9 TheRoleoftheEntrepreneurinthePromotionoftheDigitalEconomyAMultiCountryCaseStudyBetweenBrazi

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Chapter 4
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6307-5.ch004
ABSTRACT
Entrepreneurship is increasingly a way of differentiating itself from the market, even more so in a pro-
gressively globalized era such as the digital economy. With this vision, this chapter examines the role 
of the entrepreneur in the development of the digital economy, through the multi-country-case between 
Brazil and Portugal. With this purpose, a questionnaire was applied to two successful digital entrepre-
neurs, one from each country. Results show that these entrepreneurs think that the digital economy has 
changed entrepreneur characteristics, especially in the developed knowledge of the market (Brazil) and 
the experience acquired (Portugal). In this way, the chapter demonstrates two different views on digital 
entrepreneurship, with different cultures and market behavior.
The Role of the Entrepreneur 
in the Promotion of the 
Digital Economy:
A Multi-Country Case Study 
Between Brazil and Portugal
Marco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto
University of West Paulista, Brazil & University of São Paulo, Brazil
Pedro Henrique de Oliveira
University of São Paulo, Brazil
Ana Rita Canelas Luz
ISCTE Business School, Portugal
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurs have the ability to find business opportunities in market gaps, they define the way of doing 
things, which reflects their perspective of knowledge. Moreover, organizations created by entrepreneurs 
are “an extrapolation of their subjective worlds”, the entrepreneur´s interpretation of what is happening 
in any particular sector. This leads to a vision of what they want to achieve, which consequently creates 
the commercialization of a new product or industrial process (Filion, 2000).
It is fundamentally important to understand that as entrepreneurship is an increasing relevance on 
the world´s scene, the role of the entrepreneur is more and more important in the local scenario. This 
impact, as well as this empowerment, has furthered the digital economy, likewise, the digital economy 
is boosted by entrepreneurship.
Digital economy, as Neal Lane (1999) defined, is an outstanding force for the economic growth and 
social development. Therefore, when someone is investing in research, products or services, or even 
modifying laws and policies to the “realities of the new age”, it is possible to make wiser decisions by 
understanding the essential transformations from the vast potential of this up to growing market (Bryn-
jolfsson & Kahin, 2000). There is, in point of fact, a large impact on investments as economies follow 
strategies to push digitalization, as it can boost economic growth and sustainability (United Nations, 
2017). Between 1995 and 2014, the accumulation of capital from Information and Communications 
Technology (ICT) valued almost 20% of global growth (World Bank, 2016).
In 2013, the digital economy counted about 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Organisa-
tion for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, while in the United States, the 
value added of ICT in the GDP was 7%. In addition, the highest value can be seen in Ireland with 12%, 
especially because of its large inflows in foreign direct investment, whereas in Kenya, host from one of 
the largest Africans ICT sectors, had a percentage of 3.4% (World Bank, 2016).
The value of goods, services, and finance transferred across borders valued in 2014 nearly $30 tril-
lion. And in the same year, it was estimated that the international dimension of flows increased global 
GDP by almost 10%, valuing approximately $7.8 trillion. To weigh the values, data flows represented 
about $2.8 trillion of this amount (UNCTAD, 2016).
For businesses, digital economy allows to expand the trade, increase the productivity of capital and 
to strengthen its competitiveness in the market, which leads to innovation (World Bank, 2016). Espe-
cially for multinational corporations, it can be seen a significant impact on the digital economy, which 
is likewise worth to show. According to a report carried out by United Nations (2017), the number of 
tech firms from 2010 to 2015, increased from 4 to 10, and, similarly, the shares more than doubled in 
total assets and operating revenues, and with even a more pronounced drift. This type of organizations 
represents one of the most developments in the recent years.
This trend will not stabilize, and for that reason, companies must reinvent themselves to be successful. 
This increasing development in “today´s business landscape” has had a significant influence on vari-
ous possibilities to create innovative businesses based on new digital information and communication 
networks. Therefore, entrepreneurs must be aware of the evolution and so, innovate themselves to be up 
to the challenges and opportunities of this new type of economy (Wargin & Dobiév, 2001). The lack of 
information about the main role of the entrepreneur in the development of digital economy outstands, as 
there are not many business decisions that have been able to draw on a significant research foundation 
in this area (Brynjolfsson & Kahin, 2000). In fact, there are not many studies about this matter, and as 
a recent and emerging market, it is extremely important to analyze the resistance to change, people and 
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
communication that leaders have to face while trying to achieve the best performance and the organiza-
tions’ goals (Wargin & Dobiév, 2001).
Specifically, for Brazil and Portugal, and, simultaneously, justifying the comparison made in this 
research. Brazil had, in 2017, a ratio of 4% in the relation between digital economy and GDP, while 
Portugal has reached 45% (CEPAL, 2018; ACEPI, 2018).
So, with this knowledge, the question of this research is: how the role of the entrepreneur is important 
for the development of a business that is part of the digital economy in two different countries? Conse-
quently, the purpose of this article is to understand the role of the entrepreneur in the development of 
the digital economy, through a multi-country-case between Brazil and Portugal. It is with this objective 
that this chapter comes to contribute the academic community and the society when trying to understand 
the entrepreneur’s role in the formation of the digital economy.
Following in this chapter will carry out a theoretical framework with the analyzation of two main 
topics. The first one will explain the general characteristics and the behavior of an entrepreneur, while 
the second will focus on the main potentialities of the digital economy.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theoretical framework is the construction of an organized and systematized conceptual base of avail-
able knowledge pertinent to be researched, that is, it is a research for the main bibliographies until the 
moment that will be the base of the discussion later to be realized (Cooper & Schindler, 2011).
To better support the discussion to be carried out and the objective to be achieved, this theoretical 
framework was divided into: Entrepreneur, characteristics, and behavior; and Digital Economy.
