IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v38y2014i3p575-600.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen

Author

Listed:
  • Erik Lundmark
  • Alf Westelius

Abstract

Metaphors are powerful tools for sensemaking, sensegiving, and theory development, but they are often concealed in academic writing. This paper uncovers two metaphors underlying entrepreneurship discourse and research— elixir and mutagen . The elixir metaphor is uncovered by examining critiques of entrepreneurship research, and serves as a compact description of problematic aspects entrepreneurship scholars should be mindful of. The mutagen metaphor is uncovered by examining evolutionary frameworks, focusing on the role entrepreneurship plays in them. The paper illustrates how the mutagen metaphor can be used to reframe entrepreneurship, and uses the metaphors to interest, inform, and provoke.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Lundmark & Alf Westelius, 2014. "Entrepreneurship as Elixir and Mutagen," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(3), pages 575-600, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:38:y:2014:i:3:p:575-600
    DOI: 10.1111/etap.12004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/etap.12004
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/etap.12004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lew Perren & Peter L. Jennings, 2005. "Government Discourses on Entrepreneurship: Issues of Legitimization, Subjugation, and Power," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(2), pages 173-184, March.
    2. John O. Ogbor, 2000. "Mythicizing and Reification in Entrepreneurial Discourse: Ideology‐Critique of Entrepreneurial Studies," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 605-635, July.
    3. Howard Aldrich & Geoffrey Hodgson & David Hull & Thorbjørn Knudsen & Joel Mokyr & Viktor Vanberg, 2008. "In defence of generalized Darwinism," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 18(5), pages 577-596, October.
    4. Steven Klepper, 2011. "Nano-economics, spinoffs, and the wealth of regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 141-154, September.
    5. Cohen, Boyd & Winn, Monika I., 2007. "Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 29-49, January.
    6. David Audretsch, 2009. "The entrepreneurial society," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 245-254, June.
    7. Johanna Mair & Ignasi Marti, 2006. "Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight," Post-Print hal-02311880, HAL.
    8. William B. Gartner, 2001. "Is There an Elephant in Entrepreneurship? Blind Assumptions in Theory Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 27-39, July.
    9. Dodd, Sarah Drakopoulou, 2002. "Metaphors and meaning: A grounded cultural model of us entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 519-535, September.
    10. Per Davidsson & Johan Wiklund, 2001. "Levels of Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research: Current Research Practice and Suggestions for the Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 81-100, July.
    11. Saras Sarasvathy & Nicholas Dew, 2005. "New market creation through transformation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 533-565, November.
    12. Zoltán J. Ács & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch & Bo Carlsson, 2015. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 7, pages 129-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Mikael Sandberg, 2007. "The evolution of IT innovations in Swedish organizations: a Darwinian critique of ‘Lamarckian’ institutional economics," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 1-23, February.
    14. Richard R Nelson & Alexander Peterhansl & Bhaven Sampat, 2004. "Why and how innovations get adopted: a tale of four models," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(5), pages 679-699, October.
    15. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    16. David B. Audretsch, 2009. "The Entrepreneurial Society," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: David B. Audretsch & Giovanni Battista Dagnino & Rosario Faraci & Robert E. Hoskisson (ed.), New Frontiers in Entrepreneurship, chapter 0, pages 95-105, Springer.
    17. Baumol, William J., 1996. "Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 3-22, January.
    18. Vincenzo Quadrini, 1999. "The Importance Of Entrepreneurship For Wealth Concentration And Mobility," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 45(1), pages 1-19, March.
    19. Sidney G. Winter, 2003. "Understanding dynamic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(10), pages 991-995, October.
    20. Paul Reynolds & Niels Bosma & Erkko Autio & Steve Hunt & Natalie De Bono & Isabel Servais & Paloma Lopez-Garcia & Nancy Chin, 2005. "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Data Collection Design and Implementation 1998–2003," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 205-231, February.
    21. Minet Schindehutte & Michael Morris & Jeffrey Allen, 2006. "Beyond Achievement: Entrepreneurship as Extreme Experience," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 349-368, December.
    22. Maureen McKelvey, 1998. "Evolutionary innovations: learning, entrepreneurship and the dynamics of the firm," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 157-175.
    23. Geoffrey Hodgson & Thorbjørn Knudsen, 2004. "The firm as an interactor: firms as vehicles for habits and routines," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 281-307, July.
    24. Markus C. Becker, 2004. "Organizational routines: a review of the literature," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(4), pages 643-678, August.
