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Editor of IGI Global's Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary Knowledge-Based Global Economy

Interview with Dr. Neeta Baporikar, Director and Professor at Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business

By IGI Global Scientific Publishing on Nov 10, 2015
Interview with Dr. Neeta Baporikar Director and Professor in Business Management at Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business (HP-GSB), Namibia, Dr. Neeta Baporikar has fulfilled the role of Head of Scientific Research, Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Higher Education CAS-Salalah, as well as Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship at IIIT Pune and BITS India. A Principal Consultant/Trainer for the Bhutan German Seed Project Officials of Bhutan, HRD Consultants, she has more than a decade of corporate experience with Kirloskar Group, Finolex Group, and Maschinenfabrik Polygraph Ltd.

Dr. Baporikar has authored and edited dozens of IGI Global publications, and recently released the Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary Knowledge-Based Global Economy, a premier reference source that provides a comprehensive survey of the most recent developments in the field of entrepreneurship, highlighting the effects of entrepreneurship on information technology, business networking, knowledge production, distribution, and organization.

In light of this recent release, Dr. Baporikar took some time to participate in an interview with IGI Global, providing details on her work history and experience, as well as her current work and what makes her passionate about the field of entrepreneurship. IGI Global is proud to have such an accomplished scholar among their network of contributors.


Your IGI Global title the Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary Knowledge-Based Global Economy was just released. Tell us a little about the book. How is modern entrepreneurship influencing the global economy?

This book is dedicated to “entrepreneurship” with a special emphasis on entrepreneurs in the global knowledge-based economy. It provides discussion and the exchange of information on principles, strategies, models, techniques, methodologies, and applications of entrepreneurship in knowledge-based economies in the field of public and private organizations. It aims to communicate the latest developments and thinking on the entrepreneurship subject worldwide. Drawing on the latest developments, ideas, research, and best practice, this book intends to examine the implications of the changes taking place due to knowledge explosion and how they affect entrepreneurship and motivation of entrepreneurs belonging to this knowledge-driven society. It is important to know what is happening on both national and international fronts to be able to understand and develop effective responses to meet these new demands.

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship has always been the key to prosperity, but in today’s knowledge economies who are these entrepreneurs and what does entrepreneurship include? What are the developments and trends in this knowledge wave sweeping over economies? As entrepreneurship becomes increasingly intertwined with the global economy, investment continues to be done in entrepreneurship. Especially in knowledge economies; entrepreneurship development is not a unidirectional effort of a region that follows from developed world economies such as USA or the European Union, but also in a complex pattern which involves investment at regional or individual economy levels which means it is more local knowledge-based. This multidimensional approach to entrepreneurship, especially in knowledge economy, is having important influence on the state of business and government, especially when considering the effects of technological development, innovation, glocalization and nationalization policies which are being adopted for inclusive sustainable regional growth. Companies and organizations are increasingly aware of the importance of people and their knowledge for dealing with economic scenarios as complex as those we are seeing today, and of individuals with a capacity for long-term vision and leadership. However, knowledge is not only found in the individuals within companies and organizations, but also in the relationships these individuals develop among themselves both inside and outside the company. There is also the knowledge present within the organizational structures and routines, in the company’s policies, and in its organizational culture, among other areas. How these knowledges interplay in developing entrepreneurship and in this contemporary knowledge-based global economy is the core of this book. The subject area is a combination of entrepreneurship, knowledge management, organizations growth and development.

The goal of this book is to be an international platform to bring together academics, researchers, decision makers, policy makers, and practitioners to share new theories, research findings, and case studies in order to enhance understanding and collaboration in issues of entrepreneurship in this globalized and boundary-less world. The publication also explores in-depth the different aspects of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship development, entrepreneurial education, technological advancement, innovation, glocalization and nationalization efforts in different regions and synthesizes them with other areas such as entrepreneurial motivation, implications, trends, and the future trajectory of economic growth in contemporary knowledge-based economy.

Where do you see the future of entrepreneurship in regards to its impact on global business?

The main impetus of entrepreneurship development comes undoubtedly from innovation based on knowledge, education, as well as research and development activities. Technology and creativity, given infinite opportunities, have become a trump card in the hands of nations and economies that have become adept at using them appropriately in terms of time and scale in their response to both general challenges and those relating to the creation of jobs and enterprises. However, many countries set out well initially, but find the learning curve to be long and slow, with a considerable number of setbacks and a limited number of insignificant gains. This is where knowledge-based entrepreneurship will have a big multiplier effect on global business. Thus, this process has shown that a good, consensual and mobilizing idea needs a lot more for realization than simple discourses or knee jerk actions to avoid targets not being achieved at the minimum, or worse still, end up demoralizing key agents of entrepreneurism.

In all other countries, the development and uptake of innovation is one of the pillars of the knowledge-based economy and an essential element of the socio-economic cohesion policy. Despite the fact that many countries in recent years show improvement in economic performance, countries with the low levels of knowledge creation and innovation, including the lag in the process of transferring innovative solutions from science to enterprise, still face many barriers and limitations. On the other hand, globalization of businesses is increasing the awareness of the importance of science and knowledge- not only in academic fields, but in practice too. The realization that entrepreneurship fosters the economic development of a country is not new. But this appears even more crucial and an absolute necessity in emerging scenarios.

