Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Insider perspectives on growth: Implications for a nondichotomous understanding of 'sustainable' and conventional entrepreneurship
ID_Doc 70317
Authors Klapper, RG; Upham, P; Blundel, RK
Title Insider perspectives on growth: Implications for a nondichotomous understanding of 'sustainable' and conventional entrepreneurship
Year 2021
Published Business Strategy And The Environment, 30, 3
DOI 10.1002/bse.2710
Abstract The aim of this paper is to offer an alternative to a priori theorising in research on firm-level growth and environmental sustainability. We outline an approach that combines John Shotter's phenomenology with post-hoc application of the Bourdieusian concepts of habitus, practices and social capital. This is illustrated empirically through a study conducted with a small group of Finnish entrepreneurs, which examines their lived experience of growth alongside its practical application in their ventures. The entrepreneurs' responses reveal holistic perspectives on growth that extend beyond the economic to incorporate personal commitments to norms of collectivity and well-being for themselves and others. The paper offers an exploratory but empirically grounded approach, arguing that a combination of insiders' perspectives and attention to the social embedding of economic activity challenge the dichotomous distinctions between sustainable and conventional entrepreneurship and reveal a degree of commonality that would not be evident via conventional categorisations on the basis of features such as business model type.
Author Keywords ‘ withness’ thinking; Bourdieu; Finland; firm‐ level growth; phenomenology; Shotter; sustainable entrepreneurship
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000603322300001
WoS Category Business; Environmental Studies; Management
Research Area Business & Economics; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
PDF https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/bse.2710
Similar atricles
Scroll