The failure of early-stage technology startups in Brazil: a study about the contributing factors to the early-death of startups between 2009 and 2014 in Southeastern Brazil

This research aimed to find out which are the main factors that lead technology startups to fail. The study focused on companies located in the Southeast region of Brazil that operated between 2009 and 2014. In the beginning, a review of the literature was done to have a better understanding of basic concepts of entrepreneurship as well as modern techniques for developing entrepreneurship. Furthermore, an analysis of the entrepreneurial scenario in Brazil, with a focus on the Southeast, was also done. After this phase, the qualitative study began, in which 24 specialists from startups were interviewed and asked about which factors were crucial in leading a technology startup to fail. After analyzing the results, four main factors were identified and these factors were validated through a quantitative survey. A questionnaire was then formulated based on the answers from the respondents and distributed to founders and executives of startups, which both failed and succeeded. The questionnaire was answered by 56 companies and their answers were treated with the factor analysis statistical method to check the validity of the questionnaire. Finally, the logistical regression method was used to know the extent to which the factors led to the startups’ failure. In the end, the results obtained suggest that the most significant factor that leads technology startups in southeastern Brazil to fail are problems with interpersonal relationship between partners or investors.

Analyzing the CEMS intrapreneurial level using the GET2 test

This thesis is mainly focused on the intrapreneurial level of CEMS students around the world. Organizations are seeking to hire people with an entrepreneurial personality. This means that companies are looking for someone with similar psychological traits as entrepreneurs who are capable of influence positively in firm’s innovation. Therefore, the research question is “What is the CEMS intrapreneurial level?” The contribution of this thesis is to check whether CEMS students have high intrapreneurship level or not. In order to find out, the General measure Enterprising Tendency (GET) test was sent to these students. The main finding is that CEMS students have score which can located them in the Medium range, meaning they have an average level of intrapreneurship. Thus, it is possible to raise awareness on the intrapreneurial potential that they can achieve. Furthermore, this thesis hopes to grow a concern on this topic so that universities give more emphasis on it.

Toward a venture capital-backed entrepreneurship model in Brazil

It is well documented venture capital‟s positive impact on creation and development of highly successful innovative companies worldwide. Venture capital not only provides funding to startups and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) that usually have financing gap, especially in emerging markets, but also brings a whole package of valuable resources that reduces companies‟ mortality rates. Using quantitative data obtained from an empirical survey as background, this paper discusses the role of venture capital in the success of innovative startups and SMEs, and it examines if, and to what extent, venture capitalists are supporting the entrepreneurial activity in Brazil. I focused on the portfolio companies analyzes and confirmed the hypothesis that the venture capital industry has been supporting entrepreneurship in Brazil. Second, I identified an important evidence of a venture capital‟s positive impact on economic activity, especially the capital market. Third, it became clear that venture capital-back entrepreneurship is highly concentrated in the Southeast region. And fourth, I identified that private equity expansion is also playing a key role on that dynamics. As consequence, I conclude that the venture capital (and private equity) industry has been very important to build an enormously dynamic and strong local entrepreneurial economy. Its committed capital grew 50% per year between 2005 and 2008 to achieve US$27 billion, which invested US$ 11 billion, which employs 1,400 professionals (75% with post-graduate degrees) and maintains 482 portfolio companies, mostly SMEs. In addition, venture capital-backed companies represented one third of the IPOs that occurred in Brazil between 2004 and 2008 (approximately US$15 billion).

Histórias de empreendedores: significados, narrativas e artefatos

Compreender o processo de significação e ressignificação que o empreendedor atribui ao novo negócio através das etapas de busca, percepção e interpretação propostas por Daft e Weick (1984) ao longo do tempo. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Sob uma perspectiva interpretativista, este trabalho se valeu de abordagens qualitativas. Foram utilizadas téc nicas de análise de narrativas, antenarrativas e análise de dados qualitativos sobre entrevistas realizadas com 11 empreendedores digitais em dois momentos diferentes. Descobertas: as análises sugerem que o empreendedor ressignifica seu negócio com o passar do tempo, provavelmente em função do nível de sucesso do empreendimento. Esta pesquisa corrobora a proposição de Daft & Weick (1984) acerca da existência de um processo cíclico de busca, interpretação e ação que levaria a um contínuo de ressignificações. Implicações da pesquisa: Para os empreendedores (practioners), este trabalho lança luz sobre as possibilidades de uso das narrativas como recursos para influência e disseminação de significados (sensegiving). Para acadêmicos, este trabalho oferece melhor conceituação do constructo ‘artefato estratégico’, além de avançar na consolidação dos métodos de análise de narrativas. Originalidade/Valor: O valor dessa pesquisa se dá em fortalecer os métodos de análise de narrativas, além de apresentar um possível caminho para capturar os elementos de ressignificação. Além disso, ao propor um framework de análise e construção de narrativas empreendedoras, este trabalho pode auxiliar pesquisadores e practioners

