Dr. Srini Venugopal joined the University of Vermont’s faculty in the fall of 2016. At age 32, he is an assistant professor of the Grossman School of Business and focuses on entrepreneurship in the context of poverty. Dr. Venugopal first became involved with refugee research when he visited a UNHCR refugee camp in Uganda, where he interviewed residents with the goal of eventually building economic opportunities for the individuals within the camp. While his projects primarily focus on entrepreneurship and poverty, there is a segment focused specifically on the entrepreneurship of refugees.

Currently, Dr. Venugopal is studying how entrepreneurship empowers women in poverty. This research is based on an ethnographic study of 25 women living in an Indian slum. Venugopal is also researching entrepreneurial activity in the context of poverty to develop solutions in the areas of education, food, nutrition, and health. Venugopal is one of the first to examine the refugee crisis and refugee-related issues from a business discipline, which brings some new and unique challenges. However, he also believes business brings a valuable approach to some of the problems many refugees face. Through a business perspective, there is an exploration of markets and the primary means through which basic consumption needs are met in poverty. This research can figure out how to create inclusive markets in poverty-stricken areas so that the poor can become both consumers and entrepreneurs.

Though Venugopal takes a business-oriented perspective in dealing with the refugee crisis, he also knows it is vital to approach the issue from a multitude of disciplines. As Venugopal views it, people do not live their lives in academic silos, and because of this, research must seek to understand all of life's circumstances, which can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach. For individuals wishing to become involved with refugee-related work, no matter the discipline, Venugopal urges them to listen to the individuals they are working with instead of approaching the issue with solutions already in mind.

To see an in-depth look at Professor Venugopal’s work check his website: http://www.srini-venugopal.com/

Godinho, Vinita, Srinivas Venugopal, Roslyn Russell and Supriya Singh; “When Exchange Logics Collide: Insights from Remote Indigenous Australia”, Journal of Macromarketing; (Conditionally Accepted)

Venugopal, Srinivas and Madhubalan Viswanathan; “Poverty and the Subsistence Marketplaces Approach: Implications for Marketing Theory”, Marketing Theory, (Accepted 2016)

Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Srinivas Venugopal, Ishva Minefee, Benito Marias, Jeremy Guest, Valerie Bauza,Lauren Valentino, Ramadhani Kupaza, Maria Jones; “A Bottom-Up Approach to Short-Term Immersion in Subsistence Marketplaces: Methodological and Substantive Lessons on Poverty and the Environment from Tanzania”, Organization & Environment, (2016), doi: 10.1177/1086026616633255. Link

Venugopal, Srinivas, Madhubalan Viswanathan and Kiju Jung; “Consumption Constraints and Entrepreneurial Intentions in Subsistence Marketplaces”, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 34(2), (2015):235-251 Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 1]

Venugopal, Srinivas and Madhubalan Viswanathan; “Developing Customer Solutions for Subsistence Marketplaces in Emerging Economies: A Bottom-Up 3C (Customer, Community, and Context) Approach”, Customer Needs and Solutions, 2(4), (2015):325-336 Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 5]

Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Raj Echambadi, Srinivas Venugopal and Srinivas Sridharan; “Subsistence Entrepreneurship, Value Creation, and Community Exchange Systems: A Social Capital Explanation”, Journal of Macromarketing, 34(2), (2014): 213-226 Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 21]

Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Kiju Jung, Srinivas Venugopal, Ishva Minefee and In Woo Jung; “Subsistence and Sustainability: From Micro-Level Behavioral Insights to Macro Level Implications on Consumption, Conservation, and the Environment”, Journal of Macromarketing, 34(1), (2014): 8-27 (Lead Article) Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 20]

Viswanathan, Madhubalan, Srinivas Sridharan, Robin Ritchie, Srinivas Venugopal, and Kiju Jung (2012), “Marketing Interactions in Subsistence Marketplaces: A Bottom-Up Approach to Designing Public Policy”, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 31 (2), (2012): 159-177 (Lead Article) Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 52]

Bello-Bravo, Julia, Ricardo Diaz, Srinivas Venugopal, Madhubalan Viswanathan, and Barry Pittendrigh; “Expanding the Impact of Practical Scientific Concepts for Low-Literate Learners through an Inclusive and Participatory Virtual Knowledge Ecosystem”, Journal of the World Universities Forum, 3(4), (2010): 147-164 Link [Google Scholar Citations (11/21/2016) - 6]