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Is There an Elephant in Entrepreneurship? Blind Assumptions in Theory Development*

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Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This article uses the six key specification decisions for entrepreneurship research (purpose, theoretical perspective, focus, level of analysis, time frame, and methodology) outlined in Low and MacMillan (1988) to explore unstated assumptions in entrepreneurship theory development. An article by Shane and Venkataraman (2000), “The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research,” is analyzed and recommended as a model for clarity. A recommendation is made that the field of entrepreneurship needs to develop communities of scholars identified with specific research questions and issues.

*Originally published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2001, 25(4): 27–39. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Publishing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern California, USA

    William B. Gartner

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  1. William B. Gartner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Economics, University Complutense of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, 28233, Madrid, Spain

    Álvaro Cuervo

  2. Department of Economics, University of Valencia, Av. de los Naranj os s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Domingo Ribeiro  & Salvador Roig  & 

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Gartner, W.B. (2007). Is There an Elephant in Entrepreneurship? Blind Assumptions in Theory Development* . In: Cuervo, Á., Ribeiro, D., Roig, S. (eds) Entrepreneurship. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-48543-8_11

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