On 7th November 2016, Markieta Domecka and Annabelle Wilkins attended the launch of the Centre for Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CISEI). Based within Southampton Business School, CISEI undertakes research on socially inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation. It engages with stakeholders from the business, social entrepreneurship and academic sectors in order to empower individuals and organisations to tackle critical equality, diversity and sustainability challenges.
Following a welcome from Professor Martin Broad and introduction from Professor Mine Karatas-Ozkan, the keynote speech was given by Professor Johanna Mair of Stanford University, who presented theoretical and empirical insights from her long-term research on innovation and scaling for impact from an organisational perspective.
Johanna’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion on a range of issues relating to sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurship. Professor Mustafa Ozbilgin presented on sustainability, equality and diversity at work from a comparative perspective. Dr Haya Al-Dajani presented longitudinal research on entrepreneurship among refugee women in Jordan, reflecting upon entrepreneurship as a source of emancipation and empowerment. Finally, Professor Jonatan Pinkse discussed the unintended consequences that can arise in pursuing the interdependent goals of sustainability and inclusivity, presenting business models that aim to recognise these tensions and develop strategies to manage them.
We look forward to collaborating with CISEI in the future and wish them every success in their research and engagement activities.