Entrepreneurship as Method: Open Questions for an Entrepreneurial Future

Abstract

In this essay, we outline the provocative argument that in the realm of human affairs there exists an "entrepreneurial method" analogous to the scientific method spelled out by Francis Bacon and others with regard to the natural realm. We then suggest a series of open questions that we believe will help future scholars spell out the contents of such a method and ways in which it can be put to work in the design and achievement of socioeconomic ends. At least one normative implication of accepting the argument would be to teach entrepreneurship not only to entrepreneurs but to everyone, as a necessary and useful skill and an important way of reasoning about the world.

Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen

“…It is possible that different mutagens have different propensities to create viable mutations. In addition, empirical results may come to suggest that particular entrepreneurial methods (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011) may produce outcomes that tend to be more viable than those produced by other methods. This could be interpreted as a refined typology of mutagens or, for those who are so inclined, as some mutagens being more intelligent than others.…”

“…The section uses these strands of critiques to establish the elixir metaphor and then finishes by presenting some complications associated with viewing entrepreneurship as elixir. The label entrepreneurship has moved far beyond business start-ups into contexts such as social, sustainable, public and even criminal entrepreneurship (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011;Webb, Tihanyi, Ireland, & Sirmon, 2009;Baumol, 1990). Despite this diversity of types, the public policy communities are convinced of the merits of entrepreneurship (Acs, Audretsch, & Strom, 2009;Perren & Jennings, 2005).…”

“…It is associated with assumptions such as that new firms are fragile and in need of protection and that entrepreneurs are emotionally tied to their ventures. Other examples include bricolage, with its focus on making do with whatever is at hand (Baker, Miner, & Eesley, 2003;Sarasvathy, 2001, Lévi-Strauss, 1966, opportunity exploitation, with its focus on identification and subsequent exploitation of opportunities (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000;Shane, 2000), and the notion that entrepreneurship is a mind-set or a method (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011). In our further search for root metaphors, we searched for metaphors with the potential to inspire research and possibly also counterbalance the one-sidedly positive images associated with the elixir metaphor.…”

“…While, for example, the organizational studies field has made its metaphorical building blocks explicit (Morgan, 1986), there is a gap between the implicit and explicit use of metaphor that remains to be filled in the entrepreneurship literature. Although there is some use of explicit metaphors for entrepreneurship among scholars, such as engine of growth (Audretsch, 2009), method (Sarasvathy & Venkataraman, 2011) and parenthood (Cardon, Zietsma, Saparito, Matherne, & Davis, 2005), uncovering root metaphors within academic research is difficult because metaphors are sometimes employed subconsciously and they are often made invisible in academic writing (Boxenbaum & Rouleau, 2011).…”

Untitled

“…Stakeholders are critical at this point because they are the providers of such resources. Thus, the founders of an R&D-based start-up need to make deliberate efforts at turning third parties into stakeholders [Sarasvathy, Venkatamaran, 2011]. Sarasvathy and Venkatamaran assert: ' Almost the entirety of social network research takes networks mostly as a given and outside the control of human action' [Sarasvathy, Venkatamaran, 2011, p. 126].…”