ESU conferences

ESU 2024 CONFERENCE & DOCTORAL PROGRAM

“TECHNOLOGY FOR BETTER FUTURES”

The Institute of Innovation Management at JKU Business School, Johannes Kepler University Linz – JKU invites you to join the ESU 2024 Conference and Doctoral Program from 16 to 20 September 2024.

 ESU Idea & Spirit

The aim of ESU is to strengthen European research traditions and networks in entrepreneurship by focusing both on academic sessions and on the culture and heritage that the host country and region have to offer.

ESU also provides a friendly environment for young scholars to socialize within the research community, and to learn important skills for their future careers. Supervisors, researchers, and doctoral students from academic institutions all over Europe, active in entrepreneurship research and education, come together to share experiences and create new international networks, in a creative and inspiring environment.

Bi-annually, the ESU network organizes an event that combines the ESU Doctoral Program and the academic ESU Conference. This year, the event is hosted at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria.

The ESU Doctoral Program

During the ESU Doctoral Program PhD students at different stages of their projects – i.e., early, intermediate and mature stage – work together with established researchers on current topics of theoretical and methodological aspects and practices in entrepreneurship research. The exchange is organized in two formats:

Plenary sessions on specific topics with established researchers as keynote speakers, who will inspire and invite critical reflection on a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship such as interesting issues, innovative methodologies, and the publication process.

Group discussions and presentations where PhD students present their own work, discuss it with peers, and receive feedback from more senior scholars.

Participating in the ESU Doctoral Program and completing all its tasks gives you up to 6 ECTS. The tasks comprise:

• A presentation of your own work. The content of the presentation will vary according to the progress of the PhD project. Early stage PhDs, who have not started their research project, will present their research proposals. Intermediate stage PhDs will present the theoretical underpinning and methodological design of their first research together with preliminary results, if available. Mature stage PhDs, who are close to completion, will present their projects and outcomes.
• A written review of one of your peers’ work that forms the basis of a short oral statement in one of the sessions.
• A literature-based reflection of a topic related to your own PhD project. This reflection will be inspired by the input you receive during the plenary sessions in the ESU Doctoral Program.

The ESU Conference (Wed. 18^th September)

In addition to the ESU Doctoral Program the event also features the ESU Conference, which is an academic conference taking place on Wed. 18^th September. The ESU conference is open to all attendees of the ESU Doctoral Program and additional international researchers who join us for the conference day to present their research. The theme of this year’s conference is «Technology for a better futures». Submissions the cover this specific theme and all other topics related to entrepreneurship, innovation and technology are welcome. Thus, we invite all entrepreneurship researchers to submit their research to the ESU Conference.

You are invited!

In particular, we invite the following scholars to join us in Linz:

• PhD students to take part in the ESU Doctoral Program and the ESU Conference.
• Postdoc Researchers to present their work in one of the sessions of the ESU Conference. Upon invitation, they can also act as junior coaches for PhD students and have dedicated group presentations during the ESU Doctoral Program.
• Senior Researchers to present a paper in one of the sessions of the ESU Conference. Upon invitation, they can also act as senior coaches for PhD students in group sessions or, in some cases, as a keynote speaker in plenary sessions of the ESU Doctoral Program.

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Collaboration with ECSB

ESU 2024 is supported by the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB). ESU awards prizes to the best articles in each group of the ESU Doctoral Program.

Venue and Registration

Linz

Enjoy the vibrant fusion of history and modernity in the European Capital of Culture 2009 and UNESCO City of Media Arts. As one of the largest cities in Austria and only a short train ride away from Vienna Airport, Linz is on the move, with its finger on the pulse of the country’s technology industry. Daring public art installations, a burgeoning cultural scene, a cyber centre and a cutting-edge gallery that looks freshly minted for a sci-fi movie all signal tomorrow’s Austria. Read more

Johannes Kepler University (JKU) & JKU Business School

As a broad-based university pursuing an interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and future-oriented approach, the JKU is contributing significantly to transformation and building resilience in education, academia, science, research, and in society. The university’s educational activities are anchored in its distinctive strengths in engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, business, economics, law, medicine, and education. The JKU considers itself a strongly rooted in the region yet internationally oriented, committed to becoming a top European institution. The JKU is actively seeking and pursuing partnerships between institutions as well as engaging in close dialog with the wider public. Read more

