Research
Entrepreneurship · Strategy · Entrepreneurial Ecosystems · Institutions & Policy · Gender & Entrepreneurship · AI & Entrepreneurship
My research focuses on how institutional and individual contexts shape entrepreneurial behavior, examining macro-level forces, such as social welfare programs, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical uncertainty, alongside micro-level decision-making shaped by factors like time availability, gender, religion, education and socioeconomic background. Methodologically, my work draws extensively on causal inference, including difference-in-differences, event-study designs, fixed-effects models, instrumental variables, and matching, as well as longitudinal and panel-data analysis, survival analysis, and natural-language and text analysis.
Peer-reviewed articles
- 2026
The Impact of Workers’ Compensation Laws on Entrepreneurial Activity. Khurana, I., Lee, D. J., & De Castro, J., Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.
- 2025
Orchestrating entrepreneurial ecosystems through transactive memory systems: a learning-based framework. Dutta, D. K., & Khurana, I., Small Business Economics.
- 2024
The impact of product portfolio specialty and activeness on firm survival: evidence from the nascent drone industry. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K., R&D Management.
- 2024
Creating Effective University Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Commitment System Perspective. Audretsch, D. B., Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Tamvada, J. P., Journal of Technology Transfer.
- 2023
Productive entrepreneurship within the entrepreneurial ecosystem: Insights from social exchange theory. Dutta, D. K., & Khurana, I., Applied Psychology.
- 2023
The Weaker Sex? A Tale of Means and Tails. Khurana, I., Tamvada, J. P., & Audretsch, D. B., Journal of Business Venturing Insights.
- 2023
The Impact of Policy Uncertainty on Entrepreneurial Activity: A Cross-country Study. Khurana, I., Habiyaremye, A., Avsar, V., & Terjesen, S., Entrepreneurship and Regional Development.
- 2023
From Place to Space: The Role of Entrepreneurs and Place-Based Enterprises in Building Sustainable Smart Cities. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K., Small Business Economics.
- 2022
SMEs and Digital Transformation During a Crisis: The Emergence of Resilience as a Second-order Dynamic Capability in an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Ghura, A. S., Journal of Business Research. (Top 5 most cited papers of 2022 on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems)
- 2022
Gender Bias in High Stakes Pitching: An NLP Approach. Khurana, I., & Lee, D. J., Small Business Economics.
- 2022
Crisis and Arbitrage Opportunities: The Role of Causation, Effectuation, and Entrepreneurial Learning. Khurana, I., Dutta, D. K., & Schenkel, M. T., International Small Business Journal.
- 2021
From latent to emergent entrepreneurship in innovation ecosystems: The role of entrepreneurial learning. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K., Technological Forecasting and Social Change.
- 2021
The influence of religion on the humane orientation of entrepreneurs. Khurana, I., Ghura, A. S., & Dutta, D. K., Journal of Small Business Management.
- 2021
The Role of Resources in Timing of Diversification and Survival of Startup Firms. Khurana, I., & Farhat, J., Industry and Innovation.
- 2021
Does Policy Uncertainty Impact the M&A Exit of Startup Firms?. Carmen, C., Farhat, J., & Khurana, I., Journal of Economics and Finance.
- 2021
Legitimacy and Reciprocal Altruism in Donation-Based Crowdfunding: Evidence from India. Khurana, I., Journal of Risk and Financial Management.
- 2021
Religion and humane entrepreneurship: Insights for research, policy, and practice. Khurana, I., Ghura, A. S., & Dutta, D. K., Journal of the International Council for Small Business.
- 2020
Understanding the process of knowledge accumulation and entrepreneurial learning in startups. Khurana, I., Industry and Innovation.
- 2020
The Power of a Promise: Dual Admission for Community College-to-University Transfer Students. Nicholas, T., Musoba, G., & Khurana, I., Community College Journal of Research and Practice.
- 2020
Institutions, entrepreneurial adaptation, and the legal form of the organization. Khurana, I., Krichevskiy, D., Dempster, G., & Stimpson, S., Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy.
- 2020
Care or Constraints? A New Look at the Welfare of SNAP and WIC Recipients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Khurana, I., & Carson, B., Virginia Economic Journal.
Book chapters
- 2025
Learning in entrepreneurial ecosystems: Insights from the 4I Learning Framework. Khurana, I., & Dutta, D. K., Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurial Learning, pp. 77–90. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Under review
Khurana, I., Allison, T. H., Kunapuli, R., Lee, D. J., & Renko, M., Journal of Business Venturing. Revise and resubmit, second-round revision in preparation
Khurana, I., Wood, M. S., & Klein, P. G., Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Revise and resubmit, first round
Sheth, A., & Khurana, I., Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Under first-round review
Titles withheld while under review.
Work in progress
Navigating the Knowledge Breadth–Depth Paradox in Entrepreneurship with Packard, M., Tamvada, J. P., & Audretsch, D. B.
When Uncertainty Rises: How Ecosystem Structure Shapes Entrepreneurial Entry with Sheth, A.
Orchestrating Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems with Dutta, D., Corbett, A. C., & York, J.
A Gendered Perspective of Moral Violations with Lee, D. J.
The Role of Religion in Entrepreneurship with Packard, M., & Tamvada, J. P. (Nominated for the Best Responsible Research Paper Award, 2024 SMS Conference)
How Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Shape Startup Exit Under Rising Geopolitical Tension with Sheth, A.
Other writing
- 2024
Helping Haiti: A New Approach. White paper, September 9
- 2022
Economic policy uncertainty and the loss of South Africa’s growth momentum: Can the decline be reversed?. Op-Ed, Daily Maverick, January 11