The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will co-sponsor and host the 28th Annual Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference June 5-7 at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. The event, widely considered the premier conference for entrepreneurship research, provides a dynamic venue where academics and real-world practitioners link theory and practice.
The conference will feature 300 researchers from 23 countries presenting 219 papers. Countries represented include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. The proceedings will be published in the Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, the most comprehensive collection of empirical research papers on entrepreneurship, representing institutions from around the globe.
“We are excited to partner with UNC on this year’s BCERC,” said Andrew Zacharakis, conference director and professor at Babson. “UNC has an international reputation of academic excellence and a long history studying entrepreneurship. Faculty and doctoral students, such as Howard Aldrich and Craig Galbraith, among many others, have long been participants at the conference. We look forward to working with the UNC team of professors: Ted Zoller, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, who marshaled the conference; the BCERC UNC co-directors Howard Aldrich and Barry Bayus; and the director of the Doctoral Consortium Program, Atul Nerkar.”
Aldrich is Kenan Professor and chair of the sociology department in the College of Arts and Sciences and adjunct professor of management at Kenan-Flagler. Bayus is the Roy O. Rodwell Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Kenan-Flagler and conference co-chair. Nerkar is the Jeffrey A. Allred Scholar and associate professor of organizational behavior/strategy at Kenan-Flagler.
In addition to the conference, UNC will host the 2008 BCERC Doctoral Consortium Program, which provides doctoral students with the opportunity to gain insight into current research issues through intense interaction with consortium faculty. This year’s consortium received 65 applications from 17 countries for 25 accepted applications.
Hosted in conjunction with BCERC since 1985, the consortium also encourages scholars and educators to become leaders in the field of entrepreneurship education. The doctoral consortium is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America. The Kauffman Foundation (http://www.kauffman.org) was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman.
“UNC is delighted to host the 2008 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, which has the longest and most distinguished history in the field of entrepreneurship in advancing scholarship in this growing field,” Bayus said.
“No other conference can claim stronger leadership in the advancement of our field than the Babson conference,” Aldrich said. “With a unique model that facilitates review of the latest scholarship by admitting peer-reviewed papers, there is no better place where you can observe the latest scholarly frontiers in entrepreneurship. I have never missed this conference, and view it as a fundamental building block to a research career in entrepreneurship.”
Consistently ranked one of the world's best business schools, Kenan-Flagler is known for experiential learning in leadership and teamwork, superior teaching, innovative research and a collaborative culture. Launched in 2004 to spread entrepreneurship across the campus, the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative is an $11 million program is funded in part by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as part of its Kauffman Campuses Initiative. The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise manages the initiative and is home to the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which leads the many entrepreneurial education programs of Kenan-Flagler.
Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Next year’s conference will be held at Babson College, June 3-6, 2009.
Note: Business reporters who wish to cover the conference should contact Allison Adams, media relations director at Kenan-Flagler.
Kenan-Flagler Business School contact: Allison Adams, (919) 962-7235, aadams@unc.edu
Babson College contact: Michael Chmura, (781) 239-4549, Mchmura@babson.edu
News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu