Immanent sensemaking by entrepreneurs and the interpretation of consumer context

Abstract

Contemporary research has highlighted entrepreneurial sensemaking as a dynamic, socially embedded action undertaken to reduce uncertainty, but scholars have yet to fully address the role of routine-like immanent sensemaking employed when entrepreneurs try to understand their task environment. Defined as a routinised way of making sense of how to proceed in novel situations, we investigate how entrepreneurs use immanent sensemaking as they continuously seek to make sense of their consumer context. Our study reveals that entrepreneurs absorb individual, social and cultural signals from consumers to support their judgement and action. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs use immanent sensemaking not only for unusual events but also construct multilevel frames to understand their customers as individual, social and cultural beings in their everyday encounters.

A Faith-based Entrepreneurial Sensemaking Lens: Empowerment, Risk, and Agency

“…Instead of individuals responding to a one off retrospective ambiguous event, they sensemake through a process called absorbed coping. Stimuli are processed daily into mental frameworks that can inform action or non-action (Niemi et al 2022;Sandberg & Tsoukas, 2015).…”

Exploring the perception of small and medium food enterprises in Lincolnshire, UK on the use of front‐of‐pack nutrition labels by consumers

“…Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are companies with less than 250 employees; they are sometimes called entrepreneurs (Niemi et al ., 2022). The food industry in the United Kingdom is made up of about 4525 food and drink manufacturers and 23 015 retailers regarded as SMEs (including sales via stalls and markets of food, beverages and tobacco products); of these, 78% are in England, and 12% of these are in Lincolnshire (the greatest share of SMEs per region) (Office for National Statistics, 2021).…”