Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society (IES) Update

The Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society (IES) produces both academic research and broader influence through policy analysis and public outreach. IES scholars offer entrepreneurial solutions to complex social problems such as homelessness, wildfires and crime. For example, Ph.D. student Devin Stein has shown that in Northern California, communities that initiate measures against wildfires incooperation with state authorities have had better outcomes than those that rely only on themselves or only on the state government. Solutions to complex problems should be linked to sources of know-ledge. IES scholars identify solutions that empower entrepreneursand communities to act on knowledge, whether their own or incooperation with higher authorities such as the state or the federal government. Since its founding, IES has carved out its niche and developed both a pipeline and a reputation for quality research that matters.

In 2020-21, IES faculty continued to publish scholarly and popular writings with an international scope and impact. Highlights include Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship David Lucas’ white paper entitled “From the Bottom Up: Rebuilding Federal Homelessness Policy,” Professor of Finance Roger Koppl’s co-authored report (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) on public financial management, and Bantle Chair in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy and IES Director Maria Minniti’s service as scholar and advisor for a large-scale Kauffman Foundation study on diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship. Finally, postdoctoral fellow Zachary Rodriguez is working on entrepreneurial approaches to public-health issues, such as the distribution of HIV vaccines in Brazil, and community resilience during the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. You can listen to an IES webinar on “Entrepreneurship in Time of Crisis” at whitman.syr.edu/webinars.

IES Ph.D. students have also been active, with teaching, writing and multiple presentations at top conferences in the field, such as the Academy of Management Meeting, the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, and the Industry Study Association, among others. Of particular note, in 2021 Kurian George was awarded an Outstanding Teaching Assistant award from Syracuse University, Fabian Diaz ’21 will join the University of Louisville as an assistant professor on tenure track, and Almantas Palubinskas ’20 joined the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group at Emlyon Business School (France) as an assistant professor on tenure track. The stellar quality of Palubinskas’ work was recognized when he was awarded the 2021 Syracuse University All-University Doctoral Prize. He was also named one of the top five finalists for the 2021 Academy of Management Outstanding Dissertation in Strategic Management.

Through its various activities, IES contributes to the creation of an entrepreneurial society in which entrepreneurial innovation is supported by institutions that unleash human creativity and productivity. For more information about IES and its team visit whitman.syr.edu/ies.