Research areas

My passion for research stems from a great interest in how entrepreneurs are influenced by their social surroundings in different ways. This is evident in my research focus, which is divided into two streams, both very current within the field of entrepreneurship research, and although very different, there are also distinctive overlaps between them.

The first is entrepreneurs’ social networks with a focus on what is exchanged in their social networks as well as how network support influences entrepreneurial behavior. By viewing entrepreneurs’ social networks as a process of social exchange, I expand the view from solely studying entrepreneurs to also focusing on those who support them in order to understand their motivations and behavior. An important part of this is a focus on the many different types of exchanges taking places in terms of social support as for example instrumental, informational or emotional, and how different support types influence entrepreneurs’ mental well-being, behavior and subsequently performance. Due to my great interest in entrepreneurs as individuals, I also study how role-relations between entrepreneurs and their social network, individual social skills and the different contexts of social exchange they are embedded in have important influences on the motivations and consequences of support.

The second stream in my research is a great interest in entrepreneurs’ emotions. Here, I especially focus on how entrepreneurs and their actions are influenced by different types of emotions and how various emotions originate from social network influences, i.e. the consequences as well as antecedents of emotions during the entrepreneurial process. Through different projects, I study both negative and positive emotions such as fear, anxiety and passion, and I am interested in how different emotions influence entrepreneurs’ mental well-being, their behavior as well as performance.

I regularly give presentations for entrepreneurs at various stages of their business cycle on how to establish, maintain and grow their networks. This gives me unique insight into the challenges that entrepreneurs face daily and allow me to develop new ideas for research and substantiate my findings. I also regularly give presentations for local business advisors and policy makers on how entrepreneurship guidance initiatives best consider the significant influence of networks on the development of the individual entrepreneur.

Besides my research activities, I teach various courses within the fields of entrepreneurship, organization and quantitative analysis, and I was awarded the ‘Teacher of the Year Award at University of Southern Denmark’ in 2019. For me, teaching is a privilege where I get the opportunity to see students progress through a course, and I see teaching as a natural extension of my research.

Research interests

Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Social networks, Social support, Mental well-being, Emotions, Social skills, Human agency, Entrepreneurial behavior, Entrepreneurial performance

Curriculum

Curriculum Vitae

 
Education

 
2014 PhD in Entrepreneurship and Business Administration, University of Southern Denmark

2009 M.Sc. in Business, Language and Culture at University of Southern Denmark 

2006 B.Sc. in Business, Language and Culture at University of Southern Denmark 

Academic positions

2019- Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark 

2015-2018 Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark 

2010-2014 PhD student, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark (maternity leave from July 2011 to May 2012) 

2009 Research Assistant, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management at University of Southern Denmark 

Other positions 

2009 Project Manager at IDEA House Odense working with student entrepreneurs 

2008 Internship at Middelfart Erhvervscenter participating in advising prospective entrepreneurs and conducting a study of local entrepreneurs’ attachment to Middelfart Erhvervscenter