Dr. Gorkem Aksaray

Assistant Professor, School Office Trinity Business School

Biography

Dr. Gorkem Aksaray is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin. Before joining Trinity College, he served on the faculty at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. He holds a PhD in Organization and Management from Emory University, and a MSc in Managerial Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. His primary research interest is examining mechanisms underlying the dynamics of entrepreneurial entry and exit. He specifically studies structural, spatial, and financial factors affecting mobility into and out of self-employment and performance by utilizing longitudinal panels of individuals and matched aggregate economic data. His research has appeared in major scientific journals and conference proceedings.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Aksaray, Gorkem, Thompson, Peter, Density Dependence of Entrepreneurial Dynamics: Competition, Opportunity Cost, or Minimum Efficient Scale?, Management Science, 64, (5), 2018, p2263-2274Journal Article, 2018, DOI
Aksaray, Gorkem, Marcus, Justin, Bridge employment in middle vs. late life for men and women: gendered social roles or life structures?, Work, Aging and Retirement, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI
Çerçil, "rfan, Aksaray, Gorkem, Monetary policy and inequality: Distributional effects of asset purchase programs, Journal of International Money and Finance, 157, 2025, p103384Journal Article, 2025, DOI
Koparan, Ipek, Aksaray, Gorkem, How do firms use their dynamic capabilities in strategic factor markets? The role of resource rarity, European Management Review, 22, (3), 2025, p834-850Journal Article, 2025, DOI
Koparan, Ipek, Aksaray, Gorkem, Manolova, Tatiana, Edelman, Linda, Executive Function and Entrepreneurial Opportunity Exploitation Under Risk and Uncertainty, Strategic Change, 2025Journal Article, 2025, DOI

My research agenda is grounded in rigorous theoretical and methodological foundations established during my doctoral studies at Emory University and master's studies at the London School of Economics. It explores entrepreneurship and firm strategy through three interrelated lenses. 1. Work and careers: My research has employment at its root. Drawing on economic, sociological, and behavioral theories, I examine entry and exit dynamics of entrepreneurship and self-employment. Adopting a careers perspective, I analyse longitudinal data to understand life courses of individuals. In collaboration with Peter Thompson (Georgia Tech), I published a paper on entrepreneurial performance and survival in Management Science (ABS4*, FT50). I am co-authoring a manuscript with Anand Swaminathan (Emory University) and Badrinath Kottimukalur (George Washington University) on wealth loss and entrepreneurial entry, currently under review at Organization Science (ABS4*, FT50). Another working paper on industry and occupational pathways to entrepreneurial entry is being prepared for submission to an ABS4* journal. I also study post-retirement employment; my co-authored paper with Justin Marcus (Koç University) on the role of family and work contexts in retirees' return to work was published in Work, Aging and Retirement (ABS2), with ongoing progress extending this to post-retirement self-employment. 2. Behavioral decision-making: My second research focus explores the micro-level determinants of managerial and entrepreneurial decision-making under uncertainty. This stream includes several interrelated papers with Ipek Koparan (Bentley University) on dynamic capabilities and strategic resource pricing. A conceptual piece on dynamic capabilities has been published in European Management Review (ABS3), while an experimental study on entrepreneurial action under risk and uncertainty has been published in Strategic Change (ABS2). An additional manuscript investigating decision making in strategic factor markets is under review at Strategic Change (ABS2). A work-in-progress uses EPIC-Norfolk study to examine the relationships between job features, lifestyle choices, and life satisfaction among self-employed and wage workers. 3. External enablers: My third research focus investigates how macro conditions shape entrepreneurial behavior. A study with Irfan Cercil (Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye), examining the effects of unconventional monetary policy on economic inequality, has been published in the Journal of International Money and Finance (ABS3). An extension of this work with André van Stel (TBS) and Peter van der Zwan (Leiden University) examines the relationship between monetary policy and entrepreneurial entry. In another working paper co-authored with Badri Kottimukalur (George Washington University), I explore how media-driven recession narratives affect self-employment rates.

Psychology and cognitive sciences, Economics and Business Administration,

Recognition

Memberships
Representations

European Academy of Management Present
Academy of Management Present
Irish Academy of Management Present

Journal Reviewer - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ABS2 & Scimago Q1)