Saurav Pathak

Biography

After having completed my PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida in 2007, I returned to India and was associated with a technology start-up. I then opted for another PhD in Entrepreneurship from Imperial College Business School, London. My research examines the contextual influences on individual-level entrepreneurial actions by recognizing the multi-level nature of entrepreneurship and by employing multi-level methodological treatment to data available on individual’s entrepreneurial actions as well on the focal entrepreneur’s context. The research accounts for the variance that exists in an individual’s propensity to engage in entrepreneurship across cultures, social reference groups, organizations, etc.

Research Focus

The entrepreneurship process is markedly different from country to country. In the United States, which is a highly individualistic society, it is easy to start a business but entrepreneurs must bear the risk alone. In collectivist societies like Japan or India, the entry into entrepreneurship is more difficult but the business is easier to sustain because the risk is shared.

With a multi-level study, Dr. Pathak is researching the way cultural or social aspects—such as an individualistic or collectivist societal norms—impact the entrepreneurial behaviors of individuals. The study involves more than 70 countries and over one million data points.