Entrepreneurial processes and the social construction of opportunity
In contrast to structurally-determinist and cognitive/agency-oriented views of opportunity recognition, it is argued that opportunity formation is relationally and communally constituted — an insight that is not recognized in descriptive or linear process models of opportunity recognition. To arrive at this claim, use is made of social constructionist ideas. These ideas have been frequently applied in entrepreneurship studies but less attention has been given to the relational aspects of social constructionist thinking particularly with regard to opportunity formation processes. To aid this line of enquiry an analysis is undertaken of a sibling-autobiographical account of a high-profile business venture, Coffee Republic. This account has been crafted by the sibling partnership with a particular audience in mind (the would-be entrepreneur) with guidelines and principles on how ‘anyone can do it’. However, it is not utilized here as a good specimen of business venturing to be probed for particular (hidden) meanings. Instead, the account is evaluated in order to illustrate how individualistic statements about opportunity discovery can be reconceptualized as relationally and communally constituted -- an emphasis which is important for widening our theoretical understanding of the activities that we label entrepreneurship.
Year of publication: |
2006
|
---|---|
Authors: | Fletcher, Denise E. |
Published in: |
Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. - Taylor & Francis Journals, ISSN 0898-5626. - Vol. 18.2006, 5, p. 421-440
|
Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis Journals |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Institutional entrepreneurship in the emerging regional economies of the Western Balkans
Fletcher, Denise E., (2008)
-
Entrepreneurial development in a second-generation family firm
Fletcher, Denise E., (2008)
-
The role of family start ups in the emergence of a small business sector in Bulgaria
Fletcher, Denise E., (2009)
- More ...