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Research Seminar on the objectivity of entrepreneurial opportunities on June, 11th

11/05/2018

The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation organizes a research seminar in WU Gründungszentrum on June 11th given by Ass. Prof. Russ McBride, University of California, Merced. The topic of this seminar is: "Hazards in socio-economic theory: Are entrepreneurial opportunities objective?"

Abstract

The most prominent conversation currently in entrepreneurship concerns the status of entrepreneurial opportunity. Are entrepreneurial opportunities objective or subjective? The question, however, is impossible to answer as posed, as it fails to distinguish between the two different kinds of objectivity— ontological and epistemological. Asking the question for each type of objectivity reveals a different answer for each, suggesting a promising and inclusive way forward for the field. Unfortunately, there are some age-old hazards in social theory, in particular the failure to distinguish the social from the physical. Once this hazard is unearthed it’s possible to untangle the debate which resolves the most prominent conflict in entrepreneurship theory currently. 

  • Date: June, 11th, 2018

  • Time: 13.30 - 15.00

  • Location: WU Gründungszentrum

Russ McBride is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Merced (UC’s newest campus) in the Department of the Management of Complex Systems. He did his Masters at Stanford in symbolic systems (philosophy and cognitive science) and his PhD from UC Berkeley in philosophy and cognitive science where he worked with John Searle and George Lakoff. He then spent four years as a postdoc at the University of Utah Eccles Business School working with Jay Barney and Todd Zenger. Most of his work orbits around the structure of social reality, in a field called, ‘social ontology’, as it relates to organizations and entrepreneurship. He has run the social ontology PDW at AoM for the last 5 years. He has also spent many years doing research on artificial intelligence, running a software consulting company, and working on problems in cognitive science. Current works in progress include a book, “The Complexity of Human Behavior”, a couple of articles in a book on “Philosophy & Entrepreneurship”, an article with Todd Zenger on evolutionary approaches in strategy, and the release for 2019 of a new journal in debate-only format covering issues in strategy, organizations, and entrepreneurship. 

If you plan to attend this event, please give us a short notice until June 8th by email to: waltraud.hanousek@wu.ac.at. 

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