Q&A: Christopher Hajek, UTSA Department of Communication

(April 9, 2018) -- Christopher Hajek, a professor in the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts, is a communication expert who is currently researching the social identity of entrepreneurs.

Hajek recently shared his experience studying young entrepreneurs and working with millennials in the classroom as a guest on Texas Public Radio’s “The Source.”

His teaching and research focus on intergroup, intercultural and organizational communication in social and professional contexts. We asked Hajek about his current work and the impact he hopes his research will have.

Talk about your current research. Why did you decide to focus on this topic?

I am exploring the roles of communication in the formation and management of individuals' entrepreneurial social Identity, with special attention to gender and age differences that are sorely underreported in the literature.

I am researching this topic given the growing trend in the pursuit of non-traditional career paths and entrepreneurship in various forms. This rising prevalence of “boundaryless” careers brings to the fore questions about how individuals lend meaning to their career trajectories.

I believe identity is central to this meaning making, and is related to motivation for entrepreneurship. The relationship of social identity and entrepreneurship is underscored by the idea that entrepreneurship holds mythical status in contemporary U.S. society, aided perhaps by images of the archetypically heroic entrepreneur that have captured the collective imagination.

As a communication researcher, I also believe that we form our identities not in isolation, but through interaction and contrast with others who are similar to us, and with those unlike us. I am intrigued by the ways in which this collective identity is formed communicatively among entrepreneurs, and between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Such explorations of social identity in various contexts have been at the heart of my research agenda since the beginning of my career.

What impact do you hope your research will have?

Generally, my findings will inform business professionals and educators about the social challenges that accompany entrepreneurship, the roles of social comparison and social support in entrepreneurial identity formation, the psychological benefits of entrepreneurship and what draws individuals to this profession.

In terms of the specific demographic groups I study, my results will address the impact of both generational and gender differences on entrepreneurial identity and practice. 

Regarding gender, I have found women's experiences to be distinct, and particularly awe-inspiring. The dissemination of their unique experiences is absolutely crucial, and I am honored that successful entrepreneurial women in San Antonio and nationwide have entrusted me with deeply personal accounts of the professional challenges and opportunities they have faced.

In sum, I hope awareness of these findings will educate people about how entrepreneurship is managed communicatively, and that this may facilitate both women's and men's development of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial ventures across many fields. 

Related to the latter point, these findings will hopefully unlock some of the mysteries surrounding the cultivation of the "entrepreneurial mindset." This mindset is being heavily promoted by managers and other professionals across a multitude of industries, given the rapidly changing employment landscape.

What is one important thing going on in your field that people are not talking about as much as they could be?

My general field is "intergroup communication," which is the study of how and why people from different social identity groups interact as they do (e.g., in terms of age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc.). For some scholars, this has been considered an extension of the area of "intercultural communication," that has traditionally regarded communication between members of different nation state cultures.

What is exciting to me is that over the past decade, the adoption of the "intergroup communication" perspective has expanded, and those previously wedded to the strictly "intercultural" approach have adopted its immensely useful theories. This expansion of scope has enriched our field with research across a much wider variety of "cultures," or social group formations, including ones such as entrepreneurial social identity. This is one reason why there is a lot of uncharted territory in my field.

What is one major goal you have for your life or your career?

I want to continue to chart new territory—that is continue to research individuals who identify in terms of various combinations of demographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) that have not yet been explored, or that are very underrepresented in the literature.

What drew you to UTSA?

For me, this is an easy question to answer. I was excited to join the UTSA faculty after my interview, during which I experienced the students' high levels of enthusiasm and classroom participation, and their diversity. The students have made my classroom experiences extraordinarily inspiring. I also have found at UTSA a climate of outstanding administrative support at the departmental, college and university levels. 

— Kara Soria

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Learn more about Christopher Hajek.

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