The I of the Storm : Entrepreneurial Action as Practical Reason

Abstract

In blurring the distinction between third- and first-person perspectives of entrepreneurial action, current theories fail to differentiate the knowledge domains of scholars and entrepreneurs. We develop a shift in theorizing entrepreneurial action, focusing on a self engaged in practical reasoning. In our framework, entrepreneurial action is what makes one an entrepreneur—there is no entrepreneur prior to it. We elucidate entrepreneurial action as implicating a complex intention, with the entrepreneurial self as the cause of action. Entrepreneurship thus entails time-extended, social agency: entrepreneurs act both in the present and for the future. By regaining the first-person footing of entrepreneurial action theory, we open new avenues for theoretical development.