Rui Baptista

University of Lisbon | UL · Engineering Management

We investigate the impact of knowledge inheritance by vertical spinouts originating from user and supplier industries on performance. We test whether spinouts from a supplier or user industry perform better than focal industry spinouts and de novo entrants. Using longitudinal micro data for the Portuguese molds and plastics industries we find that...

This study examines how human capital diversity in entrepreneurial teams relates to new venture growth in two distinct service industries: hospitality and knowledge-based consultancy. Drawing on longitudinal linked employer-employee data from Portugal, we use large representative samples of start-ups founded and managed by entrepreneurial dyads to...

Background During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, governments imposed numerous regulations to protect public health, particularly the (mandatory) use of face masks. However, the appropriateness and effectiveness of face mask regulations have been widely discussed, as is apparent from the divergent measures taken across and within countries over time, i...

Plain English Summary Industry clusters emerge because successful spinoff firms are more likely to locate in their founders’ home region and draw on the local talent pool to hire their employees. Theories about industry clusters state that entrepreneurs are drawn to regions that contain more activity in their industry because there are benefits to...

Plain English Summary Nascent entrepreneurs’ cognitive abilities shape the impacts of their human and social capital on success in the new venture creation process. Entrepreneurship starts long before the actual birth of the new venture. Nascent entrepreneurs are those individuals seeking to establish a new business by discovering opportunities, co...

We examine the impact of entrepreneurship and creative occupations on wage inequality in regional labour markets. We apply dynamic models to longitudinal linked employer–employee data for Portugal. Our results indicate that regional labour markets where job creation by new firms is stronger and creative occupations represent a greater proportion of...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255382.].

To achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, it is crucial to know the drivers of vaccination intention and, thereby, vaccination. As the determinants of vaccination differ across vaccines, target groups and contexts, we investigate COVID-19 vaccination intention using data from university students from three countries, the Netherlands, Belgium and P...

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, governments set recommendations and restrictions that have given rise to new situations that require residents to deliberate and respond nonautomatically. For highly impulsive individuals, dealing with these situations may be harder, as they tend to deliberate less about the consequences of their behaviors. In thi...

New private tourism firms play a key role in promoting local and national wealth creation. Building upon insights from entrepreneurial motivation and human capital theories, in this study fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of longitudinal data was employed to identify the human capital pathways of 1182 entrepreneurs in Portugal engaged in t...

Prevailing research on individuals’ compliance with public health related behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic tends to study composite measures of multiple types of behaviours, without distinguishing between different types of behaviours. However, measures taken by governments involve adjustments concerning a range of different daily behaviours...

High-growth firms are of particular interest for academics and policymakers due to their serious contributions to the economy, job market and knowledge creation (Coad et al., 2014). Previous studies have majorly focused on firm growth rates, their persistence over time, and their determinants. Nevertheless, open research windows still remain in pre...

In most developed countries, high growth firms (HGFs) are disproportionately responsible for net job creation, yet there is little information about how well such firms sustain their performance over time. Using GMM on a panel of 79,200 Romanian SMEs from 2000 to 2012, this paper evaluates the extent to which HGFs register stable and sustained grow...

We investigate the determinants of young, small firm diversification by using longitudinal linked employer-employee data. We focus particularly on the role played by the sharing of managerial and qualified human resources, as well as market uncertainty and entry mistakes. We find that a small but significant proportion of young, small firms diversi...

O presente estudo procura analisar a relação entre o empreendedorismo, a proliferação de profissões “criativas” e a desigualdade salarial. O empreen‑dedorismo é hoje visto como um importante estímulo à competitividade e ao crescimento económico. No entanto, a entrada de novas empresas de pequena dimensão e baixos níveis de crescimento pode levar a...

Scholarly interest in entrepreneurial activity by older members of society has been rising, reflected in the growing tally of publications about senior entrepreneurship as a distinct form of entrepreneurship. Our goal is to review and communicate the key conceptual approaches and empirical findings about senior entrepreneurs' characteristics and be...

