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Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship: conceptual developments and empirical applications

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  • Claire M. Leitch
  • Richard T. Harrison

Abstract

This paper reviews the current status of research into entrepreneurial identity. Identities – individual and organizational – can potentially serve as powerful elements that both drive and are shaped by entrepreneurial actions. Identity is, of course, a complex construct with multidisciplinary roots and consequentially a range of conceptual meanings and theoretical roles associated with it. Building on a framework for identifying schools of thought in the social sciences, we highlight the need for more critical studies of entrepreneurial identity that recognize, first, that entrepreneurial identity is a dynamic and fluid rather than (relatively) fixed and unchanging feature, and second, that research attention should shift from the analysis of identity per se (the identity-as-entity position) to the identity work processes through which entrepreneurial identities are shaped and formed (the identity-as-process position). Following a summary of the key contributions of the five papers included in this Special Issue, we conclude with some pointers for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire M. Leitch & Richard T. Harrison, 2016. "Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship: conceptual developments and empirical applications," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3-4), pages 177-190, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:entreg:v:28:y:2016:i:3-4:p:177-190
    DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2016.1155740
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich & Elke Lüdemann, 2009. "Identity and Entrepreneurship," CESifo Working Paper Series 2661, CESifo.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thang V. Nguyen & Lan T. Nguyen & Hieu H. Nguyen, 2018. "Fostering Academic Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study Of Invention Commercialization In Vietnam," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(04), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Ödül Bozkurt & Mirela Xheneti & Vicky, 2022. "On the Front Line of the Circular Economy: The Entrepreneurial, Identity and Institutional Work of a Female Entrepreneur towards the Circular Transition," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(1), pages 156-166, February.
    3. Weihui Mei & Lorraine Pe Symaco, 2022. "Students’ Entrepreneurial Identity Construction: Role and Social Identity Influences," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    4. Eric Boyd, D. & Keith Harrison, C. & McInerny, Haley, 2021. "Transitioning from athlete to entrepreneur: An entrepreneurial identity perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 479-487.
    5. Jackson Musona & Kaisu Puumalainen & Helena Sjögrén & Anna Vuorio, 2021. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid: An Identity-Based Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-37, January.
    6. Yasuo Ohe, 2018. "Educational tourism in agriculture and identity of farm successors," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(2), pages 167-184, March.
    7. Gregori, Patrick & Holzmann, Patrick & Wdowiak, Malgorzata A., 2021. "For the sake of nature: Identity work and meaningful experiences in environmental entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 488-501.
    8. Carlos Poblete & Felipe Rifo & Joana Huaman, 2021. "The Role of Circular Business Modeling in the Entrepreneurial Identity-Construction Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, December.
    9. Pankaj C. Patel, 2022. "Recentralization and self‐employment: A quasi‐natural experiment in Switzerland," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1379-1402, July.
    10. Sentuti, Annalisa & Cesaroni, Francesca Maria & Demartini, Paola, 2024. "Through her eyes: How daughter successors perceive their fathers in shaping their entrepreneurial identity," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 15(2).
    11. Hamilton, Eleanor & Discua Cruz, Allan & Jack, Sarah, 2017. "Re-framing the status of narrative in family business research: Towards an understanding of families in business," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 3-12.
    12. Truong, Anh Tran Tram, 2023. "Entrepreneurial identity play through cross-cultural experience: Insights from returnees," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    13. Evangelia Koutsogianni & Dimitrios Stavroulakis & Alexandros Sahinidis & Miltiadis Chalikias, 2021. "Liquid Modernity as an Analytical Framework: A Study of the Entrepreneurial Intention- Behavior Divergence," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 194-211.
    14. Castelló, Itziar & Barberá-Tomás, David & Vaara, Eero, 2023. "Moving on: Narrative identity reconstruction after entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    15. Satu Korhonen & Tanja Leppäaho, 2019. "Well-trodden highways and roads less traveled: Entrepreneurial-oriented behavior and identity construction in international entrepreneurship narratives [Las sendas más trotadas y las rutas menos ex," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 355-388, September.
    16. Ewing, Douglas R. & Meyer, Jeffrey & Kern, Kirk D., 2024. "Slowed by commitment and hastened by obstacles: Exploring patterns of entrepreneur role exit in the EPOP dataset," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    17. Maria Elo, . "International venturing and investment: global citizens and golden visas," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

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