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For
Dimo Dimov, it is not the recognition of opportunities that is the key to
entrepreneurial success – the thing that he sees as key is what motivates
people to act on those opportunities. “It’s the idea of opportunity
enactment,” he explains. “I’m particularly interested in how the background
and experience of people both enables and constrains their actions when it
comes to entrepreneurship.”
What’s more, he says, success in different types of start-up businesses can
come from different ways of thinking. He cites Nike as an example of how
knowledge of a particular field – athletics – led to the ability to imagine
what kind of products would satisfy emerging needs in that market. On the
other hand, he says, there are those such as the Jacuzzis – a family of
inventors that specialized in hydraulic pumps – who had developed a
technology and were then able to imagine a use for it. “One example is
convergence and the other is divergence,” he explains.
Prof Dimov’s research work also focuses on the venture capital industry and
the knowledge and structural factors that influence firms’ strategic focus
and performance. “I’ve been very interested in why certain venture capital
firms fund early stage companies or emerging technologies while others
decide not to,” he says.
Experience in the business world gives Prof Dimov – who is fluent in
English, Russian, German, Hungarian, Spanish, and Bulgarian – a firm
foundation on which to build his research and teaching. For in addition to
his academic background, he spent several years as chief financial officer
for two Marriott International properties in
Budapest
,
Hungary
Budapest, Hungary. With an annual $30
million turnover and more than $100 million in serviced debt, the combined
business included a five-star hotel, long-stay executive apartments and an
office and retail centre and employed more than 400 people.
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