University of Oulu, KSI MicroENTRE researchers Matti Muhos, Anna-Mari Simunaniemi, Kai Hänninen and Martti Saarela launched ‘The European Workshop on Micro-Entrepreneurship – Micro-Entrepreneurship: New research avenues and collaboration’ and ‘The Mini Track on Micro-entrepreneurship’ in collaboration with ACPI at the 12th European Conference On Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2017 (ECIE 2017) in Paris In September.
A new European development challenge is to recognise and improve the competitiveness of the main component of the economic and social fabric: the micro-sized enterprises (micros). In terms of employment, micros are the fastest growing size category in many European economies. Micros differ from large companies in many ways. Micros are more flexible, adaptable and agile than larger firms. New knowledge concerning the special characteristics of micro-enterprises is needed to better understand the business dynamics at micro-level and to create innovative platforms for micro-enterprise growth.
Mini Track on Micro-Entrepreneurship
The mini-track launched in Paris was focused on research contributions looking at micro-entrepreneurship. It reflected the cutting-edge research in micro-entrepreneurship with a broader focus on understanding business dynamics at the contextual level. Contributions from academics and practitioners involved in the field of micro-entrepreneurship were presented. The presentations described the broad spectrum of research in entrepreneurship studies. The list of participants consisted of experts and researchers interested in micro-entrepreneurship and its interaction with European and global challenges. The central themes of the workshop included such topics as micro-enterprise and micro-entrepreneur perspectives on entrepreneurship, innovation and management issues, contextual perspectives on micro-entrepreneurship (e.g. regions, ecosystems, industries etc.), business growth (growth as process, outcome of growth, growth as outcome), internationalization and globalization, funding and support mechanisms and business models and the next generation business ecosystems.
Pre-conference workshop of Micro-Entrepreneurship
The themes of the mini-track were also be highlighted in a pre-conference workshop: The European Workshop on Micro-entrepreneurship. The central theme of this particular workshop was ‘Micro-Entrepreneurship: New research avenues and collaboration´. The workshop was organized at Novancia Business School Paris on Wednesday 20th September 2017. The workshop was led by Adjuct Professor Matti Muhos, University of Oulu, Finland. In the workshop, a completely new platform was launched for new research avenues to researchers and practitioners focused on micro-enterprises. The workshop includes a presentation by Matti Muhos and inspirational introductions from Martti Saarela, Kai Hänninen and Anna-Mari Simunaniemi. The workshop discussed the key challenges, solutions and empirically-based examples of how academic research meets practice in micro-entrepreneurship. Attendees interested in micro-enterprises and micro-entrepreneurs facing new European and global challenges were participated from Europe and other continents too. Discussions during the workshop found new avenues and collaborative partnerships for European micro-entrepreneurship research. The workshop promoted new research collaborations and formed a foundation for new international, multi-disciplinary research consortiums.
Both activities will continue on yearly basis. The next ones are organized in ECIE 2018, 13th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship 20-21 September 2018, Aveiro, Portugal. You are most warmly welcome.
Matti Muhos
Adjuct Professor
matti.muhos@oulu.fi, +358 400407590
