The Underbelly of Entrepreneurship: A Multilevel Perspective of Destructive Entrepreneurship
Journal
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
ISSN
1042-2587
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2025-02-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Destructive entrepreneurship is an important research topic because it challenges the frequent implicit assumption that all entrepreneurship is “good.” Recent scholarly interest has been directed toward destructive entrepreneurship from various perspectives, including economics, psychology, and business ethics. Indeed, while initial studies were at the level of an economic system (macro level), more recent studies have explored destructive entrepreneurship at the individual entrepreneur (micro) and organizational (meso) levels. This article offers a comprehensive review of the destructive entrepreneurship literature. We begin with a definition of destructive entrepreneurship, which sets the bounds to the notion of the construct, distinguishing it from seemingly similar constructs such as unproductive, illegal, unethical, and failed entrepreneurship. Next, we organize the fragmented studies into a multi-level model highlighting what we know about destructive entrepreneurship. The study also reveals potential holes in that framework to which future research can contribute. Such a research agenda can help build a more comprehensive multi-level understanding of destructive entrepreneurship.
Refereed
yes
Volume
Forthcoming
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Destructive Entrepreneurship vF.pdf
Size
697.85 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
370d9e12eeabd0cc28650adabca93738