Abstract Purpose This study aims to analyze the elements that influence the adoption of circular economy (CE) activities by European small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and how these activities affect firm performance, following a multi-level approach. Theoretical framework To improve essential transformations, CE implementation must take place simultaneously in the micro, meso, and macro systems (multi-level approach); this is necessary to help underscore the holistic, systemic change that the CE requires. Furthermore, it is hard for SMEs to visualize the economic benefits, as the implementation of CE practices often involves making additional investments that SMEs may not consider profitable. Design/methodology/approach We developed seven hypotheses and a theoretical model based on the literature review to answer the research question. The model and hypotheses were tested using the path analysis method, applying the model to a sample of 4,550 European SMEs. Our empirical analysis uses data from the Flash Eurobarometer 441 (European SMEs and the Circular Economy) and the 2016 EUROSTAT database. Findings The results support the idea that the financial impact of adopting a CE is positive and is affected by the level of national economic and environmental performance. Practical & social implications of research By connecting the emergence of the CE to the national context, our study highlights the importance of considering macro-level factors when analyzing the impact of CE adoption on firm performance. Public direct investment policies, especially in countries with higher economic performance rates where firms operate at a higher level of competitiveness, can improve firm performance indicators and make CE adoption more attractive. Originality/value Studies on the exploration of the CE have a predominance of qualitative research with a single case; however, as the CE is a practice-oriented paradigm, the use of a quantitative methodology has become crucial to research articles in this field. This paper develops frameworks and metrics for assessing the CE at the country, industry, and firm levels using a quantitative methodology.

ABSTRACT This study provides evidence of possible sociodemographic characteristics that would influence the intention of Brazilian immigrants to engage in ventures in Canada. Data were collected through surveys released on Brazilian Facebook groups. A total of 675 Brazilian respondents living in Canada were triangulated with data from seven semi-structured interviews conducted in Canada and with two consulate officials. Survey data analysis was performed with logit equations to check relationships between entrepreneurial intention (EI) and variables - namely, gender, age upon arrival, level of education, length of stay in the country, student/work/tourist visa status upon arrival, and citizenship application status/permanent migration. The key results point to factors with a positive influence on the intention to venture: gender (being female) and all visa status and other variables were either non-significant or had a negative influence. Of the entrepreneurs, age upon arrival was a significant predictor. Variables such as level of education, time in the country, and tourist visa had a negative influence. This paper contributes theoretically by evidencing recent immigration patterns and variables related to entrepreneurial venturing in the Brazilian immigrant community in Canada, which may support mechanisms for attracting and fostering future entrepreneurs. Further comparative studies between other Brazilian and ethnic communities are proposed, including other variables.

RESUMO: O objetivo do artigo é evidenciar o possível papel das agências de intercâmbio de estudantes como facilitadores de imigração. Visando entender o comportamento de consumo e os fatores que motivam os brasileiros a imigrar para Austrália, os pesquisadores realizaram uma survey com 608 consumidores, ligados a 10 grupos do Facebook, representando comunidades de brasileiros na Austrália. Por meio de um modelo de regressão logística, os pesquisadores escolheram a variável dependente do estudo para ser representada pelo imigrante permanente, sendo atribuído o valor 0 (zero) se os inquiridos não pretendessem viver na Austrália permanentemente ou 1 (um), no caso contrário. As variáveis independentes, representantes de fatores presentes no momento de sua chegada ao país, e que podem afetar a decisão de imigrar permanentemente, foram o gênero, a idade na chegada, a intenção futura de empreender, o visto de estudante e o nível educacional. Os resultados apontam para fatores estatisticamente significativos relacionados à imigração para a Austrália, com base nos perfis sociodemográficos dos respondentes. Também foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com um agente de viagens e residentes brasileiros. Como implicações práticas, o artigo evidencia o comportamento de consumo, motivações para imigração e fatores que levam à contratação de agências de intercâmbio estudantil.

ABSTRACT: This paper highlights the possible role of student exchange agencies as facilitators of immigration. It aims to understand consumer behavior and the factors that motivate Brazilians to immigrate to Australia. The researchers conducted a survey of 608 consumers, linked to ten Facebook groups representing communities of Brazilians living in Australia. Using a logistic regression model, the researchers chose the study-dependent variable to be represented by the permanent immigrant, with a value of 0 (zero) if respondents did not intend to live in Australia permanently or 1 (one) if they did. The independent variables, representing factors present at the time of arrival in the country, and which may affect the decision to immigrate permanently, were sex, age on arrival, future intention to investing in the country, student visa, and level of education. The results point to statistically significant factors related to immigration to Australia, based on the respondents’ sociodemographic profiles. In-depth interviews were also conducted with a travel agent and Brazilian residents. As practical implications, the article highlights consumer behavior, motivations for immigration, and factors that lead to the hiring of student exchange agencies.

