Entrepreneurship Research Research Articles

Contextualizing Lean Startup and Alternative Approaches for New Venture Creation: Introducing the Special Issue

The Lean Startup movement fundamentally changed entrepreneurial education and the way new ventures evolve. While Steve Blank and other founders of the movement embraced academic ideas, the movement grew among practitioners largely disconnected from academic entrepreneurship research. The purposes of this special issue are (1) to better connect Lean Startup practice to academic entrepreneurship research and (2) to advance theory regarding Lean Startup practices and their outcomes. After a brief and personal story of Lean Startup’s beginnings by its founder, Steve Blank, the first set of papers in this special issue juxtapose Lean Startup with alternative approaches to new venture creation developed by scholars outside the influence of the Lean Startup movement. The second set of papers describe how Lean Startup might be contextualized for different unique situations. The third set dives into different Lean Startup practices to help researchers and practitioners think more deeply about decisions and trade-offs made during implementation of Lean Startup.

Chance, probability, and uncertainty at the edge of human reasoning: What is Knightian uncertainty?

AbstractResearch SummaryFor more than a century, Frank Knight's Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit has significantly influenced entrepreneurship theory development by exploring the nature of uncertainty and the epistemic limits of entrepreneurial action. Knight's work highlights how economic actors cannot fully predict the consequences of their actions. Despite its broad influence, debates persist regarding the nature of Knightian uncertainty. This study addresses these debates through a comprehensive analysis of RUP and Knight's other published and unpublished writings to offer new insights into the nature and meaning of Knightian uncertainty, revealing Knight's holistic theory that integrates “real indeterminism,” “partial knowledge,” and “subjective beliefs.” This analysis provides much needed construct clarity to advance contemporary theories of entrepreneurial action and the role of uncertainty in business venturing processes.Managerial SummaryThis article revisits Frank Knight's foundational work, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, a cornerstone in entrepreneurship research for over a century. We highlight Knight's holistic approach to uncertainty, which integrates the concepts of real indeterminism (the inherent unpredictability of future events), partial knowledge (the incomplete understanding of the present and future), and subjective beliefs (individual perceptions and interpretations). The study offers new perspectives on how Knightian uncertainty influences entrepreneurial decision‐making and action, highlighting how this unique type of uncertainty plays a critical role in the business venturing process. These insights provide valuable contributions to contemporary theories of entrepreneurship, emphasizing the complexity and multifaceted nature of navigating uncertainty in business.

Design-Oriented Research in Entrepreneurship: A Methodological Review

Design-Oriented Research in Entrepreneurship: A Methodological Review

Triumphs and Tribulations of Ethnography in Entrepreneurship Research

Triumphs and Tribulations of Ethnography in Entrepreneurship Research

Empowering Change: Innovations and Insights in Social and Emancipatory Entrepreneurship Research

Empowering Change: Innovations and Insights in Social and Emancipatory Entrepreneurship Research

In Search of Readability Across Entrepreneurship Research Journals

In Search of Readability Across Entrepreneurship Research Journals

UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

This paper explores the multifaceted nature of digital entrepreneurship, tracing its evolution alongside the digital transformation of the broader economy. Entrepreneurship research has expanded to encompass a wide range of theoretical perspectives. It outlines the evolution of theoretical perspectives in entrepreneurship studies, shifting from a focus on individual characteristics to a broader emphasis on environmental, social, and institutional factors. The paper highlights the diversity of methodological approaches utilized in entrepreneurship research, ranging quantitative, qualitative, and computational techniques. The advent of the internet opened the door for e-commerce in the 1990s, followed by the rise of Web 2.0 social platforms in the 2000s, further empowering entrepreneurs through user-generated content and the power of networks. The current phase of digital entrepreneurship is characterized by data-driven platforms, sophisticated algorithms, and the blurring of physical and digital boundaries. Theoretical frameworks, including innovation theory, resource-based views, lean startup methodologies, and institutional perspectives, aid in understanding the opportunities and challenges within this dynamic field. Digital entrepreneurship is presented as a dynamic force reshaping the modern economy. The paper traces the evolution of digital entrepreneurship through three key phases: the emergence of e-commerce in the 1990s, the rise of Web 2.0 social platforms in the 2000s, and the current dominance of data-driven platforms. The ongoing digital revolution has profoundly altered the entrepreneurial landscape, demanding new skills, strategies, and models for success. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated digital adoption across businesses and society. The paper underscores the significance of digital entrepreneurship within the context of technological advancement, institutional shifts, and evolving market dynamics.

