The First International Research Conference on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Regions was hosted by the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) at the ISB, along with the Journal of Business Venturing and the Batten Institute, University of Virginia, from December 5-7, 2006. The conference proved to be an innovative platform for thought leaders on entrepreneurship from around the world to share ideas and experiences.

A call for conceptual papers, that explored the relation between entrepreneurship and the development of emerging regions, and the role of a conducive ecosystem for entrepreneurship to flourish, saw an overwhelming response of more than 70 papers from academia all round the world. After a review by eminent faculty, 39 papers were deemed worthy of presentation at this conference.

The conference was chaired by S Venkataraman, Editor, Journal of Business and Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business, and by V Chandrasekar, Executive Director, WCED, ISB.

In his keynote address, Rajat Gupta, Chairman, Governing Board, ISB, said, “The ISB is entrepreneurship in action.” He mentioned the role of generous contributions by entrepreneurs in transforming the ISB dream into a globally top class, research-driven institute. “The school focuses on creating entrepreneurial leaders who can identify and seize opportunities, and help their companies stay ahead in competitive times,” said Gupta. He hoped that such a conference would translate the promise into potential.

Some papers of interest during the technical session, which spanned over three days, were:
  • Does the Internet Spur Regional Economic Development – Douglas Cumming (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Sofia Johan (Universiteit Van Tilburg, The Netherlands)
  • Years of Living Dangerously: Family Firm Advantage in Hostile Environments - Michael Carney (Concordia University), Marleen Dieleman (Leiden University), Wladmir Sachs (CERAM Sophia Antipolis)
  • Formation of Information Technology Clusters: How Late Movers Follow Different Model than That of Early Movers- Kavil Ramachandran (Indian School of Business), Sougata Ray (IIM, Kolkata).
  • Exploring Entrepreneurship and Growth in Emerging and Developed Countries- Dave Valliere (Ryerson University, Canada), Rein Peterson (York University, Canada)
  • The Internalisation of Indian Software Ffirms: An Empirical Analysis - Atul Mishra (University of Plymouth), Suma Athreye (Brunel Business School)

The papers discussed, broadly, areas of entrepreneurial activities like entrepreneurial action in emerging economies and small firms, factors influencing entrepreneurial decisions, niche entrepreneurial opportunities, virtual entrepreneurial clusters, barriers in developing countries to entrepreneurship, growth strategy planning in small entrepreneurial ventures, sustaining family firms in chronically hostile business environment, need for innovation in technical entrepreneurship and MBAs’ perception of and inclination towards entrepreneurship.