The Babson Conference, considered among the most prestigious in the field of entrepreneurship, will be held in Munich from June 5 to 8
12 JANUARY, 2024: Sneetha Saji’s paper, titled ‘An entrepreneurial Symphony: The Harmonious Interplay of Support Networks In The Identity Work of Women Entrepreneurs’, has been accepted for presentation in a refereed paper session at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC) 2024. The 44th edition of BCERC will be held at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, from June 5 to 8, 2024.
Sneetha Saji is pursuing her doctoral studies in Entrepreneurship at IIMB.
The Babson Conference is among the most prestigious in the field of entrepreneurship. This year was very competitive; the 2024 BCERC received 1,011 abstracts for the 229 available accepted paper sessions, translating to an acceptance rate of 22%.
The paper investigates the importance of support networks in the entrepreneurial identity work of women entrepreneurs in India. Recognising a historical oversight in entrepreneurship literature that has often ignored female narratives, the paper utilises a qualitative approach with interviews of 50 early-stage women entrepreneurs to delve into the role of social interactions in their identity work. Key findings reveal that family and peer support are central to the identity work of women entrepreneurs. There is also a dynamic pattern in the provision and evolution of different types of support tied to the different stages of these women entrepreneurs’ identity work. The paper showcases how these different forms of support act as catalysts for identity work, underlining the collective composition of their entrepreneurial endeavours. The research marks a meaningful addition to the discourse on gender in entrepreneurship, highlighting the substantial influence of family and peers in sculpting the entrepreneurial identities of women. These insights potentially inform future research and support mechanisms tailored for women entrepreneurs.
The paper is part of Sneetha’s dissertation work. Guiding her are her DAC Chair, Prof. Srivardhini K Jha, Faculty in the Entrepreneurship area at IIMB and the Chairperson of NSRCEL, and her DAC members, Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula, Professor of Entrepreneurship, IIMB, and Prof. Mukta Kulkarni, Professor of Organizational Behavior & Human Resources Management, IIMB.
Founded by Babson College in 1981, BCERC is considered the premier entrepreneurship research conference in the world. It was established to provide a dynamic venue where academics and real-world practitioners, through spirited dialogue, could link theory and practice. Each year, the conference attracts more than 350 entrepreneurial scholars who come to hear the presentation of more than 220 papers.
The conference is co-hosted by the TUM Entrepreneurship Research Institute, TUM School of Management, the Peter Pribilla Foundation, UnternehmerTUM and MakerSpace. The conference will focus on cutting-edge empirical research in progress which will significantly advance the field of entrepreneurship. For details, visit www.bcerc.com