JKU Business School is one of six schools at JKU. In education the JKU Business School aims at training «business leaders of the future». In research the JKU Business School taps the potential of its international networks and regional embeddedness in a vibrant technology-oriented powerhouse of international businesses. It strives to push socio-technical transformation with impactful interdisciplinary research. Read more

Institute of Innovation Management

Our mission is to address the key innovation challenges of (i) crossing boarders, (ii) sustainability and change, and (iii) social and regional embeddedness by pursuing holistic research and teaching that links different disciplines, methods and levels of analyses. We understand that innovation practices are rooted in their social and regional contexts. We draw on concepts such as trust and social capital to explain the emergence of innovative resource combinations in the form of social enterprises, community-led businesses and place-based entrepreneurship. We provide insights into how to balance sustainability and change over time, acquire resources necessary for innovation and deal with the ethical issues arising from innovation. With our research, we strive to contribute to the academic discourse, economic policy and practice. Read more

The JKU Campus as the perfect ESU Venue

Address of the venue:

Science Park, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria

Registration

Participation fee: EUR 500,-
Early bird participation fee until July 31st, 2024: EUR 420,-
The fee includes participation in all events listed in the program, conference dinner as well as snacks and beverages provided at the venue during September 16-20th.
To register, please click on this link and follow the instructions: https://conferences.jku.at/esu2024/

Submission Information

Important Dates

May 31^st Extended to June 10^th : Deadline for submission of abstracts

June 15^th: Selected Scholars receive their invitation letters

July 25^th: Deadline for submission of full papers

June 30th: Deadline for early registration (see registration information in the corresponding section)

1^st Step: Submission of Abstracts

For both the ESU Doctoral Program and the ESU Conference please submit a 500-word abstract in the following format: single spacing, Times New Roman 12pt, first word capitalized in the title, no more than ten words in the title, no reference list. Please use the template, which you can download here: ESU2024-AbstractTemplate .  We can only review submissions that use the template. Please email your abstract to: ifi@jku.at

Since all submissions are reviewed using a double-blind review process, it is mandatory that no names or contact details appear in the text (other than in the appropriate fields of the template).

2^nd Step: Submission of Full Papers

A template for the full paper is available here: ESU2024-PaperTemplate

Please email your paper to: ifi@jku.at

Please specify in the submission to which category you wish to submit your paper:

Submissions to the ESU Doctoral Program:

– Research Proposal submitted to the Early Stage Track: The research proposal includes the main scope of the dissertation. The focus should be on the purpose, aim, potential research question and choice of method. The research proposal should not exceed 2,500 words.

– Work-In-Progress Research submitted to the Intermediate Track (research papers of PhDs who are in earlier phases of their PhD process): The work-in-progress research is a paper that either consists of a research question and a theoretical framework, or has started on the analysis but has not yet been completed. The work in progress should not exceed 4,000 words.

– Results Paper submitted to the Mature Stage Track (papers of PhDs who are in the final phase of their PhD process): The results paper consists of a presentation and discussion of the results of the study, as well as some concluding analysis. The paper should not exceed 4,000 words.

Submissions to the ESU Conference by Postdoc Researchers and Senior Scholars:

– Full paper submitted for presentation in a conference session: The full paper submitted should be ready for submission to a journal or equivalent. These papers will be presented at the Conference Day on Wednesday (7,000 words).

Local Organizing Committee

Matthias Fink, Professor of Innovation Management at Johannes Kepler University Linz and Professor of Strategy at Grenoble Ecole de Management, Fance. Read more

Robert Breitenecker, Professor of Technology Management and Global Business at Johannes Kepler University Linz and Dean of LIMAK Austrian Business School. Read more

Michael Gusenbauer, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Innovation Management at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Read more

Edit Juhász, Research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Innovation Management at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Read more

Marcella Krawinkler, Research and teaching assistant at the Institute of Innovation Management at Johannes Kepler University Linz. Read more

Daniela Maresch, Visiting professor at the Institute of Innovation Management at the Johannes Kepler University Linz & Associate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France. Read more

Andreas Rauch, Visiting professor at the Institute of Innovation Management at the Johannes Kepler University Linz & Professor at Audencia Nantes, France. Read more

Herwig Schinnerl-Leitner, back office manager at the Institute of Innovation Management at the Johannes Kepler University Linz. Read more

If you have any questions, please contact us at ifi@jku.at with the subject «ESU 2024». We look forward to receiving your submissions!