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Entrepreneurial ecosystems as an enabling force in the formation of new ventures has emerged as an influential scholarly conversation. This study adds to that conversation by elaborating theory at the individual level, examining how variation in entrepreneurial ecosystems impact the new venture ideas entrepreneurs generate. Specifically, we deploy a verbal protocol experiment where the focus and coherence of structural factors and key actors in the ecosystem (i.e., ecosystem convergence) are manipulated and entrepreneurs engage in think-out-loud new venture ideations under the different configurations. An analysis of the qualitative data from 110 new venture ideas generated by 28 entrepreneurs resulted in a novel conceptual model that identifies three distinct types of ecosystem-driven ideation (mimetic, synthetic, and agentic). We then explicate the ecosystem conditions under which each form of ideation is likely to occur. Doing so, we delineate ecosystem convergence around a specific industry as increasing the likelihood of mimetic ideation, with decreasing convergence leading to greater likelihoods of synthetic and then agentic ideation. Our theoretical insights culminate in a set of propositions that improve our understanding of the ways in which entrepreneurial ecosystems shape entrepreneurs thinking and action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Symposium aims to showcase and discuss theory about how macroenvironmental changes create positive potentials that organizational agents can leverage--or fail to leverage. Our vantage point is that such theory is important and timely yet insufficiently represented in our current library of management theories. To underscore our point of a current theoretical void, we focus in particular on how societal crises -- that is, events that are by definition negative for the majority -- create positive potentials for an important minority of business activities. Theorizing Potentials from Macroenvironmental Change Author: Frederik Von Briel; U. of Queensland Author: Per Davidsson; Jonkoping International Business School Author: Jan Recker; U. of Hamburg A Cloud's Silver Lining? The Impact of COVID-19 Policy Interventions on New and Maturing Technology Author: David Lucas; Syracuse U. Whitman School of Management Author: Cristiano Bellavitis; Syracuse U. Whitman School of Management Author: Uisung David Park; Syracuse U. External Enablers and the Shaping of Established Ventures: Emergence, Novelty, and Persistence of Author: Joaquin Cestino; Jonkoping International Business School Author: Lucia Naldi; Jonkoping International Business School Author: Mart Ots; Jonkoping International Business School Expanding Enabler-Agent Interplay: A Missed External Enablement Perspective Author: Matthew Wood; U. of Oklahoma Author: David W. Williams; U. of Tennessee Author: Will Drover; Texas Christian U. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why is it that entrepreneurs miss entrepreneurial exit opportunities? Drawing on entrepreneurial imprinting and path dependency research, we develop theory to explain the dynamics of how venture characteristics formed early in venture development that are conducive for pursuing initial entrepreneurial opportunities (i.e., new product or service introductions) later become maladaptive as entrepreneurs pursue entrepreneurial exit opportunities. Our theoretical framework delineates the evolutionary process by which venture characteristics form through entrepreneurial imprinting across three levels of analysis (i.e., environment, individual, venture) and influence the ability of entrepreneurs to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. We demonstrate our theory by providing three common examples of imprinted venture characteristics (i.e., frugality, disinhibition, perfectionism) that help entrepreneurs overcome barriers to entrepreneurial entry early on but can eventually shift to become barriers to entrepreneurial exit during later stages of entrepreneurship. In doing so, we highlight a conundrum entrepreneurs face in the entrepreneurial process in which the elements for success early on are markedly different than the elements necessary for success later. In this study, we contribute to growing streams of entrepreneurial exit and entrepreneurial imprinting research by providing theoretical insight concerning why certain entrepreneurs miss the exit ramp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on entrepreneurial action and behavior has exploded since the publication of McMullen and Shepherd's (2006) seminal article published in the Academy of Management Review. Yet the majority of research on entrepreneurial action has maintained a static view of entrepreneurial action by looking at the decision to act or not act on an opportunity, and less research has focused on the dynamic, adaptive entrepreneurial action that founders engage in as they pursue and develop their ventures over time. We believe the time is right to step back and survey the landscape of research on adaptive entrepreneurial behavior. As a field, we need to mindfully consider what we have learned to date and in which ways we should push our work forward in the coming years to address gaps and fragmentation between different perspectives. This panel symposium will bring together prominent scholars who have published or are working in the area of adaptive entrepreneurial behavior to highlight the current state of this research stream, introduce new research ideas, and suggest future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in the ways in which entrepreneurship is embedded within, and explained by, the passage of time. Thus, in entrepreneurship, ""Broadening our Sight"" means, among other things, expanding our temporal horizons to increase the historical and temporal sensitivity with which we explain entrepreneurial processes. Unfortunately, however, such historical and temporal sensitivity is not common in the existing