HSE University-St Petersburg Opens Centre for Strategic Entrepreneurship
In January 2023, the School of Economics and Management opened a new research laboratory: the Centre for Strategic Entrepreneurship, where researchers will examine entrepreneurial activities and strategic management. The new laboratory is headed by Galina Shirokova, Professor at the Department of Management.
Strategic entrepreneurship is an approach which helps to carry out research in several fields of management at the same time. This is not the first year that HSE University-St Petersburg has developed in this area; for example, in 2022, Galina Shirokova released a book devoted to this concept, which she spoke about in a prior interview (available in Russian).
Galina Shirokova, Professor at the Department of Management
Entrepreneurship in the world is usually examined in the context of how new firms and start-ups appear, and how entrepreneurs act in them. Strategic entrepreneurship is a much broader concept. It includes two perspectives: entrepreneurial (looking for new ideas) and strategic (shaping sources of competitive advantage).
The main purpose of the Centre is to develop approaches to this new field and to attract young scientists to implement projects. This is especially important when there is external turbulence—strategic entrepreneurship becomes a mechanism of adaptation for companies and the national economy.
A new approach to strategic entrepreneurship will allow companies to develop new behavioural strategies in uncertain conditions. At a national level, it will be helpful for identifying a company's prospects, predicting its development, and supporting it.
At the moment, research at the Centre for Strategic Entrepreneurship is based on five topics. The first is how sources of competitive advantage are formed during a crisis. This project received grant support from the Russian Science Foundation and will end in 2023. The second is students' entrepreneurial spirit (this project's results for 2021 were published recently). The third topic deals with innovation and the readiness to take risks when an entrepreneur creates their own company. The fourth topic deals with the proactive behaviour of students who engage in entrepreneurial activities. In 2022, the research team joined the implementation of the strategic project 'Success and Independence of a Person in a Changing World' and started new research on proactive behaviour at the firm level.
The Head of the Centre is Galina Shirokova, Professor at the Department of Management and Doctor of Economic Sciences. Over the last five years, she has published 22 articles in high-ranking international journals. In 2018, she won the Scopus Awards Russia prize in the fields of Economics and Business as a significant Russian scientist in the international context. The Centre's team consists of 12 people, four of whom are PhD students of the School of Economics and Management. The research team is currently working on 17 scientific papers.
The Centre for Strategic Entrepreneurship plans to contribute to both science and education. This includes organising the Young Scientists School for students who study Economics and Management. The results of its research on entrepreneurship will also be used in the curricula of the School of Economics and Management, serving as the basis of courses for bachelor's, master's and PhD students.
Find out more about the activities of the Centre for Strategic Entrepreneurship here.