Relações entre atores de um ecossistema empreendedor : analisando startups e universidades de Sergipe

Abstract

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems have emerged to provide environments conducive to the creation of new companies and the development of innovations in a given geographic context. These companies, predominantly startups, are the main actors in these environments and relate to several other actors. Among these are the universities, which are key players in encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, in addition to playing an important role in disseminating knowledge and training talent. In this context, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems are identified as a set of interconnected actors with the aim of generating development and increasing the performance of a local business environment comprised in a given territory. In order for these interconnections to exist, the actors of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem establish relationships, interacting formally and informally with the aim of developing themselves, as well as the local Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. In the last five years, several actions have been carried out by the actors of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Sergipe for its evolution and development. However, it is emphasized that for this to occur, such actors need to establish relationships and act collaboratively, sharing information and experiences in order to corroborate such development. In view of this, the present research aimed to understand how the relationships between startups and universities are built and their influences on the development and success of the Sergipe Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. To meet this objective, this research adopted, as methodological procedures, a qualitative nature and exploratory and descriptive types. The strategy used was the basic qualitative study. For data collection, participant observation at events that took place in Sergipe's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem linked to innovation and entrepreneurship were used as sources of evidence, as well as participation in meetings and groups in social networks of startup entrepreneurs, analysis of documents and reports and semi-structured interviews. Therefore, two different types of semi-structured interview scripts were applied, totaling 22 interviews (15 with entrepreneurs from startups and 7 with professionals representing universities), selected from the snowball sampling technique. Data treatment and analysis was performed through content analysis. From the analyzes carried out, it was noticeable that: I) the relationships built in the Sergipe Entrepreneurial Ecosystem are closer between startups, constituting a support network for entrepreneurs, while the relationships between startups and universities are more distant; II) it was perceived by the interviewees that there are impacts and/or contributions originated through the establishment of these relationships; III) benefits that emerge from the relationships built between the interviewed actors were identified. It was concluded that, although there are fruits originating from these relationships, there is a gap between startups and universities in Sergipe's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, in addition to perceiving that universities lack publicity for actions carried out in favor of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and the development of startups.