Evolution of Entrepreneurship Theories through Different Schools of Thought

Abstract

In the early days Entrepreneurship as a phenomenon which was of interest only for Economists. Early references of the term Entrepreneurship was from the economists Richard Cantleton (1755), and Jean Babtiste Say (1803). Neoclassical economists correlated entrepreneurship to the market economy where demand-supply and rational thinking were the deciding factors of entrepreneurship. In early 20th century economists like, Hawley(1907), Knight (1921), shared this neo-classical view. Later discussions centered around entrepreneurial risk, learning, decision making in the face of uncertainty, and cognition of entrepreneurs. Shumpeter (1928),Heyek(1948), Mises (1949), Leibenstain(1968), Shakle(1970), Krizner (1981), Cason(1982) and Choi(1993) Haroer(1996), Drucker(1986) etc., have contributed in different ways providing different angles of view of the risk, uncertainty, learning and decision making patterns of the economic agents. In parallel with economists, sociologists and psychologists also were attracted to the phenomenon of entrepreneurship. Sociologists like Weber (1922), Cole(1949), Cochran(1949), Jenks(1949), went into the entrepreneurial history. Hoselitz(1971), Young(1971), looked into social marginality, Hannh & Freeman(1977), Thornton(1999), Aldrich & Martinez(2001), Stam(2002), have developed the theories of evolutionary approaches, Glade(1967), Greenfield & Strickon (1981) Gardner(1985), situational approaches, and Chell (2000) developed social constructionism. Psychologists like Mc Clelland(1961) and Hagen(1962) developed traits theories and Rotter(1996), Gilad(1982) and Kets de Vries(1977) developed theories on locus of control. In the given paper, a humble effort is made to crystallize an understanding of entrepreneurship by viewing through various angles in the environment of differing theories on entrepreneurship.