Resumo

Over the last few years, the field of entrepreneurship research has been characterized by major changes in relation to different themes and in approach to other fields of research. In this context, the concept of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) emerges as a socioeconomic phenomenon that drives innovation and economic growth, through new ventures that introduce innovations with value added using knowledge intensively (MALERBA, 2010; MALERBA; MCKELVEY, 2018).

When analyzing the current literature, it is verified that knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship still needs theoretical articulations and a broad view of the literature on its current production. KIE is considered as a phenomenon basically focused on specific contexts, from a theoretical and empirical perspective (RADOSEVIC; YORUK, 2013). The objective of this study is to propose a framework based on the main theoretical and empirical contributions present in the literature and articulate the main paths for future studies.

Malerba (2010) define this type of company based on four essential characteristics: (i) they are new ventures; (ii) they are innovative; (iii) present high intensity of knowledge in their activities; and (iv) they explore innovative opportunities in various industries. From these aspects, it is understood that it is still a challenge for entrepreneurs to manage this type of business. This study seeks to explore existing literature from a broad perspective and contribute to the advancement of knowledge, more specifically in theoretical and empirical contributions in KIE.

Using the systematic review method, a survey of 85 articles, related to the KIE focal issue, which originated the Web of Science, allowed the exhaustive analysis of the studies and the division of the subject into key categories (WEBER, 1990). The five chosen categories are divided into: entrepreneurs, innovation, internationalization, location and triple alliance, which allowed the surveying and pointing of the main discussions in theoretical and empirical areas, and especially the direction of future studies.

The present research has raised the relationship of categories to KIE conceptualizations, our data suggest that although the literature indicates a distancing of KIE research, there are multidisciplinary themes and approaches in the studies. It is understood that this research offers theoretical implications, since it meets a gap observed through the analysis of previous studies, mainly by the analytical effort on the theoretical and empirical contributions. In addition, this article contributes with the mapping for future research on gaps still unexplored.

MALERBA, Franco. Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship and innovation systems: Evidence from Europe. Routledge, 2010. MALERBA, Franco; MCKELVEY, Maureen. Knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship integrating Schumpeter, evolutionary economics, and innovation systems. Small Business Economics, p. 1-20, 2018. RADOSEVIC, Slavo; YORUK, Esin. Entrepreneurial propensity of innovation systems: Theory, methodology and evidence. Research Policy, v. 42, n. 5, p. 1015-1038, 2013. WEBER, Robert Philip. Basic content analysis. Sage, 1990.