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Entrepreneurship: State of grace or human action? Schumpeter’s leadership vs Kirzner’s alertness

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  • Ferlito, Carmelo

Abstract

Joseph A. Schumpeter developed a very well-known theory of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, centred on the concept of ‘new combinations’. According to him, innovation and entrepreneurship are destructive elements driving the system beyond an equilibrium position and setting in motion a competitive process, in order to reach a new equilibrium point. Though Austrian, Schumpeter was never a member of the Austrian School of Economics. However, his position as regards entrepreneurship is widely commented on by Austrian School members. In particular, Israel M. Kirzner devoted his research activity to develop an alternative concept of entrepreneurship rooted in Misesian human action and the concept of ‘alertness’. This paper aims to analyze and compare the two positions, in an attempt not so much to stress differences but to find possible common paths for further developments of the concept of entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferlito, Carmelo, 2015. "Entrepreneurship: State of grace or human action? Schumpeter’s leadership vs Kirzner’s alertness," MPRA Paper 67694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:67694
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2015. "Malaysia NAP: More Shadows than Lights," MPRA Paper 67714, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2015. "Ludwig M. Lachmann contro la Scuola di Cambridge [Ludwig M. Lachmann against the Cambridge School]," MPRA Paper 67759, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2014. "Ludwig M. Lachmann Against the Cambridge School. Macroeconomics, Microfoundations, Expectations, Rate of Profit, Equilibrium and Innovations," MPRA Paper 67709, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 22 Jan 2015.
    4. Ferdinando Meacci & Carmelo Ferlito, 2018. "The classical roots of the Austrian theory of capital and entrepreneurship," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 315-339, September.
    5. Ferlito, Carmelo, 2019. "The Property Market, Affordability and the Malaysian National Housing Policy," EconStor Preprints 197287, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Schumpeter; Kirzner; Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Austrian School of Economics.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)
    • B25 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School
    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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