Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship > Vol 18 > Issue 6

From the Metaphor to the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey in Entrepreneurship Research

By Tõnis Mets, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia, tonis.mets@ut.ee

 
Suggested Citation
Tõnis Mets (2022), "From the Metaphor to the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey in Entrepreneurship Research", Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship: Vol. 18: No. 6, pp 330-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/0300000102

Publication Date: 04 Aug 2022
© 2022 T. Mets
 
Subjects
Nascent and start-up entrepreneurs,  New venture creation process,  Business formation,  High technology,  Opportunity recognition,  Entrepreneurial cognition,  Psychology of Entrepreneurship,  Firm ownership
 
Keywords
entrepreneurial journeyentrepreneurial processentrepreneurdimension(s)dynamicsprogressionstagesmilestones
 

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In this article:
1. Introduction
2. Entrepreneurial Journey – Overview of Entrepreneurship Literature
3. Developments in the Basic Concepts of the Entrepreneurial Journey
4. Reviews of Entrepreneurship as the Process Issue
5. Overview of Studies of the Entrepreneurial Journey as Research Construct
6. The Entrepreneurial Journey as the Research Construct
7. Forwarding the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey
8. Cognitive and Practical Challenges in Entrepreneurial Journey Research
9. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References

Abstract

The use of the concept and construct of the entrepreneurial journey as a temporal realization of the entrepreneurial process in entrepreneurship research is growing. A groundbreaking role in this development is the essay by McMullen and Dimov (2013), which raised a number of questions and criteria that the construct of the entrepreneurial journey should meet. Their article has been followed by a series of publications that utilize and further develop the concepts of the entrepreneurial journey and its components. Starting with the use of the term in a metaphorical sense to describe the narrative of an entrepreneur’s development path, the entrepreneurial journey is becoming an operationalizable variable for the description and measurability of which different dimensions are implemented in addition to time.

This monograph aims to provide an insight into the entrepreneurial journey as a research construct in entrepreneurship. To this end, a systematic literature review based on the main databases and search engines spanning the last 40 years (WoS, Scopus, EBSCO, Google Scholar) has been carried out. This systematic overview and analysis of publications, research trends and premises on further developments of the entrepreneurial journey concept as a complex phenomenon suggest different frameworks, approaches and future research challenges. The entrepreneurial journey approach opens up those aspects and dimensions of the dynamics of the entrepreneurial process that have gone unnoticed in the previous studies. These include the need, in addition to time, for a generalized dimension(s) to measure the progression of the entrepreneurial process and journey, as well as linking it to the theories, concepts and research methods used to date. The overview and analysis of some practical examples offer several opportunities for further research on the concept of the entrepreneurial journey and approaches to entrepreneurship studies in general.

DOI:10.1561/0300000102
ISBN: 978-1-63828-016-3
108 pp. $75.00
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ISBN: 978-1-63828-017-0
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Table of contents:
1. Introduction
2. Entrepreneurial Journey – Overview of Entrepreneurship Literature
3. Developments in the Basic Concepts of the Entrepreneurial Journey
4. Reviews of Entrepreneurship as the Process Issue
5. Overview of Studies of the Entrepreneurial Journey as Research Construct
6. The Entrepreneurial Journey as the Research Construct
7. Forwarding the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey
8. Cognitive and Practical Challenges in Entrepreneurial Journey Research
9. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References

From the Metaphor to the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey in Entrepreneurship Research

From the Metaphor to the Concept of the Entrepreneurial Journey in Entrepreneurship Research provides insight into the entrepreneurial journey as a research construct in entrepreneurship. The author conducts a systematic literature review over the last 40 years. This systematic overview and analysis of publications, research trends and premises on further developments of the entrepreneurial journey concept as a complex phenomenon suggest different frameworks, approaches and future research challenges. The entrepreneurial journey approach opens up those aspects and dimensions of the dynamics of the entrepreneurial process that have gone unnoticed in the previous studies. These include the need, in addition to time, for a generalized dimension(s) to measure the progression of the entrepreneurial process and journey, as well as linking it to the theories, concepts and research methods used to date. The overview and analysis of some practical examples offer several opportunities for further research on the concept of the entrepreneurial journey and approaches to entrepreneurship studies in general.

 
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