Entrepreneur, Characteristics, and Behavior
Inside the economic scenario, some terms such as entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs are always in 
vogue in everyday´s life. Therefore, with technical concepts and business competition, the nature and 
the importance of entrepreneurship made the economy more competitive. Technological development 
and innovations have led to a certain impetus to entrepreneurship since the 18th century.
It begins with some definitions of entrepreneurship that are set out in Table 1.
Table 1. Entrepreneurship definitions
Authors Definitions
Richard Cantillon Opportunities identification
Adam Smith Demandtransformation instrument on offer
Jean Baptiste Value creation tool
John Stuart Mill Foundations of Private Enterprises with decisions, risks, and limited resource management to launch new businesses
Carl Menger Creating opportunities that drive industrial growth
Schumpeter (2003) Development of creative economic activities and innovation
Drucker (2014) Relation with innovation and characteristics of the company
Source: Adapted from Hébert & Link, 2009.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
Some entrepreneurship common characteristics are identified as the identification of opportunities 
for value creation from innovative products and/or services within the private sector. In addition to the 
initial vision, and that linked to innovation, entrepreneurship can be understood as an organizational 
phenomenon to understand both, causes and consequences of entrepreneurial behavior and practice, 
what they do is really important (Stevenson & Jarrillo 1990).
Entrepreneurship can be identified as a behavioral study from new organizations (Gartner, 1988); the 
opportunity identification (Zimmerer, Scarborough & Wilson, 2005) and; as a characteristic behavior 
of the entrepreneurial figure, as the capacity to imagine, to develop the business vision and to set goals 
(Fillion, 1999). Table 2 summarizes the different views on the entrepreneurship concept.
It is understood that there are two reasoning lines, an economic line, with the entrepreneur role and 
its impact on the economy (Schumpeter, 2003) and the behaviorist, with the analysis of the entrepreneur 
characteristics (Weber, 2002). It should be noted that these reasoning lines are complementary, as they 
increase the figure knowledge of the entrepreneur. For both entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs, there 
are many definitions. However, it is interpreted that the enterprise today continues to have similarities 
with the past in the search for something new that can be applied in the society.
At this point, Dornelas (2008) argues that the only major difference is that nowadays a person has 
access to a greater information range which transits and causes changes at a better speed. Another point 
that is also discussed a lot these days, is the idea of sustainable entrepreneurship, with social and envi-
ronmental concern.
The idea of the characteristics of common and successful entrepreneurs is summarized from some 
authors in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 2. Different views of entrepreneurship
Authors Definitions
Richard Cantillon; Adam Smith; Jean Baptiste; John Stuart Mill; 
Carl Menger Development of the initial concept of entrepreneurship
Schumpeter, 2003 and Drucker, 2014 Entrepreneurship and Innovation relation
Gartner, 1988 Emerging organizations
Stevenson & Jarrillo, 1990 Organizational phenomenon
Zimmerer, Scarborough & Wilson, 2005 Opportunities identification
Fillion, 1999 Characteristics of the entrepreneur
Source: Adapted from Davidson, Delmar and Wiklund, 2006.
Table 3. Characteristics common to entrepreneurs
Presenting Tenacity Innovator
Ability in tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty Dedicated
Making good use of resources Arbitrageur
Taking moderate risks Opportunity aware
Being imaginative Holistic
Turning to results Leader
Source: Adapted from Filion, 1999; Kao & Stevenson, 1985; Kirzner, 1978; McClelland, 1961; Schumpeter, 2003; Timmons & Spinelli, 2008.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
As it can be seen in the tables above, the common characteristics of entrepreneurs and the character-
istics of successful entrepreneurs are approaching the following issues: leadership, innovation (forward-
looking and holistic), good use of resources (both financial and personal), dedication and tenacity.
From entrepreneurship comes the agent of this process: the entrepreneur. Theories seek to define 
attitudes, behaviors, such as risk acceptance, creativity, innovation, autonomy, and independence. 
Carland et al. (1984) synthesized evolutionarily, from other authors review, some characteristics of the 
entrepreneur as the agent: taking risks; being the source of formal authority; having innovation and be-
ing initiative; taking responsibility; having an authority form; taking risks and action; having ambition 
and independence; intellectual impulse and technical knowledge; risk assessment and measurement; 
need for achievement and autonomy; need for power; belief in external environment control; need for 
achievement; orientation for personal values; self-confidence; ambitious project and positive attitude; 
need to control and; business growth. Thus, the figure of the entrepreneur is understood from the person 
who is responsible for the enterprise to create new products and innovative services for society.
The entrepreneur concept can also define different profile types, such as: lifestyle or high growth 
(Henderson, 2002); informal, cooperative, individual, franchise, social, cooperative, technological, public, 
knowledge and own business (Dornelas, 2008). Many researchers also study entrepreneurship related 
to gender, age, schooling, locality, etc. Or by distinguishing the entrepreneur, focused on the manager’s 
intuition and innovation, who pursues goals by making effective and efficient use of resources (Filion, 
1999). Table 5 summarizes the main differences between entrepreneurs and managers.
The motivations to be undertaken through a set of factors, such as imitation of other individuals 
in the society, desire for higher income, concerns for well-being, personal development orientation to 
innovation, independence from the enterprise creation, need to be recognized and approved externally 
(Birley & Westhead, 1990). Thus, motivation can be defined as a necessity, such as unemployment and 
the need for financial resources, or as an opportunity, a life mission, innovation and autonomy (Carvalho 
& Costa, 2015).
It should be noted that a relationship is found between the level of economic development and the 
entrepreneurial activity type, in which countries with the same Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have 
Table 4. Characteristics common to successful entrepreneurs
Values and culture of entrepreneurship acquired through contact with at least one entrepreneurial model during youth
Business experience
Differentiation
Intuition
Involvement
Tireless Workers
Realistic dreamers (visionaries)
Leaders
Networking in moderation
Having their own relationship system with employees
Controlling the behavior of people in their surroundings
Learning their own standards
Source: Filion, 1999; Kao & Stevenson, 1985; Timmons & Spinelli, 2008.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
similar levels of activity. In Europe, there is a pessimistic tendency towards entrepreneurship. Specifi-
cally, in Portugal, it is observed that even with the financial crisis the entrepreneurial activity remained 
stable. Brazil, by comparison, has also good entrepreneurship levels, despite the lack of government 
public policies for this specific sector (GEM, 2016).
