Climate change is threatening our survival. According to NASA’s Vital Signs of the Planet, carbon dioxide is at its highest level in 650,000 years. Global temperatures are increasing, with nineteen of the warmest years having occurred since 2000 and the warmest ocean temperatures having been recorded within the past 20 years. Climate change will continue to accelerate, and societies will need to adapt to survive. As such, a united effort to mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change is needed.

Professor Daina Mazutis received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant to study how certain urban construction and development companies around the world are tackling climate change by incorporating zero carbon emission and zero waste goals into their planning processes. Her research will help understand why and how these companies manage to prioritize climate change, and how others can contribute to more sustainable urban design and development.

Project title: Getting to One Planet Living: How construction and development leaders are tackling climate change

We asked Professor Mazutis about her personal interest in this project:

“The UN estimates that 230 billion square meters of new construction will be added to the built environment over the next 40 years – that is the equivalent of adding another Paris to the planet every week. And yet, the construction and development industry has been notoriously slow to adopt sustainable building principles. Therefore, understanding the role of businesses in driving One Planet Living communities is of paramount importance to a more sustainable future.” 

Sustainable urban development

Everyone has a responsibility in the fight against climate change. Individuals, organizations, and nations must make more responsible decisions to reduce their carbon footprint, since every little step can make a global difference. According to the United Nations, cities and metropolitan areas account for about 70% of global carbon emissions and more than 60% of the world’s population, about 5 billion people, will be living in cities by 2030. Sustainable cities and communities are needed to ensure adequate infrastructure and services, to lessen air pollution, and to prevent unplanned urban expansion, which will worsen climate change.

Despite the clear urgency, many organizations still resist changes in policies to fight climate change. The question is why? And how, in the face of general inertia, are some organizations able to accept the challenge to transform their processes? The construction and development industry is a prime example. Rapid urbanization worsens greenhouse gas emissions, has a negative impact on socio-economic conditions, and increases public health concerns. Professor Mazutis will conduct a study comparing eight One Planet Living sustainable urban developments around the globe to help better understand how the businesses involved in these urban development projects are able to commit to reducing their carbon footprint to zero and secure a more sustainable future.

Who will benefit from this research?

The knowledge gained from this work will inform researchers, urban planners, and policymakers, and will promote sustainable construction and development initiatives. Decision-makers in government and industry could use the insights from this work to evaluate alternative options for designing, planning, and building their projects. All societies would benefit from more sustainable cities and communities, which would lessen socioeconomic burdens and improve public health.

Professor Mazutis says, "This research project will contribute to our knowledge of corporate climate change action by providing examples of why and how some transformational leaders in the construction and development sector are tackling One Planet Living. In time, we hope that this will encourage other developers to sustainably innovate their business strategies, leading to the ability of all Canadians to live in communities that are designed with the Earth’s limited carrying capacity in mind.”

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

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Daina Mazutis is an Associate Professor of Strategy at the University of Ottawa where she also holds the Endowed Professorship in Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability. Her research focuses on leadership, strategy, and sustainability. Learn more about Mazutis's work.

Hong Qiu joined the Telfer PhD in Management program in 2016. She completed her master’s in public administration at Dalhousie University in 2007 and then worked as an analyst for the federal government for almost a decade. She is supervised by Drs. Mark Freel and Samia Chreim in the Entrepreneurship specialization. We interviewed her to learn more about her research on conflict management in the innovation process.

Why did you choose to study entrepreneurship? Any personal motivation behind your interest?

I chose the stream of entrepreneurship because I want to explore how public organizations can become more innovative. As a public servant, I have seen many challenges in bringing changes to public organizations, such as competing interests among stakeholders, and I would like to help build a more agile and innovative public service.  

What is your research about and what will it contribute to academic literature?

My thesis explores how organizations manage tensions and conflicts such as control versus resistance and competing interests, especially in the context of innovation.

My first project was about managing conflicts in family businesses, an area that offers lots of insights for conflict management from the private sector. The fact that a family business must balance both family and business interests resembles the situation faced by public organizations that have an obligation to create public value for a wide range of stakeholders who have varying interests. 

Tell us about an article you’ve recently published.

I recently published a literature review, “Managing Family-Related Conflicts in Family Businesses: A Review and Research Agenda,” in Family Business Review. This review introduces a new framework to analyze patterns of conflict management strategies in family businesses.

The study shows that the prevalence of relationship conflicts and the relatively high emotional bonding in the family likely contribute to the popular use of separation and third-party intervention as conflict management strategies. This paper promotes a process-based view of conflict dynamics because the long-term orientation of family businesses demands researchers look beyond the one-time settlement of family-related conflicts.

What impact could your research have on businesses in Canada?

I hope my research will change people’s negative stereotypes about tensions and conflicts. In an innovation context, tensions between the “old” and the “new” values, interests and structures can become a constructive driving force to move innovations forward, if managed properly.

My research will also show the benefits and limitations of different tension management strategies, and this can be helpful for innovators.  For example, at the beginning of an innovation process, ignoring or circumventing existing rules can effectively activate tensions from a latent state, and this is the first step in addressing tensions collaboratively.

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, inequalities have never been clearer. While gender disparities have evolved since the initial lockdowns, when schools moved to distance learning and many small businesses shuttered operations, women-owned businesses continue to feel the brunt of the pandemic due to economic turmoil and recurring isolation measures.

Telfer professors Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott have received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant to refine measures to evaluate and inform entrepreneurship education and training courses and programs. They will use what they call a “gender-smart entrepreneurship education and training plus” framework. Their goal is to enhance course and program relevance, while reducing racial and occupational stereotypes and implicit biases in training.

