Dr. Kisito Futonge Nzembayie

Kisito F. Nzembayie is Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship and Director of the MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Trinity Business School, TCD. He holds a PhD in Digital Entrepreneurship and lectures at the nexus between entrepreneurship, digital technology, marketing and business strategy. His main research interests lie at the intersection between Entrepreneurship, Information Systems, Management Education and Action Research. He is the lead author of a book on Digital Entrepreneurship published by Edward Elgar in 2022. Kisito has also been published in the Journal of Business Venturing Insights, European Management Review, and others. He is also a reviewer for a number of academic journals and was recently appointed guest editor of a special issue on Digital Entrepreneurship in Technovation. Kisito also holds a postgraduate certificate in University Learning and Teaching. His expertise reaches far beyond the confines of academia. As a serial digital entrepreneur turned scholar, he has successfully bootstrapped and established debt-free businesses in the EdTech industry. These ventures have gained significant traction, attracting over 80 million users worldwide, with an annual reach of approximately 7 million users. This unique blend of practical experience and scholarly pursuit positions him as a scholar-practitioner, effortlessly bridging the gap between theory and real-world application. With a global perspective shaped by living on three continents, including 12 years in China, Kisito possesses a deep understanding of diverse cultures. His fluency in multiple languages, including Mandarin Chinese, impresses students when he teaches modules like International Entrepreneurship in the MSc Entrepreneurship programme. Currently, he is actively involved in groundbreaking research exploring emerging themes such as platform-dependent digital entrepreneurship and Digital Darwinism (on platforms), generative AI affordances, entrepreneurship as design, crises as external enablers of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education in an era of AI.

  Digital Entrepreneurship   Entrepreneurship   Entrepreneurship, innovation

My current research trajectory and record position me very strongly as a candidate for accelerated advancement. My research interests lie at the nexus between Digital Entrepreneurship, Action Research and Entrepreneurship Education with published and ongoing publications in these areas. First, I exceeded the tenure requirements for publications within 2 years with 3 journal publications including an ABS 3 in Technovation, a monograph on Digital Entrepreneurship by Elgar, a Sage Case study and forthcoming accepted book chapter on Gen AI. Second, I am currently the lead guest editor on a special issue (SI) in Technovation (ABS3) on the subject " Digital Entrepreneurship in Turbulent Times. I just completed a Paper Development Workshop on the SI in Nantes, France, at the just-ended RENT Conference, November 2024. Third, I have 9 papers in my pipeline of which 6 are fully developed with 3 under review. 7 papers are first-author manuscripts. At this rate, I project more than doubling the current output by tenure review in 2026. The papers broadly cover the following themes: 1. Power & Entrepreneurship in Software Platform Ecosystems 2. Agility in Digital Entrepreneurship 3. Generative AI in Management Education 4. Crises as External Enablers of Digital Entrepreneurship 5. Institutional Digital Entrepreneurship & Role of Platforms 6. Digital Transformation in Agricultural Family Businesses: An Action Design Research Study 7. Putting the Scholar Back in Scholarship & Entrepreneur Back in Entrepreneurship (provocative piece) 8. Generative AI and Qualitative Data Analysis: Opportunities & Risks 9. Action Design Research as Methodology for Digital Transformation Studies Fourth, I took on my first PhD student in September 2024. She is first author on 2 out of the 9 papers in the above pipeline. My next steps are to explore grant applications to investigate the role of Gen AI in entrepreneurship and education.