research on entrepreneurial opportunities which tends to focus on the nexus between individuals and more-or-less synchronic situations. This lack of emphasis on history and temporality is surprising because opportunities are manifestly about the contrast between the status quo (i.e. the past) and an imagined future which may be realized through present action. In the proposed symposium we adopt the view that entrepreneurial opportunities are best understood in relation to evolving accounts of the past, present, and future. Accordingly, on the one hand, opportunities can be viewed as specific features of broader socio-historical contexts which may be discovered, created, or otherwise actualized by entrepreneurs with consequences for subsequent entrepreneurial activities. On the other hand, entrepreneurs' own prospective and retrospective accounts involving entrepreneurial opportunities may serve a symbolic or rhetorical function which may facilitate subsequent stakeholder enrollment and resource acquisition. The proposed symposium is intended to foster temporal-historical approaches for explaining and studying entrepreneurial opportunities. To do so, we bring together leading scholars with demonstrated expertise on entrepreneurial opportunities, entrepreneurial processes, and the history of entrepreneurship to present their ideas and respond to audience questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurs are often confronted with unexpected events. Yet we know very little about the ways in which unexpected events manifest in entrepreneurial efforts. Entrepreneurship and management theory have traditionally viewed the process of individuals processing novel incoming information through the lens of "normalization", meaning one systematically analyzes data, looks for commonalities, identifies trends and then takes isomorphic action. We argue that an explanation for how entrepreneurs deal with unexpected events does not fit this pattern and requires a different theoretical lens, one we coin "exceptionalization". We theoretically elaborate exceptionalization as a process of embracing schema-incongruent information, inductively updating opportunity images, and acting in one of four ways: abandoning, self-deception, routinization, or improvisation. This new theory identifies entrepreneurs' perceptions and considerations of unexpected events as an influential, yet previously overlooked lever in the genesis and pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of a flexible multi-lingual prediction system for use with an augmentative communication system. A Grammar Description Language (GDL) is used to build a knowledge base about the given language and a Lexicon is used to provide the words. Changing the language of the system is simply a case of swapping the GDL code and the Lexicon to the required type. A Blissymbol prediction system can also be provided, which will predict symbols given previous entries using a grammar based on the Blissymbolic language. When used the system will provide grammatically correct predictions which should have a higher hit rate than systems using traditional word counting techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercialization of university owned technology has become an important area of entrepreneurship research. The most common method of commercialization is the transfer of technology via licensing agreements from universities to entrepreneurs. Despite the fundamental role the entrepreneur plays in this process, there has been very little research attention paid to entrepreneur's decisions to engage in a university licensing agreement. In this paper, we frame the entrepreneur's decision to license as a matter of opportunity evaluation and develop a conceptual model of the licensing decision to explore why entrepreneurs may choose to pursue or forego a particular commercialization opportunity via a licensing agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on key elements from judgment based perspective and social influence theory, we present a conceptual model that explores judgment and decision processes used by angel investors when one lacks the domain expertise required to make an informed investment decision. Our model is grounded in the growing prevalence of angel groups as an investment evaluation mechanism and introduce the concepts of reliant judgment and referent confidence as novel constructs that determine the amount investment and subsequent satisfaction with the investment decision. As one of the first studies to consider the influence of angel group dynamics on the investment decisions, our model makes important contributions to the body of research on equity investment. Specifically, the dynamics we uncover provide improved understanding of how domain expertise among angels in a group manifest in the decision processes at the individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policy studies often seek to determine the effects of policy changes by treating the effects of individual differences as random error. Viewing managers as embedded agents whose social structures are subject to manipulation by policy makers, we illustrate how individual differences can be infused into policy research to glean insight into how and why policy changes effect decisions such as where to locate new ventures. We consider how the effects of socio-political situational attributes (e.g., level of regulation, support services for business, cost of living, and natural and cultural amenities) are influenced by individual differences such as the manager's position (entrepreneur or corporate executive), political party identification, and political values. Our illustrative investigation suggests that individual differences can systematically influence the efficacy of public policy and therefore deserve greater scholarly attention. We conclude by articulating the benefits of an embedded agency approach to researching entrepreneurship public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]