Research

In the Exeter Centre for Entrepreneurship, we believe that research in entrepreneurship and innovation needs to uphold highest academic standards and, at the same time, be relevant for practice when developing new actionable knowledge.

Consequently, our mission in research is to initiate and conduct cutting-edge and relevance-driven research on how entrepreneurship and innovation benefit our communities and the planet (e.g. regenerative entrepreneurship), resulting in high calibre publications and impact case-studies.

Below you can find the short bios of our academic staff who make intellectual contributions in entrepreneurship.

 Professor Erno Tornikoski

Professor Erno Tornikoski
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Director

Erno's research interests involve the application of psychological and sociological theories, and both qualitative and quantitative methods to entrepreneurship to investigate how enterprising individuals transform entrepreneurial ideas into new value creating activities. He has a particular interest in gestation activities, decision-making logics, the construct of control, and qualitative process studies. In addition, Erno is exploring new research ideas connecting entrepreneurship with regenerative value creation and community resilience. His research has appeared in Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Organization & Environment, Journal of Small Business Economics, and International Small Business Journal, among others.

 Dr Tausif Bordoloi

Dr Tausif Bordoloi
Lecturer in Innovation and Circular Economy

Tausif’s research encompasses science, technology and innovation management and policy. The unifying theme of his research interest is a quest to gain a deeper understanding of the R&D and adoption of emerging technologies from geographical, organisational, institutional and policy perspectives. Some of his ongoing research concentrates on the idea of convergence of cyber (digital, data-centric) and physical (e.g., machines) technologies in the manufacturing and energy sectors, and the potential impacts of such convergence on sustainability and regional levelling-up issues. In other work, he is researching the design and execution of industrial policy to support technological modernisation and sustainability in manufacturing. Tausif has authored scholarly and practitioner articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change and OECD Policy Papers.

Vector graphic featuring a silhouette of a person, set against a grey box background.

Dr. Nikita Chiu
Senior Lecturer in Innovation Policy

Nikita is a Technology Governance scholar. Her ongoing research investigates the dynamics between technological advances and governance, with a focus on understanding the interplay between policy, sustainability, and the increasing commercialization of entrepreneurial ventures in robotics, quantum, and space technologies. She currently collaborates with scholars from physics and engineering, as well as policy stakeholders from national and international institutions, to advance research and policy discussions for the sustainable growth and responsible governance of emerging technologies.

 

 Dr Cliff Li

Dr Cliff Li
Lecturer in Entrepreneurship

Cliff is experienced in conducting qualitative empirical research with SMEs in an international context and has been awarded a PhD in 2019 (University of Exeter) on the situated framings of innovation and responsibility in a Chinese context. His recent research interests span across several interdisciplinary areas such as framings of responsible innovation and entrepreneurship in developing economies, the dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems and resilience in times of crisis, as well as perception and impact of gamification in an entrepreneurship education setting.

 Dr Constantine Manolchev

Dr Constantine Manolchev
Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Futures

Constantine researches the organisation of work, and working experiences across a variety of contexts. Those range from precarious jobs performed by migrants in the agri-food sector, to working conditions in small and medium-sized enterprises. Between 2019-2012 he was the PI on a British Academy of Management grant, comparing the experience of skilled and unskilled migrant workers in rural regions of the UK. As a Co-I on an Innovate UK grant, his recent research focuses on decent work in the circular economy. In 2022 he was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as a co-author on a report exploring ways in which SMEs in the textile sector can improve community resilience.

 Dr Greg Molecke

Dr Greg Molecke
Lecturer in Philanthropy / Social Entrepreneurship

Greg Molecke is a Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy at the University of Exeter, UK. His research focuses on how organizations secure resources and support based on the social value they generate and how they navigate tensions between social, environmental, and financial goals. Greg hopes his research will ultimately help organizations better understand their social impact so they can both improve their performance and better account for their impact so they can attract more support.