Search

While there is a large body of literature on the benefits of open innovation, little is known about the knowledge flows and the interrelationship of the purposeful and serendipitous spillover of knowledge flows that deliver value from international open innovation (IOI) collaborations. This study examines these knowledge flows occurring from IOI and the extent to which the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) context, knowledge management (KM) capabilities of the firm, and knowledge spillovers (KS), nurture IOI engagement. A quantitative study is adopted where data on 98,809 firms from 15 European Union countries to empirically tested a proposed model through multiple linear regressions of logit models. The results highlight the positive effect of KS on IOI engagement, and the positive mediating effect of KM capability on the relationship between KS and IOI. Additionally, the results show a positive moderating effect of the EE on the relationship between the firm's KM capability and IOI engagement. Additionally, the findings emphasize the beneficial nature of the EE on nurturing KM capabilities within firms located in the ecosystem and its impact on nurturing KS within the network.

The Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (EE) articulate concepts from various streams of literature and are formed by multiple stakeholders and relate to different levels of analysis. Although the literature shows a growing relevance on the theme of EE, most studies reveal to be conceptual, and the existence of empirical studies with quantitative methodologies is still scarce. This study attempts to contribute to filling this gap by developing a dynamic model of EE and its impact on the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) international performance by aggregating different levels of analysis. Based on a sample of 120 SMEs, the results suggest that macro (agents) and meso (different partners) level variables positively impact international performance. We also find that technology transfer has a negative moderating effect on the meso level relationship of EE with digital performance. Our study also contributes to a greater understanding of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, its internationalization and the digital performance effect.

Theoretical background Over the last 60 years, governments in advanced countries have adopted a range of environmental, industrial, and business policies (e.g. OECD, 2014 ; Warwick, 2013 ; Dabic et al., 2016 ; Svarc et al., 2020, 2021). In the last 20 years, we have witnessed an escalation in both the number of political initiatives and the degrees of funding committed to these activities in process of development (Block, 2008). In the circular economy (CE) action plan (COM, 2015, p. 614), a CE is defined as an economy in which “the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste minimized”. The European resource efficiency platform’s manifesto and policy recommendations present a foundation for a resource-efficient Europe, providing potential avenues towards a resource-efficient CE (EC, 2012). The European Commission has carried out studies to identify new opportunities to approach CE in different ways. The 2016 report – “Circular economy in Europe ; Developing the knowledge base” – gathered and classified all of the information that we must better understand in order to facilitate an action plan for the transition to CE. CE supports an economic model that removes resource inputs and wastage through a holistic approach to the system (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). Consequently, policymakers are now beginning to recognise the value of a more systems based way of supporting the CE from an entrepreneurial perspective. This embodies a change away from enterprise-specific involvements towards more holistic activities which focus on “developing networks, aligning priorities, building new institutional capabilities and fostering synergies between different stakeholders” (OECD, 2014, p. 5). This holistic approach enables the systemic consideration of the implications of the paradigm shift, which includes interactions between different domains of the human being (economic, social, and environmental), different geographic regions (spatial dimension), and different groups (temporal/dynamic dimension).

Entrepreneurship is widely advocated as a driver of innovation and economic growth. Given today’s techno- logical and digital challenges, digital entrepreneurship in particular is a phenomenon on the rise, both through the digitization of existing businesses and the creation of digital enterprises. Debates on the relevance of digital entrepreneurship have been published in a range of journals that vary in terms of their purpose and readership. As such, scholarly contributions to this topic remain largely fragmented. To address this gap, this review aims to map academic literature on digital entrepreneurship in order to facilitate a better understanding of antecedents and future work. This study combines bibliometric approaches to examine literature on digital entrepreneurship platforms, forming a holistic picture of the field’s different aspects and trends. The content and thematic analysis of 97 articles allows us to identify five approaches: i) Digital Entre- preneurship Success Factors, ii) Digital Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Smart Cities, iii) Digital Entrepeneurial Models, iv) Sharing Entrepreneurial Platforms, and v) Digital Platforms about Entrepreneurship Co-creation. Our findings further highlight the various gaps in digital entrepreneurship literature and raise some research ques- tions that warrant future academic research. Our holistic model holds several implications for the theory and practice of the different aspects of digital entrepreneurship.

