Entrepreneurship in teleology: the variety of the forms

Emerald - Tập 15 Số 2 - Trang 209-231 - 2009
Ioannis N.Katsikis1, Lida P.Kyrgidou2
1Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece
2International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece and Department of Economics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Tóm tắt

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to define a range of entrepreneurial concepts and provide a critical review of their content in order to map the forms of the entrepreneurial actions within their teleological context.Design/methodology/approachBased on the authors' definition of teleology as the process of heading towards an end, entrepreneurship was categorized into a three‐item typology, namely subject, process and object. The latter served as a platform for the analysis, which reveals some key qualities about research in entrepreneurship.FindingsThe paper provides a categorization of entrepreneurship both at the distinction (subject, process, object) and the contextual level and the commonalities and differences among entrepreneurship's different teleological approaches are analyzed and the potential is offered for further avenues of research to emerge. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the teleological approaches represent distinct approaches to interpret diverse aspects of the entrepreneurial phenomenon and provide insights into the way in which the entrepreneurial process itself unfolds.Originality/valueThe paper provides an innovative categorization of entrepreneurship as subject, process and object while discussing a variety of various entrepreneurial forms through their teleological nature within each of the three categories. The paper is valuable to scholars seeking to further advance their understanding in the various fields of entrepreneurship, understand the function of the particular set of activities to be undertaken, the role of particular individuals/agents involved in the entrepreneurial process, the opportunity identification/exploitation process as well as the particular objective that each entrepreneurial form aims at fulfilling.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Acs, A. and Dana, L. (2001), “Contrasting two models of wealth creation”, Small Business Economics, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 63‐74.

Alvarez, S.A. and Barney, J.B. (2007), “Discovery and creation: alternative theories of entrepreneurial action”, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Vol. 1 Nos 1/2, pp. 11‐26.

Antoncic, B. and Hisrich, R.D. (2003), “Clarifying the intrapreneurship concept”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 7‐24.

Augier, M.S. and Sarasvathy, S.D. (2004), “Integrating cognition, evolution, and design: extending Simonian perspectives to strategic organization”, Strategic Organization, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 169‐204.

Barringer, B.R. and Bluedorn, A.C. (1999), “The relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 421‐44.

Beckert, J. (1999), “Agency, entrepreneurs, and institutional change: the role of strategic choice and institutionalized practices”, Organization Studies, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 777‐99.

Bergmann, G. (1957), Philosophy of Science, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI.

Boschee, J. (1998), Merging Mission and Money: A Board Member's Guide to Social Entrepreneurship, National Centre for Non‐profit Boards, Washington, DC.

Boxenbaum, E. and Battilana, J. (2005), “The innovative capacity of institutional entrepreneurs: mechanisms for generating alternative ideas”, paper presented at the 65th Annual Academy of Management Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, August 5‐10.

Brown, S.L. and Eisenhardt, K.M. (1998), Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Bureth, A., Pénin, J. and Wolff, S. (2006), “Entrepreneurship in biotechnology: the case of four start‐ups in the Upper‐Rhine Biovalley”, working papers of BETA 2006‐21, Bureau d' Economie Théorique et Appliquée, ULP, Strasbourg.

Bygrave, W.D. (1989), “The entrepreneurship paradigm (I): a philosophical look at its research methodologies”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 7‐26.

Cannon, C. (2000), “Charity for profit”, The National Journal, Vol. 32 No. 25, pp. 1898‐904.

Cantillon, R. (1755), Essay on the Nature of Commerce (republished Macmillan, London (1931)).

Catford, J. (1998), “Social entrepreneurs are vital for health promotion – but they need ssupportive environments too”, Health Promotion International, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 95‐7.

Cohen, B. and Winn, M. (2007), “Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 29‐49.

Covin, J.G. and Miles, M.P. (1999), “Corporate entrepreneurship and the pursuit of competitive advantage”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 47‐63.

Curtis, T. (2008), “Finding that grit makes a pearl: a critical re‐reading of research into social enterprise”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship Behavior & Research, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 276‐90.