The Medici effect: multidisciplinary insights for entrepreneurship research

The Medici effect: multidisciplinary insights for entrepreneurship research

Immigrant women entrepreneurship research: mapping the field

Purpose Immigrant entrepreneurship, particularly immigrant women entrepreneurship, has recently gained socioeconomic attention. However, this issue does not seem to have found proper recognition yet within academic management studies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop a rigorous and comprehensive historical overview of the field, highlighting the key research issues that scholars are following to date and the most intriguing research directions worthy of further development. Design/methodology/approach To reach its goal, the paper develops a systematic literature review based on the rigorous criteria of 83 papers focused on immigrant women entrepreneurs. Findings Findings from this study highlight that some relevant arguments related to immigrant women entrepreneurs should deserve more in-depth investigation. As an example, a clear understanding of those factors positively affecting immigrant women firms’ performance is currently missing and it may help to gain knowledge that is able to effectively support such firms. Moreover, there is a strong need to go beyond the tolerance and proclamations toward the relevance of immigrant women entrepreneurs to really understand and manage the differences and ethnic resources that immigrants have and, therefore, overcome their marginalization. Originality/value This research enhances a clear understanding of issues related to immigrant women entrepreneurship. The advancement, in terms of knowledge, of such a pivotal topic for today’s economies helps both scholars and policymakers in better targeting education plans as well as in planning ad hoc support and targeted policies, management, entrepreneurship, gender, women entrepreneurs and immigrant entrepreneurship.

Optimizing green knowledge acquisition through entrepreneurial orientation and resource orchestration for sustainable business performance

PurposeConsidering the importance of green knowledge in firms' sustainability, this study investigates the mediating mechanism of green knowledge acquisition (GKA) and the moderating role of resource orchestration capability (ROC) in the relationship between green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO) and corporate sustainable performance (CSP).Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 388 executives from 195 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE, this study used partial least squares structural equation modelling to examine the proposed relationships among the constructs.FindingsThe research shows that GEO affects CSP's environmental, economic, and social aspects of CSP. This study also highlights the mediating role of GKA in the relationship between GEO and CSP. The moderated mediation analysis results indicate that when ROC is elevated, GEO's indirect influence on environmental and economic performance through GKA is more pronounced.Practical implicationsThis study provides useful insights and a novel approach for manufacturing industries and authoritative bodies to alleviate environmental deterioration and improve CSP by encouraging GKA through green entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis study enriches the existing literature on GEO, GKA, and CSP by focusing on environmental challenges and applying the resource-based view (RBV) framework. The study's findings broaden the theoretical basis for green entrepreneurship, provide guidance on enhancing CSP in manufacturing firms, and advance green entrepreneurship research.

The social and environmental impact of entrepreneurship: a review and future research agenda

AbstractThis study seeks to systematize and integrate the scientific knowledge about the social and environmental impact of entrepreneurship. It does so by performing a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review of 172 journal articles. The study provides an overview of the current knowledge on the topic by identifying four thematic clusters: “social entrepreneurship for societal impact”, “entrepreneurship for sustainable development”, “female entrepreneurship for institutional change”, and “entrepreneurship for inclusive regional development”. It further reveals that entrepreneurship literature predominantly focuses on social impact, with less emphasis on environmental impact, and it stresses the need for future research to avoid working in silos. In particular, it suggests that the boundaries between the different impact domains are elusive and that the interlinkages between social, environmental, and economic impact should be further explored. Finally, it proposes that further studies need to increase clarity in the conceptualization and operationalization of impact in entrepreneurship research, as well as to pay more attention to the negative impact of entrepreneurship.

Effectuation in digital multi-sided platform startups: An entrepreneurial journey through open innovation process

A paradox arises in platform-based open innovation, wherein digital Multi-Sided Platform (MSP) firms with little initial co-creation ability can successfully adopt an open innovation strategy that typically requires a high level of co-creation capacity. This study aims to fill this gap by theoretically exploring the connection between effectuation, which involves entrepreneurial action based on a given set of means and the selection of possible effects, and the open innovation process with co-creation capacity. The objective is to contribute to the significant growth of digital MSP startups. This study investigates the process of open innovation based on platforms in the context of resource constraints, limited knowledge, and uncertainty. The outcomes of a quantitative study including 70 digital MSP startups indicate that the most efficient route for these businesses to achieve Innovation Performance is by first developing Effectuation, followed by Integrative Capabilities and Co-Creation Capacity, and last, Innovation Performance. However, in this shortest path, the involvement of Crowds or Communities Management Practices plays a role in partially moderating the relationship between Effectuation and Integrative Capabilities. Platform-based innovation serves as the point of integration between effectuation theory in entrepreneurship research and open innovation strategy in strategic management research. The bridge connecting these two fields has significant implications for research on platform-based innovation in the field of strategic entrepreneurship.

