Entrepreneurship Paper Wins Schulze Award

By Brandon Wallace '17

Dr. Eden Blair, Dr. Tanya Marcum and Bradley alumna Veronika Koubova ‘13 received the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange’s inaugural Schulze Award for research. The team researched the lack of consumer differentiation between low-profit limited liability companies and traditional limited liability companies (LLCs).

The paper examined whether L3Cs, a business entity designed for ventures with a social or environmental mission, were more attractive to consumers than LLC. The researchers surveyed 300 consumers about opinions of L3C companies, and found that consumers were not any more likely to buy from L3C companies than from other LLCs.

“Some companies choose to become L3Cs because they see some branding potential as well as the chance to attract grants; they think it shows they are committed to social or environmental causes,” Blair said. “We found consumers just couldn’t tell the difference.”

The paper also talked about some of the other problems for L3C companies, such as legal issues and the marketing of their brand.

Blair, Marcum and Koubova are among a handful of researchers in this area. They hope that the information can be used by entrepreneurs, lawyers and policy makers to improve the law as it relates to social entrepreneurship.

“This is truly an honor to be among the inaugural winners of this award,” Blair said. “We are among some legends in the field of entrepreneurship research, and I'm delighted to be included in the list.”

The Schulze Award, named after Best Buy founder Richard Schulze, recognizes students and professionals whose submissions have exceptional merit in the field of entrepreneurship. Bradley received a $2,500 scholarship for students interested in entrepreneurship.