Two Types of Entrepreneurship Process Research Revisited: Solidifying the Evidence

Abstract

In their review of venture creation process research, Davidsson and Gruenhagen (2021) identified two distinct types of process research: process as a journey through qualitative changes in content and process as a directional and temporal journey toward a goal. We revisit their findings with more robust methodology and find that these two are indeed distinct, ideal types that capture two centers of gravity in past process-oriented research on venture creation. The two types of process research represent different traditions and vantage points but both contribute to our understanding of core entrepreneurship phenomena. Further, they are complementary rather than incompatible and can be further refined by learning from each other.