CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Entrepreneurship and Biology
Editors
Nicos Nicolaou, University of Warwick
Phil Phan, Johns Hopkins University
Ute Stephan, King's College London
The past few years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of papers on the biological underpinnings of entrepreneurship (Shane and Nicolaou, 2015; Wiklund, Patzelt and Dimov, 2016). Research in this area has examined the role of neurodevelopmental disorders (Wiklund et al., 2016; Wiklund, Yu, Tucker and Marino, 2017), genetics (Nicolaou et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2009), physiology (White et al., 2006) and neuroscience (de Holan, 2014; Nicolaou and Shane, 2014) in entrepreneurship.
For example, research has investigated how ADHD (Wiklund et al., 2016, 2017) and dyslexia (Logan, 2009) serve as assets in the pursuit of entrepreneurial activity. Studies have found a genetic predisposition to entrepreneurship using studies of twins (Zhang et al., 2009) and adoptees (Lindquist, Sol, & van Praag, 2015) and have examined the role of hormones such as testosterone (White, Thornhill and Hampson, 2006; Unger et al., 2015; Nicolaou et al., 2018) and cortisol (Patel and Wolfe, 2017) in entrepreneurship. Research has also explored how engagement in entrepreneurship can affect physical and mental health (Shepherd & Patzelt, 2015) and how physiological recovery processes stimulate entrepreneurs' creativity (Weinberger et al., 2018). More broadly, the role of biology in management is forming the basis for a new school of thought that incorporates human biology into the study of managerial behavior (Nofal et al., 2018). Yet, there are many gaps in our knowledge and the aim of the special issue is to discuss ways to take the field forward. For example, we still know very little about how biology and the environment interact to shape entrepreneurial behavior, while additional research on the psychological factors that mediate the relationship between biology and entrepreneurship is needed. There are also very few longitudinal studies, ambulatory/diary studies, and a dearth of research undertaking a neuroscientific investigation of the phenomenon. In addition, the various biological factors are not mutually exclusive and it is unclear how they may interact (Nofal et al., 2018). There is also little work on the relationship between biology and opportunity recognition, the influence of biology at different phases of the start-up process, and in turn how being an entrepreneur may impact biological processes.
Papers that address these gaps in our knowledge are highly encouraged but these are merely illustrative of the set of topics that could fit the special issue. We welcome empirical, conceptual, and methodological papers. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to the following:
Hormones and entrepreneurship
Neuroscience and entrepreneurship
ADHD and dyslexia in entrepreneurship
Genetics of entrepreneurship
Physical and mental health in entrepreneurship
Biology-environment interactions in entrepreneurship
Physiology and stress processes in entrepreneurship
References
de Holan, P. M. 2014. It's all in your head: Why we need neuroentrepreneurship. Journal of Management Inquiry, 23(1): 93-97.
Lindquist, M. J., Sol, J., & Praag, M. V. 2015. Why do entrepreneurial parents have entrepreneurial children? Journal of Labor Economics, 33(2): 269-296.
Nicolaou, N., Shane, S., Cherkas, L., Hunkin, J., & Spector, T. D. 2008. Is the tendency to engage in entrepreneurship genetic? Management Science, 54(1): 167-179.
Nicolaou, N., Patel, P., & Wolfe, M. 2018. Testosterone and the tendency to engage in self-employment. Management Science, 64(4): 1825-1841.
Nicolaou, N., & Shane, S. 2014. Biology, neuroscience, and entrepreneurship. Journal of Management Inquiry, 23(1): 98-100.
Nofal, A., Nicolaou, N., Symeonidou, N., Shane, S. 2018. Biology and management: A review, critique and research agenda. Journal of Management, 44(1): 7-31.
Shane, S., Nicolaou, N. 2015. The biological basis of entrepreneurship. In S. M. Colarelli & R. D. Arvey (Eds.), The Biological Foundations of Organizational Behavior: University of Chicago Press.
Shepherd, D. A., & Patzelt, H. 2015. The "heart" of entrepreneurship: The impact of entrepreneurial action on health and health on entrepreneurial action. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 4: 22-29.
Unger, J. M., Rauch, A., Weis, S. E., & Frese, M. 2015. Biology (prenatal testosterone), psychology (achievement need) and entrepreneurial impact. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 4: 1-5.
Weinberger, E., Wach, D., Stephan, U. & Wegge, J. (2018). Having a creative day: Understanding entrepreneurs' daily idea generation through a recovery lens. Journal of Business Venturing, 33, 1-19.
White, R. E., Thornhill, S., & Hampson, E. 2006. Entrepreneurs and evolutionary biology: The relationship between testosterone and new venture creation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 100(1): 21-34.
Wiklund, J., Patzelt, H., & Dimov, D. 2016. Entrepreneurship and psychological disorders: How ADHD can be productively harnessed. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 6: 14-20.
Wiklund, J., Yu, W., Tucker, R., & Marino, L. 2017. ADHD, impulsivity and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(6): 627-656.