Digital Economy
The world is increasingly undergoing constant transformations in an even more complex environment, 
with revolutions followed by revolutions and a digital world still to discover. Although industrial revo-
lutions have impacted the current market, there is still a great progress to be achieved in the so-called 
“digital economy”, the focus of this chapter, which will delve deeper into. In this digital economy the 
scarcity of resources is no longer the means of production, but rather, communications, media, or how 
to reach the final customer, in this way, the “new revolution” will materialize through interactive virtual 
environments and fast digital information (Schmid, 2001).
According to Brynjolfsson and Kahin (2000), the digital economy is defined by the organizational, 
technological and social changes generated by information,computing and the media, it means that from 
the transformations in these last three characteristics (information, computing, and media) that make up 
the economy can point to market trends to be followed.
Complementing the above concept, Malecki and Moriset (2008) pointed out that the economy´s 
digitalization process is not creating a market, an economic society without direction, but a world of 
evolution, in which the numerous roles used in offices, office desks and physical presence, will no longer 
be necessary for the economic progress to be carried out.
Therefore, the digital economy represents the evolution and use of Information Technology (hardware, 
software, media, communications, internet, etc.) in all aspects of the economy, from internal processes of 
an organization such as administration, human resources, processes and methods, to external processes 
such as demand, supply, macroeconomics, people and society (Brynjolfsson & Kahin, 2000; Malecki 
& Moriset, 2008).
According to Tapscott (1997), the digital economy, or also called the new economy, is composed of 
12 characteristics that are present until today in our daily life. Table 6 summarizes the 12 characteristics.
Table 5. Differences between managers and entrepreneurs
Managers Entrepreneurs
Based on affiliation culture Based on leadership culture
Focused on group work and communication Focused on individual progression
Works on the development of both sides of the brain, with 
emphasis on the left side Works on the development of both sides of the brain
Develops standards that seek general and abstract rules Develops standards that seek specific and concrete applications
Based on the development of self-knowledge with emphasis on 
adaptability
Based on the development of self-knowledge (self-concept) with 
emphasis on perseverance
Focused on the acquisition of the resources know-how in 
management and in the specialization area
Focused on the acquisition of the know-how directed to the 
definition of contexts that leads to a place´s occupation in the 
market
Source: Filion, 1999, p. 3.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
Another point that has great importance in the digital economy´s understanding, in specific for the 
entrepreneurs´ performance from this era, is how much will reduce the amount of transition or technology´s 
transference costs. In the new economy, distances are closer and logistical costs are reduced, the relation-
ship between suppliers and clients fastens and with lower costs (Brynjolfsson & Kahin, 2000).
Tapscott (1997), predicting all the changes that were about to happen with the digital economy, al-
leged that companies would necessarily need to follow 5 steps in order to adapt themselves to this new 
economy, that was:
1. The effective individual: workers, individuals, can improve the way they work and gain knowledge 
in an increasingly fast and technological way.
2. The high-performance team: with all the technological tools available, a group of employees can 
boost their performance, thus becoming a high-performance group.
3. The integrated company: the whole organization will be interconnected through communication 
channels and multimedia, in order to make it integrated.
Table 6. Characteristics of the digital economy
Characteristic Description
Knowledge
The focus of organizations should change in this new economy, valuing “knowledge” much more than gross 
resources. From this moment, companies should value more their employees, the knowledge acquired and used, 
rather than machines.
Digitization In the digital economy, the information is digitized, that is, now known, conversations, and information can be recorded in less than 1 second, and everything is stored.
Virtualization In the new economy, it is possible to “virtualize” physical and tangible things, thus making it necessary to regulate the possibilities of virtualization.
Molecularization
Hierarchical, traditional organizations with rigid structures have a flexible structure and a fluid way that is more 
capable to meet the demands of a complex and volatile economy. Now called as temporary project teams, inter- 
and intra-departmental structures, horizontality, and gain momentum processes.
Integration 
(Internetworking)
The basis for the survival of large and small organizations will be the constant interaction between all the links 
in the chain of a product or service. The technology will always be obsolete and updated, thus, the exchange of 
information is the main meaning of the prominence of an economy.
Disintermediation The role of the “middleman” will lose momentum in the digital economy, as more and more in the production chain, its beginning and ending are closer, technology has brought them closer.
Convergence The dominant sectors of the economy will converge to create a unique system of computing, communication, and content, in order to have a multimedia platform of constant interaction.
Innovation The new economy will be based on continuous innovations supported by information technology in the creation of products and services. Creativity and knowledge will be differential at the moment of innovation.
Presumption
Unlike the past (industrial revolution), where the differential and main aspect was mass production, in the 
digital economy, the key aspect will be mass differentiation, which means the capacity of the producer or 
service provider to adapt to the needs from each customer.
Immediacy Consumers will be increasingly demanding and immediate because of the numerous information that is available and the proximity to different organizations to meet their needs.
Globalization The organizations will not be more multinational, but globalized. The ability in exchanging quickly the information will make distance even shorter and shorter.
Discordance
Like any phenomenon of change, the digital economy will also face resistance. With this vision for the 
future, the GAP between those who know how to use the digital economy and those who do not know will be 
increasing. Privileging knowledge and the information´s exchange.
Source: Adapted from Tapscott (1997).
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4. The extended company: through information technology, some companies will become links between 
customers and suppliers, as it can be seen nowadays in the automaker´s sector, such as Toyota and 
General Electric.
5. The interconnected company: some organizations will act as a virtual link between different parts 
of the logistics chain, as can be clearly seen today in the case of Amazon.