RESUMEN: El objetivo del artículo es evidenciar el posible papel de las agencias de intercambio de estudiantes como facilitadores de inmigración. Con el objetivo de entender el comportamiento de consumo y los factores que motivan a los brasileños a inmigrar a Australia, los investigadores realizaron una encuesta con 608 consumidores, vinculados a 10 grupos de Facebook, representando a comunidades de brasileños en Australia. A través de un modelo de regresión logística, los investigadores eligieron la variable dependiente del estudio para ser representada por el inmigrante permanente, siendo atribuido el valor 0 (cero) si los encuestados no pretendían vivir en Australia permanentemente o 1 (uno), en el caso contrario. Las variables independientes, representantes de factores presentes en el momento de su llegada al país, y que pueden afectar la decisión de inmigrar permanentemente, fueron el género, la edad a la llegada, la intención futura de emprender, la visa de estudiante y el nivel educativo. Los resultados apuntan a factores estadísticamente significativos relacionados con la inmigración a Australia, sobre la base de los perfiles socio demográficos de los respondientes. También se realizaron entrevistas en profundidad con un agente de viajes y residentes brasileños. Como implicaciones prácticas, el artículo evidencia el comportamiento de consumo, motivaciones para la inmigración y factores que conduce a la contratación de agencias de intercambio estudiantil.

RESUMO Contexto: um novo fluxo migratório de imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal é composto por indivíduos com maior capacidade financeira e empreendedora, alto nível de qualificação profissional ou por indivíduos que buscam maior qualificação (estudantes de mestrado e doutorado e pesquisadores). Objetivo: o estudo busca identificar possíveis variáveis prescritoras da intenção empreendedora dos imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal, evidenciando características desse grupo. Métodos: foram aplicados questionários do tipo survey com 667 respondentes brasileiros habitantes de Portugal, sendo utilizadas equações logit para análise dos dados, visando aferir a relação da intenção empreendedora com as variáveis sexo, idade na chegada, nível educacional, tempo de estada no país, status do visto estudante- trabalho -turista, status de pedido de cidadania - migração definitiva. Resultados: o artigo contribui de forma teórica ao evidenciar variáveis relacionadas à intenção de empreender em uma das maiores comunidades de imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal. Conclusão: os achados apontam para as seguintes variáveis que tiveram influência positiva na intenção de empreender: idade na chegada, tempo no país, visto de trabalho, nível de educação, visto de turista e reivindicar cidadania. Em termos de implicações práticas, o estudo poderá embasar mecanismos de fomento.

ABSTRACT Context: a new migratory flow of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal is made up of individuals with greater financial and entrepreneurial capacity, a high level of professional qualification or individuals who seek higher qualification (masters and doctoral students and researchers). Objective: the study seeks to identify possible variables that prescribe the entrepreneurial intention of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal, showing characteristics of this group. Methods: survey questionnaires were applied to 667 Brazilian respondents, inhabitants of Portugal. It was used logit equations to analyze the data, in order to assess the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and the variables gender, age at arrival, educational level, length of stay in the country, status of student-tourist-work visa - citizenship application status - permanent migration. Results: the article contributes in a theoretical way by highlighting variables related to the intention to undertake in one of the largest communities of Brazilian immigrants in Portugal. Conclusion: the findings point to the following variables that had a positive influence on the intention to undertake: age at arrival, time in the country, work visa, education level, tourist visa and claim citizenship. In terms of practical implications, the study may support funding mechanisms.

Resumo Este estudo investigou a importância de parcerias com o Governo para o desenvolvimento dos quatro tipos de inovação (produto, processo, organizacional e marketing) por empresas de dois grupos diferentes de países da Europa Central e Oriental, incluindo as ex-repúblicas soviéticas europeias (países membros da União Europeia - MUE, e países não membros da União Europeia- NMUE); e como cada tipo de inovação afeta o desempenho financeiro das empresas. Para atingir esse objetivo, uma amostra de 1.143 PMEs de manufatura do Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) foi testada, usando regressão múltipla e logit. Baseado na teoria da capacidade absortiva, descobriu-se que as PMEs de manufatura da UE têm uma capacidade absortiva mais alta e obtêm vantagem dos programas de promoção de inovação da UE para inovar. Por outro lado, empresas NMUE percebem um efeito mais rápido das inovações no desempenho financeiro, uma vez que existe uma lacuna tecnológica entre os dois grupos, sendo os NMUE menos desenvolvidos. Além disso, a introdução de diferentes tipos de inovações em simultâneo pode impulsionar o desempenho das empresas NMUE no curto prazo.

Abstract This study examined companies from two different groups of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and their partnerships with the Government for the development of four types of innovation (product, process, organizational, and marketing). The research included ex-soviet republics (Eu members and non-members), and observed how each type of innovation affects the firms’ financial performance. A sample of 1,143 manufacturing SMEs from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) were tested using multiple regression and logit. Based on the absorptive capacity theory, the results show that manufacturing SMEs from EU-member countries have a higher absorptive capacity and take advantage of the EU’s innovation promotion programs to innovate. On the other hand, the SMEs from non EU-member states perceive a quicker effect of the innovations in financial performance, considering that there is a technological gap between the two groups (non EU-members are less developed). Also, the introduction of different types of innovations simultaneously boosts the performance of firms from non EU-member countries in the short run.