Project title: Gender-smart Entrepreneurship Education & Training Plus

Barriers to inclusion

In previous research, Orser showed that women who are newcomers, racialized or from other designated groups face more barriers in accessing small business relief funds and support services compared to other small business owners. 

Orser, the new study’s principal investigator, says, “this research will advance best-in-class tools to assess equity, diversity and inclusion within entrepreneurship education and training programs. Working with leading academics, economic development agencies and organizations that support small businesses and new ventures around the world, it will drive innovation in entrepreneurship program content and instructional practices.”

A “she-cession”

As the fall federal speech from the throne recognized, the economic crisis can be called a “she-cession.” For Elliott, “insights from our study will prompt difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion among entrepreneurship education and training program stakeholders. (The study) will help develop a shared vocabulary and perspective around inclusion.”

Orser and Elliott’s study is timely. One positive news item in the 2021 federal budget was the government’s long-awaited Canada-wide early learning and childcare plan. As well, the budget includes support for digital skills training, procurement of goods and services from equity seeking groups and reinvestment in the federal Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. The strategy includes strengthening small business support organizations. Inclusion is thus a central component of Canada’s recovery plan.

Research benefits

The two researchers will use web-based tools to identify barriers and benchmark progress in strengthening inclusive small business services. Their findings will be used by instructors and trainers to assess and inform entrepreneurship courses and programs. Program managers can use them to determine whether courses and other advisory services are inclusive, and to construct action plans to address gaps. Learn more about the program tools and resources on the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Education and Training project web page.

As Elliott says, the study “will lead to more diversity in entrepreneurship education and training programs and services, businesses, leaders and society.”

 

Barbara Orser is a Full Professor and the Deloitte Professor in the Management of Growth Enterprises. Her research, teaching and advocacy focus on entrepreneurship and women’s economic empowerment.  Read more about her work.

 

Catherine Elliott is as an Assistant Professor of organizational behaviour and human resources. Her research interests are focused on improving organizational performance and enterprise growth in human performance, performance management in public sector organizations, and management education. Read more about her work.

Entrepreneurs know that start-up failure rates are high: according to Statistics Canada, “20% of start-ups fail in their first year and around 60% will go bust within their first three years”. Consequently, many entrepreneurs experience entrepreneurship as a period, or multiple periods, on their journey and not as a continuous career path. But what is unclear is how these entrepreneurial experiences affect subsequent career patterns, success, and individual well-being. Professors Hien Tran and Mark Freel have been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant to study the career path of entrepreneurs and to examine how cycles of entrepreneurial experience influence their future behaviours and circumstances. 

Project title: Understanding the consequences of entrepreneurship as an episodic phenomenon.

We asked Professor Tran why she is interested in this research area. “It has been widely accepted that entrepreneurial ventures are short-lived and that entrepreneurship is simply (an) episode(s) in one’s career pattern. To this end, knowing what happens to the many ‘ex-entrepreneurs’ after their exit event is critical to understanding both the returns to entrepreneurial endeavours and the entrepreneurial process in its entirety. This ought to inform individual career choices and pro-entrepreneurship policy.”

According to Professor Freel, “most studies of entrepreneurship are concerned with ‘becoming’ or ‘being’, with a focus on opportunity recognition, resource acquisition, innovation, and so on. However, the reality is that most entrepreneurs quickly become ex-entrepreneurs and their experience of entrepreneurship is one of ‘having been’. Our goal is to provide a counterpoint to the normative bias of persistence in much of the entrepreneurship literature to help us get a better handle on the consequences of entrepreneurship for individuals." 

Entrepreneurial experiences and their outcomes

Small businesses experienced the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Many business owners had to gauge how long their business could survive with each cycle of lockdowns and re-openings, and many small Canadian businesses had to close their doors indefinitely. Even long-established businesses in small communities were forced to close after decades of serving Canadians. It is unclear what impact this pandemic experience will have on entrepreneurs and their futures.

Despite failure, some entrepreneurs recover, re-emerge, and engage in new ventures. If entrepreneurship is a non-linear journey of cycles of employment and unemployment, each experience will undoubtedly leave an impact on the entrepreneur. Professors Tran and Freel will use Statistics Canada data to explore how long the financial, psychological, and social consequences of entrepreneurial experiences last, and how they affect an entrepreneur’s future careers, well-being, and family and social life.

Professor Tran says “My expectation is that an episode of entrepreneurship may have an enduring impact on future earnings and employability, and that a persistent self-employment career is vital for reaping not only monetary benefits, but also non-pecuniary returns, such as career success, life satisfaction, and perceived happiness. Happiness is contagious. Happy entrepreneurs would spread their positivity to family members, their social networks, and the surrounding community.”

Research benefits

The knowledge gained from this work will contribute to the field of entrepreneurship and provide a better understanding of the entrepreneurial experience from an individual perspective. The insights learned will present a holistic picture of the drivers that influence a return to entrepreneurial ventures following failure, and how these experiences impact future career paths and personal outcomes. This work could influence government policies and services that seek to improve education and professional training, as well as business development initiatives to support entrepreneurial projects and their success.

By Rania Nasrallah-Massaad

Dr. Hien Tran is Associate Professor at the Telfer School of Management in the area of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. Her current research is concerned with innovation and entrepreneurship in transition countries, and how entrepreneurial knowledge spillover can facilitate trading activities between developed markets and emerging markets.  Learn more about her work.

Mark is the RBC Financial Group Professor for the Commercialisation of Innovations. He is an associate editor at the Journal of Small Business Management. He holds a visiting professorship in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Lancaster University Management School. His research is concerned with the role of entrepreneurship in economic and business development and is funded by funding councils and governments.  Learn more about his work.