Entrepreneurship, Development and Political Economy
About us
The cluster investigates how wealth is created and used for society. We research how and why people, charities, businesses, and governments create new ventures. Working with such groups, we seek to understand what these activities mean for people and society to create better outcomes. Our research looks at businesses, communities, technology, finance, philanthropy, and practice. We produce work for a range of audiences, recognising that to help create the best outcomes requires working with a wide variety of people. Our work is funded by governments, charities, and private business helping us make connections across the whole of society.
Leadership and members
Lead: Professor Niall MacKenzie
Alternate: Professor Andrew Cumbers
Members
Dr Aleksandra Bavdaz
Dr Dominic Chalmers
Mr Anthony Gloyne
Professor Jillian Gordon
Mr Felix Honecker
Professor Colin Mason
Professor Alan McGregor
Professor Robert McMaster
Ms Catherine Owen
Mrs Aastha Pandey
Dr Franziska Paul
Dr Bethia Pearson
Dr Nick Quinn
Dr Dania Thomas
Dr Helen Traill
Dr Bernd Wurth
Entrepreneurship, Development and Political Economy Seminar Series 2023-2024
The Entrepreneurship, Development and Political Economy Seminar Series welcomes distinguished researchers from other institutions to present their latest work.
On our Research Seminars, you will find abstracts and biographies for upcoming seminars.
For further information and to register for seminars, don't hesitate to contact the Research Team.
11 October 2023
Professor Graeme Acheson, University of Strathclyde
13 December 2023
Dr Giuseppe Telesca, European University Institute Florence
20 February 2024
Dr Neil Aaron Thompson, Vrije University Amsterdam
We foster a positive and productive environment for seminars through our Code of conduct.
Impact and Engagement
Learn more about our projects and activities
Innovation: the legitimation of newness
Professor Niall Mackenzie, Dr Dominic Chalmers and Professor Jillian Gordon have partnered with colleagues at Aalborg University, Halmstad University and the University of Oulu on a multimillion-pound EU Horizon 2020 project. The project investigates how new technologies and ventures become accepted in society in order to better understand how to encourage innovation. We currently do not have a great deal of knowledge about how society accepts new technologies or organisational forms that is systematic and actionable. By investigating this across 15 different topics, the researchers will help unlock the innovation potential across industries and European countries. They will develop toolkits, frameworks, and theories to help better understand how to handle new technologies in society which benefits everyone. Industry partners include Nokia, FinTech Scotland, Scottish Edge and the Shaftesbury Partnership.
Global remunicipalisation: the return to public ownership
Funded by the European Research Council, the Global Remunicipalisation (GLOBALMUN) project is investigating the return of formerly privatised assets, infrastructure and services back into public ownership. The return to public ownership has implications for cities in terms of how they are managed, who is involved and who benefits from urban development processes. Professor Andrew Cumbers (PI), Dr Franziska Paul and Dr Bethia Pearson serve on this long-term, five-year global interdisciplinary project, alongside Dr Mo Hume (CI, Social and Political Sciences). The research involves an extensive global survey, individual remunicipalisation case studies, and a three-country comparative analysis across Argentina, Germany, and the US. Project partners include the Democracy Collaborative, Instituto de Estudios de América Latina y el Caribe, Public Services International and the Transnational Institute.
Business angels
Professor Colin Mason is one of the leading figures in business angel research. Business angels are wealthy individuals, typically successful entrepreneurs, who share some of their wealth and expertise by investing in new companies. As such, they are critical players in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Over the past ten years, Professor Mason has worked with Canada’s National Angel Capital Association (NACO) as lead author of its annual investment activity report and has been invited by various industry groups to share his knowledge. His work with national angel capital associations has stimulated significant investment activity in the UK, Canada and Sweden. In addition, his most recent research has identified barriers and proposed potential solutions to encourage cross-border investments by business angels. He is a previous recipient of the ESRC Outstanding Impact in Business Award for his work on business angels.
Related links
- Professor Colin Mason
- EBAN
- National Angel Capital Organization
- Research paper: Promoting cross border investing by business angels in the European Union (2021)
- Research paper: Women on the edge of a breakthrough? A stereotype threat theory of women’s angel investing (2020)
- Research paper: The transformation of the business angel market: empirical evidence and research implications (2016)
- Research paper: Business angel investment activity in the financial crisis: UK evidence and policy implications (2015)
Academic-industry engagement and commercialisation
With funding support from the Carnegie Trust, Dr David Johnson is investigating academic-industry engagement and commercialisation. Knowledge transfer and collaboration at the ‘entrepreneurial university’ is a key driver of innovation and university-centred entrepreneurial ecosystems. The triple helix model of economic growth requires active, synergistic collaboration between universities, corporations, and government. The keystone of the model, however, is the academic who engages in commercialisation activities driven by industry, typically via contract research. Dr Johnson’s project investigates why academics within Scotland's research institutions and universities engage in contract research with Scottish SMEs and, importantly, how we can improve academic-industry engagement and commercialisation. Dr Johnson also serves as a Visiting Scholar at Interface.