Doctoral Studies in Entrepreneurship
Aalto University's PhD Programme in Entrepreneurship offers rigorous training, global community, and mentorship to prepare future scholars for impactful research careers.
Research in Entrepreneurship
Cutting-edge research – but not just for the ivory tower.
Our research can be broadly characterised as endeavouring to understand the complexity of entrepreneurship as a multifaceted socio-economic phenomenon. It is pronouncedly multi-disciplinary, applying theories and methods from, psychology, sociology, economics, geography, history and philosophy to diverse entrepreneurial phenomena. Much of our research is applied, with relevance for public policy.
We can confidently state that our research meets the highest quality standards. Not only have our team members published in the top entrepreneurship and management journals, but they also continuously contribute to scholarly debates by serving in the review boards of journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Business Venturing Insights and Academy of Management Discoveries.
Some of our research areas include:
- Social and sustainable business venturing
- Entrepreneurial responses to grand challenges
- Microentrepreneurship in the Global South
- Entrepreneurship and population ageing
- Psychological processes underlying entrepreneurial actions
- Regional and institutional embeddedness of entrepreneurship
- Philosophy of entrepreneurship
- Everyday entrepreneurship
- Collective Emotions in Institutional Creation Work (Academy of Management Journal)
- Can I Sell You Avocadoes and Talk to You About Contraception? (Academy of Management Journal)
- Persistent Category Ambiguity - The Case of Social Entrepreneurship (Organization Studies)
- The Social Imaginary of Emancipation in Entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice)
- How Does Late-Career Entrepreneurship Relate to Innovation (Research Policy)
- The Role of Passion Diversity, Compassion and Self-Compassion (Small Business Economics)
- From Tensions to Synergy - Causation and Effectuation in Venture Creation (Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal)
- Cultural Entrepreneurship in Deprived Context (Journal of Management Studies)
- Late-Caree Entrepreneurship Income and Quality of Life (Journal of Business Venturing)
- Can Prosocial Motivation Harm Entrepreneurs' Subjective Well-Being? (Journal of Business Venturing)
- Linking Management Theory with Poverty Alleviation Efforts Through Market Orchestration (Journal of Business Ethics)
- A Discourse of Virtue: How poor women entrepreneurs justify their activities in the context of moderate Islam (Entrepreneurship & Regional Development)
Social Impact and Outreach
Some of our research serves the sole purpose of advancing entrepreneurship theory. But much of what we do bears significant policy relevance. For this reason we continue to be active in the policy community, advising policy makers within and beyond the Finnish borders. We have completed consultancy assignments for example for ministries in Finland and Germany as well as the EU and the OECD.
International outreach
Supporting New Business Creation from Unemployment (OECD report)
Why Social Entrepreneurs Are So Burned Out (Harvard Business Review)Starting a Business Can Increase Older Workers’ Quality of Life, Even When It Doesn’t Pay Well (Harvard Businesss Review)Financial Times listed top Business School Research with Social Impact (Financial Times)From A Cup Of Tea To A New Career – The Small And Big Steps Supporting Refugees (Forbes)Why Do Employees Burn Out Quicker Than Entrepreneurs? (New Business)Older Entrepreneurs Are More Innovative (Companies Digest)
National outreach
Startup-pöhinää Pjongjangissa – suomalaiset panivat pohjoiskorealaiset ideoimaan yrityksiä, joita he eivät mitenkään voi perustaa (Helsingin Sanomat) Voittoisa, sopuisa, syleilevä, tasapainottava vai esittelevä? Uutuustutkimus paljastaa tyylit, joilla yrittäjät viestivät yritystoiminnan päättymisestä (Kauppalehti)
”Ihan poikki” ja ”lopussa” – Tuore tutkimus paljastaa, että yrittäjiltä alkaa puhti loppua pandemiassa (Kauppalehti)Aalto-yliopiston kysely: Jopa joka viidennessä turvapaikanhakijassa on yrittäjäainesta (Yle Uutiset)Paremman tulevaisuuden rakentaja vai oman edun ajaja? EU:n linjaus yrittäjien roolista kestävässä kehityksessä on epäselvä (STT)
Suomalaiset 35–49-vuotiaat eivät enää innostu yrittäjyydestä (Kauppalehti)
Doctoral Studies in Entrepreneurship
Our unit provides an extensive four-year doctoral research training program focused on entrepreneurship. Our aim is to equip doctoral researchers with the necessary skills, knowledge, and resources to conduct impactful research.
