IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v115y2018i2d10.1007_s11192-018-2699-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

In consideration of entrepreneurship theory

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas P. Kenworthy

    (University of Windsor Odette School of Business)

  • W. Edward McMullan

    (Haskayne School of Business, The University of Calgary)

Abstract

This study analyzes more than three decades of theory testing published in leading entrepreneurship journals. It uncovers the amount of theory testing; the extent to which theories are tested multiple times; and, the disciplinary origins of the theories that are tested. The analysis reveals that empirical researchers have increasingly responded to demands for more theory-driven knowledge over time through domestic theory creation and wholesale adoption of theories from other fields. It is observed that the most tested theories are borrowed from other scientific fields. The value of agency theory, the most popular one, is assessed via a foreign theory screening model. The result suggests that researchers cannot be too cautious when considering foreign theory for domestic knowledge development. Ultimately, researchers are strongly encouraged to consider testing the many domestic theories that have been specifically designed to answer the pressing, practical problems of the entrepreneurship discipline.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas P. Kenworthy & W. Edward McMullan, 2018. "In consideration of entrepreneurship theory," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 767-783, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:115:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2699-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2699-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-018-2699-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-018-2699-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baker, George P & Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1988. " Compensation and Incentives: Practice vs. Theory," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(3), pages 593-616, July.
    2. Robert Chia, 1996. "Teaching Paradigm Shifting In Management Education: University Business Schools And The Entrepreneurial Imagination," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 409-428, July.
    3. Kenworthy, Thomas P. & Verbeke, Alain, 2015. "The future of strategic management research: Assessing the quality of theory borrowing," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 179-190.
    4. David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton, 2006. "Venture Capital in Emerging Economies: Networks and Institutional Change," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(2), pages 299-320, March.
    5. Zahra, Shaker A., 2007. "Contextualizing theory building in entrepreneurship research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 443-452, May.
    6. Peter Wirtz, 2011. "Beyond Agency Theory: Value Creation and the Role of Cognition in the Relationship Between Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists," Springer Books, in: Advances in Entrepreneurial Finance, chapter 0, pages 31-43, Springer.
    7. 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.
    8. Bill McKelvey, 1997. "Perspective---Quasi-Natural Organization Science," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(4), pages 351-380, August.
    9. Bo Carlsson & Pontus Braunerhjelm & Maureen McKelvey & Christer Olofsson & Lars Persson & Håkan Ylinenpää, 2013. "The evolving domain of entrepreneurship research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 913-930, December.
    10. Kaufmann, Patrick J. & Dant, Rajiv P., 1996. "Multi-unit franchising: Growth and management issues," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 343-358, September.
    11. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Ana M. Moreno & José C. Casillas, 2007. "High-growth SMEs versus non-high-growth SMEs: a discriminant analysis," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 69-88, January.
    13. C. Praag & Peter Versloot, 2007. "What is the value of entrepreneurship? A review of recent research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 351-382, December.
    14. Murray B. Low, 2001. "The Adolescence of Entrepreneurship Research: Specification of Purpose," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 25(4), pages 17-26, July.
    15. Aurora A. C. Teixeira, 2011. "Mapping the (in)visible college(s) in the field of entrepreneurship," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 89(1), pages 1-36, October.
    16. Alain Fayolle & Mike Wright, 2014. "How To Get Published In The Best Entrepreneurship Journals," Post-Print hal-01892774, HAL.
    17. William B. Gartner & Barbara J. Bird & Jennifer A. Starr, 1992. "Acting as If: Differentiating Entrepreneurial from Organizational Behavior," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 16(3), pages 13-32, April.
    18. Tainyi Luor & Hsi-Peng Lu & Hueiju Yu & Kuoliang Chang, 2014. "Trends in and contributions to entrepreneurship research: a broad review of literature from 1996 to June 2012," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(2), pages 353-369, May.
    19. M. Meyer & D. Libaers & B. Thijs & K. Grant & W. Glänzel & K. Debackere, 2014. "Origin and emergence of entrepreneurship as a research field," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(1), pages 473-485, January.
    20. Katz, Jerome A., 2003. "The chronology and intellectual trajectory of American entrepreneurship education: 1876-1999," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 283-300, March.
    21. Alain Fayolle & Mike Wright, 2014. "How To Get Published In The Best Entrepreneurship Journals : A Guide to Steer Your Academic Career," Post-Print hal-02298195, HAL.
    22. Rassoul Yazdipour, 2011. "Advances in Entrepreneurial Finance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-1-4419-7527-0, September.
    23. Brian L. Dos Santos & Clyde W. Holsapple & Qian Ye, 2011. "The Intellectual Influence of Entrepreneurship Journals: A Network Analysis," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(4), pages 735-754, July.
    24. Donald Kuratko & Michael Morris & Minet Schindehutte, 2015. "Understanding the dynamics of entrepreneurship through framework approaches," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 1-13, June.
    25. Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1990. "Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 225-264, April.
    26. Lívia Markóczy & David L. Deeds, 2009. "Theory Building at the Intersection: Recipe for Impact or Road to Nowhere?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(6), pages 1076-1088, September.
