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Anthropomorphizing for Entrepreneurial Theorizing

In: Entrepreneurial Theorizing

Author

Listed:
  • Dean A. Shepherd

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Holger Patzelt

    (Technical University of Munich)

Abstract

Despite admonishments that anthropomorphizinganthropomorphizing represents a serious error in scientific thinking, we show that anthropomorphizing has been a critically important tooltool(s) for developing influential theories in entrepreneurship. Analyzing the literatures related to an organization’s entrepreneurial orientationentrepreneurial orientation and organizational knowledgeorganizational knowledge reveals how scholars build on their rich and highly accessible understanding of humans (i.e., the self and others) to (1) make guesses and sense of entrepreneurial anomaliesanomalies at the organizational level, (2) articulate theoretical mechanismsmechanisms to build more robust entrepreneurship theories, and (3) create plausibleplausible stories that facilitate sensegivingsensegiving to editors, reviewers, and other audiences. However, anthropomorphizing does not always lead to such positive outcomes. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of the conditions under which entrepreneurship scholars’ anthropomorphizing will be more or less effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean A. Shepherd & Holger Patzelt, 2023. "Anthropomorphizing for Entrepreneurial Theorizing," Springer Books, in: Entrepreneurial Theorizing, chapter 0, pages 57-91, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-24045-4_3
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-24045-4_3
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    Cited by:

    1. Lewis, Trey & Hechavarría, Diana M. & Williams, David W. & Cardon, Melissa S., 2024. "Doing the right things at the right times: The role of temporal enactment in venture outcome attainment," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).

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