Caring and daring entrepreneurship research

By scholarly tradition, many entrepreneurship researchers believe that they should ignore the powerful emotions that constantly buffet both themselves and the organizations that they study. In striking contrast to that tradition, Bengt Johannisson's scholarship has been infused with a longstanding appreciation for the dynamism and affective complexity of entrepreneurship as process. This radical shift away from the paradigm of the stolid, heroic entrepreneur has energized a more constructive examination of the entrepreneurial family business and has legitimized study of the emotional, as well as the economic, landscape. In word and deed Bengt is a visionary worthy of emulation. In order to challenge scholarly norms and advance this controversial agenda, he has not only used his stature as a privileged insider but also, on occasion, assumed the role of outsider/provocateur. Mindful of how rigid dichotomies can fragment thinking about the entrepreneurship process, he has employed new/none words as a rhetorical strategy to bridge and thereby heal our thinking. The article is, therefore, a tribute to Bengt's exceptional, caring scholarship and, consequently, a proposal that we make a more concerted effort to build a networked research community that dares to examine all of the passions that drive human endeavours. As we embrace a more inclusive research domain, we will learn to see and cherish our common purpose and, paradoxically, we will come to a fuller understanding of the multi-faceted nature of the entrepreneurship process.