Davidsson, P. (2005), “Methodological approaches to entrepreneurship: past research and suggestions for the future”, Small Enterprise Research, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 1‐21.

Dean, T. and McMullen, J. (2007), “Towards a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 50‐76.

Dees, J.G. (1998), “Enterprising nonprofits”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76 No. 1, pp. 55‐66.

Dees, J.G. (2005), Entrepreneurship in Philanthropy, Duke's Fuqua School of Business Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), Durham, NC.

Dess, G.G., Ireland, R.D., Zahra, S.A., Floyd, S.W., Janney, J.J. and Lane, P.J. (2003), “Emerging issues in corporate entrepreneurship”, Journal of Management, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 351‐78.

DiMaggio, P.J. (1988), “Interest and agency in institutional theory”, in Zucker, L.G. (Ed.), Institutional Patterns and Organizations: Culture and Environment, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 3‐21.

DiMaggio, P. and Powell, W. (1983), “The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 147‐60.

Dorado, S. (2005), “Institutional entrepreneurship, partaking, and convening”, Organization Studies, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 385‐414.

Eisenhardt, K.M. and Martin, J.A. (2000), “Dynamic capabilities: what are they?”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21 Nos 10‐11, pp. 1105‐21.

Feldman, M.P. (2005), “The entrepreneurial event revisited: firm formation in a regional context”, in Breschi, S. and Malerba, F. (Eds), Clusters, Networks, and Innovation, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 136‐68.

Georgellis, Y., Joyce, P. and Woods, A. (2000), “Entrepreneurial action, innovation and business performance: the small independent business”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 7‐17.

Gregoire, D.A., Noel, M.X., Dery, R. and Bechard, J.P. (2006), “Is there conceptual convergence in entrepreneurship research? A co‐citation analysis of the frontiers of entrepreneurship research, 1981‐2004”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 333‐73.

Guth, W.D. and Ginsberg, A. (1990), “Guest editors' introduction: Corporate entrepreneurship”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 5‐15.

Hertzberg, F. (1976), The Managerial Choice: To Be Efficient and to Be Human, Dow Jones Irwin, Homewood, IL.

Hills, G. and Shrader, R. (1998), “Successful entrepreneurs' insights into opportunity discovery”, in Reynolds, P., Bygrave, W., Carter, N. and Manigart, S. (Eds), Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Babson College, Wellesley, MA, pp. 30‐43.

Hitt, M.A., Ireland, D., Camp, S.M. and Sexton, D.L. (2001), “Strategic entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial strategies for wealth creation”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 22 Nos 6‐7, pp. 479‐91.

Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., Camp, S.M. and Sexton, D.L. (2002), “Strategic entrepreneurship: integrating entrepreneurial and strategic management perspectives”, in Hitt, M.A. (Ed.), Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating a New Mindset, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.

Hornsby, J.S., Kuratko, D.F. and Zahra, S.A. (2002.), “Middle managers' perception of the internal environment for corporate entrepreneurship: assessing a measurement scale”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 253‐73.

Ireland, R.D. and Webb, J.W. (2007), “Strategic entrepreneurship: creating competitive advantage through streams of innovation”, Business Horizons, Vol. 50 No. 1, pp. 49‐59.

Ireland, R.D., Hitt, M.A. and Sirmon, D.G. (2003), “A model of strategic entrepreneurship: the construct and its dimensions”, Journal of Management, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 963‐89.

Ireland, R.D., Kuratko, D.F. and Covin, J.G. (2002), “Antecedents, elements, and consequences of corporate entrepreneurship strategy”, in Hagao, D.H. (Ed.), Best Paper Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Briarcliff Manor, New York, NY.

Isaak, R. (1997), “Globalization and green entrepreneurship”, Greener Management International, Vol. 18, pp. 81‐90.

Jakee, K. and Spong, H. (2003), “Praxeology, entrepreneurship and the market process: a review of Kizner's contribution”, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 461‐86.

Johnson, M.R. (2005), Aristotle on Teleology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Jones, O. (2000), “Innovation management as a postmodern phenomenon: the outsourcing of pharmaceutical R&D”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 341‐56.

