David Audretsch is a Distinguished Professor and Ameritech Chair of Economic Development at Indiana University, where he is also serves as Director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He also is an Honorary Professor of Industrial Economics and Entrepreneurship at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. Audretsch's research is focused on the links between entrepreneurship, government policy, innovation, economic development and global competitiveness. He is co-founder and co-editor of Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal. He is a member of the Advisory Board to a number of international research and policy institutes, including Chair of the the Deutsches Institut fuer Wirtschaftsforschung Berlin (German Institute for Economic Analysis Berlin), Chair of the Stifterverband fuer die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Foundation for the Promotion of German Science), New York Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Entrepreneurship Forum, and the Jackstädt Centre for Entrepreneurship in Wuppertal, Germany.
Erik E. Lehmann is a Full Professor of Management and Organization at Augsburg University, Germany and Director of the Program Global Business Managemen and Dean of Student Affairs. He received his doctoral degree 1999 from Rostock University and his habilitation (venia legendi) from Konstanz University in 2005. From 2004-2005 he joined the Max Planck Institute (Jena) as an assistant director. Together with Silvio Vismara (University of Bergamo/Italy) he directs the CISAlpino Institute for Comparative Studies in Europe (CCSE). Lehmann's research is focused on the links between corporate governance in family and entrepreneurial firms, innovation, public policy, education and innovation systems, financial constraints and regional and global competition.