Dr. Tobias Pret

Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship

Department of Management

Office

SFHB State Farm Hall Of Business 208

Office Hours

FALL 2023: Mondays and Wednesdays 12:30-1:30pm via Zoom and/or by appointment.

Office Phone

(308) 438-3610office
phone

tpret@ilstu.eduemail

Website

http://bit.ly/PretTobiaswebsite

About
Education
Awards & Honors
Research

Biography

Born and raised in Germany, Dr. Tobias Pret joined Illinois State University in 2020, after living and working in Scotland, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, and the US for 15 years. He taught at Pace University in New York City from 2017-2020 and received his Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow in 2017.

Current Courses

385.003Organizational Strategy

299.001Independent Honor Study

223.001Introduction To Small Business

223.002Introduction To Small Business

224.001New Venture Creation

Teaching Interests & Areas

Dr. Pret's teaching interests include entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation management, business strategy, business plan development, and social entrepreneurship. He regularly teaches undergraduate courses in new venture creation, small business management, and organizational strategy. While at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Dr. Pret was nominated by his students for university-wide teaching excellence awards for three consecutive years.

Research Interests & Areas

Dr. Pret explores entrepreneurship in the creative industries and the role of context in entrepreneurial practices. His research has been published in a number of journals, such as the International Small Business Journal, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, International Journal of Management Reviews, and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research.

Dr. Pret is a member of the editorial review board of Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. He also serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for the Journal of Business Venturing, International Small Business Journal, and Small Business Economics, among others. Furthermore, he has repeatedly acted as a reviewer for academic conferences, such as the Academy of Management (AoM) Annual Meeting and the Western Academy of Management (WAM) Annual Meeting.

PhD Entrepreneurship

University of Strathclyde

Glasgow, UK

Best Conference Paper Finalist

Western Academy of Management (WAM)

2023

Best Paper (Entrepreneurship Division)

Academy of Management (AoM)

2023

Outstanding Case Teaching Award

Experiential Classroom XXIII

2023

G. Dale Meyer Best Paper Award

Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC)

2020

Past President’s Best Paper Award

Western Academy of Management (WAM)

2018

Best Qualitative Paper Award

Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange (ACERE)

2016

Best Paper Award in Creative Industries Entrepreneurship

Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE)

2015

Teaching Excellence Award

University of Strathclyde

2015

Teaching Excellence Award

University of Strathclyde

2014

Best Paper Award in Creative Industries Entrepreneurship

Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE)

2013

Book, Chapter

Drakopoulou Dodd S, Pret T and Shaw E (2016) Advancing Understanding of Entrepreneurial Embeddedness: Forms of Capital, Social Contexts and Time. In: Welter F and Gartner WB (eds) A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Context. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 120-133.

Conference Proceeding

.hanging-indent { text-indent: -1em; /* Negative indent for the first line */ padding-left: 1em; /* Compensate for the negative indent */ } Cogan A and Pret T (2023) The development of psychological capital as a metacognitive skill: An entrepreneurship perspective. Academy of Management Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.10bp

Cogan A and Pret T (2020) True Colors: Pursuing Social Entrepreneurship As Verifying Identity Work. Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research.

Journal Article

Swab G, Cogan A, Pret T and Marshall D (2024) Examining the creative self-efficacy, goal interdependence, and satisfaction of new venture teams in the board game industry. Entrepreneurship Research Journal 14 (1): 1-26.

Cogan A, Pret T and Cardon M (2022) Everyday social support processes: Household members' instrumental and emotional support of entrepreneurs. International Small Business Journal. 40 (5): 537-563.

Pret T and Cogan A (2019) Artisan entrepreneurship: a systematic literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 25 (4): 592-614.

Pret T and Carter S (2017) The importance of 'fitting in': Collaboration and social value creation in response to community norms and expectations. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 29 (7-8): 639-667.

Shaw E, Wilson J and Pret T (2017) The process of embedding a small firm in its industrial context. International Small Business Journal 35 (3): 219–243.

Presentations

Entrepreneurial imagination: Exploring the perspectives of artisan entrepreneurs. United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Conference. (2025)

No money? No problem! Leveraging and converting economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital. United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Conference. (2025)

Managing multiple identities through social entrepreneurship. Academy of Management (AoM) Annual Meeting. (2024)

Social entrepreneurship as identity verification work. Research in Entrepreneurship (RENT) Conference. (2024)

Turning water into wine: The capital conversion practices of social entrepreneurs. Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). (2024)

Cognitive development as a social-emotional process: How households promote the psychological capital of entrepreneurs. Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). (2023)

Entrepreneurial cognitive development: A household perspective. Western Academy of Management (WAM) Annual Meeting. (2023)

Entrepreneurial imagination: A processual perspective. Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC). (2023)

The development of psychological capital as a metacognitive skill: An entrepreneurship perspective. Academy of Management (AoM) Annual Meeting. (2023)

Developing Psychological Capital: How Emotional Support from the Household Facilitates the Cognitive Capabilities of Entrepreneurs. Western Academy of Management (WAM) Annual Meeting. (2022)

Grants & Contracts

University Research Grant. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2022)

Summer Teaching and Learning Grant. Department of Management & Quantitative Methods. Illinois State University. (2021)

University Research Grant. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2021)

Scholarly Research Grant. Pace University. Other. (2019)

Research Grant. Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Local. (2018)