ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The 6th version of this conference will be online and aims to advance our understanding of entrepreneurship-as-practice, foster network ties, facilitate collaborative writing relationships, and build a strong community of practice scholars. To do so, we have developed an online Research Conference and PhD Symposium to educate and connect interested scholars and to develop empirical and conceptual papers regarding the ‘practice turn’ taking place in entrepreneurship studies.
Questions:
eap6conf@gmail.com
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INTRODUCTION
The practice tradition (also known as practice-based studies, the practice approach or the practice lens) in the social sciences forefronts the notion that practices and their connections are fundamental to the ontology of all social phenomena (Rouse, 2006; Schatzki, Knorr-Cetina, & Savigny, 2001). Ventures, firms or startups, in this view, are not ontologically separate phenomena from the performance of everyday, materially accomplished and ordered practices (Chalmers & Shaw, 2017; Hill, 2018; Johannisson, 2011; Vincent & Pagan, 2019). This is to say that no description or explanation of features of entrepreneurial life—such as, recognizing, evaluating and exploiting opportunities—is possible without the ‘alternate’ description and explanation of how entrepreneurial life is actually lived in and through practices (Gross, Carson, & Jones, 2014; Keating, Geiger, & Mcloughlin, 2013). The term ‘practice’, therefore, does not refer to an ‘empty’ conceptual category of ‘what entrepreneurs think and do’ (Sklaveniti & Steyaert, 2019), but encompasses the meaning-making, identity-forming and order-producing interactions (Chia & Holt, 2006; Nicolini, 2009) enacted by multiple entrepreneurial practitioners and situated in specific (historical) conditions. Therefore, practice theories orient entrepreneurship scholars to take seriously the practices of entrepreneuring as they unfold and are experienced in real-time rather than as they are remembered, or interpreted. Simply put, practice scholars are concerned with the ‘nitty-gritty’ work of entrepreneuring—all the meetings, the talking, the selling, the form-filling and the number-crunching by which opportunities actually get enacted (Matthews, Chalmers, & Fraser, 2018; Whittington, 1996). This comes with considerable ontological, theoretical and methodological implications which will be addressed during the Conference and PhD Symposium.
For background and information on EaP literature, prior conferences, media and other pertinent materials, please go to: https://www.entrepreneurshipaspractice.com.
GENERAL PROGRAM OF THE CONFERENCE AND PhD SYMPOSIUM
April 9th (@16:00-19:00 CET) will be the PhD and Early Career Symposium (@16:00-19:00 CET). PhD candidates and early career scholars who wish to meet likeminded scholars and network with senior scholars should attend. Participants will be able to ask questions about EaP, meet and discuss ideas for research as well as further discuss their own research objectives. This session is free of charge and participants do not need a paper to join. Please see below to register.
The Conference will be held over three full days, 16th, 23rd, and 30th April 2021 (@16:00-19:00 CET).
April 16th (@16:00-19:00 CET) will include a keynote talk by Dr. Sara Elias and her experience publishing an article in Organization Studies that uses practice theories. We will also have breakout rooms to allow for participants to discuss ideas. This session is open to anyone who registers (do not need a paper in PDW), please see below. Zoom links will be sent after registration.
April 23rd (@16:00-19:00 CET)will include a keynote by Dr. Katja Hydle and Dr. Betsy Campbell, who have both made theoretical contributions to the study of entrepreneurship from a practice theory perspective. We will also have breakout rooms to allow for participants to discuss ideas. This session is open to anyone who registers (do not need a paper in PDW), please see below. Zoom links will be sent after registration.
April 30th (@16:00-19:00 CET) will be the Paper Development Workshop. To be admitted to the PDW day, you need to have a paper accepted. All those are interested to attend the PDW should submit an abstract (of approximately 1,000 words) by February 15th, 2021 to eap6conf@gmail.com
Important Dates:
April 1, 2021 Registration Deadline for all conference days and PhD Symposium
April 9th (@16:00-19:00 CET) PhD and Early Career Symposium
April 16th, 2021 Full Paper Submission Deadline (for PDW day only, held 30 April)
April 16th (@16:00-19:00 CET) Publishing EaP research in top journals with Dr. Sara Elias
April 23rd (@16:00-19:00 CET) Theoretical advances in EaP with Dr. Katja Hydle and Dr. Betsy Campbell
April 30th (@16:00-19:00 CET) Paper Development Workshop (by acceptance only)
Conference Fees:
April 9th (PhD and Early Career Symposium) - no cost
April 16th - 45 Euros
April 23rd - 45 Euros
April 30th - no cost
Registration:
Please click to register
Questions:
eap6conf@gmail.com