'Entrepreneuring' as a conceptual attractor? A review of process theories in 20 years of entrepreneurship studies
Journal
Entrepreneurship & Regional Development
ISSN
0898-5626
ISSN-Digital
1464-5114
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2007-11-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Entrepreneuring has never achieved a breakthrough as the key concept that could elucidate the inherently process-oriented character of entrepreneurship, but it may be able to serve as the conceptual attractor to accommodate the increasing interest in process theories within a creative process view. This paper considers whether this is possible. In addition to equilibrium-based understandings of the entrepreneurial process, this paper tentatively reconstructs the creative process view by distinguishing between a range of relevant perspectives: from those on complexity and chaos theory, to the interpretive and phenomenological, social constructionist, pragmatic and practice-based, to the relational materialist. Taking entrepreneuring as an open-ended concept to use in theoretical experimentation, the review documents the potential for the concept to develop new meanings and to attach itself to a series of concepts such as recursivity, enactment, disclosure, narration, discourse, dramatization, dialogicality, effectuation, social practice, translation and assemblage. It is argued that the very act of theorizing about the concept of ‘entrepreneuring' indicates a move from methodological individualism to a relational turn in entrepreneurship studies, one that inscribes entrepreneurship into a social ontology of becoming.
Language
English
Keywords
entrepreneuring
creative process view
process theory
becoming
social theory
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Routledge
Publisher place
London
Volume
19
Number
6
Start page
453
End page
477
Pages
25
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
42320