Kim Klyver

I am Professor in Entrepreneurship at University of Southern Denmark. I am also adjunct professor at University of Adelaide and part-time visiting scholar at Stockholm School in Economics. Earlier I have been employed at Swinburne University of Technology and Stanford University.

I am fascinated by how entrepreneurs and small business owners interact, shape and are shaped by their social surroundings in their struggle to discover opportunities, acquire resources and gain legitimacy, and how these activities together impact their success.

During my 20-year academic career I have been focused particularly on startup- and growth processes. My research centers round 1) why some start, develop and grow businesses when others don’t, 2) how entrepreneurs and small business owners start, develop and businesses, and 3) what explain their success? Answers to these questions are inherently complicated and cannot be explained on one level, with one theory. To create practically relevant knowledge that is applicable to entrepreneurs and business owners, a multi-level and multi-disciplinary approach is necessary. That characterizes my research. I approach problems and challenges experienced by practitioners from a multi-disciplinary perspective and often combining various micro level (e.g. self-efficacy, gender, age, social skills), meso level (social networks), and macro level (institutions, culture, crisis) explanations.

I am an experienced project and research manager with a large international network. I have managed several large projects and has experience in analyzing large international dataset such Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and longitudinal datasets such Danish Panel Studies of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (DaPSED). I have published a large number of articles in top international journals and written several books published in Denmark and internationally. My research has been made possible by funding from several prestigious funding agencies such as Independent Research Fund Denmark and Carlsberg Foundation and it has received several international awards.

I have acted as advisor and speaker for both the European Commission and the Chinese government and am regularly experts in the mass media commenting on entrepreneurship and small businesses.