Putting the relationship between startups and large companies on the entrepreneurship research agenda

Putting the relationship between startups and large companies on the entrepreneurship research agenda

Growth of Digital Entrepreneurship in 2014~2023: A Bibliometric Analysis

Objective: Conducting a bibliometric analysis in digital entrepreneurship, dataset is from 2014 ~ 2023. Theoretical Framework: Bibliometric analysis, an analysis method within scient metrics, employs mathematical and statistical techniques to examine and assess journal articles, thereby identifying patterns and structures in particular research areas. Method: The bibliometric analysis method was conducted in this research, and the main dataset was from SCOPUS. It examined the trends, keywords, and collaborations of published articles. Results and Discussion: VOSViewer was applied to analyse 352 published articles. The results presented a significant increase in research output in field of digital entrepreneurship. Research Implications: This section presents the findings of the bibliometric analysis. It includes a detailed examination of research trends, noting a significant increase in the number of publications on digital entrepreneurship from 2019 onwards. The analysis identifies key themes and trends within the literature, such as the impact of digital technologies on business and entrepreneurship, the emergence of digital startups, and the role of digitalization in transforming SMEs. The results also highlight the contributions of various institutions to the field, indicating a broad international engagement with digital entrepreneurship research. Originality/Value: The conclusion summarizes the key findings of the study, emphasizing the growing academic interest and engagement in digital entrepreneurship. It underscores the importance of digital technologies in driving innovation and economic growth, and the need for further research to explore new opportunities and address the challenges in this evolving field.

Knowledge is power: The impact of entrepreneurship education on the international entrepreneurship performance

Integrating and utilizing resources to seize business opportunities in complex and changing international markets is the key to enhancing the performance of entrepreneurial ventures. This study aimed to examine the impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) on international entrepreneurship performance. We used the resource-based view (RBV) to collect data from 315 international entrepreneurs through a questionnaire survey. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship education positively influences international entrepreneurial performance. Entrepreneurial bricolage (EB) and Entrepreneurial opportunity identification (EOI) are chain mediators of how entrepreneurship education affects international entrepreneurship performance. This study expands the application of resource theory to international entrepreneurship research, enriches the empirical research on entrepreneurship education, and provides new ideas for studying international entrepreneurship performance.

Gender effects and firm financial performance: A SUMAD meta-analysis of social responsibility and family-to-work conflict

The current study uses SUMAD meta-analytic methods (Oh, 2020) to examine gender differences in social responsibility and family-to-work conflict. Synthesizing evidence from across social science literature, the results of this study provide an evidence-based foundation to support more theorizing and practical discourse regarding gender effects in entrepreneurship. As explained by theories of socialization and social roles, gender differences in (a) socially responsible attitudes and behaviors and (b) the balance between family and work responsibilities, are likely two of the more pervasive gender effects that influence entrepreneurial careers. The goal of this study is to motivate more research and practical discussion on these and related gender effects to improve our understanding of entrepreneurship phenomena. Using firm performance as an example, the results of the SUMAD meta-analysis suggest that gender effects related to social responsibility and family-to-work conflict have significant consequences for entrepreneurship outcomes. Based on the evidence and theory rooted in socialization and social roles, the current study calls for more theorizing and primary-level studies on these and related gender effects in entrepreneurship research.Comment to Readers:Does gender matter? Of course it does (depending on the issue). A simple search of “does gender matter” reveals ample discussion on this topic across a variety of gender issues. In this article I highlight gender regarding differences between women and men in social responsibility and family-to-work conflict. As the evidence suggests, gender does indeed matter as women – on average – are more socially responsible and have more family-to-work conflict than their men counterparts. The results of this study show that greater social responsibility is tied to better business performance whereas greater family-to-work conflict is tied to worse business performance. So, what should we do? First, acknowledge the fact that women and men are different in the contexts of social issues and family matters to clear the way for constructive discourse about these gender differences. Second, embrace that women are higher than men in socially responsible attitudes and behaviors, and that more women in business could inherently result in more socially responsible business practices. Moreover, while this is a societal win in and of itself, the results suggest it could also carry over to improved financial and economic performance. Lastly, focus more on “why” there are differences between women and men regarding family-to-work conflict. Specifically, emphasize both societal-driven influences (e.g., stereotypes; biases) and individual-driven influences (e.g., individual differences; personal preferences). Understanding these influences, which are not mutually exclusive, is key for maximizing the personal and professional well-being of both women and men.

