Entrepreneurship Research Grants

Effects of Overconfidence on Risk Taking in Entrepreneurs

Terry Connolly, Eller Professor of Management and Organizations
Steven Barker, Doctoral Program Student

The purpose of this study is to examine overconfidence in entrepreneurs and its impact on risk perception and taking.  The paper explores how the forms of overconfidence, risk taking, and risk perception may differ between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs.

The Effects of Getting “Certified”: Field Evidence from Online Outsourcing

Mingfeng Lin, Assistant Professor, MIS

This study will be of interest to both practitioners and researchers of online labor markets, as well as electronic commerce in general. The context of this study represents how internet technologies transform labor market relationships.

A Study of Online Entrepreneurship Taobao.com

Xiao Mo, Assistant Professor of Economics

This study will research the use of the Chinese online marketplace Taobao.com, which has about 180 millions of registered users as of January 2010. AThis research will not only help us to understand the growth and development of small businesses in a developing economy but also grant us an insider look into entrepreneurship on line, which will fuel the future of global economy.

Portrait of the Entrepreneur: Incremental Investment Decision Making

Terry Connolly, Eller Professor of Management and Organizations
Steven Boivie, Assistant Professor, Department of Management and Organizations
Steven Barker, Ph.D Management and Organizations

This study will focus on three attributes that might distinguish entrepreneurs from comparable managerial populations in their behaviors in Incremental Investment Decisions: their attitudes towards and tolerance of risk; their propensity to anticipate and avoid decision-related regret; and their trait regulatory focus in terms of emphasis on promotion and prevention activities.

“Do Private Buyers Pay More? Evidence from Acquisitions of Privately-Held Targets”

Lubo Litov, Assistant Professor of Finance

Study will research how private acquirers purchase private targets (startups, entrepreneurial ventures, subsidiaries of private or public firms, among others). The research in this area is only in its infancy because of absence of data to produce rigorous scientific evidence in support of known economic theories.

Diving into the Shark Tank: The Role of P-O and Personality Fit in Outside Agent Decisions to Join Entrepreneurial Ventures

Jerel Slaughter, Associate Professor Brian Lesk Faculty Fellow, Department of Management and Organizations
Steven Barker, Ph.D Management and Organizations

We assert that, to be successful, entrepreneurs must pitch their venture plans not only to investors but to potential employees and customers as well.  The motivation to join entrepreneurial ventures, beyond the financial incentive, may be explained by interpersonal factors. We intend to investigate the extent to which an outside agent’s objective and subjective perceptions of P-O and personality fit with an entrepreneur influences the outside agent’s decision to participate in a new venture.

Market as a Network: Implicit Social Interactions among Competing Entrepreneurs

Yubo Chen, Associate Professor, Department of Management and Organizations

The performance and success of entrepreneurs are critically dependent on how they learn the market and competitor information and make adjustments.  Market can be treated as a buyer-seller network, where different sellers connected with each other through their common buyers.  We propose that one way for entrepreneurs to learn the market and competitor information is through the common buyers they shared with other competitors. 

Critical aspects that are the hallmark of successful entrepreneurial ventures

Mrinal Ghosh, "H" & Callie Ann Clark Professor of Marketing

In a wide variety of technology-intensive industry sectors (e.g., computing services, oil exploration and refining, mining, drug development, etc.), technically competent individuals (whose primary education is in the hard sciences and/or the engineering disciplines) have become entrepreneurial consultants who offer support services to clients, both large and small, on a variety of issues related to the client’s technology platforms and operations.