Diane Sullivan

Diane M. Sullivan is a Professor and an NCR Faculty Fellow in Management at the University of Dayton. She completed her Ph.D. in 2006 at the University of Central Florida. Her primary research interests include early-stage entrepreneurial phenomena (e.g., entrepreneurial networks, knowledge, and early venture growth), gender and entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial loneliness. She has published research in journals such as the Academy of Management Perspectives, Business Horizons, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management Studies, Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Small Business Management, and Journal of Managerial Psychology, among others.

• MBA 682 - New Venture Management
• MGT 320 - New Venture Creation
• MGT 490 - Managing the Enterprise
• MGT 422 - Business Plans for Emerging Firms

• Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Phenomena
• Gender & Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial Loneliness
• Organizational Creativity

• University of Central Florida, PhD (Management/Entrepreneurship), 2006
• University of Central Florida, MBA (Management), 2001
• University of Central Florida, BS (Marketing/General Business Administration), 1997

• Hanek, K.J., Bendell, B., Sullivan, D.M. & Zinoviev, D. (2025). Being all things to all people: How gender shapes entrepreneurs’ multifaceted digital identities on X. International Small Business Journal, 43(6), 631-656.
• Sullivan, D.M. & Bendell, B.L. (2023). Help! Lonely at work: Managerial interventions to combat employee loneliness. Business Horizons, 66(5), 655-666. *Won 2024 Academy of Management Conference, Organizational Behavior (OB) Division’s Outstanding Practitioner-Oriented Publication in OB Award.
• Sullivan, D.M., Marvel, M. & Wolfe, M. (2021). With a little help from my friends? How learning activities and network ties impact performance for high tech startups in incubators. Technovation, 101(2), 1-15.
• Bendell, B., Sullivan, D.M. & Ornstein, S. (2020). How fear of “looming megacatastrophes” alters entrepreneurial activity rates through psychological distance. Academy of Management Perspectives, 34(4), 585-602.
• Bendell, B., Sullivan, D.M. & Hanek, K. (2020). Gender, technology and decision-making: insights from an experimental conjoint analysis. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(4), 647-670.
• Sullivan, D.M. & Bendell, B. (2020). Exploring the gendered nature of digital social networks. In Brännback, M., Carsrud, A. & Schjoedt, L. (Eds.) Understanding Social Media and Entrepreneurship. (pp. 69-91). EDEN series, Springer.
• Marvel, M., Sullivan, D.M. & Wolfe, M. (2019). Accelerating sales in startups: A domain planning, network reliance, and resource complementary perspective. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(3), 1086-1101.
• Bendell, B., Sullivan, D.M. & Marvel, M. (2019). A gender-aware study of self-leadership strategies among high-growth entrepreneurs Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), 110-130.

• 2025, Academy of Management Conference, Entrepreneurship Division’s Exceptional Service Award
• 2025,  SBA Grant-in-Aid.  Recipient of $4,900.00 SBA grant-in-aid
• 2024,  Academy of Management Conference, Organizational Behavior Division’s Outstanding Practitioner-Oriented Publication in OB for: Sullivan, D.M. & Bendell, B.L. (2023).  Help! Lonely at work:  Managerial interventions to combat employee loneliness.  Business Horizons, 66(5), 655-666.
• 2022, University of Dayton Student Success Network Rockstar.  University acknowledgment for providing excellent feedback to students via the Student Success Network
• 2022, Entrepreneurship Division Best Reviewer Award.  Academy of Management Conference, Seattle, Washington
• 2022, Best Conference Paper Award.  2022 Diana International Research Conference, Dublin, Ireland
• 2020-2022, Nominee for University of Dayton Award for Faculty Service
• 2019, SBA Summer Research Grant.  Recipient of 2019 SBA summer research grant
• 2018, Entrepreneurship Division Best Reviewer Award.  Academy of Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois
• 2018, Best Empirical Paper Award.  2018 Diana International Research Conference, Bangkok, Thailand
• 2017, Entrepreneurship Division Best Reviewer Award.  Academy of Management Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
• 2013, University of Dayton STARS Honoree (University research honor)
• 2009, SBA Summer Research Grant.  Recipient of 2009 SBA summer research grant
• 2008, Entrepreneurship Division Second Best Reviewer Award.  Academy of Management Conference, Anaheim, California
• 2005-2006, $25,000.00 entrepreneurship dissertation research grant from the Florida High Tech Corridor and the UCF Office of Research and Commercialization
• 2005, Kauffman Scholarship. Entrepreneurship Division Kauffman scholarship for Academy of Management Conference expenses and Doctoral Consortium Attendance
• 2004, Entrepreneurship Division Best Reviewer Award.  Academy of Management Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
• 2004, Graduate Student Travel Fellowship Award, University of Central Florida
• 2003, Ph.D. Research Award, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida.
  (To signify highest research productivity across all College of Business doctoral students)
• 2002, Graduate Student Travel Fellowship Award, University of Central Florida
• 2002, Nominee for Best Doctoral Student Paper Award. Southern Management Association