Research Spotlight: Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Publications

Edited books

Congratulations to Professor James Cunningham, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, for co-editing the book titled ‘Industrial, Science and Technology Policy in Africa’. The book explores the specific context of science and technology policy in African nations and outlines potential directions for future research in this area.

Professor Cunningham also recently co-edited Research Handbook on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems published by Edward Elgar This edited research handbook brings providing cutting edge insights to the latest perspectives on entrepreneurial ecosystems which combines contributions from leading and emerging scholars across the globe. The handbook examines six main themes – entrepreneurial ecosystems foundation, actors, cross-cultural contexts, academic entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurial ecosystems, governance and measurement.

Journal articles

Professor Jonathan Sapsed, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Professor Giorgio Fazio, Professor of Macroeconomics, also co-authored a paper called ‘Becoming a complex innovator: the role of internal and external knowledge sources’, which published in R&D Management. This paper explores how different sources of knowledge, both inside and outside a firm, affect whether companies adopt simple or complex innovation strategies (which combine technological and non-technological changes). Using Italian innovation survey data, the paper finds that all knowledge sources help firms become complex innovators, but only up to a point (following an inverted U-shape). It also shows that firms benefit most from absorbing knowledge through tools like machinery and software, while external research and development efforts have little direct impact.

Dr Kate Lewis, Professor of Work and Organisation, has successfully published the paper ‘Power, youth, and temporality: Capitalising on the symbolic in resourcing social entrepreneurship’ in the Social Enterprise Journal. Dr Lewis and her co-authors were also runner up for the Business and Society Best Paper Award 2024 for their paper ‘Advancing a contextualised, community-centric understanding of social entrepreneurial ecosystems’

Professor Cunningham also recently co-authored a paper ‘The academic, the entrepreneur, the female in a dress: a micro-level exploration of multiple role identities’  in the  International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research. This paper examines experiences of female academic entrepreneurs using an identity lens. The study found six dimensions:

• the situated environment
• visible differences
• hidden/invisible differences
• changing behaviours
• perception of self
• perception of others

It also highlighted that female academic entrepreneurs must undertake different types of identify work to be seen as credible academic entrepreneurs. We found some unintended consequences of policies that are designed to support female entrepreneurs and as such can exacerbate existing inequalities. The paper recommends that universities need to put in place policies and support that specifically address the challenges experience by female entrepreneurs and to address the invisible difference that female academic entrepreneurs experience.

Reports

Dr Jungho Kim recently published the report ‘Bolstering Deep Tech Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development in the ASEAN+3 Countries. funded by the ASEAN+3 Cooperation Program’. This is a policy report regarding a project for the ASEAN Plus Three (APT: ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea) startup program for promoting sustainable development. It sets the definition and concept of deep-tech startups in the APT context. It addresses why it is significant to support the creation and growth of deep-tech startups in the aspect of sustainable development in developing and developed APT countries. It compares the levels of entrepreneurial ecosystems among 13 APT countries by drawing on six dimensions of indicators. It also reviews a representative policy supporting deep-tech startups and analyses one or two startup cases in each country. Finally, it suggests 10 policy recommendations in terms of market and economic environments, financing and investment, human capital and talent, technology and knowledge transfer, infrastructure, deregulation, impacts and diffusions, public policies, and international collaboration. This report reflects a diversity of primary and secondary study results and opinions from the deep-tech EE stakeholders in the APT countries.

Professor James Cunningham recently published a co-authored report as part of at the National Innovation Centre Rural Enterprise (NICRE) funded project on Entrepreneurial Universities and Rural Enterprises. Some barriers to collaborations identified include: lack of trust, support, knowledge of technology transfer and lack of human capital support for collaborations. The main enablers include research capacity, engagement event with rural communities, government incentives, trust and social connections. The NICRE REUI Toolkit consists of eight steps and can used by university or an industry or non-governmental organisations as part of their collaborative initiation and planning activities. The report highlighted several recommendations for rural communities, policy and universities. For universities to effectively build long term collaborative relations with rural communities we recommended that this embed this in the core institutional mission and strategy and is reflected in the structures and organisational architecture.

Conference presentations

Dr Lucy Hatt, Reader in Entrepreneurial Education, presented at the 10th Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference at the University of British Colombia, Vancouver in early July.

The conference brings together an international community of educators and researchers to explore the threshold concept approach. Threshold concepts are transformative ideas or processes that, once understood, fundamentally change the way a learner sees a subject. It’s a space for sharing research and practice on how these concepts can be identified, taught, and used to support deep learning across disciplines.

Dr Hatt presented three papers as part of her ongoing work in entrepreneurial education:

• Hatt, L. (2025). Threshold Concepts to Develop Entrepreneurial Thinking in Strategic Leaders: Empirical Evidence of Value Creation
• Hatt, L. & Cash, P. (2025). Deliberate Process Navigation Through Sensing as a Design Thinking Threshold Concept
• Hatt, L. & Geiger, J.M. (2025). Signposting the Bridge Linking Craft and Science: A Threshold Concepts Approach to Teaching Entrepreneurial Thinking

Dr Fiona Whitehurst, Associate Dean Engagement and Place, chaired the Cultural and Creative Industries Track at the British Academy of Management Conference in Kent. The papers were all strong and the sessions generated a very constructive debate. One participant emailed Dr Whitehurst after the conference saying "I would like to sincerely thank you for your support as chair during the session. I really appreciated how carefully you checked the pronunciation of my name and how encouraging you were in guiding the Q&A. As a junior researcher, your thoughtfulness and support made a real difference to my experience at the conference".

Appointments

Congratulations to Professor Jonathan Sapsed who has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Innovation Management (IJIM), succeeding founding editor Professor Joe Tidd.

International Visitors

Dr Fiona Whitehurst hosted Visiting Professor, Professor Karen Smith from Wellington School of Business and Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand from 11 July to 6 October 2024 and 3 April to 16 May 2025. They are working on two research projects related to employer-supported volunteering.

Professor James Cunningham hosted two doctoral students – Alessia Munnia (University of Catania, Italy) and Rodolpho da C. Rangel (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).

PhD achievements

Abdullah Al Mamun was awarded his PhD for his thesis titled ‘The Role of Place in Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Navigating Challenges in Resource-Constrained Environments’. He was supervised by our former colleague, Jonathan Kimmitt, Dr Fiona Whitehurst, and Professor Matthew Gorton, Professor in Marketing. His thesis was examined by Professor James Cunningham from the Business School and Professor Sreevas Sahasranamam from the University of Glasgow. Abdullah has accepted a position as Assistant Professor in Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Birmingham. He will be based at their Dubai campus for the next three years to launch their new MSc programme in Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship.