Entrepreneurship Research Legends Offer Words of Advice to Young ScholarsPage Title

Howard Aldrich

Duane Ireland of Texas A&M University and Howard Aldrich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill spoke about their research and offered guidance to young academics during their session titled “Conversations with the Legends: The Road Not Taken on Entrepreneurship Research” at the 2021 California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference. The online conference was hosted by the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center within the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University April 14 - 16. 

The session was moderated by management professors Montressa Washington of Shenandoah University and Parisa Haim Faridian at the Fowler College of Business at SDSU. 

Duane Ireland

Ireland and Aldrich, who are well-known entrepreneurship researchers and thought leaders, answered questions from the moderators and audience members during the session and discussed the importance of finding like-minded academics for research collaboration. “In trying to find collaborators, I’ve always sought to identify individuals who have the same passion I do (about the topic),” said Ireland. 

The moderators asked the two “legends” about their research specializations. While Ireland is a noted expert in entrepreneurship strategy, Aldrich spoke about his specialization in small organizations, which he says are a growing trend in the U.S. “The long-term trend is that the number of publicly-traded firms is dropping and all the action on the ground is with startups,” he said. “For every business with employees, you get about four non-employer businesses and there are signs that the number of non-employer businesses is increasing.”

As the interview session wrapped up, the two researchers were asked what advice they’d like to share with young entrepreneurship scholars. Aldrich said: “Pick a problem to study that’s going to keep you excited for a long time.” “Meet and greet,” said Ireland. “Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to scholars working in the spaces where you have an interest.”