Purpose The purpose of this paper is to question whether the university entrepreneurial push strategy influences the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of its students. Previous research followed multilevel approaches that jointly addressed the impact of individual characteristics, institutional environment, and educational support on EI. Despite these efforts, the extant literature did not consider differences between universities regarding the whole set of activities they perform to foster entrepreneurship among students and their results. Design/methodology/approach Through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) procedures, this study compared data from 447 students of two Brazilian universities that differentiate themselves according to entrepreneurial push strategies (one adopts actions consistent with this type of strategy while the other does not). Whilst University 1 fosters entrepreneurship by investing in entrepreneurship courses, promoting entrepreneurship competitions, and offering incubation opportunities, University 2 primarily focuses on traditional managerial education without a specific focus on entrepreneurial activities. Findings Surprisingly, the results have shown the entrepreneurial push strategy of University 1 does not account for differences in the students’ EI when compared to University 2. Such finding contradicts previous studies on the effects of entrepreneurial education and sheds new lights on the role university’s support plays to foster entrepreneurship intention. Research limitations/implications Contributions to the literature on the field of entrepreneurship intention were made by showing that the efforts toward the promotion of entrepreneurship through entrepreneurship education, business plan competitions, and incubation might not have a direct influence on students’ EI. Practical implications As a practical implication, the study stimulates universities to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts in promoting entrepreneurship through training, education and support for new ventures. The results also offer policy implications by suggesting that public policies should emphasize the development of institutions that foster a positive business environment, facilitate the creation of new ventures, the funding of start-ups and reinforce the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur. Originality/value The results are surprising because they contradict previous studies of the university’s role in fostering entrepreneurship intention. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first research comparing universities with two different approaches toward developing students’ EI: one university with a whole set of activities and another university without any specific activity with that purpose.

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The article analyzes how innovation generation occurs in subsidiaries of Brazilian multinational corporations acting in Portugal, specifically the role of customers in the process and the knowledge dynamics. A multiple case study approach was conducted in four subsidiaries operating in the Portuguese market for at least one year. Firms came from different activity sectors and sizes. Results identify permanent knowledge exchange flows between subsidiaries and headquarters, while the largest pour is from the later ones (in Brazil) to their wings in Portugal. There are frequent innovations taking place in Portuguese subsidiaries. Such innovation processes are typically incremental in nature and occur predominantly in only some areas of the organization, where greater specialization and expertise are located. The most relevant results regard the existing strong interaction between subsidiaries and markets, especially with the larger customers that contribute with suggestions and are able to influence the new products creation in the subsidiaries

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Objective: Our goal was to analyze whether governance practices implemented by credit cooperatives, according to the guidelines of the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN), contribute to an increase in participation by cooperative members and an increase in the legitimacy of decisions. Method: This research was developed around a case study. Data collection was conducted through interviews, non-participant observations, and documentary analysis in a credit cooperative of free admission. Originality / Relevance: We detected the need to advance the academic literature on governance issues. There is currently a lack of research that analyzes the institutional mechanisms of cooperatives that reinforce their legitimacy, such as the participation of the cooperative in decision-making processes. Results: The social programs implemented aim to increase the representativeness of the members in the cooperative. The new assembly process promoted a significant change in the participation of the members, resulting in an increase in the number of voters in the assemblies. This strengthened their involvement and increased the legitimacy of the cooperative vis-à-vis regulatory institution. Theoretical contributions: The theoretical contribution of this study is related to the advancement of issues of cooperative governance. We noticed that the demand for increased participation of members is linked to the search for legitimacy, both in relation to the market, and to the members and the BACEN.  Furthermore, the latter induces normative isomorphism through good governance practices. Management contributions: The main managerial contribution of this study is to provide credit cooperatives with awareness of the fact that governance directly influences the participation of members, which, in turn, affects the legitimacy of the institutional and social environments.