The Entrepreneurial Theory of the Firm and the Theory of the Entrepreneurial Firm*
Abstract
abstract The entrepreneurial theory of the firm argues that entrepreneurship, properly understood, is a crucial but neglected element in explaining the nature and boundaries of the firm. By contrast, the theory of the entrepreneurial firm presumably seeks not to understand the nature and boundaries of ‘the firm’ in general but rather to understand a particular type of firm: one that is entrepreneurial. This paper is an attempt to reconcile the two. After briefly delving for the concept of entrepreneurship in the work of Schumpeter, Kirzner, and (especially) Knight, the paper makes the case for the entrepreneurial theory of the firm. In such a theory, the firm exists as the solution to a coordination problem in a world of change and uncertainty, including Knightian or structural uncertainty.
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International business scholarship has left capabilities considerations underdeveloped.
“Notwithstanding his early contributions, international business scholarship has left capabilities considerations underdeveloped, to its considerable detriment (e.g., Birkinshaw & Hood, 1998; Cantwell, 2009; Langlois, 2007).”
From A dynamic capabilities-based entrepreneurial theory of the multinational enterprise (2014) · cites this paper as Langlois, 2007
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References 78 · Cited by 199
- Authors
- Langlois, R. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Corresponding author
- Langlois, Richard N.
- ORCID
- Langlois, Richard N.
- Venue
- Journal of Management Studies
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-11
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1107-1124
- ISSN
- 0022-2380 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-6486
- OpenAlex
- W3123294994
- Cited by
- 199
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 15.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Management Studies (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Theory and Institutions
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Firm Innovation and Growth
- Keywords
- entrepreneurship, nature of the firm, firm boundaries, coordination problems, uncertainty, Knightian uncertainty, structural uncertainty, Joseph Schumpeter, Kirzner, knights
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