Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI) has awarded three University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) research projects $12,500 each in funding to pursue academic/scholarly research on entrepreneurship and innovation.

The funding came from the Anderson Center Research Fund which was formed to advance the quality and quantity of UTK-generated academic research about entrepreneurship and innovation. Ultimately, the goal is for the work to inform the research community and help promote entrepreneurial success and community investment in appropriate entrepreneurship-oriented support, infrastructure and startups.

In May 2023, a review committee — consisting of ACEI Executive Director Lynn Youngs, Research Director Melissa Cardon, Operations Director Robyn Geron and Faculty Research Fellow Don Bruce — reviewed research grant applications. Each project was made anonymous and scored based on the extent to which the project: (1) focused on evidence-based academic research involving entrepreneurship and/or innovation; (2) was aligned with the research goals of ACEI; (3) had potential for academic contribution and publication in a high-quality peer-reviewed journal; (4) was practically relevant and/or important to entrepreneurs, in terms of helping promote entrepreneurial success and community investment in appropriate entrepreneurship-oriented support, infrastructure and start-ups; and (5) had realistic projections for the timeline for completion.

The three projects selected were:

• “Mouths to Feed: How and Why Do Entrepreneurs Protect Their Employees’ Financial Security?”, submitted by Gavin Williamson, a doctoral student in the Haslam College of Business, and Tim Munyon, Professor of Management in the Haslam College;
• “Short-Term Gain or Long-Term Benefit? Entrepreneur and Stakeholder Interactions in the Early Stakeholder Enrollment Process” from Ashley Roccapriore, Instructor in the Haslam College, and Jessica Jones, an Assistant Professor in the Haslam College of Business and one of the inaugural ACEI Research Fellows; and
• “Founder Identity Evolution: Workspaces as Accelerators of Identity Work,” proposed by Becca Arwine, another doctoral student in the Haslam College, and Dave Williams, Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship; Director of the Ph.D. in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations Program; William B. Stokely Distinguished Scholar, Haslam College; and another inaugural ACEI Research Fellow.

Click here to read the full news release.

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