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Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG

Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG

The Marketing and Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group (EM SIG) exists to facilitate research, teaching and other professional activity at the interface between marketing and entrepreneurship.

More specifically, the Interest Group exists to:

  • Generate interest on the part of marketing educators in the relationship between marketing and entrepreneurship.
  • Support the development of marketing theory and the performance of empirical research which reflect the role of marketing in entrepreneurial ventures as well as the role of entrepreneurship in marketing practice.
  • Identify ways to improve the application of marketing principles and concepts to entrepreneurial ventures in companies of all sizes and types.
  • Disseminate knowledge regarding the marketing‑ entrepreneurship interface.
  • Foster entrepreneurial thinking within the marketing discipline.

The Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG works closely with the Global Entrepreneurship & Marketing Association especially on the Global Research Symposium on Marketing & Entrepreneurship​ and the AMA Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG International Doctoral Consortium​.

For more information, please visit the EMSIG Facebook page.

History 

The interest group is an outgrowth of the annual Marketing and Entrepreneurship Symposium which is co‑ sponsored by the AMA and the University of Illinois at Chicago. In August of 1988, a core group of individuals involved with the Symposium formed a Task Force on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Originally consisting of eight members, the Task Force grew to twelve in 1990, with each member serving two terms.

The Task Force worked to organize and coordinate the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Interest Group (MEIG), a group of four hundred academics and professionals expressing an interest in the marketing‑entrepreneurship interface. A MEIG database was put together, and a newsletter was sent to these individuals three times a year. The newsletter kept MEIG members abreast of Task Force activities, conferences and programs on entrepreneurship, and general news about teaching and research development and updating of a bibliography addressing the marketing‑entrepreneurship interface, identification and assessment of databases dealing with entrepreneurial start‑ups, investigation of opportunities for teaching marketing and entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe, interaction with local AMA chapters to determine their needs in the entrepreneurship area, and surveys of MEIG members to identify the critical issues and questions at the interface, among others.  Latter an electronic version of the newsletter evolved.

The Task Force has also served in an advisory capacity to the annual Symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and has been successful in getting tracks and sessions on entrepreneurship added to the Summer and Winter Educator’s Conferences. Many members of the Task Force and MEIG have served as chairs, discussants, reviewers, and presenters at these forums.​

The Gerald E. Hills Best Paper Award  

Gerald (Gerry) E. Hills is widely recognized for his research and expertise in entrepreneurial marketing, especially for his work on opportunity recognition. In addition, Gerry initiated and continues to organize a symposium on entrepreneurial marketing (recognized as the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Research Symposium) since the eighties. In fact, Gerry was one of the AMA leaders who initiated the Special Interest Group concept. The Entrepreneurial Marketing SIG is pleased to present a best paper award in recognition of Gerry’s lifetime contributions to the field. 

Award Criteria 

The Gerald E. Hills Award Best Paper on Entrepreneurial Marketing award is presented annually (normally in conjunction with the Summer AMA) to the author(s) of the “best paper” who have made a significant impact on the marketing and entrepreneurship interface. The domain of nominated articles would be papers published in the previous 10 years in any refereed publication, as long as the article significantly influenced the direction of the entrepreneurial marketing literature.  

Previous Winners

2023 Winner: Gordon Liu, Teck–Yong Eng, & Sachiko Takeda (2015). An Investigation of Marketing Capabilities and Social Enterprise Performance in the UK and Japan. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(2), 267-298.

2022 Winner: Gillian Sullivan Mort, Jay Weerawardena, & Peter Liesch (2012). Advancing Entrepreneurial Marketing: Evidence from Born Global Firms. European Journal of Marketing, 46 (3/4), 542-561.

2021 Winner: Christian Homburg, Alexander Hahn, Torsten Bornemann, and Philipp Sandner for their 2014 JM (V51, 5) article “The Role of Chief Marketing Officers for Venture Capital Funding: Endowing New Ventures with Marketing Legitimacy.”

2020 Winner: Jones, Rosalind, & Rowley, Jennifer (2011). Entrepreneurial Marketing in Small Businesses: A Conceptual Exploration. International small business journal, 2011, 29(1), 25-36.

2019 Winner: Coviello, N. E., & Joseph, R. M. (2012). Creating Major Innovations with Customers: Insights from Small and Young Technology Firms. Journal of Marketing, 76(6), 87–104.