Uma análise crítica do papel da jurisprudência no planejamento tributário: tensões principiológicas e desafios à uniformidade

Como em países de tradição civil law, o sistema jurídico brasileiro consagra a lei como fonte primária e garantia do Estado de Direito. A hermenêutica, como teoria científica da arte de interpretar, impõe-se em nosso sistema como canal destinado a suprir as vaguezas e imprecisões da lei e resolver-lhe os conflitos normativos, pelos métodos e critérios tradicionais. A jurisprudência, entendida como um conjunto uniforme e constante de decisões sobre assuntos similares, tem um papel secundário, e as ideias de Direito e Justiça, nesse contexto, muito se aproximam da lei. Com a promulgação da Constituição democrática de 1988, e o renascimento do direito constitucional brasileiro, cujo marco filosófico é o pós-positivismo, o constituinte atribuiu normatividade aos princípios constitucionais. Mas não sistematizou as relações dos princípios entre si, e destes com regras igualmente positivadas na Constituição, fazendo emergir certas tensões principiológicas e também entre princípios e regras constitucionais. Superado o modelo positivista, que equiparava o Direito à lei, ganharam grande importância as discussões relacionadas à neutralidade do aplicador da norma, e os voluntarismos e personalismos praticados sob ideais subjetivos de justiça. Nesse novo contexto, a jurisprudência assume papel protagonista, e aproxima o modelo brasileiro das jurisdições do common law. Entretanto, a vinculação apenas extraordinária dos julgadores aos precedentes, que deita raízes no regime de livre convencimento, induz falta de uniformidade e de coerência dos julgados, acerca de questões jurídicas similares, comprometendo a estabilidade, gerando incerteza e insegurança jurídica, e por via de consequência, relevantes empecilhos ao planejamento empresarial e aos investimentos que dele dependem, o que tende a gerar prejuízos ao ambiente de negócios do País. Essa perspectiva tem o objetivo de demonstrar que o Direito, enquanto sistema harmônico de normas, requer limites claros, e que esses limites, em nosso sistema constitucional, significam precisamente a imposição de métodos que assegurem à sociedade pronunciamentos uniformes e coerentes por parte do aplicador da norma, mediante observância de precedentes adequadamente sopesados em direção à harmonia, segurança jurídica e previsibilidade.

Os desafios da internacionalização da indústria do varejo brasileiro de supermercados: o crescimento do Condor Super Center analisado em um estudo de caso para ensino

Este trabalho tem como objetivo oferecer um caso para ensino tendo como referência uma empresa brasileira do comércio varejista alimentício de supermercados e hipermercados. A estratégia de crescimento é o dilema central. Internacionalizar-se ou não? Atualmente, nenhuma empresa brasileira deste segmento se encontra internacionalizada por meio de lojas próprias no exterior. Uma visão histórica da empresa e de seu fundador é apresentada. Aspectos do setor, no Brasil, também são fornecidos. O caso coloca em evidência as características da organização e do seu presidente. Este trabalho apresenta mais do que um estudo de caso para ensino. Abordagens teóricas baseadas em conceitos de empreendedorismo, orientação empreendedora, empreendedorismo internacional e visão baseada em recursos são apresentadas como uma alternativa de análise. Uma contextualização introdutória é feita sobre a importância da internacionalização do varejo em relação à sociedade em rede. Uma comparação entre estudo de caso para pesquisa e um caso de ensino é oferecido no capítulo sobre metodologia. Disciplinas como gestão estratégica, empreendedorismo, internacionalização de empresas, teorias organizacionais, marketing e economia são boas opções para se empregar o caso proposto.