These days, people can see more clearly how the digital economy has impacted our lives. Mobile 
Internet, applications, social media, digital services and the famous “Internet of Things” are transforming 
our world, relaxing relationships and bringing together societies. The increasingly connected markets are 
constantly transformed by digital technology, evolving or breaking standards (Schweer & Sahl, 2017).
With all the theoretical foundation described above, it can be observed that the digital economy is 
a market with a great impact which is here to stay and must certainly abandon the production´s mode 
from the past. World economies are approaching, the way people interact is changing, knowledge and 
creativity are increasingly a differential for organizations. It is at this moment that the digital entrepre-
neur gains space, with its innovative features and disruptive thinking, it fits into this new era and gains 
growth capacity within the new Market.
METHODOLOGY
The study to be developed will be a multi-case style between two countries, that is, there will be an 
analysis of two entrepreneurs of great national renown, from Brazil and Portugal, to open the field of 
the entrepreneur’s role in promoting the digital economy both in South America, Brazil, and Europe, 
Portugal (Yin, 2003).
According to Yin (2003), a casestudy is ideal when someone has the idea to compare different situ-
ations and to prove the theory in practice, that is, to evidence the use of the theory in a certain aspect. 
In this case, it will be a multihull study, in different countries and continents, looking on the theory to 
be further extended.
Data was collected through bibliographic searches in online databases and physical collections (sec-
ondary), and survey (primary) with the respective successful entrepreneurs in both countries (Cooper 
& Schindler, 2011).
The theoretical framework is a process of research and collection from secondary data, through books, 
articles, among others; and consultations in online platforms, which provides a theoretical basis for future 
analysis in this study. The role of this survey is to obtain specific information on a given subject, from 
the theory addressed in the theoretical review. It is important to emphasize that in this case, the survey 
was used to collect more qualitative rather than quantitative information, aiming to broaden the view 
of entrepreneurship and the digital economy in different countries, continents and cultures (Cooper & 
Schindler, 2011).
To better understand the importance of this study, it is better to see who the entrepreneurs are. Both 
digital entrepreneurs occupy prominent positions in their countries and are currently considered among 
the 10 largest digital entrepreneurs in each country.
In this way, the two entrepreneurs are:
Brazil – Daniel M Gava is a successful digital entrepreneur in the sense that is the founding partner 
of the Beblue application in Brazil, a very successful application that is in a very big expansion (with 
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
emphasis on both, Apple Store and Play Store). According to Daniel M. Gava: “When thinking about 
where to start, when wanting to change the world for the better, the opportunity for any entrepreneur to 
keep the world is in constant turmoil. The stone was once considered the most advanced technology of 
its time, and technology has been able to create, from data, an efficient and mutually beneficial meet-
ing between institution and customer in a way that traditional marketing and sales channels have never 
done. All this, together with my previous business experiences have gained strength and significance, 
and the evolution of that has given rise to the Beblue project. Our mission is super simple but extremely 
powerful: to foster local commerce and to deliver even more just and honest financial experiences that 
empower lives. Beginning to reinvent credit at the point of sale, through data science, reward and finan-
cial inclusion (credit).”
Portugal – Hugo Condesa is a Portuguese entrepreneur actively developing international trade in the 
IT sector. His career spans more than 11 years within the sector of information, communication and 
electronic technologies. Since 2007, he has been focusing his endeavors on Business Development re-
garding innovating technologies for Digital TV, Media, and Broadcast, mainly in the EMEA & Americas 
markets. Hugo Condesa is the co-founder and CEO of WeTek, SA, a Portuguese tech-company dedicated 
to empowering small and medium telco, ISPs, operators, and content owners by providing state of the 
art of hardware, middleware, and software for video content management, distribution, and monetization 
within the IPTV/OTT arena. As a result, this entrepreneur has enabled several companies to successfully 
kick-start their Linear TV, TVOD, SVOD and AVOD projects. Apart from the innovative technologies 
for content distribution, Hugo Condesa also supports the development of forward-thinking IoT projects 
for media, entertainment industries and the hospitality business alike.
To do the survey, it was used the online platform Google Docs which provided us the best solutions. 
The survey contained the following questions:
Survey
1. What are the most common characteristics among entrepreneurs? Feel free to describe them.
2. Below are listed some characteristics common to entrepreneurs, according to Filion (2000). List 
them in order of importance from 1 to 6.
3. Options: Presenting tenacity; Ability in tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty; Making good use of 
resources; Taking moderate risks; Being Imaginative; Turning to results.
4. Explain the criteria used to sort the characteristics common to entrepreneurs.
5. What are the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs? Feel free to describe them.
6. Below are listed some characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, according to Filion (2000). List 
them in order of importance from 1 to 12.
Options: Values and culture of entrepreneurship acquired through contact with at least one entre-
preneurial model during youth; Business experience; Differentiation; Intuition; Involvement; 
Tireless workers; Realistic dreamers (visionaries); Leaders; Networking in moderation; Having 
their own relationship system with employees; Controlling the behavior from people in their 
surroundings; Learning their own standards.
7. Explain the criteria used to rank the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.
8. According to Filion (2000), the role of the manager is fundamental to assist the entrepreneur in his 
success. With this thought, what are, for you, the main differences between the activities carried 
out by managers and entrepreneurs?
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9. Below are listed some systems of activities performed by managers and entrepreneurs, according 
to Filion (2000). According to the activity described, point out whether it is performed by the 
manager or the entrepreneur.
Options: They work with the efficiency and effective use of resources to achieve goals and targets; The 
key is to adapt to changes; The work pattern implies rational analysis; They operate within the existing 
work structure; Work focused on processes that consider the environment in which it develops; They 
establish a vision and objectives, and identify the resources to make them a reality; The key is to initiate 
the changes; The working pattern implies imagination and creativity; Define tasks and functions that 
create a working structure; Work focused on the creation of processes resulting from a differentiated 
view of the environment.
