Entrepreneur­ship: Large gap between re­search and prac­tic­al ad­vice

We are told that entrepreneurship is the key to create more growth, innovation and prosperity in Denmark as well as the rest of the world, but how often is research from some of the brightest minds turned into concrete recommendations to help policymakers and others develop better framework conditions for entrepreneurs?

According to a major new international study that CBS has joined the answer is: Almost never.

The research team has reviewed 4,247 articles on entrepreneurship that were published in 10 leading international journals from 2010 to 2020.

60 articles with specific recommendations

Of these articles nearly 500 contain some degree of political recommendations, however, they are not always specific recommendations that have been compiled and made more easily accessible in a particular place in the text. 

“If we only focus on the articles that formally have a specific section dedicated to what we in professional jargon call policy implications – which are political recommendations – the field shrinks further, and end up with 60 articles,” says Søren Henning Jensen, Associate Professor at CBS.

“That is rather thought-provoking because in principle such a section need not take up more than half a page,” he adds.

Søren Henning Jensen is one of the four authors behind the study. His research includes how research is translated into policy, reforms and other forms of decision-making bases.

The number keeps shrinking

According to the researchers, the figures reveal a significant problem. 

Worldwide, plenty of solid academic knowledge about entrepreneurship is produced, but it is only a vanishingly small part of it – around 1.4 per cent – that relates directly to the political choices that shape entrepreneurs’ conditions by dedicating a section to policy implications.

“Entrepreneurship is an area that is very much in focus and important for our national economy. At the same time, it is a field that is relatively concrete to turn to as a researcher, so we were surprised to end up with such a modest figure,” says Søren Henning Jensen.

In reality, the actual number of research articles containing useful recommendations is even lower than 60.

Solid research - unclear recommendations

When Søren Henning Jensen and his three colleagues went deeply into the 60 articles that actually attempt to advise policymakers, more than half of the recommendations were unclear.

The research is indeed methodologically sound and transparent, however, several of the recommendations are not precise in terms of who is to act, how it should be done and what resources are required.

“In practice, this means that even very good research risks losing its relevance for politicians”, says Søren Henning Jensen.

Among the studies that show specific recommendations is one on how to promote female entrepreneurship in male-dominated industries, while another one is aimed at small food businesses.

Lack of training

Generally, you have to search for a long time among the more than 4,000 articles to find action-oriented suggestions. 

According to the CBS researcher, it is probably due to several things, one of them being the lack of training in communicating such messages briefly and clearly to decision-makers.

“Generally, we do not have a tradition of incorporating this into researcher training,” Søren Henning Jensen points out.

As a rule, researchers and politicians do not necessarily speak the same language. While politicians call for action-oriented proposals with clear consequences, researchers typically focus on methods and theoretical points.

Culture also plays a role

According to Søren Henning Jensen, university culture is probably another significant factor:

“There is a long tradition of saying that it is not up to the researcher to make recommendations, they only have to present their knowledge to others,” he says.

He also emphasises that it is not necessarily the case for all types of research projects that it would be natural to include proposed solutions.

“But in general, the more studies that build on one another, the more solid knowledge emerges, and this also goes for policy implications. And the better opportunity politicians, civil servants and business leaders have to apply the research,” Søren Henning Jensen says.

Use BARS 

He and his four colleagues also present a range of proposals to reduce the gap between researchers and decision-makers. One of them is an assessment tool that researchers can rely on when they formulate policy recommendations that are practically applicable.

 In specialist terminology, the tool is called BARS (Behavior Anchored Rating Scales) and has primarily been used within psychiatry and HRM. 

Apparently, there is also a need for clearer alignment with the university leaderships. According to the study, many researchers therefore express that they do not believe their university supports research that has the potential to contain policy implications. Academic journals can also focus more on impact. 

In addition, Søren Henning Jensen and his colleagues point to the importance of researchers’ recommendations being specific and action-oriented with a clear focus on stakeholders and implementation.