As the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) marked its 70th anniversary at the World Congress in Cairo, Egypt, the academic program reflected both the legacy and the future of entrepreneurship research. Scholars from around the world convened to explore how entrepreneurship responds to grand challenges, systemic shocks, technological disruption, and evolving social realities.
Among an exceptionally competitive pool of submissions, the following papers were recognized as the Best Papers of the ICSB 70th World Congress, distinguished by their theoretical rigor, methodological depth, and relevance to real-world entrepreneurial practice. Collectively, these works advance ICSB’s long-standing commitment to research that is globally grounded, policy-relevant, and human-centered.
Advancing Social Entrepreneurship to Address Grand Challenges
Toward An Integrative Framework of the Pursuit of Social Entrepreneurship to Tackle Grand Challenges
LaKami T. Baker and Kunal Y. Sevak (Submission #79)
This paper offers a powerful integrative framework that deepens understanding of how social entrepreneurs decide to launch ventures aimed at addressing grand challenges. Drawing on decision affect theory and prospect theory, the authors illuminate the central role of passion, perceived desirability, and feasibility in shaping entrepreneurial choices.
By examining how social and economic motivations interact with environmental factors such as access to finance, stakeholder support, and legitimacy, the framework explains why entrepreneurs choose nonprofit versus for-profit social enterprise models. The study makes an important contribution by showing how passion moderates these assessments, influencing both venture formation and organizational form. In doing so, it advances a more inclusive and psychologically grounded model of social entrepreneurship.
Strengthening SME Resilience in an Era of Systemic Crises
Dynamic Capabilities and Supply Chain Resilience in SMEs Confronting Systemic Crises: A Systematic Review and Research Framework
Julien Bazile, Anne-Marie Côté, Ravaka Elie Sylvia Randrianarimanana, and Zhan Su (Submission #23)
Addressing one of the most urgent challenges facing small firms today, this study synthesizes 68 peer-reviewed articles to examine how dynamic capabilities enhance SME supply chain resilience amid pandemics, geopolitical disruptions, and climate shocks.
The authors identify three core capabilities—strategic intelligence, collaborative interaction, and organizational adaptation—and demonstrate how these capabilities function in an interconnected and reinforcing manner. The proposed conceptual framework integrates fragmented insights across disciplines and highlights key determinants that shape capability deployment under resource constraints. The paper offers valuable guidance for researchers, managers, and policymakers seeking to build more resilient SME ecosystems in an increasingly volatile global environment.
Rethinking the Front End of Innovation
The Innovation Approach: Overcoming the Limitations of Design Thinking and the Lean Startup
David Roach (Submission #91)
This paper challenges prevailing assumptions about popular innovation methodologies by focusing attention on the often-neglected front end of innovation. While acknowledging the strengths of Design Thinking and the Lean Startup, the study critically examines their limitations when poorly executed or misunderstood.
The Innovation Approach introduced in this work emphasizes disciplined concept development—from inspiration through validation of a comprehensive alpha prototype—before scaling efforts begin. By prioritizing desirability, feasibility, and viability early in the process, the paper offers a structured pathway for improving innovation outcomes and reducing the risk of costly downstream failure. It provides both conceptual clarity and practical guidance for entrepreneurs, educators, and innovation leaders.
Capturing the Dynamics of Early Venture Development
Early New Venture Development in Light of Panel Research
Reinhard Schulte (Submission #125)
This paper highlights the critical importance of longitudinal panel research in understanding how new ventures evolve over time. Moving beyond cross-sectional snapshots, the study demonstrates how panel data capture growth trajectories, phase transitions, and firm-specific development patterns that are otherwise invisible.
Focusing on an understudied segment of full-time but non-trade-registered startups, the paper outlines the design and strategic value of a new venture panel. Despite the methodological and financial challenges of panel research, the findings underscore its significant scientific and practical benefits for entrepreneurship scholarship. The work makes a compelling case for greater investment in longitudinal approaches to studying early venture development.
Family Ownership in a BANI World
Family Entrepreneurship—Curse or Blessing? Family Ownership, Financial Goals and Performance
Kilian Klösel and Jürgen Fritz (Submission #24)
Set against the backdrop of a brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible (BANI) environment, this study examines how family ownership influences financial goal setting and firm performance. Using data from 247 Swiss companies, the authors reveal that higher levels of family ownership are associated with less ambitious financial goals.
The findings highlight the strategic trade-offs family firms face as they balance long-term purpose with short-term adaptability. By positioning financial goals as a critical mediating factor, the paper contributes meaningful insights to entrepreneurship and governance literature while offering practical guidance for strengthening financial resilience in family-owned enterprises.
Intersectionality, Digital Transformation, and Migrant Women Entrepreneurs
A New Dark Age or an Age of Opportunity? Examining Set-Up Barriers and Digital Transformation Opportunities for Ethnic Migrant Female Small Businesses
Tendai Chikweche and Lalitha Krishnan (Submission #94)
This study brings much-needed attention to the intersectional experiences of ethnic migrant women entrepreneurs in Australia, a group often overlooked in mainstream entrepreneurship research. By examining how gender, ethnicity, migration, and digital disruption intersect, the paper sheds light on both persistent barriers and emerging opportunities.
The findings reveal complex challenges in business formation and digital transformation, while also identifying pathways for growth in a disrupted technological environment. The conceptual framework developed in this study provides a foundation for future research and policy interventions aimed at supporting more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Celebrating Scholarly Excellence at ICSB 70
These Best Papers exemplify the intellectual depth and global relevance of research presented at the ICSB 70th World Congress in Cairo. Together, they reflect ICSB’s enduring mission to advance entrepreneurship research that is rigorous, inclusive, and responsive to the realities facing small businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide.
As ICSB looks toward its next decade, these contributions help shape a research agenda grounded in resilience, innovation, human dignity, and opportunity for all.