Global competition is today a reality and making smart regions smarter through smart specialization is currently on the political and economic agenda of territories. This study aims to contribute to clarifying the framework for the regional innovation ecosystems as well as identifying new research paths. Through extensive research using the Web of Science database with resource to a bibliometric analysis on smart specialization, six clusters were identified: cluster 1 – innovation networks and triple helix; cluster 2 - regional innovation systems; cluster 3 – regional innovation network; cluster 4 - smart innovation policies; cluster 5 – smart specialization; and cluster 6 - Asian innovation systems. Several future lines of research recently published in literature distributed by the six clusters were identified. This study also contributes to open new research horizons in these areas of knowledge, allowing the emergence of new streams of thought on the part of scholars, policymakers, economic agents and society in general.

Um ponto chave do processo de internacionalização das empresas é a escolha do mercado externo. Após esta escolha os resultados que uma empresa aí obtém podem ajudar a medir a sua performance internacional. Esta investigação visa, assim, medir o impacto no processo de internacionalização, mediante a sua Orientação para o Mercado (OM), assim como medir o seu efeito na performance internacional. Para tal, foram recolhidos dados através da realização de um questionário a 320 PME e mediante a aplicação de regressões lineares, os resultados evidenciam um efeito positivo da OM tanto no processo de internalização como no desempenho internacional. Verificamos também a importância de se estudar a influência das orientações estratégicas sobre os processos de internacionalização, podendo estes serem influenciados pelas particularidades das PME. A key point in the process of internationalization of companies is the choice of the external market. After this choice the results that a company obtains can help to measure its international performance. This research aims to measure the impact on the internationalization process, through its Market Orientation (OM), as well as to measure its effect on international performance. For this, data were collected through a questionnaire to 320 SMEs and through the application of linear regressions, the results evidenced a positive effect of OM both in the internalization process and in international performance. We also verified the importance of studying the influence of the strategic orientations on the internationalization processes, which can be influenced by the particularities of SMEs.

Os desafios que se colocam a todas as empresas ao nível da internacionalização deixaram de ser uma estratégia exclusiva das grandes multinacionais. A proliferação de novas fórmulas institucionais de acesso a mercados internacionais, deixa para trás o predomínio da relação empresa mãe/filial, característico dos anos 60, para adotar fórmulas contratuais mais flexíveis e que permitem um melhor aproveitamento das vantagens competitivas, mesmo em contextos de mudança e sobretudo abre as portas às empresas mais pequenas; também para a empresa a internacionalização deixou de ser uma aventura solitária passando, por exemplo, a integrar-se numa rede de acordos interempresa. O objetivo deste estudo é então perceber se as características do mercado externo, bem como as características da própria empresa, em conjunto com as dificuldades sentidas para levar a cabo a internacionalização podem influenciar a abordagem estratégica que a empresa adota no seu processo de internacionalização. Para tal recorremos a administração de um inquérito a 320 PME.

Um ponto chave do processo de internacionalização das empresas é a escolha do mercado externo. Após esta escolha os resultados que uma empresa aí obtém podem ajudar a medir a sua performance internacional. Esta investigação visa, assim, medir o impacto no processo de internacionalização, mediante a sua Orientação para o Mercado (OM), assim como medir o seu efeito na performance internacional. Para tal, foram recolhidos dados através da realização de um questionário a 320 PME e mediante a aplicação de regressões lineares, os resultados evidenciam um efeito positivo da OM tanto no processo de internalização como no desempenho internacional. Verificamos também a importância de se estudar a influência das orientações estratégicas sobre os processos de internacionalização, podendo estes serem influenciados pelas particularidades das PME.