RESEARCH
I study how institutional environments and individual contexts influence entrepreneurial behavior. My work bridges macro-level forces—such as social welfare programs and policy uncertainty—with micro-level decision-making shaped by factors like time availability, gender, religion, and socioeconomic background. I explore how these intersecting contexts enable or constrain the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities.
My academic journey, rooted in a PhD in Economics from Florida International University and an MPhil and Master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics, provides a solid foundation for exploring complex challenges in entrepreneurship.
I employ a wide array of methodologies, ranging from econometric analysis and experimental techniques to natural language processing (NLP).
Current Research Projects
(With Daniel Lee at Univ of Delaware & Julio De Castro at IE) (2nd round R&R at Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal).
(With Mark Packard, FAU; J.P. Tamvada, Kingston Business School; and David Audretsch, Indiana Bloomington) Under review at Organization Studies.
(With Matthew S. Wood, University of Oklahoma; and J.P. Tamvada, Kingston Business School) Under review at Journal of Business Venturing.
(With Dev Dutta, University of New Hampshire & Andrew Corbett, Babson College) Under review at Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.
Khurana, I., Tamvada J. P. & Packard M. The Impact of Religion on Entrepreneurship*. Under preparation for submission to Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. [Working paper]
*Nominated for the Best Responsible Paper Award at the SMS Conference 2024
Khurana, I., Packard, M., Tamvada, J.P., & Audretsch, D.B. Navigating the Knowledge Breadth–Depth Paradox in Entrepreneurship. Under preparation for submission to the Journal of Management [Working paper]
Khurana, I., Dutta, D. & Corbett, A.C. Orchestrating Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Under preparation for submission to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal [Working paper]
Gyurovski, I., Khurana, I., & Lee, D.J. A Gendered Perspective of Moral Violations. Under preparation for submission to Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. [Writing stage]
Gender and Hybrid Entrepreneurship
(With Maija Renko, Daniel Lee, & J.P. Tamvada)
Scaling the Management Education Mountain: Why Is It Hard, and What Can Be Done?
(With J.P. Tamvada, Daniel Lee, & Mark Packard)
The Impact of Religion and Gender on Occupational Choice of Women
(With J.P. Tamvada & Mark Packard)
Publications
20. Dutta, D. K. & Khurana, I., (2025). Orchestrating Entrepreneurial Ecosystems through Transactive Memory Systems: A Learning-Based Framework. Small Business Economics (Forthcoming).
19. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K. (2024). The impact of product portfolio specialty and activeness on firm survival: evidence from the nascent drone industry. R&D Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/radm.12696
18. Audretsch, D. B., Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., &; Tamvada J. P. (2024). Creating Effective University Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Commitment System Perspective. Journal of Technology Transfer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-024-10090-w
17. Dutta, D. K., & Khurana, I. (2023). Productive entrepreneurship within the entrepreneurial ecosystem: Insights from social exchange theory. Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12509
16. Khurana, I., Tamvada J. P., & Audretsch, D. B. (2023), The Weaker Sex? A Tale of Means and Tails. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2023.e00407
15. Khurana, I., Habiyaremye, A., Avsar, V., & Terjesen, S. (2023). The Impact of Policy Uncertainty on Entrepreneurial Activity: A Cross-country study. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. http://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2023.2211978
14. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K. (2023), From Place to Space: The Role of Entrepreneurs and Place- Based Enterprises in Building Sustainable Smart Cities. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00765-3
13. Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Ghura A. S. (2022). SMEs and Digital Transformation During a Crisis: The Emergence of Resilience as a Second-order Dynamic Capability in an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Journal of Business Research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.048 Top 5 most cited papers of 2022 on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
12. Khurana, I. & Lee, D. J. (2022). Gender Bias in High Stakes Pitching: An NLP Approach. Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00598-y
11. Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Schenkel, M. T. (2022) Crisis and Arbitrage Opportunities: The Role of Causation, Effectuation, and Entrepreneurial Learning. International Small Business Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211061679
10. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K. (2021). From latent to emergent entrepreneurship in innovation ecosystems: The role of entrepreneurial learning. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120694
9. Khurana, I., Ghura, A. S., & Dutta, D. K. (2021). The influence of religion on the humane orientation of entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1890097
8. Khurana, I. & Farhat, J. (2021). The Role of Resources in Timing of Diversification and Survival of Startup Firms. Industry and Innovation. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2021.1976624.
7. Carmen, C., Farhat, J., & Khurana, I. (2021). Does Policy Uncertainty Impact the M&A Exit of Startup Firms? Journal of Economics and Finance. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12197-021-09553-9
6. Khurana, I. (2021). Legitimacy and Reciprocal Altruism in Donation-Based Crowdfunding: Evidence from India. Journal of Risk and Financial Management. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14050194
5. Khurana, I., Ghura, A. S., & Dutta, D. K. (2021). Religion and humane entrepreneurship: Insights for research, policy, and practice. Journal of the International Council for Small Business. https://doi.org/10.1080/26437015.2021.1906186
4. Khurana, I. (2020). Understanding the process of knowledge accumulation and entrepreneurial learning in startups. Industry and Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2020.1855125
3. Nicholas, T., Musoba, G., & Khurana, I. (2020). The Power of a Promise: Dual Admission for Community College-to-University Transfer Students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2020.1841044
2. Khurana, I., Krichevskiy, D., Dempster, G., & Stimpson, S. (2020). Institutions, entrepreneurial adaptation, and the legal form of the organization. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-10-2019-0087
1. Khurana, I. and Carson, B., Care or Constraints? A New Look at the Welfare of SNAP and WIC Recipients During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020). Virginia Economic Journal. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3734708
Research Interests
Entrepreneurship & Public Policy: Examining how policy interventions influence entrepreneurial outcomes, particularly for underrepresented groups.
Biases in Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Exploring the role of AI and other methodologies in addressing biases in entrepreneurial judgments and decisions.
Gender, Religion, and Occupational Choice: Investigating how sociocultural factors shape entrepreneurial and occupational decisions, with a focus on gender and religious dynamics.
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Understanding how ecosystems can be orchestrated effectively to foster inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurship.
