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The Need for Virtue in Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Mitigating the Destructive Side of Entrepreneurship

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  • Kyle Scott

    (Sam Houston State University, College of Business Administration, Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship)

Abstract

Entrepreneurial ecosystems facilitate entrepreneurship, but they can also facilitate the destructive dark side of entrepreneurship if virtue is not cultivated by the ecosystem. The traditional entrepreneurial ecosystem incentivizes behaviors which can erode virtue and disincentivize safeguards to constrain normatively undesirable behaviors. This paper provides a framework for understanding the interplay between the members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the normative justification for virtue within the ecosystem. The framework is anchored to reciprocal determinism to show how values and norms develop within ecosystems. The paper then pairs the virtue of humility with innovation and reverence with risk taking, to argue that absent virtue, these two characteristics of entrepreneurship can be destructive. The paper concludes with pathways for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyle Scott, 2025. "The Need for Virtue in Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Mitigating the Destructive Side of Entrepreneurship," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 319-343, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:humman:v:10:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s41463-025-00211-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s41463-025-00211-4
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