Keith Hmieleski’s Research, Teaching Help Shape Entrepreneurship at TCU Neeley

Keith Hmieleski, professor of entrepreneurship and academic director of the TCU Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, has been named the inaugural Gutierrez Endowed Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Hmieleski joined TCU in 2005 and has helped shape entrepreneurship education and research at Neeley. He contributed to the development of TCU’s undergraduate entrepreneurship major and minor and helped transition the former Entrepreneurship Center into the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

His research examines the psychology behind entrepreneurship and new venture creation, including how leadership, optimism, improvisation, character strengths and team dynamics influence entrepreneurs and their businesses. His studies have explored topics ranging from entrepreneur well-being and leadership to how shared humor can affect startup sales. His scholarship has received more than 14,000 Google Scholar citations, and several of his articles rank among the most highly cited in their fields.

In the classroom, Hmieleski teaches undergraduate and graduate courses spanning opportunity recognition, innovation, entrepreneurship and venture development. His teaching has earned multiple honors, including Neeley awards for undergraduate teaching, and he was named the school’s Rhodes Professor of the Year in 2022.

Hmieleski’s work also reaches beyond TCU. He helped establish the TCU Global University Entrepreneurship Research Productivity Rankings and has served on editorial boards for leading management and entrepreneurship journals.