Aalto Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics and Finance
Student study guide for the Aalto Doctoral Programme in Business, Economics and Finance
Who Are We?
People in Entrepreneurship
Meet the professors, researchers, doctoral students and staff of Entrepreneurship.
Research projects
Senior Talent
Senior Talent is an Erasmus+ project focused on supporting individuals aged 55+ who are nearing or have entered retirement. With Europe’s population ageing and the workforce evolving, the project helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) build more age-inclusive, sustainable workplaces. It offers practical tools, expert-led training, and personalised HR support to ensure senior employees remain active, engaged, and valued contributors to the modern workforce.
The project is led by Room466 (Austria) and brings together five partners from four countries: Aalto University School of Business (Finland), which leads the research efforts; Latvian Adult Education Association (Latvia); Hanse-Parlament (Germany); and the Regional Management Office Murau Murtal GmbH (Austria). This cross-border collaboration brings together regional expertise and policy insight to deliver meaningful outcomes for individuals and organisations alike.
Learn more about the project on the project website.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or OeAD-GmbH. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Recent publications
Opening the black box of transition towards a sustainable business model
Irina Atkova, Tamara Galkina, Man Yang, Tiina Leposky, Petri Ahokangas
2025
Long Range Planning
Reacting to criticism : What motivates top leaders to respond substantively to negative social performance feedback?
Myrto Chliova, Gabriella Cacciotti, Teemu Kautonen, Ignacio Pavez
2025
Journal of Business Research
‘In God We Trust. All Others Must Bring Data’: Unpacking the Influence of Human Resource Analytics on the Strategic Recognition of Human Resource Management
Felix Diefenhardt, Marco L. Rapp, Verena Bader, Wolfgang Mayrhofer
2025
Human Resource Management Journal
From the Ground Up: Unpacking the Visual Representation of Necessity Entrepreneurship
Bernadetta A. Ginting-Szczesny
2025
Necessity Entrepreneurship: Getting Beyond the Binary
‘I’m older but terribly independent’ : women’s empowerment in late-career entrepreneurship
Vera Haataja, Ewald Kibler, Thomas Wainwright
2025
Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
Intentional Action at the Margins : Unpacking Agency in Public Service Ecosystem Design
Nicole Hussmann, Annukka Svanda, Martina Caic
2025
Proceedings of Nordes 2025: Relational Design, 6-8 August, Oslo, Norway
Unpacking the relationship between sense of place and entrepreneurs’ well-being
Teemu Kautonen, Aracely Soto-Simeone, Ewald Kibler
2025
Small Business Economics
Cultivating insightful theory-building in qualitative research
Ewald Kibler, Eero Vaara, Lauri Laine
2025
Journal of Business Venturing Insights
Politics of Entrepreneurial Resourcefulness in Compassion Venture Expansion
Anastasia Koptsyukh, Ewald Kibler, Dean A. Shepherd
2025
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Entrepreneurship as an object of hope : Affirmative critique in the Anthropocene
Lauri Laine
2025
Futures
Contact Information
School of Business
Ekonominaukio 1
Postal address
Department of Management Studies
Entrepreneurship
Aalto University School of Business
P.O. Box 21230
FIN-00076 AALTO
FINLAND
Administration
Head of the Department: Nina Granqvist
Unit Coordinator: Ewald Kibler
Assistant: Tiia Melander