Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research: Disciplinary Perspectives

Sharon A. Alvarez · Rajshree R. Agarwal · Olav Sorenson

Mar 2006 · International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship Book 2 · Springer Science & Business Media

About this ebook

early economic thinkers and classic works such as Cantillon (1755), Knight (1921), and Kirzner (1973). The paper opens by explaining how uncertainty and thus entrepreneurship disappeared from microeconomic theory as it became increasingly formalized (and stylized). It then goes on to bring the entrepreneur and entrepreneurial decision-making back into economic theory by focusing on the interrelationships among actors, knowledge, and perceived economic opportunities using a resource-based framework. The third paper in this section (Chapter 4) is by Foss and Klein, "Entrepreneurship and the Economic Theory of the Firm: Any Gains from Trade?" Foss and Klein strongly link theories of the firm to entrepreneurship, arguing a fundamental and intrinsic connection between the two. They, like Mahoney and Michael, explain how entrepreneurship became less important in economic models as the general equilibrium model became dominant. Foss and Klein ask: Does the entrepreneur need a firm? They focus on the judgment of the entrepreneur and suggest that this judgment is exercised through asset ownership and starting a firm. Foss and Klein further argue that it is through this notion of judgment that heterogeneous assets combine to meet future wants.

About the author

Sharon A. Alvarez

Dr. Sharon Alvarez is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Department of Management and Human Resources at The Ohio State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. Professor Alvarez's current research interests include entrepreneurship and modern theories of the firm and technology alliances between entrepreneurial firms and larger established firms. She has published articles in Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Management, and Journal of Business Venturing and regularly presents her work at national conferences such as Academy of Management, Babson, and Strategic Management Conference. Dr. Alvarez currently holds editorial positions at Journal of Small Business Economics, Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice, and Journal of Business Venturing.

Rajshree Agarwal

Rajshree Agarwal is assistant professor of strategic management in the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Ph.D in Economics from SUNY-Buffalo. Professor Agarwal has worked in the area of evolutionary economics. Her papers have examined the diffusion of new product innovations and the impact of the industry life cycle on firm performance. Her current research interests focus on issues relating to dynamic capability acquisition, and how processes of knowledge transfer impact both industry evolution and firm performance. She has published articles in the Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Industrial Economics, and the Review of Economics and Statistics, among others. Professor Agarwal is an active member in both the American Economic Association and the Academy of Management, and regularly presents her work at several national and international conferences.

Olav Sorenson

Olav Sorenson is associate professor of policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. from the Sociology Department at Stanford University. Professor Sorenson's research focuses on two topics: the role of social networks in entrepreneurship and economic geography, and the relationship between organizational design and organizational learning. His research appears in several leading journals, such as the American Journal of Sociology, Management Science, the Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, Industrial and Corporate Change, and the Sloan Management Review. Dr. Sorenson also currently holds, or has held, editorial positions at the American Journal of Sociology, Administrative Science Quarterly, the Academy of Management Review, Small Business Economics, Research Policy and Strategic Organization.