Aki Harima

Aki Harima holds the position of Tenured Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship at Tallinn University of Technology's Department of Business Administration (School of Business and Governance). He is also the Head of the Entrepreneurship Research Group and has previously served as a Lecturer at the University of Bremen's Chair in Small Business & Entrepreneurship since 2013. His career includes roles such as Researcher at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (2018-2019) and Global Marketing Analysis Intern at Daimler AG (2012-2013).

Educational Background:

• Doctor of Economics and Social Science (Dr.rer.pol), University of Bremen (2016), supervised by Prof. Dr. Jörg Freiling
• Master's Degree in Management, University of Mannheim (2013), supervised by Prof.Dr. Michael Woywode
• BSc in Business Administration, Kobe University (2009)

Research Interests: Aki focuses on understanding entrepreneurial ecosystems, particularly in constrained contexts. His work emphasizes transnational entrepreneurship dynamics involving refugees, migrants, and diaspora communities. Key themes include resource mobilization strategies, institutional voids, and the role of anchor organizations in ecosystem development. He also explores topics like sustainability in entrepreneurship, education pedagogy in venture creation courses, and the application of qualitative research methods.

Grants & Projects: He secured significant funding including the €444k Erasmus+ VIFRE Project (2017-2020) for refugee entrepreneurship virtual incubation and led the Namibia Transnational Student Project (2018). Recent grants include €2.5k for Bangladesh's sustainable ecosystems (2023) and €2.498k studying refugee-camp ecosystems (2021). Current projects include 'Climate Positive Futures' (€417k) and 'Digital-Physical Hybrid Architecture of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems' (€116k), both at TalTech.

• Role: Proposal co-developer, project leader
• Focus Areas: Refugee entrepreneurship, diaspora networks, crisis response

Awards:

• 2024: Best Empirical Paper (Academy of Management), European Management Journal Best Paper (2nd Place)
• 2019: Berninghausen Prize for innovative teaching
• Multiple top-tier journal awards (2023-2014)

Teaching & Outreach: Teaches entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, and international management. Conducts podcasts including ERD's Episode 4/35 discussing ecosystem evolution and refugee entrepreneurship. His public contributions include media articles on migrant entrepreneurship in Namibia and Germany, emphasizing practical solutions for disadvantaged entrepreneurs.