10. Justify the choices made above to define “manager” or “entrepreneur”.
11. From the characteristics of the successful entrepreneurs pointed out in question 5, what were the 
fundamentals for your success in the era of the digital economy? Justify them.
12. What were the main challenges for you in the digital economy era?
Analyze
For the data analysis, the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs will be used as well as the importance 
of managers together with entrepreneurs, from Fillion (2000), Kao & Stevenson (1985), Kirzner (1978), 
McClelland (1961), Schumpeter (2003), Timmons & Spinelli (2008) and Tapscott (1997), compared in 
both cases, and later the impact of these characteristics in the digital economy. It is worth emphasizing 
the importance of the work of Fillion (2000) and Tapscott (1997) when setting standards for entrepreneurs 
and the digital economy. Thus, these are bases for other studies to be developed in the future.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this topic will be analyzed the results collected together with the successful digital entrepreneurs from 
Brazil and Portugal, to later conduct a discussion using Filion (2000) as a reference. To better perform 
the analysis, topics 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 will be divided into:
• The common characteristics of an entrepreneur: questions 1 to 3.
• The characteristics of successful entrepreneurs: questions 4 to 6.
• The difference between the activities carried out by managers and entrepreneurs: questions 7 to 9.
• The key features for the entrepreneur´s success in the digital economy: question 10.
• The main challenges of entrepreneursin the digital age: question 11.
Case Brazil
In the Brazilian case, the entrepreneur of the digital era interviewed was the businessman Daniel M. 
Gava, founding partner of the Beblue app, and a success within financial applications in Brazil.
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The Common Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
According to the Brazilian digital entrepreneur, the characteristics common to an entrepreneur are “cour-
age, persistence, resilience and a lot of desire in winning and making a difference in life”.
Using the characteristics common to the entrepreneurs defined by Filion (2000), the Brazilian entre-
preneur listed the characteristics common to entrepreneurs in three levels:
High Relevance: Presenting tenacity; Ability in tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty.
Being Imaginative: Turning to results.
Average Relevance: Making good use of resources.
Low Relevance: Taking moderate risks.
According to the Brazilian entrepreneur, the work of the entrepreneur is based on his will in wanting 
to make the difference and getting to the end of the day satisfied by the best of his or her performance, 
which takes a lot of willpower in order to reach their goals. The Brazilian entrepreneur still lists four 
more characteristics to be developed by an entrepreneur:
1. Joint vision and communication power with stakeholders;
2. Recruit and develop the best talents, employees or associates (attribute to Larry Page);
3. Develop the organization that will achieve your vision (attribute to Andy Grove);
4. Guarantee the organization´s maintenance through its resources (attribute to Warren Buffett).
The Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
For Daniel M. Gava, the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs are “intelligence, integrity, energy, 
courage, and resilience.”
Using the characteristics of the successful entrepreneurs listed by Filion (2000), the Brazilian digital 
entrepreneur listed them in three levels:
High Relevance: Values and culture of entrepreneurship acquired through contact with at least one 
entrepreneurial model during youth; Involvement; Tireless workers; Realistic dreamers (visionar-
ies); Leaders.
Average Relevance: Business experience; Differentiation; Intuition; Networking in moderation; Having 
their own relationship system with employees; Learning their own standards.
Low Relevance: Controlling the behavior of people in their surroundings.
Finally, he supports that an organization´s success depends on the articulation between behaviors and 
habits of the whole team. In addition, Daniel M. Gava points out that there is a common science behind 
each business, composed by 5 phases (family, tribe, village, city, and nation), and in each phase, the 
entrepreneur should be concerned with: product, market share, fit distribution and delivery, talent and 
governance. One important thing is to always be present, uncertainty, and to face it one needs to focus 
on the client, planning, leadership, and fierce execution.
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The Difference Between the Activities Carried Out by 
the Managers and the Entrepreneurs
According to the Brazilian businessman, the entrepreneur’s role is to focus on the fulfillment of the 
organization’s vision, aligning the execution with the mission and values. That must be multifaceted, 
with technical and human skills, managing the team and seeking continuous training, it really puts your 
hand in the dough and aligns all the dots to ensure quality and efficiency.
According to Filion (2000), there are some systems of activities carried out by managers and entre-
preneurs. Daniel M. Gava, using these systems, pointed out the information given in Table 7.
For the Brazilian entrepreneur, the division of labor is clear, whereas the entrepreneur “articulates 
the vision, draws the strategic objectives, processes, tactics, and actions”, the manager “takes care of 
the execution, controls and reports the key indicators of performance (KPI).”
The Key Features of Entrepreneur Success in the Digital Economy
For the Brazilian entrepreneur, the success of his organization in the current digital economy is the result 
of the construction of a product with great demand, aligned with an innovative business model, with a 
strong capacity to self-finance, as well as people committed to the mission of the organization.
The Main Challenges of Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age
Finally, Daniel M. Gava, Brazilian digital entrepreneur, affirms that the main challenges in the digital 
age are related to the consumer participating in an interactional platform, that is, a large number of or-
ganizations die. In this way, the main challenges of the entrepreneur in the digital age are to understand 
Table 7. Systems of activities according to the Brazilian entrepreneur
Systems of Activities Managers Entrepreneurs
They work with the efficiency and effective use of resources to achieve goals and 
targets. X
The key is to adapt to changes. X X
The work pattern implies rational analysis. X
Operate within existing work structure. X
Work focused on processes that consider the environment in which it develops. X
Establish a vision and objectives, and identify the resources to make them a reality. X
The key is to initiate the changes. X
The working pattern implies imagination and creativity. X
Define tasks and functions that create a working structure. X
Work focused on the creation of processes resulting from a differentiated view of the 
environment. X
Source: Created by the authors.
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the interactions, to keep alive the intensity of the people´s interaction with their product, to predict events 
and to see the future.
Case Portugal
In the Portuguese case, the digital era entrepreneur interviewed was the businessman Hugo Condesa, 
co-founder and CEO of WeTek, a Portuguese IT multinational company, and IT adviser.
