Theodor Vladasel, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Business, was awarded the 2020 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Doctoral Dissertation Award this summer by the Entrepreneurship division of the Academy of Management. The award carries with it a cash prize of $2,500.

The NFIB prize honors outstanding doctoral research from the previous year which deals with development of new ventures such as small businesses, family businesses, and minority businesses. Prof. Vladasel received his PhD from the Copenhagen Business School in 2019, and his research interests include the individual and contextual drivers of entrepreneurship, strategic human capital for new and established ventures, and individual and organisational matching and evaluation.

Prof. Vladasel's winning dissertation, titled "Embracing Heterogeneity: Essays in Entrepreneurship and Human Capital", considers variations in human capital profiles and organisational forms to provide insight into drivers of entrepreneurship entry, persistence, and income, as well as the ability of social enterprises to motivate employee action. Using econometric techniques and experimental approaches, the three essays that comprise the thesis provide novel insights into the determinants of different types of entrepreneurship and the human resource practices of social enterprises.

The annual dissertation award was originally established by the journal Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, but is now sponsored by the NFIB Research Foundation. The Academy of Management is a professional association for management and organisation scholars, and builds a community to connect and explore ideas. Founded in 1936, it has nearly 20,000 members in 115 countries.

Read more about Prof. Vladasel on his personal website.