GOODMAN RESEARCHERS GAIN SUPPORT FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA By Cathy Majtenyi
G
oodman researchers Shawna Chen and Robert Steinbauer often get frustrated when they watch business pitch competitions. “People will ask women and men different questions,” noted Chen, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship. “They will ask men, ‘What is your vision for this venture?’ and they will ask women, ‘Are you capable of doing this? Who are your competitors?’” Steinbauer, Associate Professor of Business Ethics, nodded his head vigorously. “We see that males and females have the exact same pitch, but the males are a lot more likely to get funded.” The duo is passionate about contributing to a more level playing field for women entrepreneurs. They submitted a project proposal to Canada’s national research funding agency for financial support.
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When the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) awarded the team an Insight Development Grant for their project “From thinking to doing to being: The entrepreneurial journey of the overlooked and underestimated,” it was a boost that went way beyond the money. “SSHRC support means that we speak to the general public, not just to the academics,” Chen said. Steinbauer added, “It means that what I’m doing is important, not just to myself. Somebody thinks what we are doing can actually have an impact.” In the latest funding round, SSHRC awarded 11 Brock University researchers $655,000 towards Insight Development Grants. About a quarter of these grants were captured by Goodman faculty. Chen and Steinbauer’s research team will explore
perceptions that influence the thoughts and actions of early-stage entrepreneurs in marginalized groups, particularly women. Using a smartphone application developed specifically for the project, some 200 entrepreneurs in the process of launching their ventures will reflect on what they think of experiential activities, such as mentorship programs, and how these shaped their subsequent actions, their state of being, and their venture status. “We would like to see stakeholders in entrepreneurial ecosystems apply our research findings to design more tailored programs for women and marginalized entrepreneurs,” Chen said.
