Aaron Defort, MiM
Ehemaliger wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research
Arbeitsbereiche:
Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Soziale Netzwerkanalyse, Soziales Kapital
Wissenschaftlicher Werdegang
03/2019 – 09/2023
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und Doktorand am Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb (Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research). Dissertation: “Creation and Recycling of Entrepreneurial Resources: Empirical Essays on the Importance of Social Processes in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems”
Postgraduales Studium Betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung (Master of Business Research), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Seit 2018
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und Dozent am Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München sowie TU München
2014 - 2017
Diplôme Grande Ecole in Management, ESCP Europe, Frankreich
2010 - 2013
Honours Degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in European Business Administration mit First Class Honours, University of Portsmouth, Vereinigtes Königreich
2010 - 2013
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) im European Business Programme (EBP), Fachhochschule Münster
Publikationen
Artikel in referierten Fachzeitschriften
(2025). How Do Successful Exits Impact Regional Development? Longitudinal Evidence from European Cities, Small Business Economics 2025, forthcoming. DOI
- This paper investigates the impact of different types of successful start-up exits on the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). With a panel data analysis covering 45 European cities over 20 years, the study examines how acquisitions and IPOs influence subsequent individual investment activity and new venture creation. The results reveal that acquisitions significantly and positively influence investment activity and new venture creation in the following years. In contrast, IPOs show smaller and marginally significant effects. These findings provide nuanced insights into how entrepreneurial recycling occurs within EEs after exit events, contributing to our understanding of the evolutionary nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The study underscores the importance of exit routes and the legitimacy of ecosystem actors in fostering entrepreneurship and regional development.
(2023). Impact of Entrepreneurship Education Programs at University: Quasi-Experimental Evidence, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2023 (1). DOI
- We evaluate the impact of participation in an entrepreneurship education program during university on subsequent entrepreneurial activity by comparing career decisions between program participants and the best applicants not accepted to the program using a regression discontinuity design. We find that program participation increases both founding rates and several indicators of startup quality. The effect on founding rates is visible for several years after the program. Even when program participants do not found, they are more likely to select into careers related to entrepreneurship. The study also finds that the interview process can identify students more apt to build higher quality startups, but not who is more likely to found. Participating in the program, however, appears to ‘level the playing field’ for participants to a degree where the original interview scores lose their explanatory power. Overall, the study suggests a strong positive causal effect between program participation and the measured outcome variables.
Vorträge
07.04.2023
Shared Identity in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems - Experimental Evidence
Eesley Lab Group, Stanford University
Ort: Stanfort, CA, US
05.11.2022
How Do Different Forms of Exits Fuel Entrepreneurial Ecosystems? Longitudinal Evidence of Entrepreneurial Recycling in Cities
Innodays Conference, Casablanca
Ort: Casablanca, Marokko
26.11.2021
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Doktorandenseminar, Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Ort: München
29.09.2021
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Forschungsseminar, Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Ort: Feldkirchen-Westerham
11.06.2021
Investors as Keystones Species in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC)
Ort: online
10.06.2021
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Research Meeting, Entrepreneurship Section, Utrecht University
Ort: online
07.05.2021
Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Doktorandenseminar, Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Ort: online
23. – 26.03.2021
Two Study Proposals on Social Capital in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Forschungsseminar, Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Ort: online
10. – 11.12.2020
Investors as Cornerstones Species in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
PhD Workshop
Ort: online (ZEW)
07. – 11.09.2020
The Social Side of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Forschungsseminar, Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Ort: online
10.06.2020
Digital Hackathons as Collaboration "Laboratories" for Innovation Policy
ISPIM Innovation Conference – Innovating in Times of Crisis
Ort: online
05.06.2020
Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Doktorandenseminar, Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Ort: online
02. – 05.03.2020
Social Networks in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Forschungsseminar, Max-Planck-Institut für Innovation und Wettbewerb
Ort: Zugspitze
Kurse
2020 – 2021
Design Thinking and Business Model Innovation (FOM)
2018 – 2021
Entrepreneurship Laboratory (CDTM)
Seit 2018
Verschiedene Kurse am CDTM mit einem Fokus auf Ideation, Nutzer-zentriertes Design und professionelle Kommunikation