Jonas Gabrielsson

• PhD in Business Administration
• Professor at Halmstad University

This chapter introduces the Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurial Learning. It provides a brief review of how entrepreneurial learning emerged as a research field during the 1990s and early 2000s, coupled with an overview of the research field based on a bibliometric analysis of published research in the past fifteen years. It uses this analysis...

This study adopts a configurational approach to discover conditions common to graduates from venture creation programs who take a particular learning pathway to high entrepreneurial passion. Our theoretical framework identifies two primary sources of experiential learning (direct and vicarious experience) and three temporal vantage points (pre-, pe...

Questions we care about (Objectives) In this paper, we explore the use of reflective diaries (RD) as a learning tool for students in a Swedish business school. The question we ask is: How can diaries be used to aid students in setting learning goals and directing their learning process? Approach First, drawing on entrepreneurship education (EE) an...

Contemporary entrepreneurial education (EE) has global reach and impact, with a growing number of entrepreneurship courses, specializations, and degrees in all parts of the world. There is no longer a question of the significance and demand for EE in the higher education system. At the same time, the interest in scientific knowledge and proven expe...

Alumni engagement plays a crucial role in driving innovation in university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems. We employ an inductive, informant-centric research design to explore the pro- cessual dynamics surrounding the early alumni engagement of entrepreneurship graduates and how these translate into enter- prising behaviors that foster technolog...

Purpose In this study, the authors develop knowledge and insights on how the perception of interestingness influences the structure and focus of conversations in entrepreneurial education (EE) research. In particular, the authors elaborate on what is perceived as interesting among different subgroups of EE researchers, and not least, how EE researc...

Social innovations and social enterprise have been seen as innovative measures to achieve sustainable development. Drawing on an evaluation of a development project on creating social enterprises in Sweden, this article analyzes social innovations as a policy area. The policy area is often described as loaded with ideological contradictions. The ai...

Purpose This study focuses on extra-curricular start-up programs for students at higher educational institutions. It explores the social and situated learning experiences of students who participate in start-up programs, as well as how the processes and outcomes of entrepreneurial learning are potentially shaped by this context. Design/methodology...

Entrepreneurial education as a scientific field can be regarded as an emerging and growing area of research. In this study we pay particular attention to the community of scholars involved in entrepreneurial education. The aim of the paper is to explore how scholars within the field have integrated into larger scholarly communities. Based on a uniq...

The objective of this chapter is to discuss corporate governance in relation to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). We examine the regulatory environment by reviewing corporate governance codes developed for SMEs as well as literature and research on corporate governance in SMEs. From this stance, we discuss the specificities of SMEs, includi...

The governance of the modern corporation is broadly understood as the mechanisms, relations, and processes for balancing the interests of stakeholders. It spells out the rules and procedures for decision-making, accountability and transparency, and distributional rights. Corporate governance thus provides the framework in which corporate objectives...

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to explore knowledge accumulation in research on pedagogy in entrepreneurship education, with particular attention to how core journal outlets, core topics and core scholarly works have developed over time. Design/methodology/approach The authors combine a systematic literature review technique and bibliometric...

Boards of directors are complex systems, and it is imperative to understand what the contextual forces are that shape the direction and make-up of boards. This Research Handbook provides inspiration for researchers and practitioners interested in the manifold dimensions and facets of context surrounding boards of directors. The contributions ident...

Purpose This study aims to better understand entrepreneurial learning in the context of venture acceleration programs. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research strategy was used based on multiple in-depth interviews with 21 lead entrepreneurs complemented with participatory observations and secondary sources. The data were inductively an...

In this chapter we reflect on the ongoing megatrend of digitalization in relation to boards of directors. We define and discuss the digital transformation and its consequences for societies and corporations as well as how corporations cope with digitalization inside and outside the boardroom. Furthermore, we examine and discuss accountabilities and...

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create a better understanding of how entrepreneurial education research has evolved with regard to pedagogy over the past decades. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed systematic review methodology to enable an in-depth analysis of the literature in a process that was both replicabl...

This study offers novel insights into how university spin-offs contribute to triple helix dynamics and the evolutionary processes of industrial renewal in regional innovation ecosystems. We analyse three groups of technology intensive start-ups: university spin-offs, corporate spin-offs, and independent technology start-ups. We compare and analyse...

A critical issue when setting up a board of directors in small and medium-sized enterprises relates to the chairperson position. This study examines whether and how chairperson's experience and leadership influence the extent to which the board of directors is involved in strategy. We rely on survey data from multiple respondents in 326 firms and u...

