Troy, N.Y. - The effects of social networks on entrepreneurship and innovation in business will be examined at an upcoming symposium hosted by the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management and Technology.

The Oct. 2 and 3 event, titled "The Network Structure of Entrepreneurship and Innovation," will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in room 4050 of Rensselaer's Low Center for Industrial Innovation. The symposium is free and open to the public.

"Over the past few decades, researchers have learned that the creation and maintenance of an entrepreneurial network is crucial to the success of a firm," said Nicholas Young, assistant professor of management and sociology in the Lally School and organizer of the event. "Since entrepreneurship and innovation are such vital activities in today's global economy, it is important to understand how such networks shape innovation within the entrepreneurial context. The discussions at the symposium will help shed light on how and why networks are a critical component of innovation and entrepreneurship."

Experts and top researchers in the areas of entrepreneurship, technology, network structures, new venture creation, and radical innovation are scheduled to present papers at the conference. Some speakers and the topics they will cover include: "A Theory of the Emergence of New Ventures from the Republic of Science" - Alice DeKoning, assistant professor of management at Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business, and David Deeds, assistant professor of management policy and entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management "Enhancing the Network Capabilities of Radical Innovation Teams in Established Organizations" - Donna Kelley, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College; and Gina O'Connor, assistant professor of management, and Lois Peters, associate professor of management, both at Rensselaer's Lally School "From the Exploration of New Possibilities to the Exploitation of Recently Developed Competencies: Evidence from Five Ventures Developing New-to-the-World" - Annaleena Pahankangas, senior lecturer with Helsinki University of Technology's Institute of Strategy and International Business, and David Hawk, professor in the New Jersey Institute of Technology's School of Industrial Management Technologies

The social structure of innovation, urban entrepreneurship, learning strategies in technology-based alliance networks, and venture capital and production networks are among the other topics scheduled to be discussed during the two-day conference.

To view the full agenda of the conference, go to http://www.scte.mgmt.rpi.edu/eni/conference.html .

About Rensselaer's Lally School
Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation's oldest degree-granting technological university. Building on Rensselaer's heritage of more than 175 years of leadership in science and engineering, the Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. The Lally School trains business leaders in the strategic use of technology to create corporate value and establish sustainable competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The faculty emphasizes the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the nation's first on-campus business incubator. Rensselaer's Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, an Executive MBA program, and a joint Sino-U.S. MBA for companies operating in China. For more information on the Lally School, go to www.lallyschool.rpi.edu.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
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