Abstract

Economic thought on entrepreneurship goes at least as far back as to Richard Cantillon, Adam Smith and Jean-Baptiste Say in the 18th and 19th centuries, and by some accounts much further back. After being neglected throughout a large part of the 20th century, entrepreneurship research has risen to become one of the most forceful, dynamic and expansionary fields in social sciences, represented by variety of specialized journals and conferences and encompassing several academic sub-disciplines. This monograph attempts to provide an overview of primarily contemporary pioneers in entrepreneurship research who have been instrumental in defining, re-introducing and establishing entrepreneurship as a core research discipline through their seminal scientific endeavors. Besides of the founding fathers of entrepreneurship research, we have identified 45 pioneers from a list of several hundreds of potential candidates. Three of those made their most seminal contributions between the late 1940s and the late 1960s. The remaining 42 contemporary pioneers were decisive for the establishment of the research field. Our ambition is thus to provide answers to how, by whom and when these pioneering contributions were made. By necessity, given how large and diverse the field has become, many researchers and topics have been left out of this review. We humbly recognize that we may have left out researchers who deserve to be mentioned; nevertheless we feel confident that selection of scholars are all worthy pioneers in the entrepreneurship research field.

Pioneering Entrepreneurship Research: How, by Whom, and When

Pioneering Entrepreneurship Research lists the seminal and pioneering research efforts conducted by a limited group of scholars from different disciplines that challenged traditional thought on small business and entrepreneurship – these pioneers and their specific contributions transformed our thinking about entrepreneurs. This monograph also discusses the drivers that motivated their entrepreneurial endeavors, their influence at the firm/micro-level and their role in fostering economic development and growth. It explores how their breakthrough contributions increasingly gained acceptance in several disciplines, thereby toppling previous views with profound implications for theory, empirics, methodology and policy.

Research on entrepreneurship has witnessed a tremendous renaissance and continues to rapidly evolve. This monograph identifies scholars who have played a particularly important role in pushing the research frontier through their seminal work in the entrepreneurship field. Following an introduction, the authors discuss the definition of entrepreneurship and the academic domain of entrepreneurship research. Next is a chronological account of the early pioneers and the origin of entrepreneurship research. The monograph provides a more detailed description of contemporary pioneers, defined as those that contributed to shaping and defining the research field in the latter decades. It then groups pioneers into specific research categories aiming to give a comprehensive picture of how the advances made has served to deepen our understanding of how the economy works. This is followed by a discussion of avenues for future entrepreneurship research and a conclusion with references.