Structural evolution of the industries involves the mechanism of market selection, which comprises entry, exit as well as market share changes, mobility, of incumbent firms. However, entry and exit studies so far have paid attention to the interdependencies only between the entry and exit. In this paper, we include the third dimension of mobility f...

This study tests Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior in sport sciences with the purpose of determining which variables most influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Although this theory has been employed to explain entrepreneurial intentions within different contexts, the context of sport sciences has not been addressed. A sample of 379 sport...

This paper reviews the history of the emergence of the molds and plastics industries in Portugal, finding that this history fits nicely with the accounts—originally proposed in Steven Klepper’s various works—of new industries emerging from older, related industries, and regional clusters emerging from the mobility of specialized workers from succes...

There seems to be a gap in the literature on entrepreneurship education that prevents it from making stronger contributions towards practice. This study addresses this issue by reviewing the state of the art about entrepreneurship education through the analysis of the contributions made over the 2000s. Theoretical contributions on entrepreneurship...

This article introduces the special issue on Entrepreneurship and the Business Cycle, comprising articles presented at the workshop Good Times Bad Times: Entrepreneurship and the Cycle, held at the University of Valencia in November 2011. The workshop was organized to share insights about the under-researched issue of the interplay between entrepre...

This book makes original contributions to the literature on clusters, human capital, and regional development by focusing on the link between entrepreneurship and economic growth, aiming for a better understanding of the dynamics of growth determined by the entrepreneur’s action in the regional space. The focus is therefore on critical reflection a...

The present paper addresses the state of the art in theory-building on entrepreneurship education through the analysis of the contributions made roughly over the last decade (2001-2011). Theoretical contributions on entrepreneurship education have been increasing and improving as more articles have been published building new theoretical propositio...

We build two different frameworks of analysis in order to examine recent literature on entrepreneurial education at two levels: (i) theoretical contributions, and (ii) emerging challenges and solutions in the entrepreneurial classroom. These simple frameworks are used to classify and analyze articles published on the subjects of entrepreneurship ed...

This paper examines the mechanisms driving firm performance throughout a cluster’s lifecycle, focusing on later stages of that cycle (growth and sustainment). We look at two alternative mechanisms driving firm performance at these later stages, once agglomeration has been established: agglomeration economies and organizational heritage. The setting...

Entrepreneurship is a sufficiently eclectic and multi-dimensional area of research to allow simultaneous approaches from a variety of scientific fields, using different levels of analysis. This book addresses the regional dimension, focusing on the impacts of entrepreneurship on industry dynamics, competitiveness and, ultimately, economic growth an...

This study examines how co-agglomeration (or collocation) of entrepreneurial firms in related industries influences cluster growth. Two types of effects are considered that may drive collocation: the inheritance of capabilities from local incumbents by spinout founders; and agglomeration benefits stemming from local access to supply-side spillovers...

We follow the careers of habitual and novice entrepreneurs to investigate whether entrepreneurial experience matters for performance. Specifically, we compare the ability of serial, portfolio, and novice entrepreneurs to create and sustain jobs by looking at the cumulative variation in total employment across all firms held by those entrepreneurs o...

This article reviews the literature on entrepreneurship education in the higher education context published over the first decade of the 2000s. The article has two purposes: to propose a framework of analysis to systematize and assess the literature; and to examine its main insights and contributions towards practice in the entrepreneurial classroo...

This paper examines whether founders’ backgrounds influence new firm survival in the early years after startup, focusing, in particular, on the impact of unemployment-driven entrepreneurship. For entrepreneurs who left their previous employment to found a new firm, both general and specific human capital play a key role in enhancing early survival chan...

How is the R&D-productivity link affected by the environment where firms locate? Are companies located with their registered offices in more R&D favorable environments better able to translate their R&D knowledge into productivity gains? Our paper tries to answer these questions analyzing - in the European context - if R&D performing companies clus...

