High-impact entrepreneurship: myths, facts and what should we do about it?

Professor Erkko Autio presents his inaugural lecture “High-impact entrepreneurship: myths, facts and what should we do about it”

Biography: Professor Erkko Autio is the QinetiQ-EPSRC Chair Professor in Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship in Physical Sciences at the Business School of Imperial College, London. His research focuses on technology strategy, technology-based venturing, high-growth entrepreneurship, and new venture inter­national­i­sation. He has held academic appointments at Helsinki University of Technology, London Business School and Université de Lausanne, and he has been a visiting fellow or visiting professor at University of Sussex, Asian Institute of Technology and at the European Centre for Nuclear Physics Research CERN. He was a founding coordination team member of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and has advised numerous governments and government agencies on high-growth entrepreneurship and innovation policy. He has also served as a non-executive director in a number of high-technology ventures, notably in the ICT sector.

Abstract: High-impact entrepreneurs present an intriguing dilemma for researchers and practitioners alike. High-impact entrepreneurs are responsible for the bulk of the economic impact delivered by entrepreneurial activity in the economy, yet they represent only a tiny minority of it. Instead of adapting to market demands, high-impact entrepreneurs often craft and shape their own markets. Instead of using exports as a way to leverage domestic advantages, high-impact entrepreneurs often use internationalisation to build new ones. High-impact entrepreneurs are rare, yet they can be found in all industry sectors. What are these creatures, and how should we study them? How do they differ from other entrepreneurs, and what are the implications for research and policy? In my lecture, I will take a look into this important phenomenon and outline important questions for a future research agenda on high-impact entrepreneurship, focusing specifically in the context of technology-intensive industry sectors.