From a monopoly to an entrepreneurial field: The constitution of possibilities in South African energy

Abstract

In this paper, we draw on a performativity perspective to conceptualize entrepreneurial opportunities as possibilities constituted through discursive-material practices within a field. Based on an analysis of a longitudinal qualitative case study in the field of South African energy from 2007 to 2018 we develop a process model of how possibilities become constituted over time as entrepreneurial actors enact different sets of discursive-material practices. Our process model contributes to entrepreneurship research by examining the transition process from a heavily regulated and tightly controlled field, to an unsettled and entrepreneurial field. The transition is reflected in the frames that organize field actors' discursive-material practices, starting with a single, closed frame that limits existing possibilities, moving to an emergent frame that introduces complementary possibilities, and then to an open frame that generates both complementary and competing possibilities. We discuss how our process model contributes to research adopting a performativity perspective and conclude with implications for further research.