An Evolutionary Approach to the Theory of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship, 2007

More than a decade ago, Low and MacMillan identified three elements indispensable to an understanding of entrepreneurial success: process, context, and outcomes. Since their critique, three important advances include (a) a shift in theoretical emphasis from the characteristics of entrepreneurs as individuals to the consequences of their actions, (b) a deeper understanding of how entrepreneurs use knowledge, networks, and resources to construct firms, and (c) a more sophisticated taxonomy of environmental forces at different levels of analysis (population, community, and society) that affect entrepreneurship. Although our knowledge of entrepreneurial activities has increased dramatically, we still have much to learn about how process and context interact to shape the outcome of entrepreneurial efforts. From an evolutionary approach, process and context (strategy and environment) interact in a recursive continuous process, driving the fate of entrepreneurial efforts. Thus, integrating context and process into research designs remains a major challenge. Such integration constitutes a necessary step to a more complete evolutionary approach and a better understanding of entrepreneurial success.

Journal of Economic Theory, 2012

This research suggests that a Darwinian evolution of entrepreneurial spirit played a sig-ni…cant role in the process of economic development and the dynamics of inequality within and across societies. The study argues that entrepreneurial spirit evolved non-monotonically in the course of human history. In early stages of development, risk-tolerant, growth promoting traits generated an evolutionary advantage and their increased representation accelerated the pace of technological progress and the process of economic development. In mature stages of development, however, risk-averse traits gained an evolutionary advantage, diminishing the growth potential of advanced economies and contributing to convergence in economic growth across countries.

2005

This paper explores that application of evolutionary approaches to the study of entrepreneurship. An eclectic approach that aims to highlight the multiple sources of evolutionary thought that frequently remain outside the boundaries of organizational theorizing is used. It is argued that any evolutionary theory of entrepreneurship must appreciate the foundations of evolutionary thought as much as it must consider the nature entrepreneurship.

Perspectives in Entrepreneurship: A Course Text, Palgrave, 2011

‘From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved’ (Darwin, 1859, p. 490). In the closing lines of Darwin’s Origin of the Species he wonders at the force of evolution in biology, while at the same time putting forward the tantalising possibility that evolutionary forces might be at work in other domains of study. Since the publication of Darwin’s Origin of the Species (Darwin 1859), researchers in domains of study at times far removed from biology have expanded the key principles of Darwinian change to disciplines such as language, psychology, economics, behaviour and culture (Aldrich, 1999; Dennett, 1995; Durham, 1991; Nelson and Winter, 1982; Plotkin, 1994; Richerson and Boyd, 2005; Tooby and Cosmides, 1992). While there are differences in approach amongst these diverse strands of research, a perspective has emerged which has been labelled the Universal or Generalized Darwinist approach (Dawkins, 1983; Hodgson and Knudsen, 2010; Stoelhurst, 2008). Generalized Darwinists argue that at a sufficiently general level of abstraction a core set of general Darwinian principles of variation, selection and retention can be used to describe evolution within a variety of domains (Campbell, 1965; Hodgson and Knudsen, 2004), including biology, psychology, culture and economics. In this way the words of Darwin quoted above might even describe the evolution of different forms of organizations and industries from the simple beginnings of an entrepreneurial start-up in a Schumpeterian style industry birth.

Neoclassical economists correlated entrepreneurship to the market economy where demandsupply and rational thinking were the deciding factors of entrepreneurship. In early 20 th century economists like, Hawley(1907), , shared this neo-classical view.

The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, 2010

Innovation and Development, 2014

The contribution of entrepreneurship to economic growth varies across countries at different stages of economic development. The type of entrepreneurship also varies as countries develop: the ratio of necessity based entrepreneurial firms (new entrepreneurial ventures borne to escape unemployment) relative to opportunity based entrepreneurial firms (new entrepreneurial ventures driven by business opportunities) changes as economies grow. Government has an interest in shaping the institutional environment in a way that supports dynamic entrepreneurial activity and contributes to economic growth. In this paper we endogenise institutional variety into modern evolutionary models of diffusion; variety not only in organizational structures but also in investment financing of entrepreneurial firms. We discuss how our analysis updates understanding of modern evolutionary models of diffusion and we reflect on the practical implications for policy makers to support entrepreneurial activities and stimulate economic growth.

The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets, 2018

The level of entrepreneurial activity is higher in emerging markets than in developed economies, driven by high levels of necessity entry and less daunting entry barriers, especially in the informal sector. However, a gap remains in our understanding of its extent and of the drivers of its change. This chapter addresses this gap by conceptualizing and providing evidence about the scale and nature of entrepreneurship in emerging markets. The chapter begins with an empirical analysis of entrepreneurship in emerging economies. In particular, it contrasts the way in which human capital is utilized by entrepreneurs in emerging market economies and in developed countries. The chapter goes on to the theme of human capital, bringing in theory, and considering entrepreneurship in emerging economies at the individual level as well as the role of entrepreneurs’ social capital in the emerging economy context. Furthermore, it considers the scale and impact of the repatriation of human and social capital from abroad, which is found to play an important role in entrepreneurship in many emerging economies, especially when considering innovation. The survey goes on to provide a macro-level analysis, with cross-country comparisons of the effects of institutions and finance on entrepreneurial activity in emerging markets. It concludes by suggesting avenues for future research.

IECER Conference, Amsterdam, 2005

In this paper I describe the processes of internal and external selection of a business project before official founding. I put particular emphasis on the psychological processes of `internal' selection in an aspiring entrepreneur. The project deals with development and commercialisation of innovative DNA-Biochips. These can be used to detect gene-based health conditions and in drug discovery. The case study is used to test some conjectures on the operation of evolutionary principles in economics and to identify similar and differing characteristics in visionary technologists and entrepreneurs.