RENT 2026
Join us in Antwerp to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the RENT Conference!
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AND FOR FAST-CHANGING WORLDS
Making the Future with Resilience, Impact, and Fairness
This year's theme highlights the dual responsibility of entrepreneurship: to navigate fast-changing worlds with resilience and foresight while contributing to the creation of fairer, more sustainable and hopeful futures.
We seek to critically examine how entrepreneurial action can (re)produce these dynamic contexts, the ethical and societal implications of such actions, and how entrepreneurs can embrace their potential as agents of positive impact.
Keynote speakers
Fifteen years ago, Olivier Torrès (University of Montpellier) founded the AMAROK Observatory in France, a non-profit organization now also present in the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and Morocco, to promote research in the field of entrepreneurs’ health and burnout prevention.
He will discuss key findings on the mental health of entrepreneurs, which led him to emphasize the importance of entrepreneurs' existential connection to their businesses.
Mirjam Knockaert is one of the chairs of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Research (Ghent University), is a field editor at Journal of Business Venturing and has focused her research on a wide range of topics including academic entrepreneurship, venture distress and the human side of entrepreneurship (focusing on teams, boards and joiners).
She will focus on particularly relevant, but also understudied actors in the entrepreneurial process, namely joiners (i.e. non-founders who contribute physical and/or mental labor to a new venture and are subordinate to the founders).
Conference coordinator
Emer. Prof. of Financial Management and Entrepreneurship, Antwerp Centre for Entrepreneurship Research, University of Antwerp
Conference co-chairs
Prof. of Entrepreneurship, Université Catholique de Louvain
Prof. of Entrepreneurial Finance, Antwerp Centre for Entrepreneurship Research, University of Antwerp
Prof. of Entrepreneurship, Antwerp Centre for Entrepreneurship Research, University of Antwerp
Prof. of Entrepreneurship, Université Catholique de Louvain
Abstract submission: 18 May 2026 (extended to 19 May)
Notifications: By 1 July 2026
Application to Doctoral Workshop: 1 July 2026
PDW proposals: 1 July 2026
Registration (for accepted submitters): 15 September 2026
Submission of the final paper (for accepted submitters): 1 October 2026
Registration for anyone (except accepted authors): 10 November 2026
Conference: 18-20 November 2026
Accepted authors, please submit your final paper by 1 October 2026. At RENT 2026, accepted authors may present either a Full Paper or a Work-in-Progress (WIP) Paper.
➡️ View the final submission guidelines
➡️ Submit your final paper
Who should attend the RENT conference?
The RENT Conference is a unique opportunity for researchers of different backgrounds but with a common interest in research in entrepreneurship and small business, to present cutting edge research and exchange views. The conference provides ample opportunities for both formal and informal discussions of the work presented, as well as for discussions on the subject.
Professors, researchers, PhD students, educators and practitioners in entrepreneurship from all over the world, who want to present their research and discuss their findings with other experts are welcome to attend the conference.
Also welcome are:
Suppliers of education and training services, representatives of governmental organisations, business and trade associations concerned with the promotion of entrepreneurship and also senior officials in entrepreneur development, economic policy-making and administration.
Organisers
Location
Hilton Hotel Old Town
32 Groenplaats
Antwerpen, Vlaanderen
Belgium, 2000
Dates
Registration period:
June 30, 2026 - 10:12 AM CEST - November 4, 2026 - 11:59 PM CET
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact info@ecsb.org