Ideating a Collective Entrepreneurial Venture: A Sensemaking Approach

Entrepreneurial ideation pre-exists the emergence of collective entrepreneurial ventures. This study uses the collective sensemaking framework to examine the transition from individual to collective ideation in entrepreneurial contexts. Based on the model of Stigliani and Ravasi (2012), we analyze how ideas emerge, converge, and transform within collective entrepreneurial processes. Drawing on a qualitative study on French Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), this research explores how the founding members, both farmers and committed consumers, work together to integrate and adapt their individual ideas into a shared entrepreneurial vision. Our results show an entrepreneurial ideation trajectory that unfolds in three stages: individual ideation, group ideation and intergroup ideation. This trajectory is shaped by the interactions of various stakeholders and is guided by the process of collective sensemaking. This study contributes to the literature by proposing a theoretical model of entrepreneurial ideation that sheds light on the dynamics that facilitate the transition from individual to collective ideation. Our results highlight the central role of sensemaking in aligning divergent perspectives into a coherent entrepreneurial venture.