Uncertainty as Generated Through Social Practices in Biotechnology Entrepreneuring

Abstract

In this paper, we extend the research on entrepreneurial uncertainty by applying a practice lens, and analyzing how uncertainty is generated in entrepreneuring practices. Contrary to the established notion of uncertainty as a characteristic of environment or as an individual knowledge problem, we analyze uncertainty as a social phenomenon and a part of social entrepreneuring practices. We draw on the entrepreneurship as practice approach and analyze how practices of creating “proof of concept”—the feasibility of a new technology— generate uncertainty, and how entrepreneurial firms organize in response to this uncertainty in order to break the tension that surrounds the creation of a “proof of concept”. Based on a comprehensive study of a large biotechnology firm and the network of entrepreneurial firms that are their partners or potential collaborators, we demonstrate how uncertainty manifests through contrasting understanding of time and knowing.