The VU Amsterdam will host two very interesting events in May. On the 29th of May a seminar is organized on on “the Entrepreneurial University”. The idea of the Entrepreneurial University is commonly associated with the commercialization of knowledge developed by academic scientists via patenting, licensing, university spin-off creation and university-industry partnerships, but other applications are also possible. The next day, on May 30, the VU will then host a seminar on Entrepreneurship Education with a variety of speakers and contributions, featuring different approaches, and different contexts.

As a special guest, Dr. Ulla Hytti from the University of Turku (Finland), is welcomed who will – amongst others – talk about Finnish research and strategies regarding the Entrepreneurial University. On the second event she will give a talk on academic entrepreneurship as a process.

Please have a look in the Event Calender if you are interested or try to contact the organizer Karen Verduijn from VU Amsterdam.

Dear members of DARE,

We cordially invite you to the 11th DARE research seminar ‘ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR: A NUANCED PERSONALITY LENS’ on May 12 2017, 10:15-17:30 hours (including lunch), University of Twente. The seminar will be held in The Gallery, zaal Erlenmeyer.

Call for papers:

Entrepreneurial behavior occurs at the nexus of the enterprising individual and the entrepreneurial opportunity. Thus, as any behavior, entrepreneurial action can be understood as a result of individual and situational factors – of both structure and agency. Consequently, a ‘personality’ lens draws attention to stable differences between individuals and can help to understand one of the key individual factors at play in entrepreneurial activity.

Several meta-analyses now provide robust evidence that the entrepreneurs’ positive characteristics such self-efficacy or need for achievement matter for business creation and success. However, the negative side of the entrepreneurial personality such as the dark triad (narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism), or traits and skills associated with mental disorders have largely been neglected by entrepreneurial behavior research – yet, it might be the focus on potential upsides of mental disorders, such as dyslexia, ADHD, bipolar disorder, or narcissistic personality disorder that generates relevant and interesting findings when it comes to explaining entrepreneurial behavior and success on the basis of personality.

Furthermore, previous research has focused on personality in terms of traits and skills, largely neglecting its underlying layers in terms of entrepreneurial motivations and identities. However, individuals engage in entrepreneurial activity for different reasons and with different motivations and can develop different social identities as entrepreneurs. It is likely that such differences in aspirations influence entrepreneurial behavior and success. A nuanced understanding of how entrepreneurial motivations and identities relate to the behaviors that individuals undertake as they explore and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities would not only add power to the adoption of personality as a lens, but can also lead to more adequate advice directed towards potential and actual entrepreneurs.

In this regard, the exploration of the linkages between nuanced entrepreneurship education that takes account of the personality of e.g. students and academics and entrepreneurial behavior gains importance.

In this DARE seminar, co-organized with the Netherlands Institute for Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship (NIKOS) at the University of Twente, we invite novel papers and presentations about research in which personality is brought into our understanding of entrepreneurial behavior in new ways. For example, we welcome proposals addressing the following questions:

• How do entrepreneurial behavior and success vary depending on the motivation of the enterprising individual?
• How do entrepreneurial behavior and success vary depending on the social identity of the enterprising individual?
• How do entrepreneurial behavior and success vary depending on the ‘dark side’ personality characteristics of the enterprising individual (e.g., traits and skills associated with mental disorders, such as ADHD, dyslexia, bipolar disorder, or narcissistic personality disorder)?
• How do ownership structure and associated values (family business versus non-family business) affect the linkages between personality and entrepreneurial behavior and success?
• Which dimensions of personality need to be considered in entrepreneurship education, and how, to effectively stimulate entrepreneurial behavior and success among e.g., students and academics?

This seminar aims to discuss, reflect on and further develop submitted papers. The program allows for a limited number of presentations; if you are interested in presenting your work, please submit a short abstract (max. 300 words) in a word-compatible format electronically to k.zalewska-kurek@utwente.nl before 21 April, 2017. Unpublished work and work in progress are very welcome.

Please register by sending an email to: Danielle Boelen-Tanke at danielle.boelen@utwente.nl with your full name and name of the organization.

Organizing committee: Isabella Hatak, Kasia Zalewska-Kurek, Nardo de Vries, Ilse Matser (for the family firm perspective) & Petra de Weerd-Nederhof

We look forward to receiving your work and an inspiring DARE event!