Abstract
The world is shifting. The pandemic has changed paradigms, and people have reacted by trying to find solutions for problems. New challenges arise, and, more than ever, people must understand that the future depends on the way they face the present. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need to collectively work in accordance to our realities. Co-creation, entrepreneurship, holistic thinking, and creativity are huge contributions that can make a difference. This chapter aims to explain and share best practices of Portugal and Brazil to mitigate COVID-19 impacts. Using primary data, a presentation is made between a varied set of measures and actions carried out by the two countries, similar in language but different in cultures and realities. The results could be practical guidelines for potential implementation elsewhere. The conclusion seems to point out that solutions require involvement for all stakeholders, with innovation and critical behaviour as means to pursue the path of sustainable development.
TopIntroduction
The world is shifting, pandemic changes paradigms and people react trying to find solutions for problems. New challenges arise and, more than ever, people must understand that future depends on the way they face present. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need to collectively work in accordance to our realities. Co-creation, entrepreneurship, holistic thinking and creativity are huge contributions that can make a difference. The world’s complexity and diversity require the use of perceptual, self-evaluating characteristics that influence creative behavior (Altinay et al, 2020). Literature tends to make use of personality traits such as the Big Five Personality Traits as predictors of creativity (Furnham & Bachtiar, 2008), and usually links cultural intelligence to entrepreneurial self-efficacy (Dheer & Lenartowicz, 2017) and quality of networking (Charoensukmongkol, 2015).
Entrepreneurship is one of the critical generators that drive business growth across the world (Mcmullan & Long, 1987). The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem (EE) can triggers economic growth (Mason & Brown, 2014; Dieguez, Loureiro & Ferreira, 2020) and its stakeholders can probably better interact and connect (Zoderer, 2019). Innovation capability is one of the most critical issues that impel business and because it is a complex and multi-factorial challenge, it is highly relative dependent on the environment (Sivam, Dieguez, Ferreira, & Silva, 2019). In fact, a positive combination of EE components and interactions allows individual entrepreneurs to move efficiently and effectively through their individual entrepreneurial processes (Kuckertz, 2019).
Meanwhile, social entrepreneurship emerges as a phenomenon for human development potential (Campinho, Conceição & Dieguez, 2020). The concepts of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development interconnect (Picciotti, 2017) and social entrepreneurs use corporate means to provide systemic solutions for social and environmental troubles (Partzsch & Ziegler, 2011), while guaranteeing their independence and sustainability (Mair &Marti, 2006). Most of the literature on social entrepreneurship focuses on the relevance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship for economic development (Simón, González-Cruz & Contreras-Pacheco, 2017). However, the recognition of opportunities is conditioned by the entrepreneurial knowledge and innovative skills of entrepreneurs ( Santos, Marques & Ferreira, 2020). Although academic discourse on how this process is done, it still remains very scarce (Onwuegbuzie & Agwu, 2018). Networked partnerships and cooperative work are central to the sustainability of their ventures (Ferreira, Sousa & Gonçalves, 2019).
The present chapter aims to explain and share best practices of Portugal and Brazil to mitigate COVID-19 impacts. Using primary data, a presentation is made between a varied set of measures and actions carried out by the two countries, similar in language, but different in cultures and realities. After a literature review, a brief diagnosis of Portugal and Brazil is presented in what concerns, population, national income, welfare public policies and level of entrepreneurship. In addition, best practices of social entrepreneurship developed during COVID-19 are presented, explaining how companies/industries, Higher Education and social media reacted. The results could be practical guidelines for potential implementation elsewhere. Conclusion seems to point out that solutions require involvement for all stakeholders, being innovation and critical behavior a means to pursue the path of sustainable development, despite cultural differences that may be found.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Sustainable entrepreneurship is a business strategy focused on increasing value for society, the environment and the company or business.
Innovation: Is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational approach in business practices, workplace organization or external relations.
Social Responsibility: Social responsibility is an ethical theory in which individuals are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty, and the actions of an individual must benefit the whole of society. In this way, there must be a balance between economic growth and the welfare of society and the environment. If this equilibrium is maintained, then social responsibility is accomplished.
Entrepreneurship: It is a way of thinking, reasoning, and acting that is obsessed in opportunity, all-inclusive in method and where leadership is connected to create and retain value.
Social Entrepreneurship: A novel activity that intends to create producer surplus by reducing negative externalities and/or creating positive externalities via the incorporation of the core of social as well as entrepreneurship constructs.
Instagram: An American photo and video sharing social networking service owned by Facebook, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and originally launched on iOS in October 2010.
Culture: Is a social pattern that is heritage within a society. It determines what is important and unimportant, right, and wrong, acceptable, and unacceptable. Culture includes explicit and tacit values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and assumptions.
Big Five Personality Traits: Also known as the OCEAN model, is a suggested taxonomy, or grouping, for personality traits. The Big Five personality traits are extraversion (also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
Sustainable Development: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need.
COVID-19: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).