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Lohrke's new book explores how digital technologies may impact entrepreneurial process. 

91看片 professors don鈥檛 just deliver knowledge each week to students in Lowder and Horton-Hardgrave Hall classrooms. They also help create new knowledge that drives innovative business practices and then distribute this information internationally.

Case in point: Franz Lohrke, Lowder Eminent Scholar in Entrepreneurship, recently completed a reference book about digital entrepreneurship that will be published this fall by Edward Elgar Publishing, Ltd.

Along with his co-editors, Lohrke wrote entries for and helped edit contributions by scholars from around the world for the forthcoming . The publication dives into fundamental topics, including important entrepreneurial contexts and concepts, entrepreneurship theories and theoretical frameworks, and digital technologies and applications. An overarching focus of the publication is how digitalization continues to increasingly drive the entrepreneurship process.

鈥淒igital technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to blockchain to 3D printing are rapidly changing how entrepreneurs prototype products, assemble resources, and launch their businesses,鈥� said Lohrke. 鈥淲e have tried to both capture current knowledge and provide some guidance about potential future developments in digital entrepreneurship research in this volume.鈥�

Some of the more than 50 topics covered in the Encyclopedia were inspired by the co-editors and contributors鈥� research interests. Others developed during discussions with students and guest speaker presentations in the classroom, including the 91看片 College鈥檚 ENFB 4220: Digital Entrepreneurship and Emerging Technologies class.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been offering digital entrepreneurship as a 鈥榗urrent topics鈥� (ENFB 4950) class the past few years,鈥� said Chris Reutzel, chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. 鈥淣ot surprisingly, we have seen growing student interest about this subject. So, we launched it this Fall as a permanent course within Auburn鈥檚 entrepreneurship program to help prepare students for their rapidly changing entrepreneurial journeys and other professional career paths.鈥� 

With contributions both from well-known and emerging scholars, the Encyclopedia seeks to provide a comprehensive reference volume covering opportunities and challenges related to digital entrepreneurship. Although primarily written from a scholarly perspective, its contents have also been tailored for business professionals to use. In fact, Lohrke has provided ENFB 4220 students with pre-prints of the volume鈥檚 contents as class readings this Fall.

Another goal of the volume was to provide early-career scholars with an opportunity to publish their research in digital entrepreneurship, a rapidly growing focus within the entrepreneurship field. The co-editors succeeded in achieving this objective, given that PhD students and recent graduates from Auburn and other universities generated over half of the Encyclopedia鈥檚 content.

"Contributing to the Encyclopedia was an enriching experience because I was able to strengthen my research skills both in writing and revising my submission under the guidance of the editorial team,鈥� said Debby Osias, a PhD student in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. 鈥淢y specific section focuses on how individual entrepreneurs, founding teams, and startup companies work to adapt to today's dynamic business environment, emphasizing how entrepreneurial resilience can foster new beginnings after adverse events occur."

Other Auburn PhD students agreed. For example, Jasmine Kelley and Daniel Aldave noted, 鈥淲e thoroughly enjoyed writing our entries for the Encyclopedia. The project provided a valuable opportunity to take stock of how digitalization has fundamentally reshaped the entrepreneurial landscape.鈥�

They also observed that 鈥淣ot long ago, employing advanced technologies was often out of reach for startups; today, it's an accessible and necessary foundation for innovation. Understanding this intersection is no longer just useful鈥攊t's essential for both theory and practice.鈥�

Lohrke co-edited the volume with , assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Louisiana State University, and , professor of accounting at Samford University. Elgar has scheduled publication of the Encyclopedia for November.

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Learn more about the PhD program in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.