IGL Annual Research Prizes
| Overview |
The IGL Annual Research Prizes, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, recognise and celebrate outstanding experimental research in science, innovation and productivity. These prizes aim to promote studies that advance knowledge in experimental research and push the boundaries of the field, whether through innovative research questions or cutting-edge methodologies. They also seek to highlight research with the potential to create meaningful policy impact and underscore the importance of experimental studies in addressing real-world challenges.
Each prize will include an award of $2,000 USD, to be shared among co-authors of the selected papers.
We welcome nominations (including self-nominations) from researchers at any university globally. Three prizes will be awarded each year, including one specifically dedicated to junior and early-career researchers. To submit an application or nomination, you must be a member of, or have applied to join, the IGL Research Network. Non-members can apply here.
| Prizes Categories |
We will consider applications and nominations in the following four categories:
1. Best Experimental Paper
Description: Recognises exceptional research that advances experimental studies or methodologies in science, innovation and productivity. This includes studies that demonstrate originality, innovative approaches and designs, or ones that address novel questions in new contexts.
2. Best Paper with Potential for Policy Impact
Description: Celebrates policy-relevant research that has the most potential to make a tangible impact on public policy, applying experimental methods to real-world issues related to science, innovation and productivity policies.
3. Best Experimental Research Paper by Junior Scholars
Description: Awarded to the best experimental research paper authored by PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, or other early-career scholars in the fields of science, innovation and productivity.
Eligibility of Papers
For the first edition of the IGL Annual Prizes, we will accept both published and working papers, as long as they were written within the last five years. Please note that monetary prizes are meant to support the development, research, and dissemination of your work.
For any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Note: If you are not yet part of the IGL Research Network, make sure to apply here to join.
2024 Winners
Best experimental paper
A scientific approach to entrepreneurial decision-making: Large-scale replication and extension
Arnaldo Camuffo, Alfonso Gambardella, Danilo Messinese, Elena Novelli, Emilio Paolucci, Chiara Spina
Abstract: This article runs a large-scale replication of Camuffo and colleagues in 2020, involving 759 firms in four randomized control trials. The larger sample generates novel and more precise insights about the teachability and implications of a scientific approach in entrepreneurship. We observe a positive impact on idea termination and results that are consistent with a nonlinear effect on radical pivots, with treated firms running few over no or repeated pivots. We provide a theoretical interpretation of the empirical results: the scientific approach enhances entrepreneurs’ efficiency in searching for viable ideas and raises their
methodic doubt because, like scientists, they realize that there may be alternative scenarios from the ones that they theorize.
Best Experimental Paper by Junior Scholars
Female Entrepreneurship and Professional Networks
Edward Asiedu, Monica Lambon-Quayefio, Francesca Truffa and Ashley Wong
Abstract: Female-owned businesses continue to be smaller and less profitable than male-owned firms. We conduct an RCT in Ghana on a sample of 1,771 growth-oriented female entrepreneurs to investigate the effect of online networking groups on firm performance. We find that access to online networking opportunities leads to greater innovation, better business practices and higher profits by 21%. The increase in profits is concentrated in the upper tail of the distribution. The treatment shifts business collaborations from friends and family members to business network members in the intervention. We find the largest effects for those in groups with more-educated, higher-quality, and more diverse entrepreneurs. Our findings reveal that a low-cost, light-touch online intervention that increases networking opportunities can effectively improve outcomes of female-owned firms.
Best Experimental Paper for Potential Policy Impact
Long-term and Lasting Impacts of Personal Initiative Training on Entrepreneurial Success
Francisco Campos, Michael Frese, Leonardo Iacovone, Hillary Johnson, David McKenzie, and Mona Mensmann
Abstract: A randomized experiment in Togo found that personal initiative training for small businesses resulted in large and significant impacts for both men and women after two years. We revisit these entrepreneurs after seven years, and find long-lasting average impacts of personal initiative training of $91 higher profits per month, which is larger than the 2-year impacts. However, these long-term impacts are very different for men and women: the impact for men grows over time as they accumulate more capital and increase self-efficacy, whereas the impact for women is flat or
declines, and capital build-up is much more limited.