9th Paper Development Seminar: Advancing Entrepreneurship Research

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-07

### A Hub for Entrepreneurship Scholarship This past May 28th and 29th, 2026, the University of Seville turned into a buzzing center for entrepreneurship research. The Paper Development Seminar (PDS) on Entrepreneurship Process Research has become a key event in the global academic calendar. It's co-organized by the University of Seville and the Observatorio del Ecosistema Emprendedor de Andalucia (OEEA), the group behind the GEM and GUESSS projects in the region. The 9PDS keeps pushing how we understand and study the entrepreneurial journey. ### What Makes the 9PDS Special? The main goal of the 9PDS is simple: give early-career and experienced researchers a collaborative space to polish their work for top academic journals. To keep things intimate and productive, participation is capped at just 20 selected proposals and papers. That means every attendee gets real, hands-on feedback. - **Limited to 20 participants** for deep, focused work. - **Covers diverse topics** like ADHD and entrepreneurial bricolage, AI's impact on founder well-being, and failure paths in social ventures. - **Special focus on gender** this year, thanks to the CreaVES project. This year, people came from all over Europe and beyond. Over two days, presentations covered a wide range of topics using a process lens. You'd hear about everything from ADHD symptoms and entrepreneurial bricolage to how frontier-tech ecosystems work in Africa, how AI affects founder well-being, and why social ventures fail. ### Gender and Entrepreneurship: A Key Focus A big milestone for this edition was its dedicated emphasis on gender and entrepreneurship dynamics. Working with the CreaVES project—an initiative approved by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI) that looks at how social gender stereotypes and personal values shape business creation—the 9PDS hosted a special session on this topic. It sparked some of the most lively discussions of the seminar. ### Learning from World-Class Editors Beyond peer discussions, the 9PDS's real asset is the mentorship from internationally renowned journal editors. Each participant got written and oral feedback from at least two expert panelists. That guidance helps them make the structural changes needed for top-tier publication. ### Plenary Sessions That Inspire The plenary sessions were like masterclasses from leading scholars: - **Profs. Ulla Hytti and Miruna Radu-Lefebvre** kicked things off with "How about men entrepreneurs? Gender, masculinities and entrepreneurship." - **Prof. Ute Stephan** shared insights on "How to publish in top management and entrepreneurship journals." - **Prof. Susana C. Santos** gave a powerful talk on "Entrepreneurship amid war." The academic program ended with an interactive round table on "Emerging topics and practices in entrepreneurship research." Profs. Hytti, Liguori, Santos, and Stephan helped participants navigate the future of scholarly publishing. ### Celebrating Academic Excellence The closing ceremony highlighted the top-notch work presented. Sponsored by the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB) through its Event Fund, the Best Paper Award went to PhD student Robert Hoyer from Leuphana University. He received a free one-year membership to the ECSB. ### What's Next? The 9PDS continues to grow as a must-attend event for entrepreneurship researchers. If you're working on process-oriented research, keep an eye out for the next edition. It's a rare chance to get direct feedback from editors and connect with peers who share your passion.