So, here we go: Another blog about entrepreneurship, startups and strategy (well … at least, the last point is not always used in combination with the other two). Why do we need another blog about such a crowded topic you might ask?

One reason is that most (nascent) entrepreneurs underestimate the benefits academic knowledge and research in the field of entrepreneurship and strategy can provide them in their entrepreneurial journey. Practitioners often dismiss the academic discourse as too theoretical and inapplicable. On the one hand, quantitative research is seen as not detailed and deep enough. On the other hand, qualitative research is often criticized for its lack of generalization.

I can help. Pleased to meet you! My name is Amir. You can read more about me. For this introductory post it’s enough to know that I wrote my master thesis on the subject knowledge transfer from management science to practice and that I just finished my PhD in – you guessed it – entrepreneurship.

Granted, management studies have an issue with being simultaneously relevant (for practitioners) and (scientifically) rigorous. If you are interested in the “rigor vs. relevance” debate, I recommend reading the work of Nicolai and Seidl (2000) for starters. You don’t have to do it now. We’ll get to rigor vs. relevance another time. It’s a truly fascinating topic, which we are going to discuss in easily digestible chunks. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Anyhow, during my studies, I found several amazing concepts that can definitely help you in your entrepreneurial endeavors. However, one caveat: Don’t expect to read an article and immediately implement its key findings. Some of these concepts will help you to understand entrepreneurial decision-making and behavior on a conceptual level and consequently show you how to improve your own entrepreneurial action.

And the best part? I’m going to use my own entrepreneurial endeavor(s) as an example. So, it’s not going to be too abstract. I will tell you more about the current project I’m working on in the next blog post. Just some quick info: It’s going to be an edtech (startups using technology to improve education) and open source – at all levels. That’s it for now. Share and subscribe via RSS, email or twitter for more awesomeness to come. Don’t worry I won’t post too much ;) Oh, and please give feedback in the comments section. Is there any specific topic you would like to read and discuss here?

Reference:

Nicolai, A. & Seidl. D. 2010. That’s Relevant! Different Forms of Practical Relevance in Management Science. Organization Studies, 31: 1257-1285.

Image credit: Sam Klein on Flickr