Entrepreneurship research: lessons learned from Scott Shane's Intensive PhD Seminar in Entrepreneurship

Scott Shane is a key thinker in entrepreneurship theory and praxis. Twice yearly, he conducts a biannual Intensive PhD Seminar in Entrepreneurship (Seminar) focusing on theory building and key controversies in the entrepreneurship field, with rigorous attention to optimum methodologies for exploring original ideas. The author was selected into the June 2008 Seminar and, in this paper, reflects on research gaps identified by Professor Shane, his approach to methodology and pedagogy. If offers an Australian perspective. As Australian entrepreneurial study and research draws heavily on international literature and Australian researchers are necessarily remote, the Seminar challenged Australian researchers to identify unique aspects of Australian experience that, linked with an identified research gap, could contribute to international understanding of the entrepreneurship phenomenon.