2018 Winner: Raghunath Singh Rao (University of Texas at Austin), Rajesh K. Chandy (University of Minnesota) and Jaideep C. Prabhu (Imperial College London): “The Fruits of Legitimacy: Why Some New Ventures Gain More from Innovation Than Others,” Journal of Marketing, July 2008, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 58-75.

2017 Winner: Webb, Justin W; Ireland, R Duane; Hitt, Michael A; Kistruck, Geoffrey M; Tihanyi, Laszlo:“Where is the Opportunity without the Customer? An Integration of Marketing Activities, the Entrepreneurship Process, and Institutional Theory,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2011, 39 (4), 537-554.

2016 Winner: Diane M. Martin (Aalto University) and John Schouten (Aalto University): “Consumption-Driven Market Emergence,” Journal of Consumer Research, 2014, 40(5), 855-870.

2015 Winner: Stuart Read (IMD Lausanne), Nicholas Dew (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey), Saras Sarasvathy (University of Virginia), Michael Song (University of Missouri), and Robert Wiltbank (Willamette University): “Marketing Under Uncertainty – The Logic of an Effectual Approach,” Journal of Marketing, 2009, 73 (3), 1-18.

2014 Winner: Marc Gruber (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Ian C. MacMillan (University of Pennsylvania) and James D. Thompson (University of Pennsylvania): “Look Before You Leap: Market Opportunity Identification in Emerging Technology Firms”, Management Science 54, 9 (2008) 1652-1664.​​​​​

2013 Winner: Nicole E. Coviello (Wilfrid Laurier University) for “Network Dynamics in the International New Venture,” Journal of International Business Studies, 2006, 37(5), 713-731. Reprinted: 2009 in Entrepreneurship and Globalization, Volume 5, RB McNaughton and J Bell (eds.), London: Sage Publications, 151-176.

2018 Winner: Raghunath Singh Rao (The University of Texas at Austin),  Rajesh K. Chandy (London Business School) and Jaideep C. Prabhu (University of Cambridge) for “The Fruits of Legitimacy: Why Some New Ventures Gain More from Innovation than Others?,” Journal of Marketing, 2008, 72 (4), 58-75.

2012 Winner: Michael H. Morris (Oklahoma State University), Minet Schindehutte (Syracuse University), and Raymond W. Laforge (University of Louisville) for “Entrepreneurial Marketing: A Construct for Integrating Emerging Entrepreneurship and Marketing Perspectives,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 2002, Fall, 1-18.

2011 Winner: Dr. Ken Matsuno (Babson College), late Dr. John T. Mentzer (U. Tennessee), and Dr. Aysegül Ozsomer (Koc U.) for their article “The Effects of Entrepreneurial Proclivity and Market Orientation on Business Performance,” (Journal of Marketing, 2002( 66), July, 18-32). 

2010 Winner: Dr. Helena Yli-Renko (U. Southern California), Dr. Erkko Autio (Imperial College, London), and Harry J. Sapienza (U. Minnesota) for their paper  “Social Capital, Knowledge Acquisition, and Knowledge Exploitation in Young Technology-Based Firms” (Strategic Management Journal, 2001(22), 587-613). 

2009 Winner (Inaugural): Dr. Saras Sarasvathy (U. Virginia) for her article, “Causation and Effectuation: Toward a Theoretical Shift from Economic Inevitability to Entrepreneurial Contingency,” (Academy of Management Review, 2001(2), 243-263). 

Entrepreneurial Marketing Chair
Stern Neill
California Polytechnic State University, SLO
sneill@calpoly.edu

Entrepreneurial Marketing Immediate Past Chair
Todd Morgan
Cleveland State University

Entrepreneurial Marketing Vice Chair of Research
Susan Wei
Texas A&M International University
susanwei.yinghong@gmail.com

Entrepreneurial Marketing Vice Chair of Communications
Anna M. Pietraszek
Florida International University
pietrasa@fiu.edu

Entrepreneurial Marketing Vice Chair of Global Membership
Terrence Brown
KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
terrence@kth.se

Entrepreneurial Marketing Vice Chair of Early Career Membership
Wesley Friske
Missouri State University
WesleyFriske@MissouriState.edu

Entrepreneurial Marketing Vice Chair of Community & Industry Outreach
Mark Lu
University of Victoria
zhilu@uvic.ca