Lean start-up, entrepreneurship and remote orientation: The experience of action research in Manaus, Brazil

Abstract

Purpose – Creating a new product or service promotes the status quo changes, seeking economic value and
solving customer’s urgent problems. Entrepreneurs play an important role in this changing process through
start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), considered one of the leading forces driving an economy’s
innovative and competitive power. However, despite the importance of entrepreneurs, public policies to foster
entrepreneurship ecosystems could be ineffective in emerging countries. Therefore, action research proposes
the qualification of entrepreneurs for the structuring of new businesses through remote orientation, connecting
the country’s main economic centers to emerging areas.
Design/methodology/approach – The study is qualitative research comprising two phases. The first phase
consisted of four-month action research, connecting two researchers and three groups of specialists (from Sao
Paulo), with three groups of entrepreneurs (located in Manaus in the Amazon region), through a remote
orientation in entrepreneurship, lean start-up, lean product and process development (LPPD). The second
phase, conducted by a third researcher, regards a case study grounded on interviews and data collection with
the entrepreneurs to capture the outcomes of the remote orientation process.
Findings – The remote orientation helped shorten the geographical distance of Amazonas to approach the
integration of business, research and knowledge exchange of such distinct areas in the same country. If a
remote orientation program was established as public policy, it could enact subsequent cycles of the lean startup model. Furthermore, the remote orientation could be an alternative to compose the training subsystem in the
entrepreneurship ecosystem proposed by Isenberg (2011). On the other hand, a remote orientation could fail to
shorten the distance of human values and beliefs, which cannot be neglected when facing a rich territory like
the Amazon.
Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, a qualitative and
exploratory study based on a combination of action research, interviews and case studies, the results may lack
generalizability. However, further studies can replicate the remote orientation process conducted in the region
of Manaus – Amazon, to obtain distinct results regarding the advantages, disadvantages and effectiveness of
remote orientation as entrepreneurship ecosystem’s human capital dimension development.
Practical implications – The outcomes of this research have the potential to start discussions regarding the
adoption of remote orientation as a public policy to develop entrepreneurship skills in emerging regions, not
only in Brazil but worldwide. The Brazilian case could be a relevant benchmark due to the large territory and
economic and social disparities impacting education and entrepreneurship.
Social implications – Through start-ups and SMEs, entrepreneurship has innovation potential and is the
most solid way to bring economic development. For emerging countries, it can be real game-changer in the economic order. The development of entrepreneurship skills through this remote orientation experience can
help reduce the economic and social gaps in countries with relevant disparities like Brazil and other emerging
countries.
Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need to “move the needle of entrepreneurship in the right
direction” (Isenberg, 2010) by creating local solutions for global challenges. Policymakers and leaders need to
continue the experiment and learn how to improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem. In this sense, the action
research approach, combined with the remote orientation, proposes an alternative to promote changes in how
human capital dimension can be developed in this challenging ecosystem.