The Hincks Centre is involved in a diverse range of activities related to entrepreneurship, on campus and beyond.

Increasing Start-Up Success by Focusing on Entrepreneurial Decision Making

Monday 15 March 2021

Monday, March 15th 9:30am - 12:15pm (10.30 -13.15 CET)

As part of Munster Technological University’s Enterprise Month in March, this online seminar will be hosted by the Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence and delivered by Professor Arnaldo Camuffo, Dr Francesca Bacco and Andrea Coali from Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. During the seminar, Professor Camuffo and his team will highlight an innovative research program examining decision making among start-ups. One such study in Italy implemented a randomised controlled trial of 116 start-ups where half received ‘standard’ training and half received ‘scientific’ decision making training. The results showed that the treatment group (taught a scientific approach to decision making) were more likely to abandon or pivot from low value ideas, and those in the treatment group that persisted were more successful. Promising results from Italy, India and the UK have led to further ongoing research in Italy, Tanzania and China to replicate the initial findings in larger trials and novel contexts. The Harvard Business Review recently included further details on this exciting research. www.hbr.org/2020/11/founders-apply-the-scientific-method-to-your-startup

Outline of event:

• 9.30am to 10.45am: Prof Camuffo will outline the research program history including the origin and motivation for the initial research in 2015 up to several much larger randomised control trials currently underway in Italy, Tanzania and China to replicate these findings. The results (published and soon to be published) will also be discussed from over 800 start-ups. This will be followed by Q&A.
• 11:00am to 12.15pm: This part of the seminar will discuss the research trials’ design, their execution (data collection, etc.) as well as the intervention content (control and treatment) and associated pedagogy. How start-ups are taught and guided through decision making ‘normally’ and using the ‘scientific’ approach will thus be outlined. How this differs from an agriculture and food focus in Tanzania to a high tech focus in China will be discussed. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to pose questions to Prof Camuffo and his team regarding how they could apply insights in business support and entrepreneurial education contexts here in Ireland.

This event is over and registration is closed.