Prior evidence suggests that board independence may enhance financial performance, but this relationship has been tested almost exclusively for Anglo-American countries. To explore the boundary conditions of this prominent governance mechanism, we examine the impact of the formal and information institutions of 18 national business systems (Whitley...

Prior evidence suggests that board independence may enhance financial performance, but this relationship has been tested almost exclusively for Anglo-American countries. To explore the boundary conditions of this prominent governance mechanism, we examine the impact of the formal and information institutions of 18 national business systems on the b...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model that explains how learning processes at the team level connect with individual and organizational levels of learning in technology-based ventures, thereby influencing the evolution of innovation capabilities in the entrepreneurial process. Design/methodology/approach The 4I organiz...

Within accounting education, both conceptual and experiential learning have been important learning approaches. However, while experiential learning has been extensively studied in accounting education, the critical role of conceptual learning has received considerably less attention. In this article, we review theory and research to develop a fram...

The current state of the water and sanitation sector has put water-related innovations high on the global policy agenda. However, the systemic complexity that typically surrounds such contexts call for actionable knowledge of how to enable and orchestrate innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. In this study we...

The question of how boards contribute to value creation has so far received only limited attention in the academic literature. When comparing recommendations from corporate governance and traditional board research with core characteristics of entrepreneurial behaviors, it may be seen how board standards risk limiting value creation or even cause v...

https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/ambpp.2016.16942abstract

The current state of the water and sanitation sector has put water-related innovations high on the global policy agenda. However, the systemic complexity that typically surrounds such contexts call for actionable knowledge of how to enable and orchestrate innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. In this study we...

Prior studies of IPO underpricing, mostly using agency theory and single-country samples, have generally fallen short. In this study, we employ the knowledge-based view (KBV) to explore underpricing across 17 countries. We find that agency indicators are insignificant predictors, board of director knowledge limits underpricing, and external knowled...

Imprinting theory suggests that founding conditions are ‘stamped' on organizations, and these imprinted routines often resist change. In contrast, strategic choice theory suggests that the firm can overcome organizational inertia and deliberately choose its future. Both theories offer dramatically different explanations behind an organization's cap...

In this study, we examine how entrepreneurs differ in their modes of learning and whether variations in modes of learning have any influence on their possession of entrepreneurial knowledge that increase their ability to recognise and exploit new business opportunities. Based on statistical analysis of 291 entrepreneurs we find that a learning mode...

Imprinting theory suggests that founding conditions are ‘stamped’ on organizations, and these imprinted routines often resist change. In contrast, strategic choice theory suggests that the firm can overcome organizational inertia and deliberately choose its future. Both theories offer dramatically different explanations behind an organization’s cap...

In this study, we examine and compare formal board structures and actual board behaviour in privately held SMEs. We integrate and build on ideas from institutional theory and the behavioural theory of the firm to propose that privately held firms have specific governance needs that 'decouple' formal board structures from actual board behaviour. Fol...

The need for studies of issues such as board-stakeholder dynamics, board members’ interactions, board leadership, and the decision-making culture within the boardroom is today widely acknowledged among management scholars who research corporate governance and boards of directors. While challenging the ‘black box’ approach that for so long has chara...

There has been a significant rise in the number of patents originating from academic environments. However, current conceptualizations of academic patents provide a largely homogenous approach to define this entrepreneurial form of technology transfer. In this study we develop a novel categorization framework that identifies three subsets of academ...

The importance of high-growth entrepreneurship is widely acknowledged. Previous studies, however, have shown that only a few rapidly growing firms manage to sustain their growth trajectory over long periods. This paper addresses high-growth entrepreneurship in the Scania region of Sweden. The authors analyse a sample of high-growth firms and find t...

This is a chapter in a volume in the series: The Entrepreneurship SIG at European Academy of Management: New Horizons with strong Traditions, edited by Luca Gnan, Hans Lundberg, Lucrezia Songini and Massimiliano Pellegrini. The main objective with the chapter is to develop theoretical and empirical insights into how university spin-offs use inter-o...

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 139 articles on board leadership that were published in business and management journals since 1980s. Journal names, author country affiliations, topics and focus levels, theories, empirical contexts, and methodologies are presented and analysed. We also assemble and analyse this data thematical...