    25. Brinckmann, Jan & Grichnik, Dietmar & Kapsa, Diana, 2010. "Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning-performance relationship in small firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 24-40, January.
    26. Howard E. Aldrich, 1990. "Using an Ecological Perspective to Study Organizational Founding Rates," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 14(3), pages 7-24, April.
    27. Audretsch, David B., 2009. "Emergence of the entrepreneurial society," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 505-511, September.
    28. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 2003. "The Mystery of the Routine. The Darwinian Destiny of An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 54(2), pages 355-384.
    29. Paul S. Adler & Barbara Goldoftas & David I. Levine, 1999. "Flexibility Versus Efficiency? A Case Study of Model Changeovers in the Toyota Production System," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(1), pages 43-68, February.
    30. Ross, Joel, 1987. "Corporations and entrepreneurs: Paradox and opportunity," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 76-80.
    31. Gartner, William B., 1993. "Words lead to deeds: Towards an organizational emergence vocabulary," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 231-239, May.
    32. Sara Carter, 2011. "The Rewards of Entrepreneurship: Exploring the Incomes, Wealth, and Economic Well–Being of Entrepreneurial Households," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(1), pages 39-55, January.
    33. Greenfield, Sidney M & Strickon, Arnold, 1981. "A New Paradigm for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Social Change," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(3), pages 467-499, April.
    34. Dirk Fornahl & Christian Zellner & David B. Audretsch (ed.), 2005. "The Role of Labour Mobility and Informal Networks for Knowledge Transfer," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, Springer, number 978-0-387-23140-2, November.
    35. Audretsch, David B., 2009. "Entrepreneurship capital and economic growth," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 15, pages 27-45.
    36. Cardon, Melissa S. & Zietsma, Charlene & Saparito, Patrick & Matherne, Brett P. & Davis, Carolyn, 2005. "A tale of passion: New insights into entrepreneurship from a parenthood metaphor," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 23-45, January.
    37. Eva Boxenbaum & Linda Rouleau, 2011. "New knowledge products as bricolage: Metaphors and scripts in organizational theory," Post-Print hal-00719599, HAL.
    38. David B. Audretsch & Max Keilbach, 2005. "The Mobility of Economic Agents as Conduits of Knowledge Spillovers," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Dirk Fornahl & Christian Zellner & David B. Audretsch (ed.), The Role of Labour Mobility and Informal Networks for Knowledge Transfer, chapter 0, pages 8-25, Springer.
    39. James Austin & Howard Stevenson & Jane Wei–Skillern, 2006. "Social and Commercial Entrepreneurship: Same, Different, or Both?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(1), pages 1-22, January.
    40. Aldrich Howard E, 2011. "Heroes, Villains, and Fools: Institutional Entrepreneurship, NOT Institutional Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 1(2), pages 1-6, March.
    41. Saras D. Sarasvathy & Sankaran Venkataraman, 2011. "Entrepreneurship as Method: Open Questions for an Entrepreneurial Future," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(1), pages 113-135, January.
    42. Audretsch, David, 2009. "The Emergence of the Entrepreneurial Society: The 2008 Geary Lecture," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 40(3), pages 255-268.
    43. Sarasvathy, Saras D., 2004. "The questions we ask and the questions we care about: reformulating some problems in entrepreneurship research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 707-717, September.
    44. Howard E. Aldrich & Martha Argelia Martinez, 2001. "Many are Called, but Few are Chosen: An Evolutionary Perspective for the Study of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 41-56, July.
    45. Markus C. Becker, 2004. "Organizational routines : a review of the literature," Post-Print hal-00279010, HAL.
    46. Steven Klepper, 2002. "The capabilities of new firms and the evolution of the US automobile industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(4), pages 645-666, August.
    47. Baker, Ted & Miner, Anne S. & Eesley, Dale T., 2003. "Improvising firms: bricolage, account giving and improvisational competencies in the founding process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 255-276, February.
    48. Ha-Joon Chang, 2002. "Breaking the mould: an institutionalist political economy alternative to the neo-liberal theory of the market and the state," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 26(5), pages 539-559, September.
    49. Johan Wiklund & Per Davidsson & David B. Audretsch & Charlie Karlsson, 2011. "The Future of Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(1), pages 1-9, January.
