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A structured literature review and suggestions for future effectuation research

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  • Denis A. Grégoire

    (HEC Montréal)

  • Naïma Cherchem

    (HEC Montréal)

Abstract

In spite of all the scholarly attention it has garnered, effectuation research continues to face a series of theoretical and methodological challenges. In order to help move effectuation research forward, we content-analyze a comprehensive sample of 101 effectuation articles published in JCR®-listed journals between 1998 and 2016 (inclusively), with the specific aim of uncovering the main conceptual and methodological articulations that have underpinned effectuation research to date. In doing so, we not only uncover some the field’s achievements and shortcomings but also examine the extent to which published effectuation research addresses its most salient criticisms. We build on these observations to propose three recommendations for future advances, namely (1) conceiving effectuation as a “mode of action”; (2) developing new methodological indicators centered on effectuation’s concrete manifestations; and (3) examining the underlying dynamics explaining effectuation’s antecedents and consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • Denis A. Grégoire & Naïma Cherchem, 2020. "A structured literature review and suggestions for future effectuation research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 621-639, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:54:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-019-00158-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-019-00158-5
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    Cited by:

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    3. Cowden, Birton & Karami, Masoud & Tang, Jintong & Ye, Wenping & Adomako, Samuel, 2023. "The gendered effects of effectuation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    4. Daniel Sunghwan Cho & Paul Ryan & Giulio Buciuni, 2022. "Evolutionary entrepreneurial ecosystems: a research pathway," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1865-1883, April.
    5. Bai, Wensong & Johanson, Martin & Oliveira, Luis & Ratajczak-Mrozek, Milena, 2021. "The role of business and social networks in the effectual internationalization: Insights from emerging market SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 96-109.
    6. Mansi Singh & Sanjay Dhir & Harsh Mishra, 2024. "Synthesizing research in entrepreneurial bootstrapping and bricolage: a bibliometric mapping and TCCM analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 487-520, February.
    7. Chetty, Sylvie & Martín Martín, Oscar & Bai, Wensong, 2024. "Causal foreign market selection and effectual entry decision-making: The mediating role of collaboration to enhance international performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    8. Cherbib, Jihene, 2024. "Exploring the interplay between entrepreneurial orientation, causation and effectuation under unexpected covid-19 uncertainty: Insights from large French banks," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    9. Sarkar, Soumodip & Mateus, Sara, 2022. "Value creation using minimal resources – A meta-synthesis of frugal innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    10. Sipos, Norbert & Lukovszki, Lívia & Rideg, András & Vörös, Zsófia, 2023. "A vállalkozói döntéshozatali logikák kognitív megközelítése [Entrepreneurial effectuation through the lens of cognitive processes]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 544-563.
    11. Lupp, Daniel, 2023. "Effectuation, causation, and machine learning in co-creating entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    12. David J. Rapp & Michael Olbrich, 2021. "On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 1961-1979, October.
    13. Saras D. Sarasvathy, 2021. "The Middle Class of Business: Endurance as a Dependent Variable in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 1054-1082, September.
    14. Mitchell, J. Robert & Israelsen, Trevor L. & Mitchell, Ronald K. & Lim, Dominic S.K., 2021. "Stakeholder identification as entrepreneurial action: The social process of stakeholder enrollment in new venture emergence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    15. Koller, Sonia & Stephan, Ute & Ahmetoglu, Gorkan, 2022. "Ecological rationality and entrepreneurship: How entrepreneurs fit decision logics to decision content and structure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    16. David J. Rapp, 2022. "Predictive vs. non-predictive entrepreneurial strategies: What’s the difference, anyway?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(7), pages 2161-2179, October.
    17. Richard J. Arend, 2020. "Getting Nothing from Something: Unfulfilled Promises of Current Dominant Approaches to Entrepreneurial Decision-Making," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-22, August.
    18. Scazziota, Vanessa & Serra, Fernando & Sarkar, Soumodip & Guerrazzi, Luiz, 2023. "The antecedents of entrepreneurial action: A meta-synthesis on effectuation and bricolage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PA).
    19. Sylvia Hubner & Fabian Most & Jochen Wirtz & Christine Auer, 2022. "Narratives in entrepreneurial ecosystems: drivers of effectuation versus causation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 211-242, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Effectuation; Entrepreneurship; Human action; Innovation; Market emergence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B59 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Other
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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