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The fundamental questions we address are whether firms with a higher initial forecasting ability are able to accurately revise the exit forecasts of their investments; and how co-investment partners and value-adding commitment with their investment influence the main effect. We explore these questions with novel and unique data collected via mixed research methods on venture capital firms’ forecasts of 114 portfolio companies. We find that venture capital firms that are better at making initial forecasts are less effective in revising their forecasts. In addition, while the number of co-investment partners positively moderate this relationship, venture capital firms’ value-adding commitment moderates it negatively. Our findings contribute to the literature on organizational forecasting as well as inter-organizational knowledge transfer and knowledge creation. They also provide novel insights into venture capital literature and practice.

Principal Topic Why some companies grow, and others do not? Answering this question has been one of the main tasks for entrepreneurship researchers (Audretsch et al., 2014; Gilbert et al., 2006; McKelvie & Wiklund, 2010). Differences in managerial motivation is one explanation for varying growth rates in entrepreneurial firms: variation among human motivation and abilities to act has been claimed to have important effects on all phases of the entrepreneurial process (Tominc & Rebernik, 2007), and this relates to the actual firm growth (Delmar & Wiklund, 2008). On a more general level, motivation and the effort that an entrepreneur intends to make have been referred to as growth intentions (Hermans et al., 2015) or growth orientation when examined on a firm level (McKelvie et al., 2017). However, the empirical evidence shows that the magnitude of effects of various motivational constructs ranges from small to medium at best (Levie & Autio, 2013; McKelvie et al., 2017). This fairly weak relationship presents a puzzle: intention is one of the key determinants of human action and owner-managers should have agency over their firms. Based on these considerations, the growth intention of an owner-manager should have a strong impact on firm growth. To explain this disconnection between theory and empirical evidence, researchers have proposed that managers might have limited volitional control over firm growth (Delmar & Wiklund, 2008) or that the relationship between intention and growth is complex and distant and thus not well-captured by a linear, direct effect (Levie & Autio, 2013). In this paper, we develop a two-part argument regarding how growth intention affects growth. First, we argue that the higher growth intentio the better probability of higher growth. This argument is consistent with motivational theories applied in prior research. Second, we also argue that high growth intention increases firm’s probability of failure by lacking growth or even declining over time. The key rationale is that aiming for high growth necessarily increases the risk level (Sapienza et al., 2006) and may lead to sacrificing profitability (Davidsson et al., 2009). By considering these two processes that produce opposite outcomes, we hypothesize that the linear effect of growth intention on expected growth is weak or non-existent at best, but that growth motivation increases the variance of growth outcomes. Thus, growth motivation should be viewed as a necessary but insufficient condition (Dul, 2016) for growth. Altogether, while firms lacking intention to grow are less likely to develop (Levie & Autio, 2013, p. 9), increasing growth intention is insufficient for increasing the growth rate but can also have an opposite effect. Method We test the relationship between growth intention and growth using longitudinal, annually collected survey data from 2,243 small and medium-sized Finnish IT companies (NACE codes 6202 and 6201). We measure growth intention by a self-constructed scale with eight five-point Likert questions, developed from existing literature and piloted with several managers from the study sample. The questions are similar to the ones used by McKelvie et al (2017) and reflect the importance of growth in general, risk resilience for growth achievement and intentions for international expansion. The survey provided us with 4,221 observations collected between 2007-2016. Growth was operationalized as relative change in revenue using one and three-year changes, obtained from Orbis database with almost complete revenue history available for the sample up to 2019. Prior studies, demonstrating a clear linear relationship between growth intention and growth, suffer from two endogeneity problems. First, growth and growth intention are likely to form a feedback loop (Delmar & Wiklund, 2008), that cross-sectional designs do not capture. Second, those studies that apply longitudinal datasets and estimate cross-lagged models, ignore the possibility of unmeasured stable between firm differences, such as the quality of opportunity or initial resource endowment, that are likely to affect growth intention and firm growth causing a spurious correlation; this is a general problem with cross-lagged models (Hamaker et al., 2015). To address these concerns, we start by analyzing our data with cross-lagged random intercept models that simultaneously take in to account both problems explained above (Hamaker et al., 2015; Zyphur et al., 2019). Thereafter we test our variance hypothesis using location-scale models (McNeish, 2020) and by graphical means. To account for missing data in our unbalanced panel, we apply FIML estimation. Results and Implications The preliminary results show that past growth has a positive and statistically significant effect on growth intention and growth intention has a statistically significant and positive effect on future growth, supporting the existence of a feedback loop. Yet, the effects are fairly small and random intercepts for the variables are correlated. Thus, at least partly endogeneity can explain positive correlations found between growth and various operationalizations of growth intention or its dimensions in previous studies. More interestingly, the preliminary analysis shows that while the mean growth rate (expected value) is weakly affected by growth intention, the effect of growth intention on the variance of growth rate, i.e. the prevalence of both extreme positive and negative outcomes is much more pronounced. Additionally to some earlier studies about firm growth being performed with low accuracy (Wright & Stigliani, 2013), there are available research questions concerning firm growth decisions, modes, patterns and reasoning that have received insufficient attention (Clarysse et al., 2011; Iacobucci & Rosa, 2010). This paper contributes to ongoing entrepreneurship research conversations by explaining why relying on growth intention in forecasting growth rates is ineffective solution, which obliterates problems of endogeneity. Our conclusion that increasing willingness or intention to grow a firm only weakly influences on the subsequent growth rate carries value for managers in those companies that intend to grow: they should reconsider the way and the key components of growth to invest in. nonPeerReviewed

It is well known how large firms pursue ambidexterity as a way to overcome organizational inertia. However, this does not apply to small entrepreneurial firms where resources are scarce. This paper examines to what extent a Born Global Firm (BGF) can be considered an ambidextrous organization and what the main drivers of this ambidexterity are. I used a multi case-study comparison research method based on firms’ analyses of a selected number of BGFs. My findings reveal that BGFs can be considered ambidextrous firms and highlight two main determinants for ambidexterity: customer orientation and knowledge-sharing organizational culture.

