Jason Entsminger

Assistant Extension Professor and State Specialist for Small BusinessJason Entsminger photo
DP Corbett Business Building, Room 312, Orono, Maine 04469
Telephone: 207.581.1999
Email: jason.entsminger@maine.edu

Dr. Entsminger serves within Extension as the State Specialist for Small Business and is the Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Maine Business School. His current projects focus on developing training programs that help diverse entrepreneurs within the food industry create and utilize networks to support venture startup and expansion. He helps support businesses, economic development agencies, and communities by connecting them with information they can use to build vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems.

His research focuses on understanding how economic value is identified and captured through collective processes. It is rooted in the fields of organizational economics, entrepreneurship and innovation, and strategic management. Much of his work is applied through the lens of food systems, including food market structures and operations, entrepreneurship and innovation in food distribution collectives, and the use of cooperation and collective strategy by small- and medium-sized firms. His extended background is multi-disciplinary and multi-national, including projects related to agribusiness, food systems policy, agro-environmental management, community development, impact analysis, food security planning, and international trade.

Dr. Entsminger also teaches courses on small business management and entrepreneurship and new venture creation.

Education:

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural and Applied Economics specializing in Managerial, Behavioral, and Organizational Economics. University of Missouri. Columbia, MO, USA. 2020.
  • International Master of Science in Rural Development with Greatest Distinction (summa cum laude). L’Università degli studi di Pisa (Italy); École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Rennes- Agrocampus Ouest (France); Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany). 2013.
  • Master of Science in Food and Resource Economics. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL, USA. 2012.
  • Bachelor of Science in Agricultural & Applied Economics with Distinction (with a minor in Applied Statistics). University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, NV, USA. 2010.
  • Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs with Distinction and specializing in Law, Diplomacy and Comparative Political Organization. University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, NV, USA. 2010.
  • Bachelor of Arts in French Language and Literature with Distinction (with a minor in Italian Studies). University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, NV, USA. 2010.

Professional Organization:

  • National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP)
  • Academy of Management (AOM)
  • Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA)