Denser grey matter in brain’s cognition region is setting serial entrepreneurs apart, finds study

New Delhi, June 24

Denser grey matter in the cognition region of a brain could be helping serial entrepreneurs in adapting multiple strategies, enabling them to repeatedly launch new businesses compared to others, according to a recent research.

The study provides a neural basis for cognitive flexibility, which helps adapt and shift from one strategy to another and is known to be critical to succeed in launching and running multiple businesses.

“This study is essential for entrepreneurship and neuroscience researchers, educators designing entrepreneurial training programmes and business leaders wishing to foster innovation within their organisations,” said Bernard Surlemont, a professor of entrepreneurship at The Management School of the University of Liège in Belgium.

The research team compared 727 participants’ responses to questionnaires measuring their cognitive flexibility with MRI scans to discern how the brain structure of serial entrepreneurs sets them apart from the lesser experienced ones or managers.

“This multidisciplinary approach enabled us to correlate self-reported cognitive flexibility with actual brain structure,” said Steven Laureys, the study’s author and neurologist at the University of Liège.

Published in Journal of Business Venturing Insights, the research found that more grey matter in the insula in the cerebral cortex (outer layer of the brain) was linked with a higher cognitive agility by enhancing divergent thinking — the skill of considering multiple solutions to the same problem, while not necessarily opting for the most straightforward one.

Divergent thinking is also known to enhance one’s creativity.

“This finding suggests that the brains of habitual entrepreneurs are specially adapted to foster the cognitive flexibility needed to identify and exploit new opportunities,” said Laureys.

Understanding the scientific basis underlying the trait specific to serial entrepreneurs can help in improving training and education, as such programs can designed in a manner so as to develop cognitive flexibility in aspirants, the researchers said.

Organisations too could benefit by fostering this ability among managers, which could lead to more innovative and adaptive business strategies, they said.

The authors also called for similar studies that could open up new perspectives in the field where entrepreneurship and neuroscience intersect.