Jones, O. (2005), “Manufacturing regeneration through corporate entrepreneurship, middle managers and organizational innovation”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 491‐511.

Katsikis, I. and Kyrgidou, L. (2007), “The concept of sustainable entrepreneurship: a conceptual framework and empirical analysis”, in Solomon, G.T. (Ed.), Best Paper Proceedings of the 66th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Philadelphia, USA, 3‐8 August 2007.

Kazanjian, R.K., Drazin, R. and Glynn, M.A. (2001), “Implementing strategies for corporate entrepreneurship: a knowledge‐based perspective”, in Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., Camp, S.M. and Sexton, D.L. (Eds), Strategic Entrepreneurship: Creating a New Mindset, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 173‐200.

Kelman, S. (2005), Unleashing Change: A Study of Organizational Renewal in Government, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Keogh, P.D. and Polonsky, M.J. (1998), “Environmental commitment: a basis for environmental entrepreneurship?”, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 38‐49.

Kirzner, I. (1979), Perception, Opportunity, and Profit, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.

Knight, F.H. (1921), Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY.

Ko, S. (2004), “Bisociation and opportunity”, in Butler, J.E. (Ed.), Opportunity Identification and Entrepreneurial Behavior, Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp. 99‐115.

Kuratko, D.F. (2005), “The emergence of entrepreneurship education: development, trends, and challenges”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 577‐97.

Kuratko, D.F., Ireland, R.D. and Hornsby, J.S. (2001), “Improving firm performance through entrepreneurial actions: Acordia's corporate entrepreneurship strategy”, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 60‐71.

Lesser, A. (1935), “Functionalism in social anthropology”, American Anthropologist, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 386‐93.

McCline, R.L., Bhat, S. and Baj, P. (2000), “Opportunity recognition: an exploratory investigation of a component of the entrepreneurial process in the context of the health care industry”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 81‐94.

Maguire, S., Hardy, C. and Lawrence, T.B. (2004), “Institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields: HIV/AIDS treatment advocacy in Canada”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 47 No. 5, pp. 657‐80.

Marcuse, H. (1987), Hegel's Ontology and the Theory of Historicity, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Marshall, A. (1980), Principles of Economics, Macmillan, London.

Maslow, A. (1943), “A theory of human motivation”, Psychological Review, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 370‐96.

Menger, K. (1982), “Memories of Moritz Schlick”, in Eugene, G. (Ed.), Rationality and Science: A Memorial Volume for Moritz Schlick in Celebration of the Centennial of his Birth, Springer, Wien.

Miller, D. (1983), “The correlates of entrepreneurship in three types of firm”, Management Science, Vol. 29 No. 7, pp. 770‐91.

Morris, M.H. and Jones, F.F. (1999), “Entrepreneurship in established organisations: the case of the public sector”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 71‐91.

Nagal, E. (1961), The Structure of Science, Harcourt, Brace and World, New York, NY.

Paley, W. (1802), Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature, 12th ed. (1986), Lincoln‐Rembrandt Pub, Charlottesville, VA.

Parsons, T. and Shils, E. (1962), Toward a General Theory of Action, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Peredo, A.M. and Chrisman, J.J. (2006), “Toward a theory of community‐based enterprise”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 309‐28.

Peredo, A.M. and McLean, M. (2006), “Social entrepreneurship: a critical review of the concept”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 56‐65.

Pittaway, L. (2005), “Philosophies in entrepreneurship: a focus on economic theories”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 201‐21.

Powell, W. (1996), “Inter‐organizational collaboration in the biotechnology industry”, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 120 No. 1, pp. 197‐215.

Rao, H., Morrill, C. and Zald, M.N. (2000), “Power plays: how social movements and collective action create new organizational forms”, Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 237‐82.

Ridley‐Duff, R. (2008), “Social enterprise as a socially rational business”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship Behaviour & Research, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 291‐312.

Roberts, N.C. (1992), “Public entrepreneurship and innovation”, Policy Studies Review, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 55‐74.

Sanz‐Velasco, S. (2006), “Opportunity development as a learning process for entrepreneurs”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship Behaviour & Research, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 251‐71.

Sarasvathy, S.D., Dew, N., Velamuri, S.R. and Venkataraman, S. (2003), “Three views of entrepreneurial opportunity”, in Acs, Z.J. and Audretsch, D.B. (Eds), Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, Kluwer Publ., Norwall, MA, pp. 141‐60.

Schaltegger, S. (2002), “A framework for ecopreneurship. Leading pioneers and environmental managers to ecopreneurship”, Greener Management International, Vol. 38, pp. 45‐58.

Schaltegger, S. and Petersen, H. (2001), “Ecopreneurship. Konzept und Typologie”, paper presented at Lüneburg/Luzern, Center for Sustainability Management (CSM)/Rio Management Forum.

Schaper, M. (2002), “The essence of ecopreneurship”, The Journal of Corporate Environmental Strategy and Practice, Vol. 38, pp. 26‐30.

Schildt, H.A., Zahra, S.A. and Sillanpää, A. (2006), “Scholarly communities in entrepreneurship research: a co‐citation analysis”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 399‐415.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1934), The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Scott, W.R. (2001), Institutions and Organizations, 2nd ed., Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Shane, S. (2003), A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: The Individual‐Opportunity Nexus, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Shane, S. and Venkataraman, S. (2000), “The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 217‐26.

Sharma, P. and Chrisman, J.J. (1999), “Towards a reconciliation of the definitional issues in the field of corporate entrepreneurship”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 11‐27.

Shockley, G.E., Stough, R.R., Frank, P.M. and Kingsley, E.H. (2006), “Toward a theory of public sector entrepreneurship”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 205‐23.

Starcher, G. (2002), “Responsible entrepreneurship”, paper presented at European Baháí Business Forum, Paris, October.

Stevenson, H.H. and Jarillo, J.C. (1990), “A paradigm of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurial management”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11 No. 5, pp. 17‐27.

Tang, J. (2008), “Environmental munificence for entrepreneurs: entrepreneurial alertness and commitment”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 128‐51.

Terry, L.D. (1993), “Why we should abandon the misconceived quest to reconcile public entrepreneurship with democracy: a response to Bellone and Goerl's ‘reconciling public entrepreneurship and democracy’”, Public Administration Review, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 393‐5.

Thompson, J., Alvy, G. and Lees, A. (2000), “Social entrepreneurship – a new look at the people and the potential”, Management Decision, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 338‐48.

Van de Ven, A.H. (1993), “The development of an infrastructure for entrepreneurship”, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 211‐30.

Venkataraman, S. (1997), “The distinctive domain of entrepreneurial research: an editor's perspective”, in Katz, J. and Brockhaus, J. (Eds), Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT.

von Mises, L. (1919), Nation, State, and Economy, New York University Press, New York, NY (1983 ed.).

von Schmoller, G. (1910), The Significance of the Mercantile System, Macmillan, New York, NY.

von Thünen, J.H. (1826), Isolated State, Pergamon Press, New York, NY (1966 ed.).

Weerawardena, J. and Mort, G.S. (2006), “Investigating social entrepreneurship: a multidimensional model”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 21‐35.

Wolfenden, P. and Welch, D.E. (2000), “Business architecture: a holistic approach to defining the organization necessary to deliver a strategy”, Knowledge and Process Management, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 96‐106.

Xu, H. and Ruef, M. (2004), “The myth of the risk tolerant entrepreneur”, Strategic Organization, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 331‐55.

York, J. and Venkataraman, S. (2007), “The entrepreneurship‐environment nexus: uncertainty, innovation, and allocation”, paper presented at the Annual Academy of Management Conference: Doing Good by Doing Well, Philadelphia, USA, 3‐8 August.

Zahra, S.A. (2005), “Entrepreneurial risk taking in family firms”, Family Business Review, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 23‐40.

Zerbinati, S. and Souitaris, V. (2005), “Entrepreneurship in the public sector: a framework of analysis in European local governments”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 43‐64.