    50. Mair, Johanna & Martí, Ignasi, 2006. "Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 36-44, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pérez, Víctor Centeno & Kansikas, Juha, 2019. "Emotions and entrepreneurship education: State of the art and future research agenda," Working Papers 02/19, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    2. Lundmark, Erik & Milanov, Hana & Seigner, Benedikt David Christian, 2022. "Can it be measured? A quantitative assessment of critiques of the entrepreneurship literature," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    3. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    4. Keim, Jan & Müller, Susan & Dey, Pascal, 2024. "Whatever the problem, entrepreneurship is the solution! Confronting the panacea myth of entrepreneurship with structural injustice," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    5. Clarke, Jean & Holt, Robin, 2017. "Imagery of ad-venture: Understanding entrepreneurial identity through metaphor and drawing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 476-497.
    6. Erik Lundmark & Alex Coad & Julian S. Frankish & David J. Storey, 2020. "The Liability of Volatility and How it Changes Over Time Among New Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(5), pages 933-963, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    2. Martin G.A. Svensson, 2015. "When being wrong might be right: on overconfidence as an evolutionary mechanism of nascent entrepreneurs," Chapters, in: Charlie Karlsson & Urban Gråsjö & Sofia Wixe (ed.), Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Global Economy, chapter 10, pages 237-258, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Harris, Jared D. & Sapienza, Harry J. & Bowie, Norman E., 2009. "Ethics and entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 407-418, September.
    4. David, Audretsch & Donald, Kuratko & Albert, Link, 2015. "Making Sense of the Elusive Paradigm of Entrepreneurship," UNCG Economics Working Papers 15-4, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    5. Niccolò Ghio & Massimiliano Guerini & Erik Lehmann & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, 2015. "The emergence of the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Ratan J. S. Dheer, 2017. "Cross-national differences in entrepreneurial activity: role of culture and institutional factors," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 813-842, April.
    7. Stroe, Silvia & Parida, Vinit & Wincent, Joakim, 2018. "Effectuation or causation: An fsQCA analysis of entrepreneurial passion, risk perception, and self-efficacy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 265-272.
    8. Silveli Cristo-Andrade & João J. Ferreira, 2020. "Knowledge spillovers and strategic entrepreneurship: what researches and approaches?," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 263-286, March.
    9. Sá, Elisabete S. & Pinho, José Carlos M.R. de, 2019. "Effect of entrepreneurial framework conditions on R&D transfer to new and growing firms: The case of European Union innovation-driven countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 47-58.
    10. Pekka Stenholm & Zoltán J. Ács & Robert Wuebker, 2015. "Exploring country-level institutional arrangements on the rate and type of entrepreneurial activity," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 20, pages 387-404, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Sahasranamam, Sreevas & Nandakumar, M.K., 2020. "Individual capital and social entrepreneurship: Role of formal institutions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 104-117.
    12. Hugo Erken & Piet Donselaar & Roy Thurik, 2018. "Total factor productivity and the role of entrepreneurship," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1493-1521, December.
    13. Erik E. Lehmann & Julian Schenkenhofer & Katharine Wirsching, 2019. "Hidden champions and unicorns: a question of the context of human capital investment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 359-374, February.
    14. Khursheed, Ambreen & Fatima, Maham & Mustafa, Faisal & Nawaz Lodhi, Rab & Akhtar, Ayesha, 2021. "An Empirical Analysis of the Factors Influencing Social Entrepreneurship: A Gendered Approach," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    15. Sibylle Heilbrunn & Rosa Lisa Iannone, 2019. "Neoliberalist Undercurrents in Entrepreneurship Policy," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 5(2), pages 149-162, July.
    16. Rosa Caiazza & Aileen Richardson & David Audretsch, 2015. "Knowledge effects on competitiveness: from firms to regional advantage," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 40(6), pages 899-909, December.
    17. Mark Griffiths & Jill Kickul & Sophie Bacq & Siri Terjesen, 2012. "A Dialogue with William J. Baumol: Insights on Entrepreneurship Theory and Education," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(4), pages 611-625, July.
    18. Halvarsson, Daniel & Korpi, Martin & Wennberg, Karl, 2016. "Entrepreneurship and Income Inequality," Ratio Working Papers 281, The Ratio Institute.
    19. Sahasranamam, Sreevas & Nandakumar, M.K. & Pereira, Vijay & Temouri, Yama, 2021. "Knowledge capital in social and commercial entrepreneurship: Investigating the role of informal institutions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    20. Halvarsson, Daniel & Korpi, Martin & Wennberg, Karl, 2018. "Entrepreneurship and income inequality," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 275-293.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:38:y:2014:i:3:p:575-600. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.