Antwerp, Belgium 
Registration deadline for authors: Welcome to RENT 2026, the 40th Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference, taking place 18–20 November 2026 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Application to Doctoral Workshop: 1 July 2026
PDW proposals: 1 July 2026
Registration (for accepted submitters): 15 September 2026
Submission of final paper (for accepted submitters): 1 October 2026
Registration for anyone (except accepted authors): 4 November 2026
2026 RENT conference theme
Entrepreneurship in and for Fast-Changing Worlds: Making the Future with Resilience, Impact, and Fairness
The RENT 2026 conference invites scholars in entrepreneurship research to explore the critical role of entrepreneurship in shaping and responding to the rapid transformations of our era. In a world characterized by climate change, technological disruption, social inequalities, and geopolitical uncertainties, entrepreneurship is not just a means of adaptation but a driver of these changes, intentionally or otherwise.
This year's theme highlights the dual responsibility of entrepreneurship: to navigate fast-changing worlds with resilience and foresight while contributing to the creation of fairer, more sustainable and hopeful futures. We seek to critically examine how entrepreneurial action can (re)produce these dynamic contexts, the ethical and societal implications of such actions, and how entrepreneurs can embrace their potential as agents of positive impact.
Topics
Through this lens, we aim to foster discussions on topics such as:
- The interplay between entrepreneurial resilience and systemic fragility.
- The role of entrepreneurship in enabling or mitigating global challenges.
- Strategies for embedding fairness and sustainability into entrepreneurial ventures for a just transition, in a world where the war economy is gaining traction.
- New theoretical and practical approaches to making the future through entrepreneurship.
RENT 2026 aspires to inspire cutting-edge research, encourage inter- and transdisciplinary dialogue, and nurture a shared commitment to addressing the complexities of entrepreneurship in our fast-changing world.
Tracks
Quantitative, qualitative and conceptual papers are welcome for the following theme tracks:
- Opportunity generation and early business development
- Business models (innovation, growth, performance), international entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial finance for new, growing or scaling businesses
- Human capital, social capital, and networks
- Entrepreneurship education and learning
- Policy, support systems and ecosystems
- Critical perspectives on entrepreneurship
- New perspectives in methodological approaches
- Minority entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship and Gender (ECSB SIG)
- Technology and knowledge-based entrepreneurship
- Family business, succession and business transfer
- Entrepreneurship and Social change (ECSB SIG)
- Corporate entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship
- Entrepreneurship in creative economies
- Conducting experiments in entrepreneurship research (ECSB SIG)
- Institutions and entrepreneurship (ECSB SIG)
- Mental health, interdisciplinary perspectives and psychological dynamics in entrepreneurship (ECSB SIG)
- AI and entrepreneurship
- Conference theme: Entrepreneurship in and for Fast-changing Worlds
- Open track for entrepreneurship and small business research
