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Lawrence A. Plummer

Retired, Entrepreneurship

Director, Ivey New Venture Project
Donald G. and Elizabeth R. Ness Estate Fellowship in Entrepreneurship

Lawrence  Plummer

Contact Information

Research Publications

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Lawrence (Larry) Plummer, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at Ivey in the Entrepreneurship group. He earned his Ph.D. in strategy and entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Previously, Professor Plummer was an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Oklahoma's Price College of Business and an assistant professor at Clemson University's College of Business and Behavioral Science. In 2004, Professor Plummer was named a management research fellow of the Max Planck Institute of Economics in Jena, Germany. His prior experience includes two consulting practices founded with his wife as well as international consulting and management in the aerospace, environmental, and television/film sectors.

Plummer's research focuses on new venture creation, growth, and performance. Much of his current research focuses on the geography of entrepreneurship through the lens of spatial economics including economic geography, regional/urban economics, location theory, and spatial econometrics. Professor Plummer's research is most concerned with the location choices entrepreneurs make in starting their businesses and how spatial competition between firms drives the survival and performance of new ventures. His research appears in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Organizational Research Methods, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Small Business Economics, Annals of Regional Science, and Production and Operations Management.

Plummer is a research fellow of the Institute for Military and Veteran Families at Syracuse University and teaches annually at the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and EBV-Families programs at Florida State University and Syracuse University.

Teaching

  • Ivey Field Project / New Venture Project (MBA and HBA)
  • Design Driven Innovation (HBA)
  • Managing Innovation (MSc)

Education

  • PhD, University of Colorado at Boulder
  • MA, George Washington University
  • BS, Syracuse University

Recent Refereed Articles

  • Plummer, L. A.; Parker, S. C.; Reyes, S., 2022, "Regional Path Breaking: The Role of Industry Switching, Industry Diversity, and New Knowledge in New Venture Exit", Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, September 46(5): 1231 - 1255.
  • Amezcua, A.; Ratinho, T.; Plummer, L. A.; Jayamohan, P., 2020, "Organizational sponsorship and the economics of place: How regional urbanization and localization shape incubator outcomes", Journal of Business Venturing, July 35(4)
  • Plummer, L. A.; Allison, T. H.; Connelly, B. L., 2016, "Better Together? Signaling Interactions in New Venture Pursuit of Initial External Capital", Academy of Management Journal, October 59(5): 1585 - 1604.
  • Plummer, L. A.; Gilbert, B. A., 2015, "The Effect of Defense Agency Funding of University Research on Regional New Venture Creation", Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, June 9(2): 135 - 152.
  • Shockley, J.; Plummer, L. A.; Roth, A. V.; Fredendall, L. D., 2015, "Strategic Design Responsiveness: An Empirical Analysis of US Retail Store Networks", Production and Operations Management, March 24(3): 451 - 468.
  • Busenitz, L. W.; Plummer, L. A.; Klotz, A.; Shazhad, A.; Rhoads, K., 2014, "Entrepreneurship Research (1985-2009) and the Emergence of Opportunities", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, September 38(5): 981 - 1000.
  • Plummer, L. A.; Acs, Z. J., 2014, "Localized Competition in the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship", Journal of Business Venturing, January 29(1): 121 - 136.
  • Plummer, L. A., 2010, "Spatial Dependence in Entrepreneurship Research: Challenges and Methods", Organizational Research Methods, January 13(1): 146 - 175.
  • Acs, Z. J.; Plummer, L. A.; Sutter, R., 2009, "Penetrating the Knowledge Filter in Rust Belt Economies", Annals of Regional Science, December 43(4): 989 - 1012.
  • Audretsch, D. B.; Lehman, E.; Plummer, L. A., 2009, "Agency and Governance in Strategic Entrepreneurship", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, January 33(1): 149 - 166.
  • Plummer, L. A.; Haynie, J. M.; Godesiabois, J., 2007, "An Essay on the Origins of Entrepreneurial Opportunity", Small Business Economics, April 28(4): 363 - 379.
  • McMullen, J. S.; Plummer, L. A.; Acs, Z. J., 2007, "What is an Entrepreneurial Opportunity?", Small Business Economics, April 28(4): 273 - 283.
  • Acs, Z. J.; Plummer, L. A., 2005, "Penetrating the 'knowledge filter' in regional economies", Annals of Regional Science, September 39(3): 439 - 456.

For more publications please see our Research Database

Honours & Awards

  • 2015-2016 Ivey Research Merit Award
  • 2004 National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) Best Paper Award

Experience

  • Assistant Professor, Management & Entrepreneurship, University of Oklahoma, 2009 - 2014
  • Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Clemson University, 2007 -2009
  • Management Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Economics, 2004 -2009
  • Visiting Research Economist, Small Business Administration, Denver, 2007
  • Graduate Part-Time Instructor, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2003-2007
  • Adjunct Faculty, University of Denver, 2001 -2004

Research/Course Development

  • New venture creation and performance
  • Innovation and knowledge spillovers
  • Entrepreneurship and regional growth / development
  • University and industry R&D
  • Economic geography and spatial analysis

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