معرفی
Dr. Isla Kapasi serves as a Senior Visiting Research Scholar at the Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, within the Department of Management and Organisations. Her academic focus centers on entrepreneurship in marginalized communities, critically examining how poverty, disability, and socio-economic contexts shape entrepreneurial journeys, with particular emphasis on home-based and microbusiness operations across developed nations.
Her educational foundation includes a PhD in Management, MRes in Research Methods, MSc in Business Management with Entrepreneurship, and BA (Hons) Arts. This multidisciplinary background informs her critical approach to entrepreneurship studies.
Dr. Kapasi's research spans critical entrepreneurship studies, poverty-entrepreneurship intersections, and home-based business dynamics, with growing emphasis on circular economy applications and behaviour change. Her work consistently challenges mainstream entrepreneurship narratives by highlighting how structural inequalities and personal circumstances—particularly poverty, disability, and health challenges—drive entrepreneurial activity. She employs critical realist methodologies to reveal complex motivational landscapes where necessity and aspiration intertwine, especially in disadvantaged communities.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2019-2025) shows a cohesive research trajectory examining entrepreneurship as a survival mechanism and identity-shaping practice. Key trends include the socio-economic impacts of entrepreneurship in developed economies, gender-specific barriers in emerging markets, and the affective value systems of older entrepreneurs. Her work increasingly integrates circular economy principles while maintaining a critical lens on how poverty contexts distort entrepreneurial motivations and outcomes.
Her scholarly recognition includes:
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Dr. Kapasi actively bridges theory and practice through mentorship of high-growth Scottish firms and advisory work with charitable, social enterprise, and public sector organizations. She has secured competitive research funding from the BA Leverhulme Trust and the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. As a certified Team Academy Coach, she delivers entrepreneurship education across UK and European institutions, emphasizing experiential learning and critical reflexivity.
She contributes to the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies and Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change, where her work informs policy discussions on inclusive entrepreneurship and poverty reduction through enterprise development.
