A researcher from the UAE University participates in a team of four editors in the field of entrepreneurship in preparing a special issue for the prestigious Journal of Business Venturing on "Entrepreneurship across the lifespan: Unpacking the age-entrepreneurship relationship".

“This special issue aims to advance research on entrepreneurship across the lifespan,” said co-editor Dr. Teemu Kautonen, from the College of Business and Economics at UAEU. “We are currently witnessing a growing interest in the special characteristics and challenges faced by young and senior entrepreneurs compared to ones who start a business in mid-career, and how can entrepreneurs achieve success in their businesses throughout their lives.”

He added, "Research indicates that age is closely related to individuals' entrepreneurial activity. The tendency to start a business peaks in middle age. Most entrepreneurial research and theory are implicitly built with middle-aged individuals in mind. The emerging evidence indicates that distinct motives and processes influence the entrepreneurial activity of young and senior adults, as members of each group face different societal expectations. Many countries are also facing major shifts in the age composition of their populations, either towards ageing or increasingly younger societies. Therefore, we see that the present time is important for the development of research on the relationship between age and entrepreneurship.”

He added, “Entrepreneurship comes hand-in-hand with social and economic benefits and well-being for workers of all ages. Research has found that youth entrepreneurship is not only a way to escape unemployment, but can provide broader benefits, such as improving the social and psychological well-being of young people and equipping them with entrepreneurial competencies.” In fact, entrepreneurship has been called an essential 21st-century skill in the workplace. Furthermore, entrepreneurship may be a pathway to support successful ageing and improve well-being by allowing individuals to pursue opportunities for self-actualization and gain more control over when, where and how much to work."

Dr. Kautonen concluded: “The special issue accepts manuscripts from scholars all over the world who pursue research that increases our theoretical and practical understanding of how entrepreneurship emerges and develops at different stages of an individual’s lifespan. The special issue aims at offering a collection of high-quality theoretical and empirical articles that reflect the multidisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship research.”

The special issue call for papers is out now with a submission deadline on 31 May 2023.