THE CULTURE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP: TOWARDS A RELATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

The literatures of management and organization, which include the notion of entrepreneurship, are characterized by the implicit assumptions of an entitative perspective. In this paper we would like to argue that the vast literatures of entrepreneurship have been restrained by this perspective which has resulted in producing ‘more of the same’. The focus of entrepreneurial literatures has almost exclusively been pitched at a ‘person’ level of analysis, which is possible the most susceptible to observable variations in national culture. The corollary of this being that the theory of entrepreneurship has not been sufficiently supplemented or supported by an explanatory perspective to support its rich and social character. The ‘relational’ perspective is underpinned by an epistemology which recognizes knowledge as socially constructed, shared, and validated. This allows different questions to be asked from those possible with an entitative perspective and may be what is required to allow a sufficient scope of understanding for context specific and cultural research.