Desenvolvimento da orientação empreendedora em processos de incubação de negócios de impacto socioambiental

Abstract

Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) has been recognized as a central construct for understanding the strategic behavior of new ventures. However, it remains unclear whether and how EO is developed in nascent businesses, particularly Socio-Environmental Impact Businesses (SEIBs), which are characterized by hybrid logics and tensions between mission and economic sustainability. In response to the gap identified in the literature and in the context of incubators and SEIBs, this thesis aimed to propose a method to support the development of EO within SEIB incubation processes. To this end, the study adopted the Design Science Research (DSR) paradigm, articulating its stages across three interdependent studies. The first study consisted of a systematic literature review that enabled the identification and systematization of organizational mechanisms through which incubation influences EO development. The second study presents a comparative empirical investigation conducted with generalist and specialist incubators, as well as graduated SEIBs in Brazil and Portugal, allowing analysis of how EO dimensions (innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, autonomy, and competitiveness) manifest and are - or are not - systematized within incubation programs. The findings revealed that, although practices associated with EO are present in incubation processes, they tend to occur in a fragmented and weakly intentional manner, strongly dependent on entrepreneurs’ individual trajectories and on the institutional maturity of the ecosystem. The third study focused on the development, demonstration, and evaluation of a method-type artifact instantiated in the digital platform PLADEO (Platform for Developing Entrepreneurial Orientation), grounded in the theoretical and empirical findings of the previous studies. The artifact evaluation, conducted in real-world settings with incubators and entrepreneurs from Brazil and Portugal, indicates that the method helps make explicit the interdependencies among impact, strategy, and decision-making, fostering strategic reflection and strengthening EO in hybrid contexts. Limitations identified during the artifact evaluation stage, particularly those related to usability and technical performance, informed an iteration consistent with the iterative nature of DSR. Overall, this thesis contributes theoretically by demonstrating that EO development in SEIB incubation processes does not occur spontaneously but requires intentional approaches. Methodologically, it evidences the applicability of DSR to investigations and interventions in organizational phenomena such as SEIB incubation. From a practical standpoint, its main contribution lies in prescribing a structured, applicable method sensitive to the specificities of SEIBs.