Mhealth entrepreneurship: an exploratory research for a managerial model for mhealth start ups in low and middle income countries

Since some years, mobile technologies in healthcare (mHealth) stand for the transformational force to improve health issues in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although several studies have identified the prevailing issue of inconsistent evidence and new evaluation frameworks have been proposed, few have explored the role of entrepreneurship to create disruptive change in a traditionally conservative sector. I argue that improving the effectiveness of mHealth entrepreneurs might increase the adoption of mHealth solutions. Thus, this study aims at proposing a managerial model for the analysis of mHealth solutions from the entrepreneurial perspective in the context of LMICs. I identified the Khoja–Durrani–Scott (KDS) framework as theoretical basis for the managerial model, due to its explicit focus on the context of LMICs. In the subsequent exploratory research I, first, used semi-structured interviews with five specialists in mHealth, local healthcare systems and investment to identify necessary adaptations to the model. The findings of the interviews proposed that especially the economic theme had to be clarified and an additional entrepreneurial theme was necessary. Additionally, an evaluation questionnaire was proposed. In the second phase, I applied the questionnaire to five start-ups, operating in Brazil and Tanzania, and conducted semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs to gain practical insights for the theoretical development. Three of five entrepreneurs perceived that the results correlated with the entrepreneurs' expectations of the strengths and weaknesses of the start-ups. Main shortcomings of the model related to the ambiguity of some questions. In addition to the findings for the model, the results of the scores were analyzed. The analysis suggested that across the participating mHealth start-ups the ‘behavioral and socio-technical’ outcomes were the strongest and the ‘policy’ outcomes were the weakest themes. The managerial model integrates several perspectives, structured around the entrepreneur. In order to validate the model, future research may link the development of a start-up with the evolution of the scores in longitudinal case studies or large-scale tests.

Start-up acquisition: motivations, difficulties and lesson learned

Em um esforço continuo de sobrevivência, corporações buscam meios para expandir seus negócios, seja dentro de seus mercados atuantes, ou na exploração de novos mercados. Para alcançar esse objetivo, inovações são realizadas pelos funcionários que, por meio de suas iniciativas, praticam o empreendedorismo coorporativo. São diversas formas em que o empreendedorismo corporativo se manifesta, dentre elas por meio de aquisições. Ao comprar uma outra empresa, a empresa compradora tem como motivação a busca de alguns atributos que complementem seus objetivos iniciais. Após a compra, o processo de integração entre as duas empresas é, por muitas vezes, complicado e penoso. O objetivo desse estudo é o de identificar quais são essas motivações de compra, os problemas enfrentados durante a integração entre as duas empresas, e quais são as lições aprendidas por grandes/médias corporações quando adquirem Start-ups. Muitos estudos atualmente tratam de temas relacionados à aquisição de empresas, porém, quando se trata de Start-ups, pouca literatura é encontrada. Os resultados dessa pesquisa são fruto de entrevistas com os gestores e empreendedores que participaram do processo de aquisição da SAMURAI pela Momentum e da Save-me pela Buscapé – empresas brasileiras. Os resultados são seis sugestões que devem ser consideradas por grandes/medias corporações antes e durante o processo de aquisição de uma strat-up: (i) A base de clientes da empresa comprada deve ser cuidadosamente considerada; (ii) um contato muito próximo entre os gestores das duas empresas é crucial antes da realização da aquisição; (iii) a contratação de uma empresa de consultoria em aquisições pode ser primordial durante o processo de integração; (iv) o empreendedor tem um papel de central importância para o future da nova empresa formada após a aquisição; (v) a forma como a integração entre as duas empresas ocorrerá após a compra deve ser cuidadosamente escolhida e (iv) a criação de uma corporate venture deve ser levada em consideração.

Capital misallocation and mitigating policies

The purpose of this work is to study the role for government in mitigating capital misallocation. We develop an entrepreneurship model in which heterogeneous producers face collateral constraints on production, but can hedge idiosyncratic shocks. Hedging works as a tool for reallocating resources to states in which they are more productively deployed, and can alleviate the effect of the financial frictions and be a counteracting force to capital misallocation. Government incentives to hedging improve workers’ welfare in steady state through an increase in TFP and wages. The intervention leads to a reduction in the rate of return of entrepreneurs and an increase in wealth dispersion. These two effects cause entrepreneurial welfare to decrease.

