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The place of entrepreneurship in “The Economics that Might Have Been”

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  • Sidney G. Winter

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

It is a familiar observation that entrepreneurship is not easily accommodated within the framework of neoclassical economic theory. Drawing inspiration from an ancient critique of neoclassicism by Veblen (Q J Econ 12(4):373–397, 1898), this paper attributes the difficulty to the tension between normative accounts of decision making (as in mainstream theory) and ideas of causation that are standard in the sciences. Normative theories naturally privilege the conjectured future over the experienced past in the quest for explanatory factors. Evolutionary theories elucidate instead the mechanisms of “cumulative causation” (Veblen) that perpetually produce the present from the past. Entrepreneurship of the innovative (Schumpeterian) kind seizes opportunities that emerge in complex, evolving contexts of technological and institutional change. A theory that gives due weight to cumulative causation sheds greater light on these processes than prevailing mainstream theory can, and that is a key advantage of an evolutionary theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Sidney G. Winter, 2016. "The place of entrepreneurship in “The Economics that Might Have Been”," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 15-34, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:47:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-016-9701-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-016-9701-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Martin Henning & Maureen McKelvey, 2020. "Knowledge, entrepreneurship and regional transformation: contributing to the Schumpeterian and evolutionary perspective on the relationships between them," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 495-501, February.
    3. Keungoui Kim & Alberto Nonnis & Altay Özaygen & Dieter F. Kogler, 2023. "Green-tech firm creation in Germany: the role of regional knowledge," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 97-120, March.
    4. Amel Attour & Nathalie Lazaric, 2020. "From knowledge to business ecosystems: emergence of an entrepreneurial activity during knowledge replication," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 575-587, February.
    5. Louçã, Francisco & Cabral, Ricardo, 2021. "Chris Freeman's concept of evolution–A critique of the misuse of biological analogies in macroeconomics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    6. Franco Malerba & Maureen McKelvey, 2020. "Knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship integrating Schumpeter, evolutionary economics, and innovation systems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 503-522, February.
    7. Maureen McKelvey & Olof Zaring & Stefan Szücs, 2020. "Conceptualizing evolutionary governance routines: governance at the interface of science and technology with knowledge-intensive innovative entrepreneurship," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 591-608, July.
    8. Dan Johansson & Arvid Malm, 2017. "Economics Doctoral Programs Still Elide Entrepreneurship," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 14(2), pages 196–217-1, May.
    9. Malerba, Franco & McKelvey, Maureen, 2019. "Impact: Knowledge-Intensive Innovative Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 14(6), pages 555-681, January.

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