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Entrepreneurship as Social Construction: A Multilevel Evolutionary Approach

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Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research

Part of the book series: International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship ((IHSE,volume 5))

Abstract

Organizations are social structures – patterned and relatively stable arrangements of roles and statuses – that constitute the building blocks of modern capitalist societies. Efforts to understand their emergence typically focus on the role of entrepreneurs and concentrate on the firm level. Such firm-level analyses make sense in already existing populations and communities, because most new firms follow the paths of their predecessors and survive by filling an existing niche. However, in the case of new ventures that are the first of their kind, the formation of a firm cannot be the final step. Entrepreneurs creating organizations that depart from the established order must not only create a coherent and self-sustaining entity, but must also organize with other entrepreneurs to build a new, more favorable context.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Linda Renzulli, Scott Shane, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on an earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Howard E. Aldrich

  2. DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Martha A. Martinez

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  1. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, University Drive, Fairfax, 22030, USA

    Zoltan J. Acs

  2. Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, USA

    David B. Audretsch

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Aldrich, H.E., Martinez, M.A. (2010). Entrepreneurship as Social Construction: A Multilevel Evolutionary Approach. In: Acs, Z., Audretsch, D. (eds) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research. International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1191-9_15

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