The Blank School engages Babson community members and leads research to create entrepreneurial leaders.
Grid Communicating your Company's Identity
Joel Adams
Indiana University, USAResearch Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: Mission-first ventures bear authenticity risks that other ventures do not, and commonplace strategic changes can be interpreted as betrayal. Communications justifying these changes can repair, but cannot prevent, perceived inauthenticity and the losses that accompany that perception.
Marieshka Barton
Durham University, UK*Award Winner - Kauffman Foundation Award for Best Research Translation*
Research Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: We know social entrepreneurs are motivated to change the world for the better. For first-time social entrepreneurs, the zeal for social change may even surpass their need for money, affecting how they communicate their missions and how they’re perceived by investors.
Devin Burnell
Indiana University, USAResearch Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: Narratives are key to entrepreneurial success. Within entrepreneurship, an effective narrative generates meaning, captivates listeners, and conveys a message that resonates with venture
audiences. But what narrative strategies can be used to shape effective venture tales?
Izuchukwu Mbaraonye
The University of Nebraska - Lincoln, USAResearch Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: Entrepreneurial growth is often met by positive stakeholder reactions as it signifies the output of the hard work by entrepreneurs. However, this reaction may not be extended to entrepreneurs in high identification entrepreneurial spaces, where entrepreneurs and stakeholders define themselves based on both what they “are” and what they “are not”, and there is a “magical” quality to the origins and inspiration of their product or service offering.
Jeanne Roche
IE Business School, SpainResearch Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: Ford, Estee Lauder, Hyatt. What do these names have in common? For starters, they are behind some of the largest family firms in the world. But not only. They are also associated with a revolution in finance and are at the head of a new set of practices: investing for return and impact. But why are prominent business families engaging on this path? And what are the behavioral mechanisms leading to it? In our research, we find that individuals in business families use impact investing to build their own identity by either building on, reshaping, or deconstructing their family’s legacy.
(Marie) Madeline Meurer
EBS University for Business and Law, GermanyResearch Translation Paper (pdf) »
Summary: Entrepreneurs highly depend on how others perceive them. Audiences such as entrepreneurial peers,investors, or crowdfunders rate the impression that they have from an entrepreneur as one of the most important criteria when providing resources. Hence, acquiring resources from critical audiences requires skilled storytelling – during pitches, in business talks, or when sharing content on social media. Thereby, one of the biggest challenges is that audiences expect entrepreneurs to stand out from other entrepreneurs and also expect them to make a prototypical impression.