The Common Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
For the Portuguese digital entrepreneur, an entrepreneur is someone with the following characteristics, 
“resilience, and capacity in finding non-conventional solutions and to work with few resources”.
Using the common characteristics of entrepreneurs defined by Filion (2000), the Portuguese entre-
preneur sorted them by importance on three levels:
High Relevance: Taking moderate risks; Turning to results.
Average Relevance: Making good use of resources; Presenting tenacity.
Low Relevance: Ability in tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty; Being imaginative.
Hugo Condesa, when evaluating the relevance of each characteristic, was dictated by his own personal 
experience, according to what he constantly observes in “the national panorama”.
The Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
According to the Portuguese entrepreneur, successful entrepreneurs are characterized by “market orien-
tation, capacity in adjusting the firm´s mission to the market´s characteristics and occupy niches from 
potential unsatisfied clients with the current supply and capacity to assume the business risk and its 
respective opportunity cost.”
Using the characteristics of the successful entrepreneurs listed by Filion (2000), the digital entrepre-
neur listed them on three levels:
High Relevance: Controlling the behavior from people in their surroundings; Having their own relation-
ship system with employees; Networking in moderation; Realistic dreamers (visionaries).
Average Relevance: Learning their own standards; Business experience; Values and culture of entre-
preneurship acquired through contact with at least one entrepreneurial model during youth.
Low Relevance: Intuition; Leaders; Tireless workers; Differentiation.
Therefore, it is worth to point out, that the characteristic “Commitment”, defined be Filion (2000), 
did not receive any score. Moreover, Hugo Condesa used the same criteria as the one used inthe evalu-
ation of “the common characteristics of an entrepreneur”. His answer was essentially guided by his own 
experience as well as his observation skills while trying to identify the most successful entrepreneurs 
and the main “base elements” from their success.
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The Difference Between the Activities Carried Out by 
the Managers and the Entrepreneurs
The Portuguese digital entrepreneur pointed out that the principal difference among the activities ex-
ecuted by managers and by entrepreneurs is that while the entrepreneur makes the idealization and the 
“drawing” of an idea, the manager does the execution and the controlling part of the business.
According to Filion (2000), there are some activities systems carried out by managers and by entre-
preneurs. Hugo Condesa has given the information shown in Table 8.
The justification made by the Portuguese entrepreneur for this selection was “thinking in the entre-
preneur as in a creative sphere while for the manager, in a more executive one”.
The Key Features of Entrepreneur Success in the Digital Economy
The key to success in the era of the digital economy is expressed by Hugo Condesa from the main char-
acteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Additionally, the Portuguese entrepreneur sorts by relevance from 
“differentiation”, to “networking” and finally, “the experience in the sector of business and activities”.
The Main Challenges of Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age
In conclusion, by distinguishing the main challenges from digital economy, Hugo Condesa argues the 
limited number of barriers to entry from “new players”, the “ultra-competitiveness” and, as a final point, 
the struggling in keeping a differentiated position in the market.
DISCUSSION
As a way of continuing the results listed, and conducting a discussion with the main featured authors, 
this topic will continue to be discussed in the following format: The common characteristics of an 
Table 8. Systems of activities according to the Portuguese entrepreneur
Systems of Activities Managers Entrepreneurs
They work with the efficiency and effective use of resources to achieve goals and targets. X
The key is to adapt to changes. X
The work pattern implies rational analysis. X
Operate within existing work structure. X
Work focused on processes that consider the environment in which it develops. X
Establish a vision and objectives, and identify the resources to make them a reality. X
The key is to initiate the changes. X
The working pattern implies imagination and creativity. X
Define tasks and functions that create a working structure. X
Work focused on the creation of processes resulting from a differentiated view of the environment. X
Source: Created by the authors.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
entrepreneur; The characteristics of successful entrepreneurs; The difference between the activities car-
ried out by the managers and the entrepreneurs; The key features for entrepreneur success in the digital 
economy; The main challenges of entrepreneurs in the digital age.
The Common Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
For both cases, Brazil and Portugal, some characteristics are common among entrepreneurs, as sum-
marized in Table 9.
Now, using the common characteristics of entrepreneurs defined by Filion (2000), the Brazilian and 
Portuguese entrepreneurs sorted them by importance on three levels:
Analyzing Table 9, as well as the open opinion from both entrepreneurs, the following discussion 
about the similarities and differences of the entrepreneurs from Brazil and Portugal, can arise (Table 10).
Finally, in a freeway, the digital entrepreneurs pointed out some characteristics that are important for 
leaders to develop over time, which are:
1. Joint vision and power of communication with stakeholders; BRAZIL.
2. Recruit and develop the best talents, employees or associates (attribute to Larry Page); BRAZIL.
Table 9. The relationship between Brazil and Portugal opinion in the common characteristics of entre-
preneurs defined by Filion (2000)
Common characteristics (Filion, 2000) Brazil Portugal Agreement
Presenting Tenacity. High Average 0
Ability to tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty. High Low -
Being imaginative. High Low -
Turning to the results. High High +
Making good use of resources. Average Average +
Taking moderate risks. Low High -
* The signals +, 0 and - signify respectively:
+: Strong level of agreement between opinions. 
0: Low level of agreement/disagreement between opinions. 
-: Strong level of disagreement between opinions.
Source: Created by the authors.
Table 10. Similarities and differences of the entrepreneurs from Brazil and Portugal
Entrepreneur Brazil Entrepreneur Portuguese
Similarities
Entrepreneurial characteristics: persistence and difference in 
people’s lives. Entrepreneurial characteristics: resilience and innovative capacity.
Differences
Characteristics evaluation: success stories of other entrepreneurs, 
tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty.
Characteristics evaluation: own experience and analysis of the 
external environment, moderate risks.
Source: Created by the authors.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
3. Develop the organization that will achieve your vision (attribute to Andy Grove); BRAZIL.
4. Guarantee the maintenance of the organization through its resources (attribute to Warren 
Buffett); BRAZIL.