    27. D. Ray Bagby, 1988. "Editorial: The Winds of Change," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 13(1), pages 5-6, October.
    28. Gartner, William B., 2007. "Entrepreneurial narrative and a science of the imagination," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 613-627, September.
    29. Kenworthy, Thomas P. & Sparks, John R., 2016. "A scientific realism perspective on scientific progress in marketing: An analysis of theory testing in marketing's major journals," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 466-474.
    30. A. Fayolle, 2014. "Thinking and writing for scholarly publication in entrepreneurship," Post-Print halshs-01073651, HAL.
    31. Landström, Hans & Harirchi, Gouya & Åström, Fredrik, 2012. "Entrepreneurship: Exploring the knowledge base," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 1154-1181.
    32. Julian Birkinshaw & Mark P. Healey & Roy Suddaby & Klaus Weber, 2014. "Debating the Future of Management Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 38-55, January.
    33. Jonathan D. Arthurs & Lowell W. Busenitz, 2003. "The Boundaries and Limitations of Agency Theory and Stewardship Theory in the Venture Capitalist/Entrepreneur Relationship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(2), pages 145-162, March.
    34. Suddaby, Roy & Bruton, Garry D. & Si, Steven X., 2015. "Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: Insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-10.
    35. Johan Wiklund & Per Davidsson & David B. Audretsch & Charlie Karlsson, 2011. "The Future of Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(1), pages 1-9, January.
    36. Davidsson, Per, 2015. "Entrepreneurial opportunities and the entrepreneurship nexus: A re-conceptualization," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 674-695.
    37. John B. Ryan, 2014. "Financial accounting reform: the need for a 'back to basics' approach for profit measurement and wealth measurement," International Journal of Economics and Accounting, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 1-50.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. João J. M. Ferreira & Cristina I. Fernandes & Sascha Kraus, 2019. "Entrepreneurship research: mapping intellectual structures and research trends," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 181-205, February.
    2. Erik Lundmark & Anna Krzeminska & Dean A. Shepherd, 2019. "Images of Entrepreneurship: Exploring Root Metaphors and Expanding Upon Them," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(1), pages 138-170, January.
    3. Per Davidsson & Jan Henrik Gruenhagen, 2021. "Fulfilling the Process Promise: A Review and Agenda for New Venture Creation Process Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(5), pages 1083-1118, September.
    4. Packard, Mark D., 2017. "Where did interpretivism go in the theory of entrepreneurship?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 536-549.
    5. Ronit Yitshaki & Fredric Kropp & Benson Honig, 2022. "The Role of Compassion in Shaping Social Entrepreneurs’ Prosocial Opportunity Recognition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 617-647, August.
    6. Luis Javier Cabeza Ramírez & Sandra M. Sánchez-Cañizares & Fernando J. Fuentes-García, 2019. "Past Themes and Tracking Research Trends in Entrepreneurship: A Co-Word, Cites and Usage Count Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-32, June.
    7. Alexandros Kakouris & Panagiotis Georgiadis, 2016. "Analysing entrepreneurship education: a bibliometric survey pattern," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 6(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Per Davidsson, 2016. "This Thing Called “Theory”," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Researching Entrepreneurship, edition 2, chapter 3, pages 41-73, Springer.
    9. David Urbano & Sebastian Aparicio & David Audretsch, 2019. "Twenty-five years of research on institutions, entrepreneurship, and economic growth: what has been learned?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 21-49, June.
    10. Lowell W. Busenitz & Lawrence A. Plummer & Anthony C. Klotz & Ali Shahzad & Kevin Rhoads, 2014. "Entrepreneurship Research (1985–2009) and the Emergence of Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(5), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Tainyi Luor & Hsi-Peng Lu & Hueiju Yu & Kuoliang Chang, 2014. "Trends in and contributions to entrepreneurship research: a broad review of literature from 1996 to June 2012," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(2), pages 353-369, May.
    12. Sergeeva, Anastasia & Bhardwaj, Akhil & Dimov, Dimo, 2021. "In the heat of the game: Analogical abduction in a pragmatist account of entrepreneurial reasoning," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    13. Thomas Neumann, 2021. "The impact of entrepreneurship on economic, social and environmental welfare and its determinants: a systematic review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(3), pages 553-584, July.
    14. Forsström-Tuominen, Heidi & Jussila, Iiro & Kolhinen, Johanna, 2015. "Business school students’ social construction of entrepreneurship: Claiming space for collective entrepreneurship discourses," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 102-120.
    15. Harrison, Richard T., 2023. "W(h)ither entrepreneurship? Discipline, legitimacy and super-wicked problems on the road to nowhere," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    16. Denis A. Grégoire & Martin X. Noël & Richard Déry & Jean–Pierre Béchard, 2006. "Is There Conceptual Convergence in Entrepreneurship Research? A Co–Citation Analysis of Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1981–2004," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(3), pages 333-373, May.
    17. Enrico Baraldi & Antonella La Rocca & Andrea Perna & Ivan Snehota, 2020. "Connecting IMP and entrepreneurship research: Directions for future research," Post-Print hal-03181351, HAL.
    18. Ana Joana Fernandes & Joao J. Ferreira, 2022. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems and networks: a literature review and research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 189-247, January.
    19. Qinghua Zhai & Jing Su & Minghai Ye, 2014. "Focus on China: the current status of entrepreneurship research in China," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 1985-2006, March.
    20. Matthews, Russell S. & Chalmers, Dominic M. & Fraser, Simon S., 2018. "The intersection of entrepreneurship and selling: An interdisciplinary review, framework, and future research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 691-719.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:115:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2699-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.