Entrepreneurship involves creation. This can include, but not limited to, the creation of new opportunities and technologies, the creation of new firms, the creation of new products and markets within existing firms, the creation of new and better ways of doing business, and the creation of key entrepreneurial resources, which ultimately leads to the creation of value—economic and social—for entrepreneurs as well as various stakeholders. Entrepreneurship is foundational to the study of business management. Indeed, without entrepreneurship, there is no business to manage.
The Entrepreneurship group at Ivey is made up of faculty who research different elements of entrepreneurship at all levels of analysis—from individuals to global environments—and especially as it relates to understanding what leads entrepreneurs to be successful. This includes research on entrepreneurial cognition and decision making, new venture creation, entrepreneurial firm growth and performance, entrepreneurial strategy, innovation and the role of technology, family business, the economics of entrepreneurship, regional entrepreneurial dynamics and development, and international entrepreneurship.
*Please note that Entrepreneurship is a stream under General Management
Areas of Research Focus
- Entrepreneurial cognition and decision making
- New venture creation
- Entrepreneurial firm growth and performance
- Entrepreneurial strategy
- Innovation and the role of technology
- Family business and leadership succession/transition
- The economics of entrepreneurship
- Regional and urban entrepreneurship
- Gender and entrepreneurship
- Social entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship and disadvantage
- International entrepreneurship
- Corporate Entrepreneurship
Faculty in the Entrepreneurship group have regularly published in premier management, entrepreneurship and technology journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Small Business Economics, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Strategic Management Journal, among others.
PhD Student Opportunities
Each year, the Entrepreneurship Area Group admits one or two qualified, highly motivated, and intellectually curious applicants into our PhD Program. We welcome applicants who are interested in any entrepreneurship-related (broadly defined) topics, including, but not limited to, the current and past Areas of Research Focus of our faculty members listed above. Once admitted, the student will be assigned a Faculty Mentor with whom they will work closely for the first two years in the Program.
PhD Graduates
The doctoral program in Entrepreneurship is designed for those interested in pursuing academic careers in entrepreneurship at top business schools.
Dr. Maya Kumar (2017 PhD)
Assistant Professor, IE Business School
The Role of Early Customers in the Venture Creation Process
While startups’ interactions with early potential customers may occur long before product creation, entrepreneurs often fail to recognize how these interactions impact startup development. My research proposes that early customers are central influences and develops a model of customer interactions. More specifically, my dissertation focuses on answering: When and how do startups interact with early customers during the venture creation process, and how do these interactions create path dependence for the type of organization being created?.... Read more about this thesis
