Abstract
As innovation is essential for the competitiveness of enterprises and economic development there is a question which has been raised with some insistence: Do teaching practices make a difference to innovation and entrepreneurship in the work place? Experts were contacted for their views. They say yes, as long as the teaching method is adequate. So, in the USA, a naturally innovative society, a new concept of integrated teaching was developed - "hands-on" to increase innovation ever more in North America. This concept proved also to be successful in a non-innovative society as is demonstrated by the case of MIETE (a partnership between FEUP and FEP, University of Porto) in Portugal.

Abstract
This SPIN-UP project has been funded with support from the European Commission and is a study involving research performed in 4 countries: Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. The SPIN-UP research question is: What sort of entrepreneurship training and coaching program will contribute to the development of key entrepreneurial skills, both technical and behavioural, essential to enable and leverage university spin-off (USO) growth? The aim of the SPIN-UP study was to picture key entrepreneurial skills and their contribution to the performance of university spin-off firms, as well as missing skills, in order to develop an effective training and coaching program. USO, entrepreneurial firms that bring university knowledge to market, do not traditionally grow very much and we sought to contribute to a countering of this trend. To avoid a large differentiation in firm age, firm age limits were set at 2 years (lower limit) and 10 years (higher limit). 10 years was however used flexibly, particularly in those sectors where development and bringing products to market goes relatively slowly, like in the medical life sciences and material (nano) science (15 years used as the maximum in these cases). The research to date has involved a total of 64 interviews and questionnaires in the four countries mentioned above. The preliminary comparative analysis revealed that the four countries studied show somewhat different skill sets, meaning that we may still be in a World where differences still matter (Ghemawat, 2007). For example, spinoffs in Finland tend to be strong in skills dealing with intellectual property, which is the opposite of Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal. Portugal on the other hand appears to be quite strong in operations management skills as compared to the rest of the sample. The skill set of the Netherlands emphasized strength in skills related to the building of social and business networks, a theme which is very in vogue in the current business and management literature. However, spinoffs in the four countries did show some similarities, tending all to be strong in innovation skills. As concerns future training for USO our research indicates that this should focus on: gaining financial capital, internationalization and sales (top 3 missing skills hampering growth). More practical "hands-on" type entrepreneurship training, such as that using role-playing enriched by the sharing of entrepreneurial participant experiences, may be seen as being appropriate for USO. Work by Ghemawat (2001) (CAGE Model for internationalization) and Cialdini (2007) (principles of persuasion to be used in sales) may serve as a theoretical basis for such training.

Abstract

Abstract
This is a conceptual paper supported by empirical research giving details of a new Business Narrative Modelling Language (BNML). The need for BNML arose given a growing dissatisfaction with qualitative research approaches and also due to the need to bring entrepreneurs, especially those with little training in management theory, closer to the academic (as well as practitioner) discussion of innovation and strategy for value creation. We aim primarily for an improved communication process of events which can be described using the narrative, in the discussion of the value creation process. Our findings, illustrated through a case study, should be of interest to both researchers and practitioners alike.

Abstract
This article focuses on technology-based companies and the way they perceive the influence of cultural and social differences on their internationalization process. As national cultures and institutions differ from country to country and even more so between different continents, we herein discuss the adaptation of products and services to the cultures and institutions of each environment, for the optimization of sales and product positioning. An in-depth example of a platform that is for sale in different countries, including Portugal and Mozambique, was described. In addition, results from interviews and a questionnaire administered to Portuguese internationalized companies were analyzed. A review of the existing literature was also performed. The strategic notion of positioning is central to organizational success and should differ from context to context, where necessary. Namely, different economic and education conditions lead to distinct behaviors, which have a repercussion on the position to be adopted in order to sell products abroad.

Abstract
This article is a case study, based on Participant Observation, which focuses on a digital platform which manages assets. This platform is for sale in different countries, including Portugal and Mozambique. As national cultures and institutions differ from country to country and as this is all the more the case when different continents are at stake, we herein discuss the adaptation of products and services to the cultures and institutions of each environment, for the optimization of sales and product positioning. The data of the case study comes mainly from the experience of one of the authors, who lived in Mozambique for close to two years, linked to the selling there of the digital platform. A review of the existing literature was also performed. The strategic notion of positioning is central to the success of organizations and should differ from context to context, where necessary. Namely, different economic and education conditions lead to distinct behaviours, which have a repercussion on the posture to be adopted for the selling of products. © 2017 AISTI.