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Two Sides to the Evasion: The Pirate Bay and the Interdependencies of Evasive Entrepreneurship

Author

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  • Elert, Niklas

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Henrekson, Magnus

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Lundblad, Joakim

    (Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE))

Abstract

Evasive entrepreneurs innovate by circumventing or disrupting existing formal institutional frameworks by evading them. Since such evasions rarely go unnoticed, they usually lead to responses from lawmakers and regulators. We introduce a conceptual model to illustrate and map the interdependence between evasive entrepreneurship and the regulatory response it provokes. We apply this framework to the case of the file sharing platform The Pirate Bay, a venture with a number of clearly innovative and evasive features. The platform was a radical, widely applied innovation that transformed the Internet landscape, yet its founders became convicted criminals because of it. Applying the evasive entrepreneurship framework to this case improves our understanding of the relationship between policymaking and entrepreneurship in the digital age, and is a first step towards exploring best responses for regulators facing evasive entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus & Lundblad, Joakim, 2016. "Two Sides to the Evasion: The Pirate Bay and the Interdependencies of Evasive Entrepreneurship," Working Paper Series 1103, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus, 2017. "Entrepreneurship and Institutions: A Bidirectional Relationship," Working Paper Series 1153, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 05 May 2017.
    2. Niklas Elert & Magnus Henrekson, 2016. "Evasive entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 95-113, June.
    3. Lucas, David S. & Fuller, Caleb S. & Packard, Mark D., 2022. "Made to be broken? A theory of regulatory governance and rule-breaking entrepreneurial action," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(6).
    4. Niklas Elert & Magnus Henrekson, 2021. "Entrepreneurship prompts institutional change in developing economies," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 33-53, March.
    5. Elert, Niklas & Henrekson, Magnus, 2016. "Status Quo Institutions and the Benefits of Institutional Deviations," Working Paper Series 1144, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 15 Mar 2017.
    6. Philippe Rouchy & Sam Tavassoli & Joakim Wernberg, 2021. "Heterogeneous hybrid entrepreneurs - framing the variation in entrepreneurial effort and motives for hybrid entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 42(1/2), pages 115-129.
    7. Bylund, Per L. & McCaffrey, Matthew, 2017. "A theory of entrepreneurship and institutional uncertainty," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 461-475.
    8. Basukie, Jessica & Wang, Yichuan & Li, Shuyang, 2020. "Big data governance and algorithmic management in sharing economy platforms: A case of ridesharing in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Institutions; Regulation; Self-employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights

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