This paper contributes to the understanding of how small firms are organized and managed. We develop and test an entrepreneur- worker matching model in small firms where individual skills play a central role. The model assumes the existence of complementarities between the workers’ and entrepreneur’s skills. The empirical analysis provides results...

We examine the impact of founders' and employees' general and specific human capital on the performance of new firms (survival and sales) over time. We find that firms founded by more educated business owners are more likely to perform better. Results also indicate that business owners with previous managerial and industry-specific experience are m...

The mechanisms driving regional clustering are examined by exploring two theories: agglomeration economies and organizational reproduction. While organizational reproduction through spinoffs dominates clusters' early stages of growth, in clusters populated by small, vertically disintegrated firms accessing networks of external capabilities, agglome...

Young firm diversification is examined investigating whether diversifying firms have higher survival chances. We use extensive longitudinal data containing information on firms’ characteristics and environmental conditions, and their evolution over time. Firms that are born diversified are more likely to survive, suggesting that pre-entry capabilit...

Young firm diversification is examined investigating the determinants of the timing of diversification (i.e. how long it takes from start-up to diversification). We use extensive longitudinal data containing information on firms’ characteristics and environmental conditions, and their evolution over time. We find that only a very small proportion o...

This paper contributes to the understanding of how small firms are organized and managed. We develop and test a simple empirical entrepreneur-worker matching model in small firms where individual skills play a central role. The model contemplates the existence of complementarities between workers’ and entrepreneur’s skills. The empirical analysis p...

This study uses a longitudinal matched employer–employee database to examine how ex-entrepreneurs’ levels of general and specific human capital influence their likelihood of re-entering entrepreneurship over time, in a different firm, thereby becoming serial entrepreneurs. The results reveal a negative effect of general human capital on the hazard...

We examine whether founders’ backgrounds influence new firm survival in the early years after start-up. We develop hypotheses linking founders’ backgrounds to pre-entry capabilities associated with entrepreneurial human capital, highlighting the cases of spin-offs and habitual entrepreneurs. In particular, the subject of unemployment-driven entrepr...

This study examines differences in the effects of start-up rates on subsequent employment change. Two sources of such differences—types of start-ups and types of regions—are analyzed. We find that differences between knowledge-based and other start-ups dominate differences between highly agglomerated and modestly agglomerated regions. In particular...

Turbulence over the industry life cycle is examined for the case of Portugal using the lowest possible level of industry aggregation, thus allowing for the use of panel data to study the evolution of product markets. Replacement of exiting firms by subsequent entrants plays a primary role in generating turbulence in high growth markets, while displ...

This paper investigates whether inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and investment in information and communication technologies (ICTs) advance the development of entrepreneurial activity in the host economy. We propose that the combination of inward FDI with investment in ICT is a joint technological driver of entrepreneurship. Under a feedback...

We examine the regional effects of new business formation on subsequent employment growth, observing in particular the effects of different kinds of start-ups on employment change, and the lag structure of these effects. We differentiate new firms according to three criteria: 1 size 2 presence of foreign capital 3 incorporation of knowledge/technol...

We use detailed longitudinal data on firms, human capital and universities to study the impact of geographical proximity to knowledge sources and local absorptive capacity on the regional location of knowledge-based start-ups. Using municipalities as the regional unit of analysis, we examine the influence of the regional distribution of universitie...

Diversification is a relatively untapped topic among studies focusing on young, small firms. Nevertheless, a range of studies indicate that diversification has been a favored growth strategy among a small proportion of these firms. Diversifying young firms may be looking for synergies or the sharing of co-specialized innovative assets between diffe...

The contribution of this book is to join in the same volume a set of theoretical visions and empirical assessments by leading scholars about public policies towards entrepreneurship in Europe and how to rethink them. The book is divided in two parts: Part I – Entrepreneurship Policies – A European Framework; and Part II – Entrepreneurship Policy in...

