Fostering Productive Entrepreneurship: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective

Jonathan Mukiza Peter Kansheba of the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder has submitted his thesis entitled «Fostering Productive Entrepreneurship: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective» and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Friday 2 September 2022. 

He has followed the PhD programme at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder, 

Read the summary of the thesis by Jonathan Kansheba:

Fostering Productive Entrepreneurship: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective

The phenomenon-entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) has been recently used as the framework to describe and explain the integrated nature of economic, political, social, and cultural aspects that foster entrepreneurship. Despite its increasingly attention to both scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, it is still undertheorized and with insufficient empirical validations.  I attempt to expand the current understanding about the EEs as summarized below:

Four research studies

The first study offers a literature review that connects current knowledge and identifies prospective and novel directions for future research. It provides a synthesis of theoretical and conceptual foundations of the EE concept.

Moreover, it revisits the fundamental definition and the application of the concept and extends the extant conceptual framework of the phenomenon.

The second and third study extend the current EE framework by arguing and testing for the mediation role of innovations (second study) and entrepreneurial attitude (third study).

The findings show that vibrant EEs are good habitats for innovative entrepreneurs and nurture entrepreneurial attitudes by supplying necessary tangible (e.g. financial capital and supporting infrastructures) and intangible resources (e.g. appropriate knowledge and skills, motivation, and networking). Improved (product and service) innovations and entrepreneurial attitude in turn yield to productive entrepreneurship in terms of early-stage and high-growth activities.

The fourth study explores how the current Covid-19 pandemic affects the EE functioning in terms of its quality and performance. The findings reveal that the government pandemic containment countermeasures made EEs more vulnerable to negative economic consequences which in turn hamper their quality and performance. However, stakeholders` engagement and collaboration play a significant role in improving the EEs-perceived quality and reduce their vulnerability.

Implications

This doctoral thesis contributes to the body of knowledge by initially synthesizing extant literature on EE research.

It also fills the empirical gap particularly on the causal relationship between eco-factors and eco-output of the EEs.

It also informs policymakers that policies and programs targeted towards fostering EEs need to inculcate entrepreneurial traits to join and scale-up entrepreneurial activities.

It also sheds light to nascent entrepreneurs (business owners) and managers of entrepreneurial ventures to leverage on the resource richness of their EEs in shaping their entrepreneurial behaviours and initiatives which ultimately results in gaining competitive advantage and improved performance.

It emphasizes the need for policies for protecting EE from adversity brought by disruptive events to be aligned with stakeholders’ engagement, collaboration, and support, which are the cornerstones of EE functioning.

Disputation facts:

The trial lecture and the public defence will take place in Gabriel Scotts Auditorium B1 001, Campus Kristiansand and online via the Zoom conferencing app - registration link below.

Dean Roger Henning Normann, School of Business and Law at the University, will chair the disputation.

The trial lecture Friday 2 September at 10:15 hours

Public defense Friday 2 September at 12:00 hours

 

Given topic for trial lecture: «Why, and in which way, is the ecosystem perspective important for entrepreneurship studies?  Develop some novel ideas for future studies.»

Thesis Title: «Fostering Productive Entrepreneurship: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Perspective»

Search for the thesis in AURA - Agder University Research Archive, a digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder.

The thesis is available here:

PhD Thesis _ Jonathan Kansheba v2

 

The Candidate: Jonathan Mukiza Peter Kansheba (1989, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania) Bachelors degree and Masters degree from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Business School.

Opponents:

First opponent: Professor Lene Foss, Jönkoping University, Sweden

Second opponent: Assistant Professor PhD Matthias Waldkirch, EBS Universität, Germany

Professor Jouni Kimmo Alajoutsijärvi, University of Agder,  is appointed as the administrator for the assessment committee.

Supervisor in the doctoral work was Professor Andreas Wald, University of Agder

What to do as an online audience member:

The disputation is open to the public, but to follow the trial lecture and the public defence digitally, transmitted via the Zoom conferencing app, you have to register as an audience member on this link:

https://uiano.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5MkcemsqTkqHdNt1NmsGMsfMG4a5gEHR6F_ 

A Zoom-link will be returned to you. (Here are introductions for how to use Zoom: support.zoom.us if you cannot join by clicking on the link.)

We ask online audience members to join the virtual trial lecture at 10:05 at the earliest and the public defense at 11:50 at the earliest. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time. Further, we ask online audience members to turn off their microphone and camera and keep them turned off throughout the event. You do this at the bottom left of the image when in Zoom. We recommend you use ‘Speaker view’. You select that at the top right corner of the video window when in Zoom.

Opponent ex auditorio:

The chair invites members of the public to pose questions ex auditorio in the introduction to the public defense. Deadline is during the break between the two opponents. The person asking questions should have read the thesis. For online audience the Contact Persons e-mail are available in the chat function during the Public Defense, and questions ex auditorio can be submitted to Gunvor Guttormsen on e-mail gunvor.guttormsen@uia.no