Contact
- +44 (0)20 7040 8217
- +44 (0)20 7040 8217
- ruben.van-werven@city.ac.uk
Visit Ruben van Werven
Room 4041, Bunhill Row
Postal address
106 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8TZ
United Kingdom
About
Overview
Ruben van Werven is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Cass Business School. Prior to joining Cass, Ruben was an assistant professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he also wrote his PhD thesis. He is mainly interested in early-stage entrepreneurship, with a focus on pitching and mentoring. Specifically, he examines the rhetoric entrepreneurs use when trying to convince investors to fund their new venture. He also applies a linguistic perspective to studying how entrepreneurs respond to feedback provided by third-party advisors.
Languages
Dutch; Flemish.
Expertise
Primary topics
- Entrepreneurship
Additional topics
- Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management
- Venture Capital
Research
Research topics
Convincing investors to fund a new venture
Studying the communicative practices of entrepreneurs during the process of resource acquisition
Entrepreneurs and third-party feedback
Examining how entrepreneurs respond to the feedback they receive from third parties, such as mentors in business incubators
Publications
Journal articles (3)
- van Werven, R., Bouwmeester, O. and Cornelissen, J.P. (2019). Pitching a business idea to investors: How new venture founders use micro-level rhetoric to achieve narrative plausibility and resonance. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 37(3), pp. 193–214. doi:10.1177/0266242618818249.
- van Werven, R., Bouwmeester, O. and Cornelissen, J.P. (2015). The power of arguments: How entrepreneurs convince stakeholders of the legitimate distinctiveness of their ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(4), pp. 616–631. doi:10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.08.001.
- Bouwmeester, O. and van Werven, R. (2011). Consultants as legitimizers: Exploring their rhetoric. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 24(4), pp. 427–441. doi:10.1108/09534811111144601.
Professional activities
Events/conferences (5)
- EGOS Colloquium. (Conference) Naples, Italy (2016).
Paper: Achieving narrative plausibility and resonance: A study of the micro-level arguments underlying entrepreneurial narratives
Author: van Werven R
Co-authors: Bouwmeester, O., and Cornelissen, J.P. - Academy of Management Conference. (Conference) Anaheim, US (2016).
Paper: New venture founder's responses to third-party feedback
Author: van Werven R
Co-authors: Cornelissen, J.P., and Bouwmeester, O. - EGOS Colloquium. (Conference) (2014).
Paper: Enacting and selling an unpredictable future: A study of how new venture founders combine multiple roles for action
Author: Van Werven R
Co-authors: Bouwmeest, O., and Cornelissen, J.P. - Academy of Management Conference. (Conference) (2013).
Paper: Stressing legitimacy or distinctiveness? The argumentation strategies of new firm founders
Author: Van Werven R
Co-authors: Bouwmeest, O., and Cornelissen, J.P. - EGOS Colloquium. (Conference) (2012).
Paper: Resource acquisition by nascent entrepreneurs: Communicating a legitimate identity
Author: Van Werven R
Co-authors: Bouwmeest, O., and Cornelissen, J.P.