Portugal

This chapter consists of sections on Introduction, Historical Overview, The Environment for Entrepreneurship and Toward the Future. Introduction, as follows:The Portuguese Republic shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, and extends to neighbouring islands, covering 91,905 square kilometres. The Azores archipelago (see Exhibit 18.1) lies 1,600 kilometres from mainland Europe. Major cities of Portugal include the capital, Lisbon (Exhibit 18.2) and Oporto (Porto) — the latter famous for its fortified port wine (Exhibit 18.3).Portugal was the “earliest and once the greatest of Europe’s modern imperial powers” (La Fay, 1965, p. 453). Portugal ruled over Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde (locally known as Cabo Verde) Goa, Macao, Mozambique, and beyond. After the independence of Portuguese colonies in Africa, which took place following the revolution of April 25, 1974 — also referred to as the Cravos Revolution — the political and social conditions in the former colonies became problematic. This prompted the exodus of Europeans, who lived in the colonies, to move to the Portuguese mainland. This, in turn, resulted in a huge increase in people seeking employment in Portugal, while jobs became relatively scarce. As a result, many of the so-called retornados — returnees from the African colonies — became self-employed, thereby creating new dynamics.Until the global financial crisis of the early 21st century, Portuguese people tended to prefer the security of employment, over the risks inherent in entrepreneurship. The general mind-set, in Portugal, reflected an attitude of risk aversion, and the dominance of long-established firms (see Exhibit 18.4) contributed to the barriers to entry…