Progress and Entrepreneurship
/by Ricky PorcoDownload Now – Research Paper by Randall G. Holcombe
Economists have been studying the factors that improve people’s material well-being at least as far back as Adam Smith (1776), but the phenomenon of economic progress—or as it is often more narrowly studied, growth—barely predates Smith.1 Prior to about 1750, economic progress was so slow that people would have to be very observant to see any progress during their lifetimes. Everywhere in the world, the standard of living and the quality of life was much the same in 1750 as it was in 1650, and it was much the same in 1650 as it was in 1550. Indeed, it was much the same in 1550 as it was in 550.2 Since then, economic progress has manifested itself partly in income growth, but even more in new methods of production and in new types of output. This article examines the indispensable role that entrepreneurship has had in the production of economic progress. The link between entrepreneurship and progress may seem obvious, yet the connection between the two in economic analysis is tenuous, partly because mainstream economics does not do a very good job of representing entrepreneurship or progress.
Belief-Action-Results Framework For Entrepreneurs
/by Ricky PorcoDownload Now – Research Paper by Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein
Debate in management research on the status of the opportunity construct is now more than a decade old. We argue that the debate has led to little additional insight in entrepreneurship and we develop the case for abandoning the construct altogether. Uncertainty is central to entrepreneurship and innovation yet absent from opportunitybased approaches. We offer instead a “judgment-based view” of entrepreneurship which revolves around the nexus of resource heterogeneity and uncertainty and is operationalized in the “Beliefs-Actions-Results” (BAR) framework.
Entrepreneurs As Theorists
/by Ricky PorcoDownload Now – Research Paper by Teppo Felin & Todd R. Zenger
This paper outlines the theory-based view of strategy and markets. The authors argue that novel or “great” strategies come from theories. Entrepreneurs and managers originate theories and hypotheses about which activities they should engage in, which assets they might buy, and how they will create value. A firm’s strategy, then, represents a set of contrarian beliefs and a theory—a unique, firm-specific point of view—about what problems to solve, and how to organize and govern the overall process of value creation. The authors outline the cognitive and perceptual, organizational, and economic foundations of the theory based view of strategy. The authors also discuss the essential attributes needed for a firm-level theory of strategy. Throughout the paper the authors offer informal examples of our argument, by briefly discussing the strategies of companies like Apple, Uber, Disney, Wal-Mart, and Airbnb. The theory-based view of strategy and markets also offers important insights for how firms govern themselves (including ownership, boards, and organization design) and how firms interact with capital markets and external evaluators and stakeholders. The authors conclude with a discussion of the practical and managerial applications of the theory-based view.