Steve Stewart
Assistant Professor | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
Steve Stewart is an expert in entrepreneurship and management.
Biography
Steve Stewart is an associate professor in the Department of Management at Georgia Southern University, where he teaches in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program and in the M.B.A. He has worked professionally in management and sales for NCR Corporation, S.C. Johnson and Walmart. Additionally, he serves on the advisory boards of several start-up companies, and has owned home repair and services businesses. He has won awards for teaching innovation by the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence (CFEE, George Washington University) through the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), the W.A. and Emma Lou Crider Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Rutherford Award for excellence in teaching and service in the MBA. Stewart’s research is in the areas of entrepreneurship, identity in organizations (individual and organizational identity, image, reputation, and organizational identification), leadership, and emotions. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights, the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. Additionally, he is a frequent conference presenter at the Academy of Management, USASBE, and the Southern Management Association, and as an annual delegate at the Ocean Exchange in Savannah.
Areas of Expertise (2)
Management
Entrepreneurship
Accomplishments (5)
Crider Excellence in Teaching Award
Georgia Southern University, Parker College of Business - 2018
Rutherford Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service in the MBA Program
2017
Crider Excellence in Teaching Award
Nominated, Georgia Southern University, Parker College of Business - 2016, 2017
Outstanding Advisor
Nominated, Georgia Southern University - 2016
Bank of America Faculty Award
2015
Education (3)
Florida Atlantic University: Ph.D., Management 2014
Southwest Baptist Seminary: M.Div., Theology 1995
University of Florida: B.S., Marketing 1991
Links (1)
Articles (5)
Different strokes for different folks: Generational differences, social salience, and social performance
The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and InnovationKevin C Cox, Steven A Stewart, Jason Lortie, Tais S Barreto
2018 Empirical evidence establishes that entrepreneurs pursue and achieve different goals and objectives with their ventures ranging from purely economic to purely social (e.g. non-profits) in nature. The reason that individual entrepreneurs choose to pursue such divergent paths is currently poorly understood, however. We employ a perspective integrating generational theory, goal-setting theory and the theory of planned behaviour to determine why entrepreneurs of different ages pursue social performance in their ventures. Using a sample of 150 entrepreneurs belonging to Baby Boomer, Generation X and Millennial generations, we examined the relationship between age, social salience and the social performance of their firms. Findings suggest a mediated relationship between age, social salience and social performance.
Expert and entrepreneur: the unique research domain of professional service entrepreneurs
International Entrepreneurship and Management JournalSteven A Stewart
2018 Professionals are knowledge experts who create customized solutions for clients. Many professionals practice in the context of strong professional institutions that prescribe intense socialization and codes and norms. While some professionals work as employees, many start their own firms in order to practice. Firm start-up for professionals is more prevalent than for most other occupations. While professional institutions often constraint their activities, firm start-up for professional service entrepreneurs (PSEs) involves similar entrepreneurial activities as other entrepreneurs, creating an interesting paradox worth investigating. This paper explores the uniqueness of PSEs and the firms they start, and the distinctiveness and value of research in the context of PSEs and professional service firms.
When to pray to the angels for funding: The seasonality of angel investing in new ventures
Journal of Business Venturing InsightsKevin C Cox, Jason Lortie, Steven A Stewart
2017 Business angel (BA) investors – private individuals who make investments in new ventures – represent a significant economic impact contributing to the survival of new firms. BAs contribute billions of investment dollars to new ventures, positively influencing their growth, their ability to procure further financing, and their successful harvest. While recent research has examined BAs and their investment decision making, no research to date has examined the presence of a seasonal trend to their investment patterns even though research on other types of investments often follow seasonal trends. Utilizing a sample of 2558 independent early-stage angel investment deals over a nine-year period, we analyze the monthly total of investment deals, the average funding amount, and the monthly total volume of angel investment activity. Results suggest a seasonal trend in angel investment deals comprised of specific peaks and valleys in activity. Practical implications include a preparation time for entrepreneurs and new venture teams prior to seeking BA investment, optimal seasons for pitch competitions, and the importance of financial planning for new ventures. Theoretical implications include the potential for punctuated equilibrium in new venture teams. Finally, we contribute by identifying a novel phenomenon ripe for future research.
Hire someone like me, or hire someone I need: entrepreneur identity and early-stage hiring in small firms
Journal of Small Business & EntrepreneurshipSteven A Stewart, Robert C Hoell
2016 Recent studies of entrepreneurial hiring have focused on teams of individuals brought together to form new firms. The literature is scarce on the hiring decision made by sole proprietors to obtain early-stage employees in existing growing firms, yet these firms are great in number and significantly impact the economy. Such hiring decisions will be critical to the growth, and even survival, of such small firms. This paper proposes a model suggesting that an entrepreneur's more central social or role identity influences the hiring decisions for early-stage employees. Utilizing social and role identity theories, this paper suggests how an entrepreneur's most central identity influences how early-stage hiring decisions are made in entrepreneurial small firms. Additionally, it is suggested that the job complexity of new employment positions, and the munificence of the human resources in an environment further moderate the relationship between the sole proprietor's entrepreneurial identity and the hiring decisions they make.
Identity and Entrepreneurial Orientation in the Context of Professional Service Firms
United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship - Conference ProceedingsSteven Stewart, Gary Castrogiovanni
2016 Professional service entrepreneurs (PSEs) paradoxically practice their profession in highly institutionalized contexts that require intense socialization, while also enacting another role as an entrepreneur. We examine the relationships between the PSE's professional and entrepreneurial role identities and the entrepreneurial orientation of their firms. Results suggest that entrepreneurial role identity is positively related to risk taking and innovativeness, while professional role identity is negatively related to risk taking. Interaction effects are also present. These findings imply that the importance of a role identity to an entrepreneur influences his or her attention to processes in the firm which are associated with an entrepreneurial strategic orientation.
