International Ph.D. Seminar 2006
June 28 July 1st, 2006
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
"Organizational Learning, Networks and Communities: Innovations in the
Emerging Strategic Entrepreneurship Field"
Organized by:
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Organization Science
Deadline for Applications: April 15, 2006
Contact person: Wouter Stam, E-mail:
phdseminar@fsw.vu.nl
Faculty:
Scott Poole, Texas A&M University
Julie Hite, Brigham Young University
Wim Hulsink, RSM Erasmus University/Wageningen University
Patrick Cohendet, Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg (provisional)
Tom Elfring (chair), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Marleen Huysman, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Peter Groenewegen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Purpose and Content:
Discovering and exploiting opportunities is a challenge for organizations.
It requires new knowledge to be combined with existing competencies. Three
related perspectives will be discussed to examine how to create a favourable
context for individuals/employees to take initiatives to pursue
opportunities. The organizational learning perspective gives insights into
the enabling factors for knowledge creation. New knowledge has to be
discovered and recombined in order to develop innovative solutions. The
network perspective is of interest because it focuses on the role of who
you know in the search for new knowledge. The position of the actor in the
network as well as the type of ties, weak or strong, have an impact on his
access to new information. Networks not only give access to new information,
they provide firms (in particular innovative start-ups) access to
communities. Recent research into the industrial and organizational
community perspective stresses that the emergence of new industries requires
numerous roles from the diverse set of entrepreneurs and organizations, both
public and private. Interactions between the various players in a community
and information sharing between them, plays an important role in
organizational learning processes. In addition, participation in these
communities may provide legitimacy to innovative initiatives.
The three perspectives, which examine how knowledge creation contributes to
the way organizations deal with opportunities and innnovations, can be
positioned at the crossroads of the strategy and the entrepreneurship
fields. It provides building blocks for the emerging area of strategic
entrepreneurship. Different levels of analysis can be distinguished, i.e.
initiatives, firms, and communities. Innovation and entrepreneurship can
occur at all three levels, thus one of the issues to be addressed in this
seminar is the locus of innovation in entrepreneurship at these levels.
Format:
In the morning sessions, faculty members will give lectures in which key
(recent) publications are reviewed. This allows participants to gain further
understanding of theoretical underpinnings and recent empirical
applications. During the afternoon sessions, students will give
presentations on their research projects and are invited to apply the
insights from the morning sessions to their own research. Moreover, the
format will provide sufficient occasions to discuss students own work in
progress with the faculty. In the discussions, special attention is paid to
the conceptual frameworks and the development from concepts to research
instruments.
ECTS Credits:
Those participants who want to receive ECTS credits are required to hand in
a paper (5000-7000 words) within two-three months after completion of the
PhD course, in which the literature discussed during the course is applied
to the research project of the respective PhD candidate. Papers will be
reviewed by the faculty, where manuscripts graded as sufficient result in
a certificate and 6 ECTS credits.
Admission Requirements:
Applicants should be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program and have
completed at least one semester of studies. The selection committee looks
forward to admitting students from a variety of backgrounds and
universities. In particular, the committee will be interested in those
applications showing a clear connection to the entrepreneurship / strategic
management interface and a strong interest in at least one of the three
perspectives discussed during the seminar.
Fees and Expenses:
Participation in the Ph.D. seminar requires a 250,- registration fee, to be
paid in cash upon arrival. All participants will be responsible for their
own travel and accommodation arrangements and associated costs. Selected
candidates will receive a syllabus with reading materials and more
information regarding appropriate accomodation arrangements.
Application Procedure:
Applicants for admission must be currently enrolled in doctoral studies and
have completed at least one semester. Interested Ph.D. candidates should
submit the following documents before April 15 to Wouter Stam at
phdseminar@fsw.vu.nl.
1. A letter including a description of the applicant's motivation to attend
the seminar, a summary of research work in progress (e.g. papers and
research proposals) that will be discussed and developed during the seminar
(max. 2 pages), and contact details such as a postal address, university
affiliation, telephone, fax, and e-mail address.
2. A biographical sketch to be distributed among the participants (0.5 page)
Acceptance will be decided by a scientific committee composed of faculty
members and be communicated before April 23.
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