5. Personal experience; PORTUGAL.
6. Observing constantly “the national panorama”; PORTUGAL.
The Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
Continuing, the entrepreneurs from Portugal and Brazil discussed and pointed out some characteristics 
of successful entrepreneurs, such as: intelligence, integrity, energy, courage and resilience (Brazil); and 
market orientation, capacity in adjusting the firm´s mission to the market´s characteristics and occupying 
niches from potential unsatisfied clients with the current supply, and capacity to assume the business 
risk and its respective opportunity cost (Portugal).
Now, using the characteristics of the successful entrepreneurs listed by Filion (2000), the Brazilian 
and Portuguese digital entrepreneurs listed them in three levels (Table 11).
Analyzing Table 11, as well as the open opinions from both entrepreneurs, one can arrive at the fol-
lowing discussion about the similarities and differences of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs 
for Brazil and Portugal (Table 12).
In general, the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs come up against the literature presented 
with resilience, intelligence, market orientation, capacity for change and differentiation. Differences, 
such as the low behavior control evaluation for the Brazilian entrepreneur and high evaluation for the 
behavior control of the collaborators, are again perceived. Another difference is the use of science to 
Table 11. The relationship between Brazil and Portugal opinion in the characteristics of successful 
entrepreneurs defined by Filion (2000)
Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs (Filion, 2000) Brazil Portugal Agreement
Values and culture of entrepreneurship acquired through contact with at least 
one entrepreneurial model during youth. High Average 0
Tireless workers. High Low -
Realistic dreamers (visionaries). High High +
Leaders. High Low -
Business experience. Average Average +
Differentiation. Average Low 0
Intuition. Average Low 0
Networking in moderation. Average High 0
Having their own relationship system with employees. Average High 0
Learning their own standards. Average Average +
Controlling the behavior of people in their surroundings. Low High -
* The signals +, 0 and - signify respectively:
+: Strong level of agreement between opinions. 
0: Low level of agreement/disagreement between opinions. 
-: Strong level of disagreement between opinions.
Source: Createdby the authors.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
understand an entrepreneurial organization success for the Brazilian, and the use of success stories for 
the Portuguese. Once again, the entrepreneur from Portugal expressed himself about the importance of 
the experience to deal with the business. Finally, it is emphasized that both use commitment to achieve 
organizational objectives.
The Difference Between the Activities Carried Out 
by the Managers and the Entrepreneurs
In relation to the activities carried out by the managers and the entrepreneurs, in a first point of view, 
both entrepreneurs pointed out that the entrepreneur is more connected to the idealization of the busi-
ness, as well as the fulfillment of its objectives, while the manager has the focus in the execution of the 
work, that is, in the company´s daily basis.
Using the activities carried out by the managers and entrepreneurs pointed out by Filion (2000) and 
the analysis of both entrepreneurs, the following table of comparison can be formed between the systems 
of activities (Table 13).
Therefore, the differences between the managers’ and entrepreneurs’ activities are seen by the re-
spondents in a very similar way, practically with the same answers in the presented tables. In general, 
the Brazilian entrepreneur understands the entrepreneur linked to the strategic activities, related to 
the mission, vision, values, and objectives while the entrepreneur is related to the operation with the 
execution of the activities. The Portuguese entrepreneur distinguishes the entrepreneur as a creative 
figure (thinking activity) and the manager as an executive of the organization. It is emphasized that the 
literature does not present this differentiation, appearing as a possible later research. Specifically, the 
characteristics answered by both interviewees for the entrepreneurs were: rational analysis, establishing 
the vision and mapping resources, initiating changes, imagination and creativity and differentiation. The 
manager’s activities were defined by: where to adapt to changes, efficiency and effectiveness in resources 
and objectives, operate with structured work, focus on the process, activities and structured functions.
The Key Features of Entrepreneur Success in the Digital Economy
As a way of understanding the key factors that lead an entrepreneur to succeed in the digital age, both 
entrepreneurs openly address this important issue, in order to construct Table 14.
As it can be observed, the Brazilian entrepreneur points out that in order to succeed in the digital age, 
it is necessary to be aware of how the business is generated and created (innovative business model and 
Table 12. Similarities and differences in the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur Brazil Entrepreneur Portuguese
Similarities
Commitment to achieve organizational goals. Committed to habits and values to achieve goals.
Differences
Use of science to understand entrepreneurship 
Low evaluation of behavior control.
Use of success cases to understand entrepreneurship 
High evaluation of employee behavior control.
Source: Created by the authors.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
financing), while the Portuguese entrepreneur points to the characteristics present in the entrepreneur 
as a person (network of contacts and experience).
The Main Challenges of Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age
On the other hand, to broaden the view on the digital age and its main challenges, the entrepreneurs were 
asked to point out their main challenges, allowing the construction of Table 15.
Analyzing the table above, it is noted that the Brazilian entrepreneur arguments that the main chal-
lenges of the digital age are linked to the market´s understanding, as well as the consumer in relation 
to the product, while the Portuguese entrepreneur talks about competitiveness and the search for dif-
ferentiation in an increasingly globalized scenario.
Table 13. Systems of activities between the activities carried out by the managers and the entrepreneurs
Systems of Activities Managers Entrepreneurs Agreement
They work with efficiency and the effective use of resources to 
achieve goals and targets. PB +
The key is to adapt to changes. B PB +0
The work pattern implies rational analysis. P B -
Operate within existing work structure. PB +
Work focused on processes that consider the environment in 
which it develops. PB +
Establish a vision and objectives and identify the resources to 
make them a reality. PB +
The key is to initiate the changes. PB +
The working pattern implies imagination and creativity. PB +
Define tasks and functions that create a working structure. PB +
Work focused on the creation of processes resulting from a 
differentiated view of the environment. P B -
* The signals +, 0 and - signify respectively:
+: Strong level of agreement between opinions. 
