Opportunities and challenges for companies diversifying into the value chain: The case study of marine renewable energy technologies

ABSTRACT: Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) have the potential to become an important source of clean energy and, simultaneously, contribute to the revitalisation of other sectors (Fontes et al, 2021). The realization of such potential requires the construction of a new industrial value chain that combines the competences associated with the new technologies with complementary resources and competences present in the existing industry (Makitie et al, 2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Determinants of research-based spin-offs survival

Existing literature has shown that research-based spin-offs firms usually exhibit lower death risks than other start-ups. However, few studies have focused on the survival determinants of these particular firms. From a unique self-collected database of the population of research-based spin-offs created in Portugal from 1995 up to 2007 we analyze if founding conditions, parent organization characteristics and location characteristics play a role on their survival. Our results show that start-up size, firm age, parent reputation and region characteristics are key determinants of research-based spin-offs survival, casting doubts on the role played by the incubation process and the social ties with the parent organization as advanced in previous studies.COMPETE; QREN; FEDER; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Research based spin-offs: determinants of strategies and performance

Tese de doutoramento em EconomiaResearch-based spin-offs have become an important research subject, given their role as technology transfer mechanisms. They have been found to have a significant economic impact, both on the parent organisation and on regional and national development. This thesis is particularly concerned with three key aspects of RBSO behaviour. The first study analyses the determinants of the variation on the RBSOs creation across regions. Using a unique self-collected dataset on the population of RBSOs created in Portugal between 1979 and 2007, it investigates the intensity of spin-off formation across regions, focusing on the characteristics of the region where the spin-off is created and those of universities located in the region. The results indicate that the quality and prestige of the universities, and the presence of university-affiliated incubators or research parks, on the one hand, and regional characteristics such as the availability of qualified human capital and regional demand size, on the other hand, influence the intensity of RBSO creation. The second study analyses the survival of the population of Portuguese RBSOs, from its inception in 1979 until 2007, also using a unique data set. It investigates the role of three types of effects on firm’ survival: founding conditions, parent organisation characteristics and characteristics of the region. The results show that start-up size, firm age, parent reputation and region characteristics are key determinants of RBSOs survival The third study addresses the commercialisation decisions of RBSOs. Using cross-country data collected on the basis of questionnaire-based interviews, it focuses on the case of companies that target the market for technologies and investigates the conditions that influence the decision to adopt and the ability to pursue with this commercialisation strategy. The results suggest that these are determined by: the novelty of the technology being commercialised and the capacity to protect it since start-up; the situation in terms of access to downstream complementary assets, in particular the extent to which incumbent companies control those assets; the competence mix of the founding team. The research also calls the attention to the impact of early decisions, which can constrain firms’ subsequent behaviour by reducing the margin for future choices. The results from these studies provide some new insights into three important aspects of RBSOs behaviour – formation, strategy formulation and survival – highlighting conditions that enable them to perform a role in economic development. They offer some theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature on RBSOs and can also provide some guidelines for the formulation of more adequate policies to support RBSO development.As empresas spin-offs de investigação tornaram-se um importante objecto de pesquisa, dada a sua função enquanto de mecanismos de transferência de tecnologia, que lhes confere um papel significativo, quer ao nível da instituição de origem, quer em termos de desenvolvimento económico regional e nacional. Esta tese incide em três aspectos fundamentais do comportamento dos spin-offs. O primeiro estudo analisa os determinantes da variação na criação de spin-offs entre regiões. A partir de uma base de dados única da população de spin-offs criados em Portugal entre 1979 e 2007, investiga o impacto das características da região e das características das universidades localizadas nessa região na intensidade de spin-offs aí criados. Os resultados apontam para o papel da qualidade e prestígio das universidades, da presença de incubadoras e/ou parques de ciência e tecnologia, bem como de características regionais, como a disponibilidade de capital humano qualificado e a dimensão da procura regional. O segundo estudo analisa os determinantes da sobrevivência da população de spin-offs portuguesas, desde 1979 até 2007, também a partir de uma base de dados única. É investigado o papel das condições de criação, das características da instituição de origem e das características da região. Os resultados mostram que a dimensão da empresa à data de criação, a idade, a reputação da instituição de origem e as características da região são os principais determinantes da sobrevivência das empresas spin-offs. O terceiro estudo aborda as decisões de comercialização das empresas spin-offs. Usando dados internacionais recolhidos através de entrevistas baseadas em questionário, aborda o caso das empresas que têm como alvo o mercado de tecnologias e investiga as condições que influenciam a decisão de adoptar e a possibilidade de prosseguir esta estratégia. Os resultados apontam para: a novidade da tecnologia comercializada e a capacidade de a proteger; as condições de acesso a activos complementares, nomeadamente o grau controlo destes por incumbentes; o mix de competências da equipa fundadora. Também é realçado o impacto das decisões iniciais, que podem reduzir a margem para escolhas futuras. Os resultados destes estudos oferecem contributos teóricos e empíricos para três aspectos chave do comportamento das empresas spin-offs – criação, formulação de estratégia e sobrevivência - com destaque para as condições que lhes permitem desempenhar um papel no desenvolvimento económico. Também fornecem algumas pistas para a formulação de políticas mais adequadas para apoiar o desenvolvimento deste grupo de empresas

