Concepts as Mirrors and Torches: Rigor and Relevance as Scholarly Performativity

Neil Aaron Thompson, Orla Byrne and Dimo Dimov

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2023, vol. 47, issue 6, 2155-2173

Abstract: This article aims to further the rigor and relevance discussion in entrepreneurship studies. It argues that tensions arise due to an adherence to a rigor-as-correspondence perspective, which can be addressed through the advancement of a rigor-as-performativity perspective. Entrepreneurship concepts are tools used to define, represent, and explain entrepreneurial experience, yet how these tools hook onto the world is a question of performance and application rather than unambiguous correspondence. We advocate for a view of rigor and relevance that appreciates the torch-like features of concepts—how they help entrepreneurs deal with the world so that they may fulfil their intentions—whilst retaining an understanding that the future is unknowable and change a constant.

Keywords: performativity; social practices; entrepreneurial action; speech acts; correspondence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:47:y:2023:i:6:p:2155-2173

DOI: 10.1177/10422587221128269

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