Best Paper Awards

2025 BCERC Award Winners

Presented at the BCERC 2026, University of Alabama, USA

National Federation of Independent Business Award

Best Paper, General Category: How Do Founders Split Their Equity? Insight from a Conjoint Experiment

Authors: Yannick Amend, Justus-Liebig University Giessen; Petrit Ademi, University of St. Gallen; Monika Schuhmacher, Justus-Liebig University Giessen

Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship Award

Babson College

Best Paper, Family Entrepreneurship Category: Managing Dual Roles: Coping with Work-Family Conflict and Enhancing Well-Being of Family Business Members

Authors: Moonum Zehra, University of Siegen; Arndt Werner, University of Siegen; Meike Stephan, University of Siegen; Sepideh Ghahremani Tehrani, University of Siegen

Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Award

Illinois State University

Best Paper, Social Entrepreneurship Category: The Role of Proximity and Political Ideology as External Enablers of Social Entrepreneurship

Authors: Mariza Gabriela Lemos Mesquita, Louisiana State University; Joseph Cabral, Louisiana State University

The Institute for Social Innovation Award

Babson College

Best Paper, Social Impact: Kenyan Pastors in Business: Pathways for Sharing Religious Faith in Entrepreneurship

Authors: Sean Dwyer, University of Oklahoma; Mitchell Neubert, Baylor University; Reginald Tucker, University of Oklahoma

The G. Dale Meyer Iconoclast Award

Presented to a doctoral student who is the lead author on a paper and has demonstrated they pushed the boundaries of existing knowledge in entrepreneurship research.

Paper: Spatial Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Crime Experience in an Informal Township Economy

Author: Mohammed Bendaanane, Technical University of Munich

2024 BCERC Award Winners

Presented at the BCERC 2025, Babson College, USA

National Federation of Independent Business Award

Best Paper, General Category: Employee Work Conditions and Well-Being in Scale-Ups
Authors: Mohamed Genedy, Jönköping International Business School, Johan Wiklund, Syracuse University and Arnold Bakker, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship Award, Babson College

Best Paper, Family Entrepreneurship Category: From “Rags to Riches” to Mobility Maintenance: Intergenerational Social Mobility and Entrepreneurial Entry
Authors: Leif Brändle, University of Hohenheim, Anna-Lena Rönnert, University of Hohenheim and Christopher Sabel, Rotterdam School of Management

Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Award, Illinois State University

Best Paper, Social Entrepreneurship Category: Imitating by Effectuation: Venture Creation in Contexts of Poverty
Authors: Patrick Shulist, Aalto University, Geoff Kistruck, York University, Dugassa Gerba, Aalto University and Musah Neindow, PARED, Ghana

Tariq Farid Franchise Institute Award, Babson College

Best Paper, Franchising Category: Franchising in the Metaverse: Entrepreneurial Pathways for Virtual and Mixed Reality
Authors: Richard Hunt, Virginia Tech, Elham Asgari, Michigan Technical University and S.M. Abidul Islam, Virginia Tech

EQUA Foundation Award

Best Paper, Entrepreneurial Purpose Category: How Does Conflict Impact (Necessity) Entrepreneurship?
Authors: Mirko Hirschmann, University of Luxembourg, Christian Fisch, University of Luxembourg and Paul Momtaz, Technical University of Munich

2023 BCERC Award Winners

Presented at the BCERC 2024, Technical University of Munich, Germany

National Federation of Independent Business Award

Best Paper, General Category: The Deterioration of Self-worth in Entrepreneurship
Authors: Pablo Muñoz, Durham University, UK, Marieshka Barton, Durham University, UK, and Farzana Chowdhury, Durham University, UK

Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship Award, Babson College

Best Paper, Family Entrepreneurship Category: An Exploration of Business Ownership, Parenting Styles and Entrepreneurial Persistence
Authors: Alisa Jno-Charles, Babson College, USA, William Gartner, Babson College, USA, and Angela Randolph, Babson College, USA

Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Award, Illinois State University

Best Paper, Social Entrepreneurship Category: Alleviated Suffering, Now What? On a Journey from Compassion Venturing to a New Social Venture
Authors: Anastasia Koptsyukh, Aalto University, Finland, Ewald Kibler, Aalto University, Finland, and Dean A. Shepherd, Notre Dame University, USA