The Needle of Charisma and the Threads of Trust: Advancing Effectuation’s Crazy Quilt Principle

Abstract

Means are the centerpiece of effectuation theory. The accrual of disparate resources opens up new and more valuable opportunities for the entrepreneurial team. Theorizing on resource acquisition with the effectuation-oriented entrepreneurial journey remains limited. Here we aim to theoretically unravel the social exchange processes of petitioning or offering resource (pre-)commitments in effectuation. To do so, we introduce and integrate social exchange theory (SET) from social psychology into effectuation theory’s process mechanics. We then leverage SET to theorize on the different types of trust, how they distinctly influence the entrepreneurship process (particularly in obtaining resource commitments), and how they are built over time. We also introduce charisma as a key factor in the trust-building process.