Michael Wyrwich appointed as Professor of Entrepreneurship and Regional Development

The Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) is pleased to announce that Michael Wyrwich has been appointed as Professor of Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. The chair is situated within the Department of Innovation Management and Strategy.

Michael Wyrwich joined FEB as Associate Professor for Small Business and Entrepreneurship in 2018. Before coming to Groningen, Wyrwich worked at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena for many years, where he also obtained his PhD. Wyrwich’s research focuses on the link between entrepreneurship and regional development. This includes understanding the historical, cultural and institutional roots of entrepreneurship and a broad understanding of development, covering aspects such as economic growth, individual (entrepreneurial) well-being, regional innovation potential, entrepreneurial success, (sustainable) structural change, and institutional change.

Apart from his role as professor, Wyrwich is also program coordinator for the MSc BA Small Business & Entrepreneurship and principle investigator in the research project ‘The legacy of Socialist Innovation Systems: An Analysis of Innovation Structures in Eastern Germany and Central Eastern Europe.’ Additionally, he is editor of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal and consortium member of a EU-Interreg project on the Socio-economic Integration of Refugees and Migrants.

Making an impact on the northern entrepreneurial ecosystem

In this new role, Wyrwich aims to explore the role of entrepreneurship and start-up activity for economic growth, individual well-being, regional innovation potential, and structural and institutional change in regions in the 21st century. In his teaching, he will emphasize the important role of regional contextual factors for entrepreneurs and their ventures, and show students the crucial role of entrepreneurship for regional economies.

In his new role, Wyrwich aims to make an impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Northern Netherlands. “I want to embed my research and teaching in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Groningen in order to derive practical implications that help local entrepreneurs and the (northern) region to thrive. I would like to emphasise the important role of the regional context for entrepreneurship. In other words, I believe that discussing entrepreneurship and development without considering the regional context is like discussing Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.”