Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Sleepless Schumpeter? Quasi- and Natural-Experimental Evidence Linking Disinhibition to Entrepreneurial Action in the General Population’ on 11 July
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Siddharth Vedula, Miami University
9 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Sleepless Schumpeter? Quasi- and Natural-Experimental Evidence Linking Disinhibition to Entrepreneurial Action in the General Population’, to be led by Prof. Siddharth Vedula, Miami University (Entrepreneurship area), at 11 am on 11th July 2025, at Q001.
Abstract: Prior research has shown that individuals make decisions about entrepreneurial opportunities in systematic and quasi-rational ways to maximize the value they can derive from pursuing such opportunities. However, in the nascent, initial stages of business venturing, information is scarce, time is limited, and uncertainty is high. The researchers complement extant work by studying factors that fall outside of the ‘rational decision-making range’, exploring how incidental and contextual factors instead can influence important entrepreneurial venturing decisions. Drawing on the Disinhibition Theory of Entrepreneurial Action, they conjecture that, in the face of uncertainty, disinhibition induced by (even mildly) diminished sleep increases entrepreneurial action while simultaneously decreasing entrepreneurial decision quality.
This identified contradiction has unique implications for entrepreneurial venturing. On the one hand, markets benefit from abundant and decisive entrepreneurial action, including new market entry, but on the other hand, poor quality opportunity evaluations could be catastrophic for new ventures given their relative financial instability. The researchers leverage a three-study research design that combines (a) two natural quasi-experiments based on daylight saving time shifts and (b) a natural experiment that leverages chronic heterogeneity in ‘social time’ for businesses located near time zone boundaries. Overall, they demonstrate that disinhibition induced by mildly diminished sleep appears to be a ‘double-edged sword’ for venturing, increasing the quantity of opportunities pursued but decreasing the quality of entrepreneurial action and resource allocation.
Speaker Profile: Dr. Siddharth Vedula is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Entrepreneurship Department at the Farmer School of Business, Miami University. He teaches undergraduate courses in new venture design and performance.
His research focuses on the geography of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in environmentally beneficial industries. Some of the topics he has studied include spatial herding behavior by venture capital firms, regional differences in the adoption of green building practices, and how ideological differences between communities impact the emergence of renewable energy markets.
In his spare time, he consults with and invests in early-stage technology ventures. Prior to his career in business academia, he worked as a biomedical engineer developing therapeutic solutions for prostate and lung cancer. He also co-founded an unmanned aerial vehicle start-up while pursuing his doctorate.
Research & Publications Office to host seminar on ‘Sleepless Schumpeter? Quasi- and Natural-Experimental Evidence Linking Disinhibition to Entrepreneurial Action in the General Population’ on 11 July
The talk will be delivered by Prof. Siddharth Vedula, Miami University
9 July, 2025, Bengaluru: The Office of Research and Publications (R&P) will host a seminar on, ‘Sleepless Schumpeter? Quasi- and Natural-Experimental Evidence Linking Disinhibition to Entrepreneurial Action in the General Population’, to be led by Prof. Siddharth Vedula, Miami University (Entrepreneurship area), at 11 am on 11th July 2025, at Q001.
Abstract: Prior research has shown that individuals make decisions about entrepreneurial opportunities in systematic and quasi-rational ways to maximize the value they can derive from pursuing such opportunities. However, in the nascent, initial stages of business venturing, information is scarce, time is limited, and uncertainty is high. The researchers complement extant work by studying factors that fall outside of the ‘rational decision-making range’, exploring how incidental and contextual factors instead can influence important entrepreneurial venturing decisions. Drawing on the Disinhibition Theory of Entrepreneurial Action, they conjecture that, in the face of uncertainty, disinhibition induced by (even mildly) diminished sleep increases entrepreneurial action while simultaneously decreasing entrepreneurial decision quality.
This identified contradiction has unique implications for entrepreneurial venturing. On the one hand, markets benefit from abundant and decisive entrepreneurial action, including new market entry, but on the other hand, poor quality opportunity evaluations could be catastrophic for new ventures given their relative financial instability. The researchers leverage a three-study research design that combines (a) two natural quasi-experiments based on daylight saving time shifts and (b) a natural experiment that leverages chronic heterogeneity in ‘social time’ for businesses located near time zone boundaries. Overall, they demonstrate that disinhibition induced by mildly diminished sleep appears to be a ‘double-edged sword’ for venturing, increasing the quantity of opportunities pursued but decreasing the quality of entrepreneurial action and resource allocation.
Speaker Profile: Dr. Siddharth Vedula is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Entrepreneurship Department at the Farmer School of Business, Miami University. He teaches undergraduate courses in new venture design and performance.
His research focuses on the geography of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in environmentally beneficial industries. Some of the topics he has studied include spatial herding behavior by venture capital firms, regional differences in the adoption of green building practices, and how ideological differences between communities impact the emergence of renewable energy markets.
In his spare time, he consults with and invests in early-stage technology ventures. Prior to his career in business academia, he worked as a biomedical engineer developing therapeutic solutions for prostate and lung cancer. He also co-founded an unmanned aerial vehicle start-up while pursuing his doctorate.