Skip to main content
Log in

What do we [not] know about technology entrepreneurship research?

  • Published:
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aims to review what we do (and do not) know about technology entrepreneurship (TE) research to date. Based on a categorized bibliometric analysis resulting from a systematic review of 135 scientific articles published in refereed journals over the past 27 years (1986–2013), we identify the core domains of TE, its intellectual structure, the scientific journals with a major impact in this field of research, and the affiliation and collaboration networks within it. Specifically, through a detailed analysis of article co-citations within the TE area, this study provides co-citation networks of authors, journals, and their respective clusters, revealing their rankings in terms of contributions to the TE literature. This comprehensive analysis can be used to enhance our understanding of TE and support further research in this field.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aldrich, H. (1999). Organizations evolving. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, H., & Fiol, C. (1994). Fools rush in? The institutional context of industry creation. The Academy of Management Review, 19(4), 645–670.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antoncic, B., & Prodan, I. (2008). Alliances, corporate technological entrepreneurship and firm performance: testing a model on manufacturing firms. Technovation, 28(5), 257–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D., Keilbach, M., & Lehmann, E. (2006). Entrepreneurship and economic growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bahrami, H., & Evans, S. (1995). Flexible re-cycling and high-technology entrepreneurship. California Management Review, 37(3), 62–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barr, S., Baker, T., Markham, S., & Kingon, A. (2009). Bridging the valley of death: lessons learned from 14 years of commercialization of technology education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 8(3), 370–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W. (1968). Entrepreneurship in economic theory. American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, 58(2), 64–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W. (1993). Formal entrepreneurship theory in economics: existence and bounds. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(3), 197–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumol, W. (2005). Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Toward their Microeconomic Value Theory. AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.

  • Baumol, W., Litan, E., & Schramm, J. (2007). Good capitalism, Bad capitalism and the economics of growth and prosperity. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckman, C., Eisenhardt, K., Kotha, S., Meyer, A., & Rajagopalan, N. (2012). Technology entrepreneurship. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(2), 89–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhide, A. (2000). The Origin and Evaluation of New Business. Oxford University Press.

  • Bijker, W., & Law, J. (1992). Shaping technology/building society: Studies in sociotechnical change. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bijker, W., Hughes, T., & Pinch, T. (1987). The social construction of technological systems: New directions in the sociology and history of technology. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, E., & Macdonald, S. (1982). Revolution in miniature: The history and impact of semiconductor electronics re-explored. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruton, G., & Rubanik, Y. (2002). Resources of the firm, Russian high-technology startups, and firm growth. Journal of Business Venturing, 17(6), 553–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casillas, J., & Acedo, F. (2007). Evolution of the intellectual structure of family business literature: a bibliometric study of FBR. Family Business Review, 20(2), 141–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. (1982). The entrepreneur: An economic theory. Totowa: Barnes & Noble Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. (1987). The firm and the market: Studies on multinational enterprise and the scope of the firm. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. (1995). Entrepreneurship and business culture: Studies in the economics of trust. Brookfield: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. (1997). Information and organization: A new perspective on the theory of the firm. Oxford: Claredon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M. (2003). The entrepreneur: An economic theory. 2nd edition, Cheltenham, UK and Northanpton. MA: Edward Elgar.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, P., & Shih, H. (2004). The innovation systems of Taiwan and china: a comparative analysis. Technovation, 24(7), 529–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, W., & Levinthal, D. (1990). Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 128–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Guardo, M., & Harrigan, K. (2012). Mapping research on strategic alliances and innovation: a co-citation analysis. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 37(6), 789–811.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: collective rationality and institutional isomorphism in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodgson, M. (2009). Asia’s national innovation systems: institutional adaptability and rigidity in the face of global innovation challenges. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(3), 589–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doganova, L., & Eyquem-Renault, M. (2009). What do business models do? Innovation devices in technology entrepreneurship. Research Policy, 38(10), 1559–1570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dushnitsky, G., & Lenox, M. (2005a). When do firms undertake R&D by investing in new ventures? Strategic Management Journal, 26(10), 947–965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dushnitsky, G., & Lenox, M. (2005b). When do incumbents learn from entrepreneurial ventures? Research Policy, 34(5), 615–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building theories from case study research. The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K., & Schoonhoven, C. (1990). Organizational growth: linking founding team, strategy, environment, and growth among US semiconductor ventures, 1978–1988. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(3), 504–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etemad, H., & Lee, Y. (2003). The knowledge network of international entrepreneurship: theory and evidence. Small Business Economics, 20(1), 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R., & Kenney, M. (1988). Venture capital and high technology entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 3(4), 301–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gans, J., & Stern, S. (2003). The product market and the market for “ideas”: commercialization strategies for technology entrepreneurs. Research Policy, 32(2), 333–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartner, W., Davidsson, P., & Zahra, S. (2006). Are you talking to me? The nature of community in entrepreneurship scholarship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 30(3), 321–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garud, R. (1997). On the distinction between know-how, know-why and know-what in technological systems. In J. Walsh & A. Huff (Eds.), Advances in strategic management (pp. 81–101). Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garud, R., & Karnøe, P. (2003). Bricolage versus breakthrough: distributed and embedded agency in technology entrepreneurship. Research Policy, 32(2), 277–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garud, R., & Rappa, M. (1994). A socio-cognitive model of technology evolution. Organization Science, 5(3), 344–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garud, R., & Van de Ven, A. (1987). Innovation and the emergence of industries. Proceedings of the Academy of Management National Meeting, New Orleans, (pp. 319–322).

