Theory Development Workshop – Wednesday, November 12, 2025
The workshop is being jointly sponsored by OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship and the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise (ISFE).
Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
Exploring & Developing New Theoretical Approaches to Market-Based Management & Entrepreneurship
OSU’s School of Entrepreneurship and the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise (ISFE) will be hosting a Theory Development Workshop (TDW) in Stillwater, Oklahoma,
on the beautiful campus of Oklahoma State University (OSU), on November 12, 2025.
Attendance is free and open to all, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged (see above).
The TDW represents a unique opportunity for PhD students and early-career faculty
to hone their theory-development skills by receiving direct and personal feedback
from established senior scholars—scholars with demonstrated excellence in theory development
and publishing groundbreaking conceptual papers in the fields of entrepreneurship,
management, and Austrian economics.
The senior scholars who will be jointly leading this TDW are Dr. Sharon Alvarez (University of Pittsburgh), Dr. David Townsend (Virginia Tech) and Dr. Per Bylund (Oklahoma State University).
The TDW will be a highly selective event wherein PhD students and early-career faculty from all disciplines are invited to submit conceptual-paper ideas. Each paper idea will be reviewed by one of the TDW’s aforementioned senior scholars. Each senior scholar will select up to four (4) paper ideas to be discussed during the TDW. As such, up to twelve (12) young scholars will be selected. Each young scholar who is selected and who attends the TDW (and resides outside of Oklahoma) will be provided a travel & lodging stipend equal to $1,000. Those who plan to apply are encouraged to make a refundable room reservation at The Atherton Hotel or Best Western Plus Cimarron, that they can cancel if they are not selected or decide not to attend. (Confirm with the hotel at time of booking regarding the refundability status of the reservation.)
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Relevant Dates
(all times are CDT or CST)
- Monday, 10/20 (8 AM) – Deadline for participant applications
- Monday, 10/27 – notifications regarding selection will be sent to applicants
- Tuesday, 11/11 – Arrive Stillwater
- Tuesday, 11/11 (7:15-8:15p) – (bonus) Lecture by David Townsend
- Wednesday, 11/12 (8a-noon) – Workshop morning session
- Wednesday, 11/12 (noon-1p) – Lunch for workshop attendees
- Wednesday, 11/12 (1-5:30p) – Workshop afternoon session
- Wednesday, 11/12 (5:30-7p) – Dinner for workshop attendees
- Wednesday, 11/12 (7:15-8:15p) – (bonus) Lecture by Sharon Alvarez
- Thursday, 11/13 – Depart Stillwater
Attendees can fly into or out Stillwater (SWO) or Tulsa (TUL) or Oklahoma City (OKC). SWO is 5 minutes from campus and The Atherton Hotel provides free shuttle service to and from SWO.
TUL and OKC are each about 75 miles from Stillwater. Uber service to Stillwater from TUL and OKC is around $100.