Associate Professors Sean McMahon and Elena Kennedy鈥檚 co-authored research received both the Best Overall Paper and Best Empirical Paper at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship鈥檚 2024 national conference.
Research led by 黑料不打烊 Associate Professor Sean McMahon and co-authored with Associate Professor Elena Kennedy was recognized in January as both the “Best Empirical Paper” and “Best Overall Paper” at a national conference for entrepreneurship scholars and educators.
The duo and their colleagues from Towson University and the College of William and Mary received the awards during the 2024 annual conference of the , held this year from Jan. 10-14 in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Early Career Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship Graduates” investigates the early career outcomes of alumni to understand how students who major or minor in entrepreneurship perform in traditional jobs when much of their education trains them to innovate and start their own ventures.
鈥淭here are a lot of people who think that entrepreneurship majors only go to work for themselves or don鈥檛 make great employees because they are always looking for something new,鈥 Kennedy said. 鈥淏ut the research shows that isn鈥檛 true.鈥
The research team found that graduates who studied entrepreneurship showed more entrepreneurial behaviors in workplaces. These include being innovative, taking initiative, and being good at adapting to change. Entrepreneurship graduates also reported higher levels of professional competence in problem solving, communication and teamwork, skills that often lead to promotions and salary increases earlier in an entrepreneurship graduate鈥檚 career.
The study concluded that learning about entrepreneurship is useful beyond just starting a business and can make students more valuable in the job market.
鈥淚f you are a young entrepreneurial graduate, are proficient and disciplined in your job, and every few months you have an idea for your boss for cutting costs, saving time, or exploring a new market opportunity, you are more likely to be promoted,鈥 McMahon said. 鈥淵ou could be spending more time with other people who think out of the box and take action and 鈥 just maybe 鈥 finding someone you want to partner with in a startup.鈥
The work was an outcome of a Coastal Academic Alliance Innovate/Collaborate grant titled 鈥淥utcomes of Entrepreneurial Education: Perceptions of Career Readiness.鈥 The research team included:
- Elena Kennedy, 黑料不打烊
- Sean McMahon, 黑料不打烊
- Anna Obedkova Podlesny, Towson University
- Dave Brannon, Towson University
- Graham Henshaw, William & Mary University
- Kathleen Powell, William & Mary University
The research team recently published a conceptual article, 鈥溾 in the Global Journal of Business Pedagogy.
McMahon has been with 黑料不打烊 since 2013. Previously at USASBE, McMahon won the Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Award in 2020. McMahon teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at 黑料不打烊, including 鈥淢BA Entrepreneurship, Creativity & the Doer/Maker Mindset鈥 and 鈥淏ring the Venture to Life.鈥
Kennedy has been teaching at 黑料不打烊 since 2016 with courses such as 鈥淓ntrepreneurship for the Greater Good,鈥 鈥淓ntrepreneurial Finance鈥 and 鈥淪trategic Management.鈥 At the 2021 USASBE conference, she was awarded the Social Entrepreneurship SIG Excellence in Teaching.