Leading Research
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought. –Albert Szent–Gyorgyi |
One of the central missions of the Center for entrepreneurship is to support quality research. Solid research allows one to investigate both important and intriguing issues, not just today's crises. It also allows us to systematically study an issue across many ventures, not just one or two observations. a solid understanding that rises above the issues of the daily management issues can be gained. finally, quality research allows us to infuse new intellectual capital into our academic programs and keep our classroom instruction on the cutting edge.
Professors Rob Mitchell and Lowell Busenitz are launching a study that investigates why some ventures in oklahoma succeed in the commercialization of new innovations while others fail. Quality technologies are necessary but not sufficient for the expansion of oklahoma's technology economy. If we are going to successfully build a technology–based economy, we need a better understanding of the best business practices that lead ventures to successful commercialization. This research will bridge the gap between research and practice by allowing us to understand the factors that lead to successful commercialization of technology-based ventures.
An example of cutting-edge research involves a study recently published in the top-ranked Academy of Management Journal. Ventures that go through an ipo are more likely to be underpriced if their venture capital backers have greater ties to the investment banks that underwrite the deals. After analyzing more than 300 companies at least partially owned by venture capital firms before they became public, it was found that deals helmed by venture capitalists who had done prior ipo business with their main underwriters had more significant underpricing than those with no prior relationships. This article came from a dissertation written by former ou ph.d. student Jonathan Arthurs under the guidance of Lowell Busenitz and colleagues.