As relações da tríplice hélice no setor da carcinicultura do Rio Grande do Norte: uma análise a partir das abordagens da imersão social e da dependência de recursos

This work consists in a study of the Shrimp Industry in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, whose central issue relates to the understanding of how the Triple Helix (University, Government and the productive sector) interrelationship limits or expands the industry s innovation process. The study aims to understand how the Triple Helix relationship interferes in the innovation process of shrimp in Rio Grande do Norte. As the knowledge becomes the resource key for production methods, the generation of new technologies, new products and processes which demands joint and integrated action of the institutions comprising the Triple Helix: University, Government and productive sector, which possess the essential resources to innovate the process and can be maximized from cooperative relationships between the referred Institutions. Thus, in this work, it was sharply used the pioneering studies of Sabato and Botana (1968) regarding the cooperation relationship between the scientific-technological sphere, the governmental and the productive base, and studies on the Triple Helix approach, proposed by Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff (2000), in which the university has a key role in the process of technological and innovative development of countries and regions, and under which it is assigned to the very University - the character of the entrepreneurial institution, through the concept of entrepreneurial University. Aiming to overcome the criticism of Cooke (2005), regarding the limitations of the Triple Helix approach, in this study it was used - as analytical perspectives - the perspective of social immersion (Granovetter, 1985, 2005) and the theory of resources dependence (PFEFFER; SALANCIK, 1978). The analytical perspectives presented in here, despite of the different assumptions, are essential to eliminate the bias that one only approach can lead (ASTLEY; VAN DE VEM; 2007). The authors arguments focus on the fact that the integration is possible if the researcher acknowledged that different perspectives may have different descriptions of the same phenomenon. As a research strategy, this study is characterized as a study case, along with the proposed objectives - the qualitative method was used as an approach and, depending on the gathering of the sector s historical, a sectional longitudinal view approach was applied (VIEIRA, 2004). The primary and secondary data were used in order to understand the sector s evolutionary process and its inter-institutional relations - regarding the shrimp culture in Rio Grande do Norte - to promote the development, as the content was used for the technical analysis (BARDIN, 1977). The approach of social immersion and resources addiction dependence made it possible to understand that relationships are established within and between each sphere (university, government and productive sector) characterizing a network of low density relationships and strongly internal and external dependence. Based on the speech of Etzkowitz and Mello (2006), a successful Triple Helix strategy of innovation requires not only the involvement and commitment of the parts, within the institutional sphere and among them, but also the development of mechanisms to coordinate the multiple and complex interactions and interfaces, focusing on promoting both environment and context for innovation and learning; it can be acknowledge from study results that the shrimp in the State of the RN, although there are several institutional mechanisms to promote greater integration and technological development, has been presented disjointed - both internally and between the spheres - and under no legitimate practice when facing the innovational promotion and integration institutions. Due to those factors, the central institutions of the network are crucial to the promotion of innovations, spreading through their direct contacts the importance factor of the sustainable competitive activity in the world market and on the national level. However, it may be concluded, from the data, that the Triple Helix relations are interfering in a negative way on what concerns the promotion of innovations in the shrimp industry in RN

Estudo sobre a mortalidade e sobrevivência de micro e pequenas empresas natalenses e seus impactos nas políticas públicas pró-empreendedorismo

The principal purpose of this research was to investigate discriminant factors of survival and failure of micro and small businesses, and the impacts of these factors in the public politics for entrepreneurship in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. The data were ceded by SEBRAE/RN and the Commercial Committee of the Rio Grande do Norte State and it included the businesses that were registered in 2000, 2001 and 2002. According to the theoretical framework 3 groups of factors were defined Business Financial Structure, Entrepreneurial Preparation and Entrepreneurial Behavior , and the factors were studied in order to determine whether they are discriminant or not of the survival and business failure. A quantitative research was applied and advanced statistical techniques were used multivariate data analysis , beginning with the factorial analysis and after using the discriminant analysis. As a result, canonical discriminant functions were found and they partially explained the survival and business failure in terms of the factors and groups of factors. The analysis also permitted the evaluation of the public politics for entrepreneurship and it was verified, according to the view of the entrepreneurs, that these politics were weakly effective to avoid business failure. Some changes in the referred politics were suggested based on the most significant factors found.