Diversification strategies and the emergence of a new industrial value-chain: challenges and opportunities for companies

ABSTRACT: Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) can contribute to the decarbonization of energy, as well as to the revitalisation of other sectors, but are still an emerging and uncertain area. The development of these technologies entails the construction of a new industrial value chain, requiring the involvement of established firms from a variety of industries. Thus, it is important to understand how established firms can be mobilised to support MRET development, by pursuing diversification strategies. This paper addresses this question by looking at the case of Portuguese firms that expressed willingness to engage with MRET and investigating how they perceive the opportunities for diversification into the new business area, the changes they may need to introduce in their resources and capabilities to exploit those opportunities, and the obstacles they expect to face.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Research-based spin-offs as agents of knowledge dissemination: evidence from the analysis of innovation networks

The paper addresses the role played by research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) as knowledge dissemination mechanisms, through their position in knowledge networks. For this purpose the paper analyses the formal networks established by Portuguese RBSOs, in the context of publicly funded research, technology and pre-commercial product development projects, and investigates their configuration across two levels. At organisational level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the academic sphere; and if they do, whether they connect to organisations located downstream in the knowledge value chain, and which is their position in networks involving both research organisations and other firms. At spatial level, in order to understand whether RBSOs extend their reach beyond the region where they are created, thus potentially acting as connectors between diverse regions. The analysis starts from the population of RBSOs created in Portugal until 2007 (327 firms) and identifies those that have established formal technological relationships, as part of projects funded by all the relevant programmes launched in the period 1993-2012. As a result, the analysis encompasses 192 collaborative projects and involves 82 spin-offs and 281 partners, of which only 20% are research organisations, the remaining being other firms and a variety of other downstream organisations. The results, although still preliminary, provide some insights into the knowledge networking behaviour of the RBSOs. As expected, research organisations are a central actor in spin-offs’ networks, being the sole partner for some of them. But half of the RBSOs have moved beyond the academic sphere, being frequently a central element in tripartite technological relationships between research and other organisations, and occupying an intermediation position in the network, thus potentially acting as facilitators in knowledge circulation and transformation. Also as expected, RBSOs are predominantly located in the main metropolitan areas and tend to relate with organisations similarly located. But while geographical proximity emerges as important in the choice of partners, in about half of the cases, RBSOs knowledge networks have extended beyond regional boundaries. Given their central position in the network, this suggests a role as connectors across regions that will be explored in subsequent research

Entry by research-based spin-offs

Reflecting the increasing number of research based spin-offs (RBSOs) created since the nineties, previous studies focus their analysis on the factors that influence university entrepreneurship. However, empirical studies that investigate the determinants of variation on RBSO creation across regions are scarce. Using a unique self-collected dataset that comprehends the population of RBSOs created in Portugal from 1995 until to 2007 we investigate the intensity of spin-offs entry across regions, by focusing on the characteristics of the universities and the region in which the spin-off is located. Our results suggest that the quality and prestige of the universities located in a municipality, as well as the presence of university-affiliated incubators and/or university research parks have a positive impact on the intensity of RBSO creation. Regarding the regional characteristics, the availability of qualified human capital and the urbanization economies seem to exert an important effect on spin-off activity across regions

Location of research-based spin-offs : how relevant are regional effects?