Coaching for all (C4all) is a project created by TESE-Associação para o Desenvolvimento or TESE-Association for development (TESE), aimed at disseminating and democratizing access to coaching methods among people seeking employment and other vulnerable groups of people. The initial results of the C4All project were well below their expectations. Therefore, we developed a Business Plan in order to understand if and how the performance of C4all can be improved. The results of our analysis suggest a number of changes that C4all need to undertake in order to survive and achieve better outcomes in the future

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics Integrating the resource based view and theory behind exchange rates, this study analysis the export propensity of domestic and foreign owned Brazilian exporters. Panel data of 214 of the biggest Brazilian firms with years ranging from 2001 to 2010 is used with a fixed effects logistic regression. Results suggest that Size and Real Effective Exchange Rate affect the export propensity of firms differently, depending on the source of ownership of the firm. Size will have a high positive impact on the export propensity of foreign owned Brazilian firms, while the Real Effective Exchange Rate will have a low but positive impact on the export propensity of Brazilian owned firms.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics The growing significance of companies that conduct international business at or near their funding has been critically challenging previous incremental models of international expansion. This thesis aims to cross-compare, by means of a multiple-case study, eight Portuguese start-ups among themselves and with the theoretical concept of born global firms versus traditional ones. This work project finds that: (1) active entrepreneurs with global vision from inception are essential for the implementation of international strategies; (2) only formal network plays a key role for successful internationalization and (3) inimitable sources of value creation, niche-focused strategies and unique intangible assets are also crucial.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics This work project provides analysis and evaluation of Striyah’s expansion strategy to enter the Polish market. Methods of research include online and live surveys conducted on the sample of 200 Polish customers, analysis of Central Statistical Office reports, Information and Foreign Investment Agency website, websites of fashion industry companies present in Poland, reports of Jones Lang LaSalle, Colliers International, Ober Haus as well as cooperation with Striyah representatives and other sources. Striyah is a registered fashion trademark in a portfolio of a Portuguese company - R&P Import - Export Ltd. The company’s designers create new collections combining the latest fashion trends with their own vision. R&P clients are mainly young and middle – aged men and women. The company’s offer combines clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories like earrings, necklaces and hairpins. Since its foundation in 1996 R&P has been steadily boosting its annual revenues to achieve €1.47 million in 2010. The two major business layers include wholesale and retail activity. R&P sells its products to around 25 multi brand stores across Portugal, 5 international brands and via its own retail chain in Lisbon consisting of 4 Rep design brand shops. The vision of Striyah is to become a recognized brand all over the world offering high quality, stylish products at a reasonable price. As the fashion market in Portugal is highly competitive due to the presence of well recognized international brands and their scale of business as well as the recent financial crisis, the management team plans to expand the R&P’s business operating area to boost the competitive advantage and explore other markets opportunities. The new venture is focused on the opening the R&P fashion stores in Poland under the brand – Striyah. The major areas of this work include new business opportunity description based on Polish market analysis and a review of major competitors as well as an expansion plan providing a preliminary entry mode, marketing strategy and financial plan. Poland offers a lot of opportunities for the entrant due to big consumer market and positive GDP growth trends. The echoes of the recent crisis in 2009 are fading. The recovery period Poland faces nowadays is a great opportunity for Striyah to negotiate the rent terms. Moreover, as the consumer demand is reviving, it should be the appropriate time to start launching the marketing campaign to raise brand awareness. Striyah plans to enter by opening 5 stores in different cities within one or two years. After establishing this initial retail chain, the company considers opening its headquarters and warehouse in Gdansk seaport, where the goods would be delivered. The most important part of the business plan are the financial projections which are very positive and determine return of the invested capital within one year. The net present value of the initial investment and discounted cash flows in 5 year time perspective remain positive for all the period. Due to such an optimistic forecast, Striyah should definitely consider its international expansion in the Polish market, following its vision of structuring a recognized retail chain and heightening the market share. R&P resources and experience in the fashion business could unquestionably influence the success of investing in Poland. The company’s key advantages include the motivation and skills of managers, long – term relations with suppliers, the team of talented designers, the existing infrastructure and distribution channels. The financial analysis provided by this business plan results in an optimistic forecast for the five – year – long investment period. NPV of the venture amounts to € 481 760 and the ROI equals 133,6%.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics The present study aims to reconcile contradictory results of previous studies regarding the impact of the new leader’s origin and levels of general and functional experience on the firm’s performance after the leader succession event. We analyze 52 succession events drawn from longitudinal public records of professional Portuguese football clubs from seasons 2004-2005 to 2008-2009. Results suggest that outsider leaders have a positive effect on post succession performance in the short term, and that leader’s general experience has neither short-term nor long-term positive effect and finally leaders’ functional experience has positive effect in the long term but not in the short term.