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The place of Austrian economics in contemporary entrepreneurship research

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  • Peter Klein
  • Per Bylund

Abstract

We review the place of Austrian economics in contemporary entrepreneurship and management research, focusing on the contributions of Israel Kirzner. We show that Kirzner’s central concept of entrepreneurial discovery has been vastly influential in theoretical and applied work on entrepreneurship, even though Kirzner’s larger research program has not been well understood. We also describe and assess a number of methodological, ontological, and cognitive critiques of the opportunity-discovery approach and review the most important alternatives, including the judgment-based view associated with Knight ( 1921 ) and more recent contributors. We conclude that the entrepreneurship and management literatures provide a useful example of how Austrian economics—Kirznerian economics in particular—can play an important role in shaping mainstream discussions, debates, and research programs in the social sciences. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Klein & Per Bylund, 2014. "The place of Austrian economics in contemporary entrepreneurship research," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 259-279, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:27:y:2014:i:3:p:259-279
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-014-0256-x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Matthew McCaffrey & Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein & Joseph T. Salerno, 2023. "Breaking out of the Kirznerian box: A reply to Sautet," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Steven E. Phelan, 2016. "Austrian theories of entrepreneurship: Insights from complexity theory," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 277-297, September.
    4. Packard, Mark D. & Bylund, Per L., 2021. "From homo economicus to homo agens: Toward a subjective rationality for entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
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    6. Per L. Bylund & Mark D. Packard, 2022. "Subjective value in entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1243-1260, March.
    7. Callegari, Beniamino & Nybakk, Erlend, 2022. "Schumpeterian theory and research on forestry innovation and entrepreneurship: The state of the art, issues and an agenda," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. David S. Lucas, 2019. "The political economy of the collaborative innovation bloc," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 331-338, December.
    9. Steffen Korsgaard & Henrik Berglund & Claus Thrane & Per Blenker, 2016. "A Tale of Two Kirzners: Time, Uncertainty, and the “Nature†of Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(4), pages 867-889, July.
    10. Virgil Henry Storr & Stefanie Haeffele-Balch & Laura E. Grube, 2015. "Community Revival in the Wake of Disaster," Perspectives from Social Economics, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-31489-5, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Israel M. Kirzner; Entrepreneurship; Opportunity; Discovery; Judgment; Management; M1; L26; B13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)

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