The entrepreneurial opportunity is an unexpected and undervalued economic opportunity. A major transformation and reorganization of world order is taking place. The transformation is led by emerging nations like China and India leading to a restructuring in the dynamics of the geopolitical and economic equilibrium. This is due to strong emphasis on trade and economic development which has seen a rapid surge due to the growth of the manufacturing sector in China and service sector in India. Similar trends are observed in other BRICS emerging nations which are also jostling for space in a new world order. Moreover, aligning the needs for precipitate, sustainable, subterranean and all-inclusive economic growth has led to changed perspective, leading to more emphasis being placed on promoting and developing entrepreneurship. This has steadily led to increasing importance on the linkage between innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge base. What is more, today, this linkage is considered a prerequisite for optimum growth and development of any economy/nation. Hence, entrepreneurial spirits of nations and entrepreneurship is bound to have awe-inspiring bearing on global business.

Who could most benefit from this publication?

Anybody under sun who is interested in the world of business would find this publication beneficial. Apart from this, the topics dealt are not only interesting but also an eye opener to the changing dynamics in the business area due to globalized environment, impact of knowledge creation, dissemination leading to transformation which is taking place in the society. Having said that, the primary intended audience is scholar-practitioners who have the need for qualified reference material and the secondary intended audience is policy makers, entrepreneurs, educationalists and business students. At the same time, while having academic rigor, the book is written in a way such that it can be understood by non-academics and non-specialists and the general public who may be interested and have need for reference and reading.

Is there any message you would like to give to your readers as it pertains to your research?

This book highlights the efforts and focus on developments in the field of entrepreneurship as well as its potential role in information technology and management within the constant growing knowledge based business market. There is a need for a paradigm shift in thinking regarding the relatively understudied entrepreneurship processes especially with respect to knowledge economies in global environment. Hence, if past determines the future and history serves as a guide, future learning in different economies will emerge to reflect how a society creates and shares information, communicates important concepts to those who are new, and generates spaces of discourse for disseminating and extending existing boundaries of knowledge to create wealth for mankind, at large through employment generation created by entrepreneurship development. I sincerely hope this enhanced understanding stimulates additional research in these areas.

With this optimism, this book, completed over a period of 15 months, was not only challenging but also a very satisfying and wholesome experience for me. It also provided me with an opportunity to deepen my understanding of the intricacies in collaborative research with international professoriate well. Yet, my big vision for this book is that it helps to improve the entrepreneurship policy and practice in the globalized knowledge society, which will in turn have a trickle-down effect of improving youth competencies, increase employment potential/rate, reduce poverty, and improve the livelihood of the weaker section.

What are you currently involved in and working on?

I am currently working on another book with IGI Global in the area of management education for global leadership and entrepreneurship development in SADC region. I have other potential titles on my list for which books proposals are in process. I am also writing and reviewing articles for referred journals, doing collaborative research in multi-disciplinary areas with academic associates and my PhD scholars apart from supervising their thesis.

Any last thoughts for our readers?

Thank you for reading this interview. I hope you’ll also check out the Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary Knowledge-Based Global Economy, because all in all, the real pleasure of writing is when it is read by many and if in the process, the book creates entrepreneurs, it would be icing on the cake.


Dr. Neeta Baporikar (née Neeta Deshpande) was born in the small Indian town of Belgaum, known for its good educational facilities, located in Karnataka, the Silicon Valley of India. Dr. Baporikar did schooling from St. Joseph’s Convent, graduated from Gogte College of Commerce, and then went on to earn her Master’s and MBA with (Distinction) and Law (Hons.) degrees. As a natural consequence, Dr. Baporikar took up a corporate career, but did not feel contented with work substance as at the core it seemed more of a chase for money than a pursuit of happiness or fulfillment. The quest for knowledge was stronger! Hence, Dr. Baporikar made a lateral switch to research and training and joined the National Insurance Academy, a premier institution. Pursuing doctoral studies was a natural outcome in the process of ensuring a strategic fit into the world of research, training and consultancy. On the other hand, life is not sequential but simultaneous – so when Dr. Baporikar got married in early nineties, to have work-life balance, she chose the path of being independent by venturing into consultancy focusing on SMEs and Entrepreneurship Development. The natural outcome of successfully mentoring SMEs and Entrepreneurs led to being invited by universities and management institutions to deliver talks and engage sessions on entrepreneurship. This was the time when, on one hand, entrepreneurship as a discipline was looming large in management education and ICT convergence, thereby leading to a knowledge explosion resulting in a new kind of entrepreneurs. In spite of doing well, Dr. Baporikar nonetheless had a vacuum within which was inexplicable. A curiosity for understanding how knowledge is created ultimately led her deeper into the field of research and writing, and as in 1998 she moved into field of academics and took up writing on entrepreneurship and management.

Currently Director and Professor in Business Management at Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business (HP-GSB), Namibia, Dr. Baporikar has fulfilled the role of Head-Scientific Research, with Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Higher Education CAS-Salalah, as well as Professor (Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship) at IIIT Pune and BITS India. A Principal Consultant/Trainer for the Bhutan German Seed Project Officials of Bhutan, HRD Consultants, she has more than a decade of corporate experience with Kirloskar Group, Finolex Group and Maschinenfabrik Polygraph Ltd. Apart from this, Dr. Baporikar holds D.Sc. (Management Studies) USA, is an External Reviewer, Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, Accredited Management Teacher (AIMA), Qualified Trainer (ISTD), Doctoral Guide, Board Member Academics, Faculty Selection Committee and Curriculum Advisory Committee in accredited B-Schools and listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World, since 2010. A prolific writer, with more than 100 refereed papers, she is an reviewer for international journals, member on international editorial advisory board and authored more than 20 multi-disciplinary titles in her area of research and interest - Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Management and Higher Education. A passion for research and belief in Confucius thought "Choose a job you love and you don’t need a holiday in life" drives Dr. Baporikar to supervise research students at various universities. She has to her credit 5 conferred doctorates and more than 100 master’s theses. On the personal front, she is happily married to a defense officer and blessed with a daughter who is pursuing medicine.

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