Digital technology use decisions by micro- and small-sized complementors in ecosystems: The influence of subjective norms

Ecosystems host supporting complementors who offer digital technologies to user-facing complementors. By focusing on the platform sponsor, the existing literature has scarcely considered why the predominantly micro- and small-sized user-facing complementors intend to use such technology and thus diffuse it in the ecosystem in a bottom-up manner. Using the theory of planned behavior, we identify the factors that influence the use of product review solicitation services by German-speaking Amazon Marketplace sellers via semi-structured interviews followed by two waves of questionnaire. We find that these complementors primarily intend to use this digital technology to (a) comply with expectations attributed to the platform sponsor that such technology should be used, and (b) imitate other complementors’ perceived use behavior of the technology. The impact of the former subjective norm is amplified by the complementors’ financial dependency on the ecosystem. In sum, we contribute to the ecosystem and digital entrepreneurship research streams by examining the importance of different ecosystem actors in driving digital technology use by user-facing complementors and identifying the role of dependency in this context.

Influenced by the lives of others: narratives of role modelling throughout the start-up process

ABSTRACT This study uses a narrative approach to explore how role modelling unfolds throughout the start-up process. Drawing on the experiences of 25 nascent and novice entrepreneurs, we illustrate how attributes of role models, role modelling outcomes, and related mechanisms change for entrepreneurs over time. Our emerging theoretical model highlights three distinctive role modelling narratives: ‘Taking the Leap’, ‘Learning the Trade’, and ‘Soothing the Nerves’. Our work expands existing role modelling research in entrepreneurship by looking beyond the impact of role models on entrepreneurs prior to starting-up and highlighting that role modelling continues to unfold and influence entrepreneurs throughout the start-up process.

Breaking bad? Playing the fool and constructing the ‘bad researcher’ in entrepreneurship

How to deal with grand challenges and the crisis of knowledge production and their implications for entrepreneurial research and practice is a topic of growing interest. In this paper we argue that we need to rethink who is involved in entrepreneurship research and how that research is conducted and communicated. This begins by moving beyond the traditional ostensible objective separation of the ‘researcher’ from the ‘research subject’ to adopt a posthuman and post-qualitative inquiry perspective that questions the dominant position of the human subject and challenges the humanistic belief in the essential, conscious and intentional human as the primary source of agency. As such, it adopts a process ontology, stresses hybridity and difference and encourages experimentation. This requires us to become ‘bad researchers’, undertaking subversive research that goes beyond the oppositions of quantitative/qualitative and foundationalist/non-foundationalist. In this we take the ‘fool’ (jester, trickster) as our guide. Historically associated with inversion, usurping authority and putting down the mighty the fool is a liminal character who has the duty to ask all those questions that no one else dares to ask. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how this may inform a re-newed entrepreneurship for the crisis-laden twenty first century.

Revealing the research potential for the field of cross-cultural entrepreneurship: lessons from an integrative literature review

ABSTRACT Culture plays an important role for the study of entrepreneurship. However, whereas cross-cultural research in management (CCM) has strongly evolved in the last three decades and identified different paradigms, paradigmatically diversified research is still lacking in cross-cultural entrepreneurship. To fill this gap, this study suggests an integrative literature review with two objectives: 1) provide an overview of cross-cultural entrepreneurship research with an attention to national culture, different paradigms, and research themes, and 2) point towards possibilities to enrich such research. Through an integrative literature review, 147 studies of cross-cultural entrepreneurship research were identified and regrouped according to two main paradigms in CCM research: positivism and interpretivism. The analysis of all papers led to the emergence of five research themes according to which the papers were regrouped. Based on this matrix of paradigms and research themes, all texts were categorized into 10 areas. Findings show the dominance of cross-cultural entrepreneurship studies based on the positivist paradigm of culture, whereas research rooted in the interpretive paradigm is rather unexplored and offers great potential for future research. Based on these findings, we argue that particularly rich qualitative research designs offer interesting opportunities for developing the field of cross-cultural entrepreneurship.