DEMBINSKI, PAUL H. () (University of Fribours & Eco’Diagnostic, Genève Director Observatoire de la Finance 32, rue de l'Athénée CH-1206 Geneve Switzerland. Phone +41 22 346-30-35 - Fax +41 22 789-14-60.)
Abstract
Recent surveys on the state of the art in entrepreneurial research, fail to draw a coherent “big picture” out of the vast array of contributions to the field. Neither the competence nor the knowledgability of the authors can be questioned as they are among the best specialists of the field. The roots of the problem are concealed in the unreliable epistemic and philosophical foundations of many of these contributions. This explains the resulting cacophony of fragmented approaches and unrelated empirical findings that instead of adding precision to the overall picture contributes to an ever increasing level of noise. The paper uses the Swiss data on enterprise demographics to show that the statistically recorded number of enterprises depends heavily on the definition used. The differences among definitions and their plurality suggest that the reality of the “enterprise” is a diverse one. As the enterprise is the normal outcome of an entrepreneurial process, there are good reasons to believe that the latter is as least as multi-dimensional as the former. The paper attempts at using the Aristotelian multi-causal explanatory pattern to provide the basis of a conceptual framework for the study of entrepreneurship. Even if the empirical base is not explicitly acknowledged here, the framework has been validated by in-depth interviews conducted with 37 young (younger than 5 years) enterprises between 2003-2005 in the region of Fribourg (Switzerland).
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Volume (Year): 24 (2006) Issue (Month): (Agosto) Pages: 339-358 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:lrk:eeaart:24_2_1
Contact details of provider: Postal: Beatriz Rodríguez Prado. Facultad de CC.EE. y EE. Avda. Valle del Esgueva. Valladolid 47011 SPAIN Phone: (34) 983 423320 Fax: (34) 983 184568 Web page: http://www.revista-eea.net More information through EDIRC
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Beatriz Rodríguez Prado).
Related research
Keywords:
Find related papers by JEL classification: B - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations