Robert Mitchell

J. Robert (Rob) Mitchell, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Research Professor at Ivey in the Entrepreneurship group. He completed his doctoral studies in entrepreneurship and strategic management at the Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana. Before pursuing his Ph.D. at Indiana University, Professor Mitchell worked in a technology startup in Salt Lake City, Utah and was involved in emerging enterprise consulting in Victoria, British Columbia. Professor Mitchell's research interests bridge entrepreneurship and strategic management in that he studies how cognitive, environmental, and behavioural factors lead to the creation of new value in new and existing firms. Professor Mitchell is the recipient of the NFIB Best Dissertation Award from the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. His research has been published in journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal and Strategic Management Journal.

Teaching

• Creativity and Opportunity, HBA
• New Venture Creation, HBA & MBA
• Innovation Leadership, Ivey Executive Program
• Social Enterprise, HBA

Programs Taught

• Executive Education

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Master of Business
• Bachelor of Integrated Studies

Recent Refereed Articles

• Mitchell, J. R.; Mitchell, R. K.; Hunt, R. A.; Townsend, D. M.; Lee, J. H., (Forthcoming), "Stakeholder engagement, knowledge problems and ethical dilemmas", Journal of Business Ethics
• Cacciotti, G.; Hayton, J. C.; Mitchell, J. R.; Allen, D. G., (Forthcoming), "Entrepreneurial fear of failure: Scale development and validation", Journal of Business Venturing, September 35(5)
• Cacciotti, G.; Hayton, J. C.; Mitchell, J. R.; Giazitzoglu, A., 2016, "A reconceptualization of fear of failure in entrepreneurship", Journal of Business Venturing, May 31(3): 302 - 325.
• Randolph-Seng, B.; Mitchell, R. K.; Vahidnia, H.; Mitchell, J. R.; Chen, S.; Statzer, J., 2015, "The microfoundations of entrepreneurial cognition research: Toward an integrative approach", Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, December 11(4): 207 - 335.
• Mitchell, J. R.; Shepherd, D. A., 2012, "Capability development and decision incongruence in strategic opportunity pursuit", Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, December 6(4): 355 - 381.
• Mitchell, J. R.; Shepherd, D. A.; Sharfman, M. P., 2011, "Erratic Strategic Decisions: When and Why Managers Are Inconsistent in Strategic Decision Making", Strategic Management Journal, May 32(7): 683 - 704.
• Mitchell, J. R.; Shepherd, D. A., 2010, "To Thine Own Self Be True: Images of Self, Images of Opportunity, and Entrepreneurial Action", Journal of Business Venturing, January 25(1): 138 - 154.
• Mitchell, J. R.; Hart, T. A.; Valcea, S.; Townsend, D. M., 2009, "Becoming the Boss: Discretion and Post-Succession Success in Family Firms", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, November 33(6): 1201 - 1218.
• Smith, J. B.; Mitchell, J. R.; Mitchell, R. K., 2009, "Entrepreneurial Scripts and the New Transaction Commitment Mindset: Extending the Expert Information Processing Theory Approach to Entrepreneurial Cognition Research", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, July 33(4): 815 - 844.
• Mitchell, R. K.; Mitchell, J. R.; Smith, J. B., 2008, "Inside Opportunity Formation: Enterprise Failure, Cognition, and the Creation of Opportunities", Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, September 2(3): 225 - 242.
• Mitchell, R. K.; Bailey, A. D.; Mitchell, J. R., 2008, "Entrepreneurship, Thinking, and Economic Self-Reliance", ESR Review, March 10(1): 8 - 13.
• Mitchell, J. R.; Friga, P.; Mitchell, R. K., 2005, "Untangling the Intuition Mess: Intuition as a Construct in Entrepreneurship Research", Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, November 29(6): 653 - 679.

Honours & Awards

• 2011, National Federation of Independent Business Award for Excellence in Research on the General Topic of Entrepreneurship - Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (with Dean Shepherd) for the paper: Afraid of Opportunity: The Effects of Fear On Entrepreneurial Action.
• 2008, Stevens Institute of Technology Wesley J. Howe Best Paper Award - Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (with Mark Sharfman) for the paper: Adapting the Looking Glass: Factors Affecting Change in Entrepreneurs' Opportunity Images.
• Winner, 2007 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Best Dissertation - Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management.

Experience

• Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Ivey Business School, Western University (2014-2017)
• Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Ivey Business School, Western University (2010-2014)
• Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Oklahoma (2006-2010)
• Associate Instructor, Indiana University (2002-2006)

Research/Course Development

• Cognition and entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial decision making
• Opportunity creation
• Innovation
• Social entrepreneurship