Antwerp Centre for Entrepreneurship Research

Research topics

Check out our research themes, the lead researchers affiliated with these themes, and our research projects.

Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporations are more than ever in need for new innovative ideas to guide them through times of crises and digitalization. We investigate how corporate can develop strong innovative ideas and get organized internally and externally to spur innovation. We research, for example: ​

  • How to get organized to develop strong innovative ideas? What kind of organizational structures are effective? How do you create an entrepreneurial culture? 
  • How do you measure your return on innovation? What is the impact of stimulating intrapreneurship on the individual employee?  
  • What are the role and impact of a corporate accelerator and various new forms of corporate venturing? 

Senior researchers  ​

Entrepreneurial Finance

Finance is assumed to be of central importance for entrepreneurial firms, and the significance of financial resources for firms’ development, survival, and growth is well documented. Understanding the financial needs of firms, identifying potential sources of financing, and getting a deeper knowledge of the process of obtaining finance and the consequences of holding different types of finance is key. We research, for example:

  • How do slack resources influence firms’ growth and performance? 
  • How does the digital revolution impact entrepreneurial finance? How will traditional investors fruitfully interact with new, digital investors? 
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of different funding sources? 
  • How are strategic changes within family firms financed?

Senior researchers  

Doctoral researchers  ​​

International Entrepreneurship

Many new ventures are internationalizing their business operations early in their lifecycles to improve performance and growth. Digitization also provides entrepreneurs with opportunities to cross borders. However, going abroad can be resource-demanding, and the intention to (immediately) internationalize often requires (potential) entrepreneurs to take high risks, not the least because entrepreneurs are typically confronted with higher costs and challenges during internationalization, compared to their domestic counterparts. This group of scholars will, therefore, focus on questions such as: ​

  • How do financial and human resources influence (de-)internationalization behaviors of young ventures? 

  • Which personal characteristics define (potential) international entrepreneurs from their domestic counterparts, and what defines their intentions to internationalize vs. their actual internationalization behavior?   

  • Which personal, organizational, and environmental characteristics define the configurational paths leading to internationalization (success)?  

Senior researchers  ​

Doctoral researchers 

Organizational Sponsorship (e.g., business incubators, business centres)

The researchers active in this research theme focus on the support and enablement of start-up growth by adopting a multi-dimensional lens and taking up an organizational sponsorship approach. In addition to a stand-alone entity, the start-up is viewed as part of a larger, functional, and advancing entrepreneurial ecosystem from, and with, which it can leverage and co-create support services and resources to enable its development and growth objectives. Researchers focus on the following research questions:  ​

  • What are the mechanisms for leveraging start-up support while taking up a co-creating stance during support development and offering?
  • How can young technology-based firms leverage personal and organizational resources to enable dynamic growth, and how can organizational sponsorship entities stimulate this process?
  • What role do venture studios play in shaping the entrepreneurship landscape?

Senior researcher  

Doctoral researchers  

Student-Entrepreneurship

Research and practice show that investments in student-entrepreneurship pay off for the student, the Higher Education Institute (HEI), and the society at large. During their study, student-entrepreneurs develop skills like creative thinking and opportunity recognition that may be beneficial not only for their own (student-)venture but also for their later careers. Also, entrepreneurship-minded HEIs contribute more than proportionally to the economy and growth of their region. Yet, many questions still need to be addressed to further support and increase the efficiency of student-entrepreneurship activities at HEIs, and this is at various levels. The researchers active in this research theme focus on the following questions: ​

  • Is everyone meant to be a (student-)entrepreneur? Which are the (different) sociological and psychological profiles of potential student-entrepreneurs, and which are the (educational) stimulations that these (different) profiles need?  
  • What determinants define the (student-)venture’s goals? To illustrate, some ventures start small and locally, whereas others go international from the start. Also, some student ventures pursue not only financial goals but also social/societal goals.  
  • Which specific aspects of the HEI’s entrepreneurship strategy stimulate student-entrepreneurship?

Senior researchers  ​

Doctoral researchers  

Sustainable Entrepreneurship

The world is experiencing sustainability challenges that already have and will have a strong impact on our lives, companies, and environment. There is a strong urgency for continuous innovative ideas to deal with these sustainability challenges. Further, (potential) entrepreneurs need to balance economic, environmental, and social goals simultaneously, creating new challenges. Hence, this group focuses on the following: ​

  • How to measure the sustainable impact of new innovative ideas, e.g., how can we distinguish real, sustainable impact from greenwashing? 
  • What is the role of corporates? How can they become successful in corporate impact investing? 
  • How can entrepreneurs play a role in times of crisis? What’s the impact of compassion venturing during crises?  
  • How can a B Corp certification help entrepreneurs create social, environmental, and economic value for all stakeholders?  
  • What are the underlying personal characteristics of (potential) entrepreneurs willing to address societal problems?  

Senior researchers  

Doctoral researcher  

Technology and Academic Entrepreneurship

There are many very innovative technologies and cutting-edge research outcomes that have the potential to solve complex and important problems in this world. Unfortunately, several of these technologies and research results are never implemented, are not valorized, or are trying to solve a problem they are not developed for. connected to the wrong problems. In this domain, we focus on the strategic decision-making of technology entrepreneurs, and how academic research can be translated to society. The group investigates several research questions, for example:  

  • How do technology entrepreneurs find a technology-market fit? Why do some technology entrepreneurs manage to pivot while others don’t? 

  • How do technology entrepreneurs form and manage their teams? 

  • How can technology entrepreneurs deal with the entrepreneurial rollercoaster?  

  • How do the valorization and commercialization processes of academic entrepreneurs (and in particular social sciences researchers) unfold? How can these processes be stimulated?   

Senior researchers  ​​

Doctoral researcher 

The Micro-foundations of the Entrepreneurial Process

The researchers of this research theme examine whether and how an entrepreneur’s individual characteristics, such as their personality characteristics, motives, or attitudes, are related to the entrepreneurial process, ranging from intention to actual behavior. The researchers move beyond the usual suspects such as gender, education, and experience and aim to develop the state-of-the-art on the psychological and behavioral drivers (e.g., motives, attitudes, ambitions, and aspirations) of entrepreneurial intentions, initiation, and company development, such as internationalization. This group of scholars will focus on questions such as:  ​

  • Which psychological and behavioral antecedents drive entrepreneurial intentions, initiation, and company development?  

  • How do these psychological and behavioral drivers relate to organizational and environmental influencers, and how do these influencers jointly relate to entrepreneurial intention, initiation, and company develop 

Senior researcher  

Doctoral researchers