Everyday-Everyone Entrepreneurship: Fostering Social Inclusion

How can we define and study everydayness in entrepreneurship?

This, along with other related questions, was as the centre of a recent two-day Paper Development Workshop (PDW) on Everyday-Everyone Entrepreneurship (EEE). The PDW was organised by the Entrepreneurship Unit (ENTU) at Aalto University School of Business on 22-23 August 2024 with the support of the Department of Management Studies of Aalto University, the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB), and the Research Council of Finland.

The aim of the event was to stimulate discussions around theoretical and methodological advancements in the study of EEE across diverse contexts, while creating opportunities for networking and establishing a community of EEE scholars.

We accepted 14 paper submissions from doctoral students and early-career researchers representing nine universities across Europe. Throughout the two days, the papers were discussed in roundtable sessions, providing participants with feedback and constructive suggestions to advance their research on everyday entrepreneurship.

In addition to paper development sessions, the workshop also included keynote speeches and a panel discussion that were open to the general audience.

Professor Kim Klyver from University of Southern Denmark delivered a keynote titled “From unicorns to everyday entrepreneurship – why we need a different focus,” where he explored the challenges of studying everyday entrepreneurship, how it evolves, its unique characteristics, and proposed a four-step agenda for future research in this area. On the second day, Professor Sarah Jack from Lancaster University presented her keynote on various projects focusing on everyday entrepreneurship and its transformative effects on places and societies. This provides us with concrete examples of how everyday entrepreneurship can be empirically studied, offering valuable insights into the practical application of research approaches in this area.

The workshop also included a public panel discussion featuring Professors Kim Klyver (University of Southern Denmark), Sarah Jack (Lancaster University), Ulla Hytti (University of Turku), and Arto Haapala (University of Helsinki). The panelists offered diverse perspectives on everydayness and entrepreneurship, with the inclusion of a philosopher and Professor of Aesthetics adding a fresh and enriching dimension to the conversation. This interdisciplinary approach was highly appreciated by participants, as it encouraged new questions that could bring about novel insights.

In sum, the workshop not only deepened our understanding of everyday-everyone entrepreneurship but also set the stage for ongoing collaboration and research that will further explore its role in driving social inclusion. This event is just the start of an ongoing conversation, and we’re excited to see how these discussions will evolve in the future.

Author: Bernadetta A. Ginting-Szczesny, Postdoctoral researcher, Aalto University School of Business