Using a unique self-collected dataset that comprehends the population of research-based spin-offs created in Portugal from 1995 until to 2007, we investigate the location choices of these firms. In order to do so we control for both university- and region-related mechanisms. Our results suggest that the latter play a lesser role than university-related mechanisms. Although the availability of qualified human capital and urbanization economies seem to exert some effect on the location choices of research-based spin-offs, our results suggest that the quality and prestige of the universities located in a region, as well as the presence of university-affiliated incubators and/or university research parks have a stronger impact on the intensity of RBSO location across regions.COMPETE; QREN; FEDER; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Profile of human resources and skills needs in the portuguese tourism sector

The tourism sector has been presented as one of the most important sectors of diverse economies due to its capacity to contribute to economic growth and job creation. Being an industry of people, it directly depends on the performance of activities, skills, professionalism, quality and competitiveness, so it is essential to answer with precise planning politics which should be the most approximated ones to the real needs of the sector. In Portugal, the tourism sector continues to reinforce its importance in society and in the national economy since it remains the main exporting economic sector. On the other hand, the main challenge of this sector is qualifying and increasing the level of qualification of its workers due to their inadequate level of qualification, since 50% of the employed population in this sector has a primary education level. Therefore, it has defined, in its public policies, the goal of duplicating, in the next decade, the number of employees with high school education qualifications. In this sense, once skills are becoming the global currency of the 21st century, this study aims to feature the main soft skills that touristic human resources should hold, based on the importance given to them by the national entrepreneurs of the sector. This study is based on a sample of 555 answers and used a qualitative methodology throughout a profound review of the literature as well as a quantitative methodology where an online survey was implemented, expecting to develop the ideal profile of the tourism human resources. The results of the study suggest that the profile of human resources in the tourism sector should include skills such as teamwork, knowledge of market trends, ability to conduct efficient strategic processes and decisions, as well as language skills, sales skills and digital communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

HC Tourism. Profile and trends of human capital in the tourism sector

The economic crisis, the need for new skills and the demographic changes have contributed to the recognition that the learning strategies of adults and lifelong learning must play a key role in the policies of competitiveness and employability, social inclusion and active citizenship. Skills will determine competitiveness and will play a crucial and essential role in social cohesion through economic growth and job creation, thus intensifying the need for continuous improvement of skills to meet the growing needs of the labour market in knowledge-based economies (European Commission, 2017; World Economic Forum, 2018).European Investment Funds, FEDER funds through COMPETE 2020: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-023622; National Funds, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT): SAICTPOL/23622/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entrepreneurship in tourism Industry: evidence of business dynamics in Portugal

O empreendedorismo e a criação de novas empresas revelam-se cruciais para o crescimento económico e a competitividade dos países. Os indicadores de empreendedorismo, como a taxa de entrada de novas empresas e a densidade empresarial de novas empresas, estão relacionados com o PIB per capita e o desenvolvimento financeiro dos países. O setor do turismo, pela sua transversalidade, é um impulsionador do crescimento económico e do desenvolvimento regional. A crescente importância do setor do turismo na economia Portuguesa revela crucial analisar o seu tecido empresarial e compreender os seus padrões de entrada e saída de empresas. Neste estudo pretende-se evidenciar a dinâmica empresarial do setor do Turismo em Portugal na última década. Analisando os segmentos de atividade económica que constituem o setor do turismo (Alojamento e Restauração; Atividades Recreativas e Culturais; Transportes e Logística) verificamos que estes apresentam padrões distintos no que concerne às taxas de crescimento, às maturidades e aos índices de concentração empresarial. Esta especificidade do setor do turismo é também constatada na análise das entradas e saídas por segmento. De facto, nas Atividades Recreativas e Culturais a taxa de turbulência é bastante elevada, ao contrário dos Transportes e Logística, caracterizado por uma reduzida taxa de turbulência em face dos seus elevados índices de concentração.Entrepreneurship and the creation of new businesses are crucial to economic growth and competitiveness of the countries. The entrepreneurship indicators such as the rate of entry of new companies and entry density, are related to GDP per capita and the financial development of the countries. The tourism sector, for its cross-cutting, is a driver of economic growth, and regional development. The growing importance of the tourism sector in the economy of Portugal reveals crucial scan your business tissue and understand their input and output patterns. This study aims to highlight the dynamic business in Portuguese tourism sector in last decade. Analysing the various segments of economic activity that constitute the sector of tourism (Accommodation and catering; Transport and logistics; Recreational and Cultural Activities) we find that they have different patterns in terms of growth rates, maturities and business concentration ratio. This specificity of the tourism sector is also verified in the analysis of the entry and exit by segments. In fact in Recreational and Cultural Activities the turbulence rate is quite high, unlike Transport and Logistics, characterized by a reduced rate of turbulence due to its high concentration ratio.publishe