Resumen Este estudio investigó la importancia de las alianzas con el Gobierno para el desarrollo de los cuatro tipos de innovación (producto, proceso, organizacional y marketing) en empresas de dos grupos diferentes de países de Europa Central y Oriental (ECO), incluyendo las antiguas repúblicas soviéticas europeas (países miembros de la Unión Europea -UE, y países no miembros de la UE); y cómo cada tipo de innovación afecta el desempeño financiero de las empresas. Para alcanzar esta meta, se probó una muestra de 1.143 PyME manufactureras del Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) utilizando regresión múltiple y logit. Con base en la teoría de la capacidad de absorción, se encontró que las PyME manufactureras de países de la UE tienen una mayor capacidad de absorción y se benefician de los programas de promoción de la innovación de la UE para innovar. Por otro lado, las empresas de los países no miembros de la UE perciben un efecto más rápido de las innovaciones en el desempeño financiero, ya que existe una brecha tecnológica entre los dos grupos, y los países no miembros de la UE son menos desarrollados. Además, la introducción de diferentes tipos de innovaciones simultáneamente puede mejorar el rendimiento de las empresas de países no miembros de la UE a corto plazo.

RESUMO Este artigo pretende entender as relações entre P&D interno e externo, desempenho de inovação e desempenho financeiro das empresas brasileiras de manufatura, através do teste de um modelo utilizando dados de 2.810 empresas. O estudo atingiu este objetivo. Foi detectada uma relação positiva entre o P&D externo, das alianças estratégicas, e o desempenho de inovação. Por outro lado, o P&D interno não influenciou diretamente o desempenho de inovação; no entanto, moderou positivamente a relação entre as alianças estratégicas e o desempenho de inovação, corroborando com a teoria da capacidade absortiva. Ao contrário do esperado, o desempenho de inovação teve uma influência negativa no desempenho financeiro futuro. Isso foi causado pelo intervalo de dois anos entre as medições das proxies desses dois construtos, que não foi suficientemente longo para permitir identificar um aumento nas receitas de novos produtos e serviços, mas capturou o efeito negativo do redirecionamento de recursos de marketing e vendas para atividades de inovação, como P&D interno, e dos custos gerenciais das alianças estratégicas.

ABSTRACT This paper intends to understand the relationships among internal and external R&D, innovation performance and financial performance in Brazilian manufacturing firms by testing a model using data from 2,810 firms. The study achieves this objective. We detected a positive relationship between external R&D from strategic alliances and innovation performance. Internal R&D, on the other hand, did not influence innovation performance directly; however, it positively moderated the relationship between strategic alliances and innovation performance, corroborating with the absorptive capacity theory. Contrary to our expectations, innovation performance had a negative influence on future financial performance. This was caused by the two-year lag between the measurement of the proxies of these two constructs, which was not long enough to allow identifying an increasing in revenues from new products and services. However, it captured the negative effect of redirecting marketing and sales resources for innovation activities, such as internal R&D, and of management costs of strategic alliances.

Abstract This research investigated the complementarity of internal and external R&D for innovation development and the effect of innovation on the financial performance of European manufacturing firms. Using multigroup structural equation modeling, this study partially supported that internal and external R&D are complementary in firms from high-technology industries, whereas they are not in firms from low-technology industries. For the two groups of firms, both internal and external R&D separately had a positive effect on innovation performance. These results suggested that if low-tech firms, which had lower absorptive capacity than high-tech firms, want to improve their innovation performance in the long term, they should start prioritizing internal R&D to improve their absorptive capacity while achieving a short-term satisfactory innovation outcome. As absorptive capacity rises, more complex strategies balancing internal and external R&D should be adopted. Contrary to expectations, the empirical analysis indicated that innovation performance did not influence short-term financial performance for the whole sample. However, in countries more affected by the 2008 crisis (for instance, Baltic countries, Portugal and Spain), this effect was detected, indicating that innovation helped firms to recover faster.

Firms are increasingly engaging in alliance portfolios/networks - AP/Nets - to leverage their innovation performance -IP - and thus boost their competitiveness. Most studies, with a few exceptions especially from emerging countries, found a positive relationship between AP/Net and IP, depending on portfolio characteristics and firm absorptive capacity - AC. This article undertakes an empirical investigation of the AP/Net IP relationship and AC´s potentially moderating role in this relationship in an emerging country: Brazil. Statistical testing of hypotheses regarding these relationships, and AC´s role, corroborated the exceptions. However, it confirmed how important it is that firms in an emerging country ensure a high level of AC to mitigate the negative effects of AP/Net diversity on IP. Some managerial and policy implications were also formulated.