Colorado State University College of Business Faculty rank Third Nationally in Entrepreneurship Research

Colorado State University College of Business entrepreneurship faculty ranked third in the nation as the most prolific contributors to academic research publications, according to a recent report.

The study, conducted by the M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, analyzes and ranks entrepreneurship research articles in three major academic journals to create the listing. CSU faculty ranked third overall with five separate articles published in two of three journals studied: “Journal of Business Venturing,” “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice” and “Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.”

“We are proud of the level and nature of entrepreneurship research that is occurring at Colorado State University,” said Ajay Menon, dean of the CSU College of Business. “This ranking reflects the commitment of the entrepreneurship faculty to develop the College of Business as a thought leader in the field of entrepreneurship.”

The Colorado State faculty-produced articles cited in the study were:

• “Entrepreneurial Exit as a Critical Component of the Entrepreneurial Process: Theoretical Development,” which examines entrepreneurial exit – the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create. This article is a thought leading piece which demonstrates the importance of entrepreneurial exit to the entrepreneur, the firm, the industry and the economy and argues that our understanding of the entrepreneurial process is incomplete without the inclusion of entrepreneurial exit. It was written by Dawn DeTienne, associate professor of Entrepreneurship for the “Journal of Business Venturing.”

• “Reconceptualizing Entrepreneurial Exit: Divergent Exit Routes and their Drivers” offers a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit that includes issues related to four distinct exit routes for businesses (exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well) by using empirical tests of 1,735 new ventures over an eight-year period. The study was co-authored by DeTienne and three colleagues for the “Journal of Business Venturing.”

• “Envirofit International: A Venture Adventure” uses a case-study approach to review a student start-up venture that began via an undergraduate entrepreneurship course, specifically considering the ambiguity faced in developing new technology, business models, and management teams. The study was co-authored by College of Business faculty members DeTienne and Paul Hudnut, co-director of CSU Global Innovation Center for Energy, Environment and Health for “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.”

• “Escaping the Green Prison: Entrepreneurship and the Creation of Opportunities for Sustainable Development” discusses how entrepreneurs can create win-win solutions as they strive for social and ecological sustainability. Entrepreneurs can escape the "green prison" by altering or creating norms, property rights and legislation that establish incentives for sustainable entrepreneurs. Co-author Thomas Dean, Daniels’ Ethics Professor and professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprise, was joined by two colleagues in preparing the study for the “Journal of Business Venturing.”

• “How Can We Know the Dancer from the Dance?” written in response to “Entrepreneurship as the Structuration of Individual and Opportunity: A Response Using a Critical Realist Perspective,” explores the underlying philosophical traditions of the research in entrepreneurship that has portrayed the entrepreneur and opportunity as separate and distinct from each other. The article was co-authored by Yolanda Sarason, associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management, Dean and a third colleague for the “Journal of Business Venturing.”

About Entrepreneurship at CSU

The CSU College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship develops world-class entrepreneurs who, through entrepreneurial activity, positively impact the local community, state, country and world. The entrepreneurship curriculum enables students to gain hands-on experience, to work with entrepreneurs from the university and the community, and to present to investors and venture capitalists. Enrollment in the entrepreneurship program has grown more than 30 percent annually over the past three years. Begun primarily as a business undergraduate program, the curriculum now provides entrepreneurship education to undergraduate students throughout campus.

Additionally, entrepreneurship is featured in the curriculum of CSU’s MBA programs, including a pioneering graduate program called Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise, which equips students to become global social entrepreneurs. The College’s Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Enterprise cultivates start-up student ventures by providing facilities, business assistance, mentoring, networking, and seed funding.

To learn more about entrepreneurship at CSU, visit www.biz.colostate.edu.

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