In this paper we aim to create a framework for the promotion of innovation through effective board chairpersonship in growth oriented firms. Team production theory is applied to provide a conceptual foundation for understanding the value creating potential of boards within the boundaries of the firm and its operations. Thereafter, we employ a case...

The principal question we ask in this study is to what extent structural characteristics in the entrepreneurship eco-system surrounding incubators influence the likelihood that women may engage in the commercialization of university science by becoming incubatees. We embed our arguments in institutional theory and develop hypotheses related to (1)...

Styrelser lyfts ofta fram som en outnyttjad resurs i nya och unga företag. Det finns dock begränsat med studier som lyfter fram det unga framväxande företagets särskilda behov och villkor. I denna artikel tar vi ett steg mot att bättre förstå användandet av styrelser i unga entreprenörsdrivna företag som vill växa och expandera på inhemska och inte...

In this study, we link discussions about management development in small firms to the work environment of small business managers. In particular, our aim is to examine management development as an experiential process carried out in daily managerial practice. Using structured observations of managerial work, we found that small business managers op...

In this study, we examine individual patent holders and the fate of their inventions. A unique database consisting of over 800 private individuals who have obtained decision rights over a new technology in Sweden is used to analyse how opportunity and individual level characteristics are related to the likelihood that patented inventions are commer...

The aim of this report is to identify the role of academics as entrepreneurs. Education and a highly educated staff is a growth factor in companies and in this report we will highlight the characteristics of companies established by academics and which factors are crucial for these companies to grow. A special focus has been whether academics organ...

The past decade has seen a plethora of policy initiatives that seek to bridge the chasm between investments in public R&D and its effective diffusion in society. This article uses a case study approach to explore and contrast the effectiveness of different entrepreneur models in financing and developing university spin-offs (USOs). The distinction...

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) are unique economic and governance events as privately held firms issue common stock or shares to the public for the first time. The governance issues surrounding IPOs are relatively unexamined compared to more established, and usually larger, firms. As such, they provide a unique context to study corporate governanc...

Purpose – This paper seeks to develop an integrated framework to examine how entrepreneurs' work experience is associated with the generation of new business ideas. The framework combines human capital theory with theory and research on entrepreneurial learning. Design/methodology/approach – A statistical analysis on a sample of 291 Swedish entrep...

In this study, we test the knowledge corridor theory as an explanation of university professors’’ involvement in the early stages of research commercialisation. A statistical analysis was made of a sample of full professors from the engineering, natural sciences and medical faculties at a large public university in Sweden. The analysis shows that n...

This chapter provides a review of 127 published articles reporting on board leadership in corporate governance research. The articles are reviewed and presented with respect to the background of authors, the academic journals where studies are published, the main topics that is pursued, and the empirical contexts studied and methodologies used. Mor...

This book chapter is part of a book edited by Alessandro Zattoni and William Judge that analyze the corporate governance of IPOs in twenty-one countries. Focused on Sweden, the book chapter provides a review of the main features of corporate governance in the Swedish context with descriptions of the Swedish Companies Act and the Swedish Corporate G...

Corporate governance literature generally suggests that a company's boards of directors may influence company performance. When the balance of power over strategic decisions and organisational outcomes favour the CEO the board may however have few possibilities to monitor managerial or company performance or influence strategic choices. This paper...

This paper aims to highlight the changing and diversifying nature of academic work related to various forms of knowledge production and diffusion. Focusing on the changing research policy landscape in Sweden, three interrelated questions are investigated: what academics do in terms of commercialisation and public dissemination; how they perform the...

The influence of entrepreneurs’ career motives is examined on two alternative modes of decision-making logic; causation and effectuation. Based on Sarasvathy’s (Acad Manage Rev 26(2):243–288, 2001) seminal study, causation is defined as a decision-making process that focuses on what ought to be done given predetermined goals and possible means, and...

The relation between entrepreneurial learning and innovation is poorly understood - especially with respect to how entrepreneurs build up their capability to create new ventures. In this chapter we employ arguments from theories of experiential learning to examine the extent to which entrepreneurs' prior career experience is associated with entrepr...

We develop the concept of family through using insights from evolutionary psychology, stressing genetic kinship, i.e., blood relationships. We apply the family concept on the functional emphasis of family firm’s boards. Testing the hypotheses on a convenient-sample of 68 small and medium sized Swedish family firms, we find some weak indications of...

