Assignment Summary: This assignment, like the course itself, is intended to encourage you to think
about entrepreneurship as a distinct business discipline. As such, you will craft a paper that discusses a
concept, issue, trend, or theory that has relevance within entrepreneurship research. In short, your
paper will introduce the topic, discuss relevant existing research, and propose future opportunities for
research that you have identified through your research and analysis.
Assignment Topic Selection
• As a starting point, consider the various topics discussed in this course, which are outlined in the
course syllabus. If a topic has piqued your interest, delve deeper into it by reviewing the
assigned readings for additional scholarly articles or books that have been referenced within
them. As a next step, search for more recent articles or books that have cited those you have
already reviewed. Once you have collected enough current research on the topic, proceed to
the next phase of the assignment.
*Important Note: Not all academic/peer reviewed journals/articles are created equal. For
entrepreneurship research, the following is a good set of journals to start with: Journal of
Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Small Business
Management, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, and Strategic Entrepreneurship
Journal. You can find a ranking of all business/management journals here.
Literature Review
• Once you have selected a topic, you need to complete a literature review, the purpose of which
is to provide an overview of the research that has been published about the topic to date. While
this may seem like a daunting task, just remember that your goal is to understand what we (the
academic community) already know and don’t know about a topic, so that we can propose
future directions for more research to better understand it. With that in mind, it’s important to
choose a topic that is specific enough that you can narrow down the existing research to a core
set of articles for your literature review.
*Important Note: Many scholarly articles include a section about research implications, which
often discuss opportunities for future research and ideas that still need to be explored. Pay close
attention to these sections during your literature review.
Future Directions & Research Opportunities
• When your literature review is complete, you should have a thorough understanding of your
topic, including what is already known about it, and what is not (i.e. knowledge gaps). Based on
that understanding, your next task is to propose a future direction for research related to the
topic and, if you are inclined to do so, propose how that research might be conducted. When
ADMN 3420H – Research Exposition
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this phase of the assignment is complete, you will be ready to compile your research into a
paper.
Research Exposition
• After you have identified your topic, completed a literature review, and identified a direction for
future research, the hard work is over, and your task is simply to format the information into
your research exposition paper. It should include four sections, as follows:
o Abstract: Your abstract is a brief summary of your paper; it should include your topic, its
relevance, your research approach, and your proposed direction for future research.
Note that the abstract is the first section the reader will see, but the last section you will
write.
o Introduction: Your introduction will introduce the topic and explain why it is relevant
and important to current entrepreneurial research. Note that in this section you may
choose to refer to scholarly articles or popular media (i.e. a newspaper or magazine
article) to help establish relevance and/or importance.
o Literature Review: As the name suggests, in this section you are providing a detailed
overview of the research that has been published about the topic to date. Note that this
section will contain the bulk of your references (i.e. scholarly articles and/or books)
because you will be discussing them in detail.
o Future Directions & Research Opportunities: In this section you will propose a future
direction for research based on the knowledge gaps that you identified through your
literature review. If you choose, you may also include a proposal for completing the
research that will help fill a knowledge gap. Consider what you learned in ADMN 2080H
and/or learn more about research methods here.
Assignment Submission: Written Submission
• Your written submission should be formatted as a Word or PDF document with a standard font
type and size (titles and headings may be larger), double spacing, normal margins, and page
numbers. It should be 6-7 pages in length, excluding your title page and references.
• Your title page should include the assignment name, your name(s), the course code, the
professor’s name, and the date of submission. References should be formatted in APA style.
READ THESE :
The Five Stages of Small Business Growth, Churchill & Lewis, Harvard Business Review (1983) https://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth
“Business Growth” – Do Practitioners and Scholars Really Talk About the Same Thing? Achtenhagen, Naldi, & Melin (2010) https://journals-sagepub-com.proxy1.lib.trentu.ca/doi/full/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00376.x