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Coming from a weaker institutional context can benefit entrepreneurs, Dean Sharon Matusik says on the latest Creative Distillation research podcast.

When you’re the dean of a top-20 public business school, you need to manage a host of responsibilities, from setting a budget to setting a strategic course mapping out the future direction of the school.

In Sharon Matusik’s case, she manages all that while also being a passionate researcher in the field of entrepreneurship.

Combining all that can be thirsty work—which is why Matusik was such an appropriate guest on the Creative Distillation research podcast.

In the latest episode of the  podcast, which examines crafty research over craft brews, hosts Jeff York and Brad Werner spoke with Matusik about her early research interests and the experiences that led her to a career in higher education. Matusik also offered a deep dive into her in the Journal of Business Research.

Matusik’s research—conducted alongside former doctoral student and both from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, is based on data aggregated from a 26-year study that examines how formal and informal institutions within Chile have affected startups and entrepreneurship. The paper is an inside look at key factors that can impact new ventures in markets where formal institutions, such as government entities, regulations or access to capital markets, intersect with informal institutions, including cultural traditions, local customs and moral values. These factors have a significant impact on both the enterprises and their operators as they strive to launch and grow new ventures.

How early challenges shape future success

The study highlights challenges founders face when operating in a culture where success is closely tied to predictable career paths. These societal norms and customs are powerful and common in Chile and other countries in South America and around the world. Going against these traditions often results in a negative personal reputation, limitations to accessing resources and even family conflict.

However, the researcher also highlights the growing optimism and support for entrepreneurship in these markets, especially as the experience of navigating these challenges has a positive impact on founders. You can imagine what happens when an institution or entrepreneurs from these informal markets enter into formal markets.

What does that mean if you’re based in Colorado, not Chile? York pointed out that growing ventures may benefit from the pains of navigating formal institutional challenges—a story all too familiar to and faced on launching their brewstillery in Boulder.

Episode 25 of Creative Distillation was hosted at one of Colorado’s very few “brewstilleries”—a brewery and distillery under one roof. Kate Nierling, general manager of the brewstillery, and Dustin LeMoine, national sales director for Ska Brewing provided a curated sampling of spirits, including an aged bourbon and ales.

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About the podcast

Creative Distillation is a research podcast co-hosted by Jeff York and Brad Werner, both of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Each episode distills academic research on entrepreneurship into actionable insights. This season, the hosts connect with researchers from around the globe to discuss sustainability, yoga, cannabis, food trucks, entrepreneurship programs and accelerators.

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at CDpodcast@colorado.edu.

Bustamante, C. V., Mingo, S., & Matusik, S. F. (2021). Institutions and venture capital market creation: The case of an emerging market. Journal of Business Research, 127, 1-12.