  • Garud, R., Kumaraswamy, A., & Nayyar, P. (1998). Real options or fool’s gold: perspective makes the difference. Academy of Management Review, 3(2), 212–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilsing, V., van Burg, E., & Romme, A. (2010). Policy principles for the creation and success of corporate and academic spin-offs. Technovation, 30(1), 12–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, D. (1996). Entrepreneurship and the market process. London: Routlidge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hébert, R., & Link, A. (1982). The entrepreneur. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hébert, R., & Link, A. (2009). A history of entrepreneurship. Milton Park: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karnøe, P. (1993). Approaches to innovation in modern wind energy technology: Technology policies, science, engineers and craft traditions. Stanford: Center for Economic Policy Research Publication, Publication 334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassicieh, S., Radosevich, H., & Banbury, C. (1997). Using attitudinal, situational, and personal characteristics variables to predict future entrepreneurs from national laboratory inventors. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 44(3), 248–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner, I. (1997). Entrepreneurial discovery and the competitive market process: an Austrian approach. Journal of Economic Literature, 35(1), 60–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R., & Pinch, T. (1996). Users as agents of technological change: the social construction of automobile in the rural United States. Technology and Culture, 37(4), 763–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, F. (2002). Risk, uncertainty and profit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landström, H. (2005). Pioneers in entrepreneurship and small business research. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Landström, H., & Benner, M. (2010). Entrepreneurship research: A history of scholarly migration. In H. Landström & F. Lohrke (Eds.), Historical foundations of entrepreneurship research (pp. 15–45). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Latour, B. (1991). Technology is society made durable. In J. Law (Ed.), A sociology of monsters: Essays on power, technology and domination. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lievrouw, L. (1989). The invisible college reconsidered: bibliometrics and the development of scientific communication theory. Communication Research, 16(5), 615–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maine, E., & Garnsey, E. (2006). Commercializing generic technology: the case of advanced materials ventures. Research Policy, 35(3), 375–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, S. (2008). Mapping the invisible colleges of R&D management. R&D Management, 38(1), 69–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melkers, J., Bulger, D., & Bozeman, L. (1993). Technology transfer and economic development. In R. Bingham & R. Mier (Eds.), Theories of local economic development. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mises, L. (1978). Planning for freedom. South Holland: Libertarian Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, A., & Lowder, S. (1992). Flexible specialization: the application of theory in a poor country context: Leon, Mexico. International Journal of Urban & Regional Research, 16(2), 190–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mustar, P., & Wright, M. (2010). Convergence or path dependency in policies to foster the creation of university spin-off firms? A comparison of France and the United Kingdom. Journal of Technology Transfer, 35(1), 42–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nacu, C., & Avasilcăi, S. (2014). Environmental factors influencing technological entrepreneurship: research framework and results. Procedia – Social and Behavioral, 109, 1309–1315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neck, H., Meyer, G., Cohen, B., & Corbett, A. (2004). An entrepreneurial system view of new venture creation. Journal of Small Business, 42(2), 190–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, R. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, R., & Rosenberg, N. (1993). Technical innovation and national systems. National innovation systems: A comparative analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, S. (2005). The economics of entrepreneurship: what we know and what we don’t. Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 1–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phan, P., & Foo, M. (2004). Technological entrepreneurship in emerging regions. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, M. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 73–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, W., Koput, K., & Smith-Doerr, L. (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: networks of learning in biotechnology. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(1), 116–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price, S. (1963). Little science, big science. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, S. (1971). Some remarks on elitism in information and the invisible college phenomenon in science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 22(2), 74–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, E. (1991). Entrepreneurs in high technology. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. Retrieved from http://www.d.umn.edu/~lrochfor/ireland/dif-of-in-ch06.pdf November 2013.

