Carmem Leal

The aim of this study is threefold: firstly, to assess how the support provided by universities for academic collaboration with the industry may foster collaborative behaviour, based on academics’ perceptions of the benefits and costs of collaboration. Secondly, the research seeks to unravel the perceived benefits and costs of university-industry (U-I) collaboration among academic staff within three distinct Higher Education Institutes (HEI) located in three different countries. Thirdly, analyse the impacts of these perceived benefits and costs on U-I collaboration behaviour. To reach these purposes, this study used a quantitative approach involving 214 academic staff from three HEI located in Portugal, Poland, and Türkiye, who answered a questionnaire about their collaboration behaviours and their perceptions regarding support provided by the HEI and their personal benefits and costs of engaging in collaborative behaviour. Results from a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) suggest that perceived support diminishes the costs and favours the benefits. Nevertheless, the perceived collaboration costs generally outweigh the benefits. Increasing U-I collaboration implies a more efficient support and the results from this study point to the need to design a system of extrinsic rewards benefiting the heavy collaborators.

Portugal has made investments in several regions within the country to promote the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The primary goal of these investments is to facilitate the foundation of new firms, drive economic growth, and encourage innovation. The current emphasis is on examining productive entrepreneurship and the intricate interactions among many features of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study’s main objective is to thoroughly comprehend the current status of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Portugal, and their potential to foster local economic development as perceived by key stakeholders. This will be achieved through analysing the contributions made by universities, incubators, municipalities, and business groups towards their growth and advancement. The research employed a qualitative technique, wherein semi-structured interviews were administered to a total of nineteen participants. These participants consisted of CEOs from incubation organisations, representatives from municipal councils, representatives from business associations, and representatives from higher education institutions. The data was gathered throughout the period spanning from December 2022 to March 2023, with a combination of in-person and online interviews. The interviews were taped and afterwards transcribed, with the information being processed using the MAXQDA PRO 20 software. The findings indicate that there has been a notable development and expansion of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Portugal throughout the past several years. This progress has been facilitated by the active involvement of various stakeholders at the local level, including higher education institutions, incubators, local government bodies, and business groups. Notwithstanding the aforementioned expansion, the survey participants highlight the presence of some challenges that constraint the advancement of entrepreneurial ecosystems in select locations in the country, including insufficient financial resources and a dearth of skilled workers.

Information about the paper titled "FROM MOTIVATION TO INTENTION TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR – DOES THE UNIVERSITY SUPPORT MATTER?" at IATED Digital Library

Information about the paper titled "HOW DO ACADEMICS PERCEIVE THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF COLLABORATING WITH INDUSTRY?" at IATED Digital Library

Information about the paper titled "UNIVERSITY SUPPORT, STUDENTS’ SKILLS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS: A PLANNED BEHAVIOUR APPROACH" at IATED Digital Library

This paper explores the relationships among variables and determines the influences of dimensions (i.e., municipal satisfaction, organizational performance, perceived quality, contestations and complaints of the municipal executive) on the notoriety, image, and reputation (NIR) of municipal executives. We attempted to understand if citizens’ opinions influenced the evaluations, recommendations, and contestations based on NIR. Parishes in the municipality of Valongo were selected and analysed, namely Alfena, Campo e Sobrado, Valongo, and Ermesinde; a total of 998 questionnaires were collected. It was concluded that all of the studied dimensions were statistically significant in the final structural estimated model. The structural results point to municipal satisfaction and contestations and complaints of municipal executives as having directly positive and statistically significant influences on NIR. Organizational performance and perceived quality have directly positive but not statistically significant influences on NIR. The results of this research suggest that obtaining the personal opinions of citizens (e.g., regarding the work performances of their mayors) allows citizens to feel heard and active in their municipalities. From the point of view of public executives, the results of this type of study could provide valid information that allows stakeholders to make political decisions that are appropriate for the interests of their communities (e.g., by listening to their citizens).

This chapter focuses on the analysis of the determinants of financial performance (FP) of Portuguese wine firms. Unbalanced panel data were analyzed using fixed-effects regression. The sample consisted of 386 Portuguese wine firms, for the period 2014–2017. FP is the dependent variable of this study, having been measured through return on assets (ROA) using as explanatory variables debt-to-equity, net working capital, current ratio, days payable out-standing (DPO), and days receivables outstanding (DRO). The results show: (1) DRO, debt-to-equity and net working capital are the variables that best explain the FP measured by ROA; (2) Debt-to-equity and DRO have a negative relationship with ROA, whereas current ratio, working capital, and DPO have a positive relationship with profitability measured by ROA. The findings suggest that there are other qualitative elements in the wine sector, beyond numbers, that support the explanation of its performance. The way this industry is heavily controlled affects its success. Furthermore, factors such as the style of corporate governance and the lengthy production cycle can have a significant impact on its FP. it is strongly advised that qualitative approaches be employed in conjunction with quantitative research in future studies to obtain the most comprehensive and accurate results.