Information and entrepreneurship: a case study with Brazilian and Canadian academic

ABSTRACT This article brings information and academic entrepreneurship as central themes, researched in the light of the Biology of Knowing. It aims to identify where is located the information that supports the entrepreneurial mindset of academics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Brazil, and Western University, in Canada, characterizing the family and academic environments to which they are exposed. Based on two case studies, the research has a qualitative and descriptive characteristic, and data were collected from structured interviews that considered the life stories of seven UFMG professors and seven Western University alumni. The primary evidence is that the determinant information of the entrepreneurial mentality was built from two factors in interaction: the biological characteristics of the research subjects, open to the entrepreneurial initiative, and the primary influence of the family environment, whether through life experiences or memories of words and attitudes of parents and relatives. The academic environment was also relevant, being able to encourage or act as a barrier to entrepreneurship. The relevance of entrepreneurial education is highlighted, fundamental for the formation of the knowing and decision-making subject, in constant interaction with other subjects and environments.