  • Rosenberg, N. (1982). Inside the black box: Technology and economics. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schramm, J. (2006). The entrepreneurial imperative: How America’s economic miracle will reshape the world (and change your life). New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. (1934). The theory of economic development. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. (1942). Socialism, capitalism and democracy. New York: Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, N. (1986). Universities and technological entrepreneurship in Britain: some implications of the Cambridge phenomenon. Technovation, 4(3), 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. (2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization Science, 11(4), 448–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S. (2004). Academic entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2003). Guest editors’ introduction to the special issue on technology entrepreneurship. Research Policy, 32(2), 181–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small, H. (1973). Co-citation in the scientific literature: a new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smilor, R., & Feeser, H. (1991). Chaos and the entrepreneurial process: patterns and policy implications for technology entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 6(3), 165–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. (1981). Citation analysis. Library Trends, 30(1), 83–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Song, M., & Podoynitsyna, K. (2008). Success factors in new ventures: a meta-analysis. The Journal of Product Innovation Management, 25(1), 7–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, J., Murtha, T., & Lenway, S. (2005). How governments matter to new industry creation. Academy of Management Review, 30(2), 321–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spulber, D. (2009). The theory of the firm: Microeconomics with endogenous entrepreneurs, firms, markets and organizations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Spulber, D. (2011). The innovator’s decision: Entrepreneurship versus technology transfer. In D. Audretsch, O. Falk, S. Heblich, & A. Lederer (Eds.), Handbook of research on innovation and entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storper, M. (1995). The resurgence of regional economics, ten years later: the region as a nexus of untreated interdependencies. European Urban and Regional Studies, 2(3), 191–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuart, T., Hoang, H., & Hybels, R. (1999). Interorganizational endorsements and the performance of entrepreneurial ventures. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 315–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg, R. (2000). Entrepreneurship. The social science view. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, J., Fischer, E., Mitchell, R., & Phan, P. (2009). At the center of the action: Innovation and technology strategy research in the small business setting. Journal of Small Business Management, 47(3), 233–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. (1986). Profiting from technological innovation: implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy. Research Policy, 15(6), 285–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. (1987). Profiting from technological innovation: implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy. In D. Teece (Ed.), The competitive challenge: Strategies for industrial innovation and renewal (pp. 185–219). Cambridge: Ballinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. (1998). Research directions for knowledge management. California Management Review, 40(3), 289–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira, A. (2011). Mapping the (in)visible college(s) in the field of entrepreneurship. Scientometrics, 89(1), 1–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomsom, R. (2008). Using Bibliometrics: A Guide to Evaluating Research Performance with Citation Data, Retrieved from http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/m/pdfs/325133_thomson.pdf January 2014.

  • Tierney, R., Hermina, W., & Walsh, S. (2013). The pharmaceutical technology landscape: a new form of technology road mapping. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 80(2), 194–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomes, A., Erol, R., & Armstrong, P. (2000). Technological entrepreneurship: integrating technological and product innovation. Technovation, 20(3), 115–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tripsas, M. (2001). Understanding the timing of technological transitions: the role of user preference discontinuities. Proceedings of the Academy of Management Meetings, Washington, DC.

  • Tushman, M., & Anderson, P. (1986). Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31(3), 439–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usher, A. (1954). A history of mechanical inventions. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Eck, N., & Waltman, L. (2009). How to normalize concurrence data? An analysis of some well-known similarity measures. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(8), 1635–1651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Eck, N., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey VOSviewer: a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman, S. (1997). The distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research. In J. Katz & J. Brockhaus (Eds.), Advances in entrepreneurship, firm emergence and growth (pp. 119–138). Greenwich: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman, S. (2004). Regional transformation through technological entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(1), 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verbeek, A., Debackere, K., Luwel, M., & Zimmermann, E. (2002). Measuring progress and evolution in science and technology - I: the multiple uses of bibliometric indicators. International Journal of Management Reviews, 4(2), 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Hippel, E. (1986). Lead users: a source of novel product concepts. Management Science, 32(7), 791–805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, T., & Kirchhoff, A. (2002). Technology transfer from government labs to entrepreneurs. Journal of Enterprising Culture, 10(2), 133–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waltman, L., Van Eck, N., & Noyons, E. (2010). A unified approach to mapping and clustering of bibliometric networks. Journal of Informetrics, 4(4), 629–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, H., & McCain, K. (1998). Visualizing a discipline: an author co-citation analysis of information science 1972–1995. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 49(4), 327–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. (2003). Global and national factors affecting e-commerce diffusion in Singapore. The Information Society, 19(1), 19–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M., Birley, S., & Mosey, S. (2004). Entrepreneurship and university technology transfer. Journal of Technology Transfer, 29(3/4), 235–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M., Hmieleski, K., Siegel, D., & Ensley, M. (2007). The role of human capital in technological entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 31(6), 791–806.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yanez, M., Khalil, T., & Walsh, S. (2010). IAMOT and education: defining a technology and innovation management (TIM) body-of-knowledge (BoK) for graduate education (TIM BoK). Technovation, 30(7/8), 389–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zitt, M., & Bassecoulard, E. (1994). Development of a method for detection and trend analysis of research fronts built by lexical or cocitation analysis. Scientometrics, 30(1), 333–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuccala, A. (2006). Modeling the invisible college. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(2), 152–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zucker, L., Darby, M., & Brewer, M. (1998). Intellectual human capital and the birth of U.S. biotechnology enterprises. American Economic Review, 88(1), 290–30.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to João J. M. Ferreira.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ferreira, J.J.M., Ferreira, F.A.F., Fernandes, C.I.M.A.S. et al. What do we [not] know about technology entrepreneurship research?. Int Entrep Manag J 12, 713–733 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-015-0359-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-015-0359-2

Keywords

Navigation