The presence of universities has generally been associated with technological entrepreneurship. But what is the real impact of new universities on the levels of firm creation in a region? The present paper uses policy evaluation methodologies and longitudinal data on the establishment of higher education institutions in Portuguese municipalities fo...

We compare the labor market value (wage-wise) of human capital acquired while experiencing entrepreneurship with that of human capital acquired while experiencing wage work. While, overall, former entrepreneurs capture a wage premium through better career prospects, they are paid less than other employees assigned to the same hierarchical level.

The creation of new knowledge gives rise to opportunities to convert inventions into innovations. Technology based entrepreneurship is concerned with the recognition, evaluation and exploitation of technological opportunities available in the knowledge base. In that sense, technology based entrepreneurship may be seen as a ‘conduit’ for knowledge s...

This paper investigates whether Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) advances the development of technological entrepreneurship. We propose that the combination of inward FDI with investment in ICT is an important driver of technologically-oriented entrepreneurial activity. Under a feedb...

This paper investigates whether a high level of new business formation in a region stimulates employment in that region. The study looks at the lag structure of these effects, using a data set covering a fairly large time span (1982-2002). The indirect supply-side effects of new firm births, whether due to greater competition, efficiency or innovat...

It is expected that individuals are attracted to business ownership because of higher expected earnings relative to paid employment; earnings in paid employment can thus be viewed as an opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. In fact, several studies have found that individuals with relatively low wages are the ones more likely to become self-employe...

This paper examines the innovation processes in the chemical industry, by exploring the innovative activities undertaken by a Portuguese branch of a multinational chemical company. The paper presents a descriptive analysis of the company's formal innovation process. This research leads to a map of the knowledge bases, which allows for the identific...

This paper examines the dynamic interrelationship between different measures of entrepreneurship – business-ownership rates and entry rates – and unemployment rates for Portugal over the period 1983–2000. On the one hand, unemployment rates may stimulate start-up activity of self-employment. On the other hand, higher start-up rates, or higher self-...

We examine turbulence over the product life cycle using the lowest possible level of industry aggregation, allowing for the use of panel data to study the evolution of single product markets. We find that replacement of exiting firms by subsequent entry plays a primary role in generating turbulence in high growth markets, while displacement of incu...

This study is the first to examine the decision to re-enter business ownership by entrepreneurs who have exited their first business using a longitudinal matched employer-employee database. This kind of data allow us to distinguish between those serial entrepreneurs who re-enter business ownership immediately upon exiting their first business (dire...

We examine whether founders’ backgrounds influence new firm survival in the early years after start-up. We develop hypotheses linking founders' backgrounds to pre-entry capabilities associated with entrepreneurial human capital, highlighting the cases of spin-offs and habitual entrepreneurs. The subject of unemployment-driven entrepreneurship is...

This paper examines the relationship between cultural values, political institutions, and government regulation of new firm entry. A series of hypotheses are developed and tested using data coupled from a variety of sources in comparative political economy and cross-cultural psychology for fifty-three countries. If society's general attitudes towar...

The present paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurship, as measured by the variation in business ownership rates, and unemployment in Portugal in the period from 1972 to 2002. It concludes that Portugal has been a relative outlier in regard to the effects of entrepreneurship on unemployment when compared with the OECD average. Althoug...

This paper examines the dynamic inter-relationship between different measures of entrepreneurship - business ownership rates and entry rates - and unemployment rates for Portugal over the period 1983-2000. On the one hand, unemployment rates may stimulate start-up activity of self-employment. On the other hand, higher start-up rates, or higher self...

This paper examines the innovation processes in the Portuguese chemical industry. By exploring the innovative activities undertaken by a chemical multinational in Portugal, we build a map of the knowledge bases representative of the Portuguese chemical industry. The paper presents a descriptive analysis of the company's formal innovation process, w...

We examine the effects of new business formation in a region on subsequent employment growth in that region, observing in particular the effects of different kinds of start-ups on employment change, and the lag structure of these effects. The study partitions entry rates into entry by large and small firms; foreign-owned and domestic-owned firms; a...

