JRP Submission ID#44
Due: Sep 22, 2006

Research Practices in Entrepreneurship: Problems of Definition,
Description and Meaning

Abstract

This paper examines the dominant paradigm of entrepreneurship
research practices and argues that positivism has brought about a
fundamental paradox; that we often try to analyse a phenomenon that
we cannot properly define. As a result much entrepreneurship is
fragmentary and focuses narrowly only on aspects of
entrepreneurship. Consequently a conception, taking full account of
the richness of ways of understanding, is less well developed. We
argue that because of the variations in understandings about ways of
being entrepreneurial, it is unlikely that we will ever reach a
universally acceptable definition of the phenomenon. The paper shows
that despite the definitional problem, conversely, there is very
rich descriptive data about what people mean when they talk about
enterprise. However these types of data are not amenable to
positivistic approaches. But it may be possible to conceptualise
entrepreneurship more comprehensively by using alternative, or
complementary theoretical approaches. The argument is developed that
interpretative methodologies, new lenses for seeing
entrepreneurship, such as social constructionism, are required to
extend our understanding. If we imagine the fragmentary positivistic
approaches as pieces of a jigsaw, we can see how a social
constructivist approach can provide an overview of how the pieces
match, fit and come together. Following this way of thinking, we
propose Gidden's structuration as an orienting framework for these
interpretative lenses. In this way new richer, fuller and more
complete entrepreneurial concepts can be evolved and developed.

INTERESTED REVIEWERS, if you can return your review by Sep 22, 2006,
please reply immediately. Ideally you should be registered as a reviewer in the
JRP/OJS experimental system here:
http://madlib.athabascau.ca/jrp/index.php/jrp/index
Even otherwise, you can do the review off-line.

DP