Entrepreneurship: Exploring the knowledgebase

Systematic knowledge of entrepreneurship has evolved since the 1980s. In this study we will pay particular attention to the „knowledge producers‟ who have shaped the field over time but also to the „knowledge users‟ who have employed the core works in entrepreneurship in order to develop our knowledge of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship. A unique database consisting of all references in twelve „handbooks‟ (or state-of-the-art books) in entrepreneurship has been developed. The chapters in these handbooks are written by experts within the field, and it can be assumed that their references represent „core knowledge‟ with relevance to entrepreneurship research. In the study we conclude that a group of core knowledge producers seem to emerge over time. Still the field relies on old theoretical frameworks imported from mainstream disciplines. However, over the last decade sign could be seen of a stronger knowledge-base of its own in entrepreneurship research is emerging. Our analysis of the knowledge users in entrepreneurship research shows that the field is heavily anchored in „business‟ and „management‟. On the other hand, the core works in entrepreneurship are included in a large number of studies within many different fields of research – creating a „long tail‟ of users. We will argue that to successfully develop entrepreneurship research in the future, we need to relate new research opportunities to earlier knowledge within the field, which calls for a stronger „knowledge-based‟ focus. In the future we would also like to see a stronger integration between the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation studies