Profile of academic entrepreneurship in Brazil: Evidence from the evaluation of former holders of undergraduate research, master and PhD scholarships

Purpose – This paper aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected data from a more comprehensive research, whose objective was to evaluate the scholarship programmes of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). For data collection, the authors used an online questionnaire, pre-filled with information from the Lattes Curriculum of the sample individuals, as well as information obtained from FAPESP and from coordination for the improvement of higher education personnel. The response rate of the questionnaires was 21 per cent. The authors sought to explore the variables regarding entrepreneurial activities carried out by former scholarship holders, by relating them to other key variables identified in the literature review and explained in the hypotheses. Findings – The results indicate that entrepreneurship rates decrease with the higher academic level of the researcher; in general, academic entrepreneurs come from families with a good financial situation, and applied sciences are the areas of knowledge with more entrepreneurs. Originality/value – Despite the great number of theoretical and empirical studies found in the literature on entrepreneurship and academic entrepreneurship, there is still a shortage of practical studies on this latter topic in Brazil. This gap is even more evident when the authors consider the significant growth of entrepreneurial activity in the country in the past years. This paper contributes to fill this gap, and it aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs

Empreendedorismo acadêmico no Brasil : evidências a partir a avaliação da trajetória profissional de ex-bolsistas de iniciação científica, mestrado e doutorado

A atividade empreendedora é um dos principais fatores de mudanças econômicas, sociais e tecnológicas no mundo, e vem crescendo esporadicamente nos últimos anos. Como também se desenvolve dentro das universidades e instituições de pesquisa, e existe uma lacuna na literatura relacionada a este tema no Brasil, viu-se a necessidade de estudar como o empreendedorismo se dá nesses ambientes nacionalmente. Logo, este artigo busca apresentar uma análise do perfil empreendedor de ex-bolsistas de iniciação científica, mestrado e doutorado com base em uma pesquisa descritiva com dados coletados via questionário web, e tem o objetivo de compreender o perfil dos pesquisadores que empreendem no cenário brasileiro. Resultados importantes encontrados indicam que os índices de empreendedorismo caem quanto maior o nível de graduação do pesquisador, em geral os pesquisadores empreendedores vêm de famílias com boas condições financeiras e que as áreas de formação que mais egressam empreendedores são engenharias e ciências biológicasEntrepreneurial activity is a major factor of economic, social and technological changes in the world, and has grown sporadically in recent years. As it also develops within the universities and research institutions, and there is a gap in the literature related to this topic in Brazil, we saw the need to study how entrepreneurship occurs in these environments nationally. Hence, this article seeks to present an entrepreneurial analysis of former scholarship holders of undergraduate research, masters and doctorate based on a descriptive study with data collected via web questionnaire, and that aims to understand the profile of researchers who undertake the Brazilian scenario. Important results indicate that entrepreneurship rates fall the higher the researcher is at the graduation level, that often entrepreneurs researchers come from families with good financial condition and that the areas of graduation that most entrepreneurs are being egressed are engineering and life science