Increased attention towards the role of the board makes demands on reforms in the boardroom. In many countries, even small and medium-sized firms are experiencing the challenges of creating well functioning boards. In this paper the authors examine the importance of structures and processes in the boardroom of 302 small and medium-sized industrial...

Recent calls to close the rigour-relevance gap in business school education have suggested incorporating principles and ideas from action learning in small business management education. In this paper we discuss how business simulation exercises can be used as a platform to trigger students’ learning by providing them with a platform where they can...

Purpose – This paper employs theories of experiential learning to examine why some entrepreneurs have developed a more positive attitude towards failures compared to others. Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducts statistical analysis on a sample of 231 Swedish entrepreneurs that have started new independent firms in 2004. Findings – The...

There has been an increasing interest in the determinants and outcomes of successful technology transfer and commercialization of research results. In this study we test the validity of the “knowledge corridor” thesis for explaining the involvement of university professors’ in the early stages of research commercialization. Statistical analysis on...

In this study we set out to examine the conditions for managerial learning in small firms and the implications it gives for how to facilitate and support work-based management development in this context. Empirically, we conduct structured observations of the daily work activities performed by small business managers. A framework based on experient...

Manuscript Type: Review Research Question/Issue: A coherent alternative to an economic approach of corporate governance is missing. In this paper we take steps towards developing a behavioral theory of boards and corporate governance. Research Findings/Results: Building upon concepts such as political bargaining, routinization of decision making, s...

Prior cross-country governance studies mainly built on agency theory’s governance model. Recently, the use of this theoretical perspective has been criticized from both institutional theory as well as the behavioural perspective. Institutional theory would predict that a significant part of the variation in board behaviour could be attributed to th...

Research suggests that a strong and vigilant board can have a significant influence on the value-creating potential of medium-size companies. Yet, how best to conceptualize this relationship remains controversial.The mainstream approach has been to argue for a direct relationship between board demography and company performance. In opposition stand...

This study seeks to advance the understanding of board empowerment in small companies. Predictions based on agency and resource dependency theories were used to examine how contingency factors correlate with board empowerment, in this study conceptualized as a larger number of board members, a higher representation of outside directors, and separat...

Board evaluations can contribute to effective boards and improved corporate financial performance. The increasing interest in the practice of board evaluations, however, calls for a more systematic and careful approach than has been employed in the past. While most attention has primarily been focused on the content of board evaluations, this artic...

A growing body of studies emphasizes the discovery of opportunities and the decision to exploit them as the essence of entrepreneurial activity. Following this stream of research, we present a study that examines entrepreneurs’ preferences for causal and effectual reasoning in the new venture creation process. The dominating view is that entreprene...

This paper follows a behavioural perspective on boards and governance in exploring the influence of board control on corporate innovation in small technology-based firms. An analysis of 135 Swedish technology-based firms suggests that board involvement in decision control may influence corporate innovation. The empirical results show that board inv...

In this paper we argue for the need of sector contextualization to achieve a better understanding of new venture activities aimed at commercializing university generated knowledge. From this perspective, we contend that an analysis of the creation of research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) must take place within a context of the specific knowledge base ar...

Informal investors have been highlighted as important stakeholders for potential high-growth ventures. Extant empirical research provides evidence that they contribute not only with money but also bring added value in terms of providing their skills and experience to support the continued development and growth of the ventures in which they have in...

This study explores the value added contribution of informal investors in the entrepreneurial process, something that up to date has received very limited attention. By analyzing the life experience and career background of four informal investors the study examines the personal resources these individuals build up and develop during their careers...

Foreign entry mode choices are decisions of paramount importance for the long-term survival and growth of companies that are in a process of rapid international expansion. In this paper we seek to understand the foreign market channel strategies of Born Globals. We examine whether these companies develop a similar strategy regarding foreign entry m...

Empirical studies have shown that the characteristics of the competitive environment influence the corporate innovation activities of U.S. firms. This study attempts to internationalize these studies in two ways. First, it examines the environment-corporate innovation relationship in Norwegian manufacturing firms. Second, it examines how the firms’...

In this article we position outside directors´ contribution in the corporate value chain. Our objective is to show how outside board members may contribute to value creation through knowledge and accountability. We will also provide tools for outside board members to make contributions. The directors are accountable to balance the interest of vario...

Good governance for SMEs is critical for economic development and growth in both developed and developing economies. In this paper we focus on boards and governance in small and me-dium sized enterprises (SMEs) by investigating the role and contribution of "outside" directors in this setting. By contrasting board role theories against different typ...