College of Business presents Dr. James Chrisman during Entrepreneurship Week

Feb. 15, 2008 -- Dr. James J. Chrisman, one of the most recognized scholars in entrepreneurship and family business, is the featured speaker for Entrepreneurship Week, Spring 2008, presented by Arkansas State University’s College of Business. Chrisman will deliver a presentation entitled "Management Succession in Family Firms" on Monday, Feb. 25, at 11:30 a.m. in the Student Union Auditorium. Dr. Chrisman’s visit to ASU is sponsored by the College of Business and the Department of Management and Marketing.

Dr. Chrisman will provide a broad discussion of the literature regarding the succession process, successor attributes, succession satisfaction and performance, and factors that prevent intra-family succession, based on his research conducted to date. Students in the courses Family Business Management and Strategic Management (section 002) in the College of Business are inviting the ASU community (students, faculty, visitors, and friends) to attend this important presentation.

This event will be the highlight of the different activities that the students are organizing to spread the message that entrepreneurship is not just about creating new businesses, it’s a way of living. Entrepreneurship has permeated society, generating important consequences such as job creation, innovation, new products and services, and economic growth and development.

Since the majority of the business entities operating worldwide tend to be family-owned and/or demonstrate a substantial involvement of families in the ownership and management of  businesses, Dr. Chrisman’s presentation provides relevant and interesting information for a broader audience.

Dr. James J. Chrisman is a professor of management and director of the Center of Family Business Research at Mississippi State University. He also holds an appointment at the University of Alberta, Canada, serves as editor for Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, one of the leading journals in the entrepreneurship field, and organizes every year the Theories of Family Enterprise Conference.

Dr. Chrisman is one of the most recognized researchers in family business, entrepreneurship, and strategic management. His definitions of family business and corporate entrepreneurship serve as a reference for researchers in the field. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has edited books and conference presentations. His research has been published in outlets such as the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Business Venturing, the Academy of Management Executive (now the Academy of Management Perspectives), the Journal of International Business Studies, Entrepreneurship Theory and  Practice, the Journal of Small Business Management, and Family Business Review. Furthermore, he is a consultant for several Small Business Development Centers throughout the country and he provided testimony to the House of Representatives, 109th Congress, Committee on Small Business, about the performance of the SBDC program in the United States.

Prior to joining Mississippi State University, Chrisman has held academic positions at the University of Calgary, Louisiana State University, and the University of South Carolina. A fellow for the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, he has served on editorial boards of several management and entrepreneurship journals. He obtained his doctoral degree in Strategic Management from the University of Georgia, an MBA in Finance from Bradley University, and a BA in Finance from Western Illinois University.

Currently, he is collaborating with ASU's Dr. Erick P.C. Chang, a faculty member in the Management and Marketing Department in the College of Business, on research projects that include family business, Hispanic entrepreneurs, and the antecedents and consequences of new venture creation in American counties.

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