0: Low level of agreement/disagreement between opinions. 
-: Strong level of disagreement between opinions.
Source: Created by the authors.
Table 14. The key features of entrepreneur success in the digital economy
Entrepreneur Brazil Entrepreneur Portuguese
Key features of entrepreneur success in the digital economy
Demand, innovative business model, financing capacity, 
commitment.
Successful characteristics of the entrepreneur, differentiation, 
network of contacts, experience.
Source: Created by the authors.
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CONCLUSION
This chapter reached its purpose of understanding the entrepreneur’s role in the development of the digital 
economy through a case study from Brazil and another one from Portugal. Therefore, the importance 
of the entrepreneur in the progress of the digitalization of the economy was analyzed and consequently, 
the projected topic was deepened as the objectives were achieved.
Generally, it can be said that there was the main difference that stood out from the profiles of these 
entrepreneurs, while the Brazilian businessman was mainly related to aspects of knowledge and science, 
the Portuguese was linked to his own experience in the business field. Describing more into detail, there 
is, on the one hand, for the Brazilian case, a bigger concern for the entrepreneur as a subject that rules a 
company, as he tries with intelligence, integrity, and energy, to achieve the organization´s goals. In fact, 
this entrepreneur showed more concern in taking risks and showing “the best performance”. Whereas, 
on the other hand, the Portuguese case was oriented towards the relationships with the employees in the 
organization and the competitiveness level of the firm. There is also, through success entrepreneurial 
cases, an adaptation to this digital entrepreneur ambitions. It can also be seen an effort of improvement 
and differentiation of the product, in order to achieve a good position in the market.
However, in general, both entrepreneurs presented numerous similarities, especially when defining 
entrepreneurship or describing the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Undeniably, the two en-
trepreneurs share mainly the same visions concerning the characteristics of entrepreneurs, specifically 
in turning to results, doing a good use of them, like for being visionaries, which is a commitment to 
achieve the organization´s goals.
The prominence of the realization of this work appears when a comparison between two different 
countries from different continents was made. Indeed, a bigger status is created when there are opinions 
from economic environments that are not alike, whether it is in the technological development or in the 
social situation of the country, for instance. Additionally, when trying to create a business in the market, 
entrepreneurs must evaluate the situation that is around them, and with this chapter, this was illustrated 
by showing the perspectivesof specific cases. The divergence from the environments of this case is a 
good contribution to the academic world as it adds new ideas and possible future analyzations, which 
increases the knowledge about this matter.
Moreover, it was also found that the data obtained is mostly related to what the literature points to, 
such as the entrepreneur characteristics and the successful entrepreneur. One exception was regarding 
the approach on the difference between manager and entrepreneur, with operational and strategic orga-
nizational levels, respectively, rather than in the traditional way that the literature points out. Thus, it 
appears as a potential topic for future research.
Furthermore, the main limitations of this chapter were basically, the size of the sample, there were 
only two entrepreneurs, one from each country, which unintentionally leads to errors when generalizing 
Table 15. The main challenges of entrepreneurs in the digital age
Entrepreneur Brazil Entrepreneur Portuguese
Main challenges of entrepreneurs in the digital age
Consumer engagement and understanding interactions with the 
product or service to predict events.
Barriers to new entrepreneurs, competitiveness, seek 
differentiation.
Source: Created by the authors.
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The Role of the Entrepreneur in the Promotion of the Digital Economy
 
the behavior of the entrepreneur to the country itself; likewise the subjectivity of the concepts applied in 
the online inquiries which assumed that the subjects already knew them, as a matter of fact, the theory 
was not explicit in the questions in order to take a broad view in their ideas about entrepreneurship; and 
also the channeling into merely one entrepreneurial perspective, Filion’s, what is more, this theory was 
used as a measurement of the entrepreneur´s views of what they thing about entrepreneurship.
It is this chapter’s differential which presented the specific points and the important challenges of the 
successful entrepreneur in the digital age, as it addressed a very important current topic about technology 
and business, besides presenting two practical cases to confront the current literature.
In conclusion, there is an appreciation to be made about the opportunity conceived in writing this 
chapter. It was certainly a big relevance in the study of the entrepreneurship and its impact in the devel-
opment of the digital era, as this chapter approached specific cases of digital entrepreneurs and analyzed 
their opinions about this same matter. Moreover, it is worth to point out, the importance this chapter will 
add to society and to people’s lives by creating new perspectives and ambitions to start new businesses 
in the digitalization field.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express our thanks to Professors Teresa Costa (School of Business Sciences of the 
Polytechnic Institute from Setúbal, ESCE / IPS, Portugal), Luísa Carvalho (Department of Social Sciences 
and Management of Open University of Lisbon, DCSG / UAB, Portugal ) and Simone Galina (Faculty 
of Economics, Administration and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto University of São Paulo, FEA-RP / 
USP, Brazil), which offered us the authors of this chapter, the conditions, information and knowledge 
of guidance. In addition, we would like to thank the digital entrepreneurs Daniel M.Gava (Brazil) and 
Hugo Condessa (Portugal) who collaborated with our research.
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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Digital Economy: This is the sector, within the economy, that studies the effects and impacts generated 
by the creation of value through the new technologies of communication, production, and information.
Digital Entrepreneurship: It is the branch of science or can even be placed within the administration 
and/or economics, which studies the specific characteristics of entrepreneurs in the current digital era.
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Digital Era: The moment of history lived after the creation of the main communication technologies 
existing. Can be considered the current period of history.
Efficiency: It is the way to carry out some activities to generate more benefits with the lowest pos-
sible cost, that is, it is linked to the cost-benefit ratio.
Entrepreneurship: The ability of a person to create, encourage and innovate, in the current market 
through specific characteristics.
Innovation: It is the act of generating a new product or service for the market that has not been 
invented yet.
Networking: Ability to develop a network of contacts focused on the development of your business.
Resilience: It is the attitude of adapting quickly to different situations in order to achieve the goal 
in the best way.