Entrepreneurship and the Firm: A Conversation on Foundations and Prospects

Nicolai J. Foss*, Anna Grandori

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has emerged as a major research theme across a number of disciplines and fields, including the industrial dynamics tradition. Entrepreneurship is often seen as closely linked to firms and firm formation. However, the links between economic organization and entrepreneurship are unclear. Do entrepreneurs always need firms to realize their plans? If so, why? Can firms be “entrepreneurial”? If so, what is the difference between an entrepreneurial and a non-entrepreneurial firm? More broadly, how can entrepreneurship be informed by the theory of the firm and vice versa? These foundational issues in both the theory of the firm and the field of entrepreneurship have not been resolved. This dialogue between two scholars who have worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship and the theory of the firm for more than 20 years addresses such key questions as: What is the meaning of “uncertainty” and what is its role? What are the features and roles of resources? How are resources linked to property rights and the firm? On what basis can we say that firms differ in the extent to which they are “entrepreneurial”?
Original languageEnglish
JournalIndustrial and Corporate Change
Volume29
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)581-598
Number of pages18
ISSN0960-6491
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2020

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