Previous literature has highlighted that habitual entrepreneurship can signal higher levels of “entrepreneurial human capital” (Westhead et al. , 2005). Our main goal is to explore the determinants of the decision that separates entrepreneurs who leave their first business and do not re-enter entrepreneurship (novice) from entrepreneurs who leave t...

This paper examines the relationship between cultural values, political institutions and government regulation of entry. For this, it couples data for 53 countries from a variety of sources in comparative political economy and cross-cultural psychology. A society's general attitude towards risk and uncertainty and power inequality are embedded in i...

Several streams of theoretical literature, including regional and urban economics, economic geography and economic growth, explain the geographic concentration of economic activity as the result of increasing returns to scale in production. In one strand of literature, agglomeration results from demand linkages between firms, which are created by t...

There is a considerable body of evidence to demonstrate that the diffusion of new technologies is spatially variable. If firms rely on each other to learn about new technology, the diffusion process is punctuated by cognitive externalities, allowing for an easier spread of usage and improvements. The present paper argues that externalities promotin...

There is considerable evidence to demonstrate that the diffusion of new technologies is spatially variable. This paper argues that externalities promoting the adoption of new technology are stronger at the regional level and depend positively on the proximity of early users. An empirical model of diffusion is built, including variables related to t...

This paper compares the dynamics of the process by which geographical clusters emerge in the US and UK computer industries, by modelling the evolution of firm growth and entry. In both countries, new companies are attracted by industry strength in particular sub-sectors in a particular region. Moreover, incumbent firms located in a cluster that is...

This paper surveys some of the most noteworthy literature on the diffusion of process technologies from the point of view of economics. It examines the main theoretical approaches to the diffusion phenomenon: epidemic and learning effects, equilibrium models associated with firm characteristics and strategic interaction. It also discusses the role...

This paper analyses whether firms located in strong industrial clusters or regions are more likely to innovate than firms outside these regions. The study examines innovative activity using a database of innovations in the UK. The innovative record of 248 manufacturing firms during 8 years (1975–1982) is examined and related to employment in the re...

Short Abstract: The present paper examines job creation and destruction by different size classes of firms in the Portuguese regions, paying particular attention to job flows in growing and declining industries, and in more entrepreneurial vs. more managerial sectors and regions. The study of job creation and destruction by small firms is particula...

We build an encompassing model of the determinants of short term survival of new firms based on three kinds of factors: industry-level; firm-level; entrepreneurial-level. It is found that: firm and industry characteristics have the expected effects on the probability of survival, based on the existing literature; entrepreneurial background variable...

Short Abstract: This paper examines the influence of pre-entry resources and industry conditions on entry size of first-time diversifiers and de novo entrants. We address the issue of competitive advantage of diversifying firms over de novo entrants by comparing entry sizes of new plants by different kinds of first-time diversifiers (fully or parti...

This article explores the topic of entrepreneurial exit by bringing together two perspectives and units of analysis: the business owner and the firm. We use standard binomial and multinomial logistic specifications to investigate i) the factors influencing individuals’ selection out of business ownership; ii) the modes of that exit, i.e. sell-off o...

To a certain extent, it is expected that individuals are attracted to business-ownership because of higher expected earnings relative to paid-employment; earnings in paid-employment can thus be viewed as an opportunity cost of entrepreneurship. Individuals with relatively low wages are the ones with higher likelihood of switching into self-employme...

This paper examines how industry turbulence in entry and exit varies across industries and why some industries experience higher levels of turbulence than others. The analysis is conducted using panel data at the six digit industry level, allowing for the identification of specific emerging and declining product markets within more widely defined i...

This paper examines the mechanisms that drove regional clustering of the molds industry in Portugal. This industry is strongly agglomerated in Marinha and Oliveira, outside the main metropolitan centers. Two alternative theories aiming to explain the clustering process are considered: agglomeration theory and organizational reproduction theory. Agg...