Temporality

Entrepreneurial processes unfold through time, not just in linear, chronological terms, but through actors’ lived experiences of past, present, and future. This section shows how history equips researchers to analyze both the objective sequences and the subjective sensemaking that shape entrepreneurial action. The incorporation of temporal complexity reveals entrepreneurship as a process of historical imagination and narrative construction.

Introduction

Time plays a central role in entrepreneurship research in multiple, interrelated ways. First, entrepreneurial opportunities are not static but evolve over time, making entrepreneurial action inherently path-dependent. Processes, such as imprinting and path creation shape how ventures emerge and adapt, as past conditions constrain and enable future choices.

Second, time matters to the subjective perceptions of entrepreneurs. They act under conditions of uncertainty, projecting futures based on interpretations of the past. In this way, entrepreneurship is not only shaped by history, it is also a “history-making” activity, where individuals and organizations construct futures through their temporal narratives and decisions.

Historical research brings two distinct methodological advantages to the study of temporality in entrepreneurship. A chronological perspective enables scholars to trace sequences, causality, and change over time, while a phenomenological perspective reveals how actors experience and make sense of time in entrepreneurial contexts. Scholars across history, philosophy, and the historical social sciences have long examined the relationship between time, memory, and sensemaking. Their insights provide a valuable foundations for entrepreneurship research to engage with temporal complexity.

Key References

Lippmann, S., & Aldrich, H. 2016. The Temporal Dimension of Context. In F. Welter, & W. B. Gartner (Eds.), A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Context: 54-64. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

This chapter explores how time influences entrepreneurial contexts, emphasizing that context is not static but evolves. The authors argue for treating temporality as dynamic and integral to understanding how entrepreneurial opportunities and constraints emerge over time.

Decker, S. 2022. Introducing the Eventful Temporality of Historical Research into International Business. Journal of World Business, 57(6): 101380.

Decker introduces the concept of “eventful temporality” to international business research, drawing on historical theory to show how transformative events shape trajectories. The article highlights how moments of disruption open new entrepreneurial possibilities.

Popp, A., & Holt, R. 2013. The Presence of Entrepreneurial Opportunity. Business History, 55(1): 9-28.

This article uses phenomenological and narrative perspectives to argue that entrepreneurial opportunities are not objective entities but emerge from temporal sensemaking processes. It’s a key contribution to understanding how entrepreneurs interpret and “construct” opportunity over time.

Lubinski, C., Wadhwani, R. D., Gartner, W. B., & Rottner, R. 2024. Humanistic Approaches to Change: Entrepreneurship and Transformation. Business History, 66(2): 347-363.

This piece advocates for a humanistic perspective on entrepreneurship as a force for societal transformation. It foregrounds temporal agency and explores how entrepreneurs reinterpret the past to imagine and enact alternative futures.

Raff, D. 2013. How to Do Things with Time. Enterprise & Society, 14(3): 435-466.

Raff provides a methodological essay on the use of time in business history. He differentiates between various temporal structures and offers practical insights into how historical researchers can analyze sequences and timing in entrepreneurial processes.

Wadhwani, R.D. & Lubinski, C. 2017. Reinventing Entrepreneurial History. Business History Review 91 (2): 767-799.

This article serves as a manifesto for a historically informed approach to entrepreneurship. The authors advocate for integrating chronology and temporality into entrepreneurship studies, using historical narrative to theorize entrepreneurial change.

Godley, A. & Hamilton, S. 2020. Different Expectations: A Comparative History of Structure, Experience, and Strategic Alliances in the U.S. and U.K. Poultry Sectors, 1920–1990. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 14(1): 89–104.

This comparative study demonstrates how divergent temporal expectations shaped entrepreneurial alliances and strategies in two national contexts. Highlights the importance of historically contingent temporal structures in shaping industry evolution.

Spinosa, C., Flores, F., & Dreyfus, H. L. 1997. Disclosing New Worlds: Entrepreneurship, Democratic Action, and the Cultivation of Solidarity. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

A philosophical exploration of entrepreneurship as a world-making activity. The authors argue that entrepreneurs disclose new possibilities by reinterpreting existing temporal and social norms. An influential text in conceptualizing entrepreneurship as temporally and socially transformative.