support the creation of business angels networks (BANs) to increase and consolidate these markets. Using the Portuguese context to carry out the empirical work, this paper provides an assessment of value added provided by angels’ networks. A total of 88 useable responses were received and analysed using non-parametric statistical techniques. This paper demonstrates that is evidence of positive contribution of BANs in terms of bringing together investors and linking them with entrepreneur’s seeking finance. BANs played an important role in financing innovative start-ups also in peripheral regions. Results lead us to conclude that government support BANs would appear to be an effective mechanism to stimulate the angel market in developing informal venture capital markets. The conclusions of this paper are likely to have relevance for countries where there is growing interest in the potential of business angels as a means of financing innovative start-ups.

O impacto do capital humano na criação de valor no negócio : análise nas empresas de actividades financeiras

A economia tem sofrido alterações no que concerne ao valor dos mercados/empresas, o qual começou por ser medido através de factores como a força do homem no trabalho da terra e o capital. Contudo, hoje em dia, o valor das empresas está associado a novos factores, como o conhecimento. Face às mudanças dos mercados, as empresas estão a adaptar novos modelos de gestão que consistem numa filosofia de melhoramentos contínuos através da aquisição de novos conhecimentos e envolvimento dos seus funcionários, tornando as empresas mais competitivas. O presente estudo pretende compreender como as organizações utilizam o capital intelectual, especificamente o capital humano, como ferramenta de desempenho organizacional. Do estudo conclui-se que as empresas estão cada vez mais empenhadas em transformar o conhecimento em factor competitivo, isto é, estão a adaptar-se às mudanças impostas pelos mercados. /ABSTRACT: Economy has been suffering changes concerning markets and companies value. This value started by being measured through factors like labor and capital. However, nowadays companies’ value is linked to new factors, such as knowledge. Due to changes in the markets, companies are adopting new management models, seeking for a continuous improvement philosophy through the acquisition of know-how and their employee engagement, thus becoming more competitive. This work intends to understand how organizations use the intellectual capital, specifically the human capital, as a tool of organizational performance. We may conclude that companies are more and more engaged in transforming the knowledge in a competitive advantage, that is, they are adapting themselves to the changes imposed by markets.