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Three Waves of Research on Historical Entrepreneurship

The study of entrepreneurship from a historical perspective emerged in the nineteenth century as a heterodox response to classical economics and political economy. Historical economists criticized classical political economy for overlooking the agency of individual actors, abstracting economic activity from its historical and social contexts, and failing to capture the evolutionary dynamics of capitalism. In contrast, they emphasized entrepreneurship as a central force in driving historical change within capitalist societies. Drawing on the rise of academic historical methods and sources, these scholars advocated for analyzing entrepreneurship within its broader institutional and temporal context. Their inductive studies helped lay the intellectual foundations for later scholars to theorize general processes of change within capitalism, most notably Joseph Schumpeter and his concept of “creative destruction.”


A second wave of research took shape after World War II, more explicitly framed as “entrepreneurial history.” This period saw the establishment of Explorations in Entrepreneurial History, the first journal dedicated to the topic, and the formation of the Harvard Research Center in Entrepreneurial History, which briefly served as an international hub for interdisciplinary scholarship on the subject. However, historical social scientists increasingly drifted away from the study of entrepreneurship in the late nineteenth century to focus on the seemingly more scientific and tractable study of organizations, institutions, and markets. Ironically, this took place just as practitioners, policymakers, and eventually social scientists in business schools became increasingly interested in entrepreneurship.


The third and most recent wave of entrepreneurship research, largely emerging from management and strategy disciplines, has often proceeded with limited historical awareness. It has prioritized micro-level analyses of how individuals identify and exploit opportunities, typically at the expense of investigating the broader historical dynamics in which entrepreneurship is embedded.

In this context, the Rethinking Entrepreneurship in Society project at Copenhagen Business School and the Historical Approaches to Entrepreneurship Research Symposium (HERS) at the Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, can be considered part of a collective effort to cultivate a third wave of historical entrepreneurship that grapples with the theoretical and practical challenges in understanding capitalism today in light of the past.


Key References

  • Wadhwani, R. D. Kirsch, D. Welter, F. Forthcomig. Contextualizing the Canon: Societal Change and the Evolution & Future of Entrepreneurship Research. Academy of Management Proceedings.Examines how foundational ideas in entrepreneurship research have emerged in response to shifting societal contexts. The authors call for a more historically grounded and reflexive approach to theory development, highlighting the value of contextualizing the field’s intellectual canon.

  • Hébert, R. F., & Link, A. N. 2006. Historical Perspectives on the Entrepreneur. Foundations and Trends in Entrepreneurship, 2(4): 261-408.A comprehensive survey of how the concept of the entrepreneur has evolved across economic thought. This work traces interpretations from Cantillon and Say to Schumpeter and Kirzner, offering a structured typology that remains influential in entrepreneurship research.

  • Hébert, R. F., & Link, A. N. 2009. A History of Entrepreneurship. New York and London: Routledge.A broad historical overview that combines intellectual history with thematic analysis. The authors examine how entrepreneurship has been understood and practiced from antiquity through the modern era, making this a foundational reference for those new to the field.

  • Landström, H., & Lohrke, F. (Eds.). 2010. Historical Foundations of Entrepreneurship Research. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.This edited volume brings together leading scholars to reassess the field’s intellectual roots and historical evolution. It includes key chapters on theory, methodology, and the legacy of institutions like the Harvard Research Center.

  • Schumpeter, J. A. 1954. History of Economic Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.A sweeping history of economic thought in which Schumpeter situates the entrepreneur as a central agent of innovation and change. While not exclusively focused on entrepreneurship, the work deeply informs later historical approaches to the topic.

  • Swedberg, R. 1998. Entrepreneurship: The Social Science View. New York: Oxford University Press.A sociologically grounded critique of economic approaches to entrepreneurship. Swedberg argues for greater attention to context, culture, and social structure, laying groundwork for interdisciplinary historical research.

  • Wadhwani, R. D. 2010. Historical Reasoning and the Development of Entrepreneurship Theory. In H. Landström, & F. Lohrke (Eds.), Historical Foundations of Entrepreneurship Research: 343-362. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.This chapter makes a methodological case for integrating historical reasoning into entrepreneurship theory. Wadhwani articulates how historical methods can illuminate long-term processes and causal mechanisms that are often invisible in cross-sectional studies.

  • McCraw, T. 2007. Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University PressA rich biography of Schumpeter that contextualizes his intellectual development and enduring influence on entrepreneurship theory. McCraw’s narrative captures the interplay between life, ideas, and historical context.

  • Jones, G., & Wadhwani, R. D. (Eds.). 2007. Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub.This edited volume explores the historical relationship between entrepreneurship and global capitalism from the nineteenth century to the present. Through comparative and cross-national case studies, it highlights how entrepreneurial activity has both shaped and been shaped by global economic transformations.

  • Prendergast, R. 2006. Schumpeter, Hegel, and the Vision of Development. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 30: 253-275.This article explores philosophical influences on Schumpeter’s theory of economic change, especially the role of dialectical thinking. It is particularly useful for understanding the theoretical underpinnings of Schumpeterian entrepreneurship.

  • Fredona, R., & Reinert, S. A. 2017. The Harvard Research Center in Entrepreneurial History and the Daimonic Entrepreneur. History of Political Economy, 49(2): 267- 314.A historical case study of the Harvard Research Center that reveals how early postwar scholars conceptualized the entrepreneur. The authors reintroduce the idea of the “daimonic” entrepreneur as a morally and socially complex figure.

Summary


This section traces the intellectual genealogy of historical entrepreneurship research, from its nineteenth-century origins to its current revival. It shows how the field evolved in response to changes in economics, organizational theory, and business practice. The overview highlights the enduring relevance of historical approaches and sets the stage for contemporary efforts to re-integrate history into entrepreneurship theory.

Rethinking Entrepreneurship is a research project at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and generously supported by the Carlsberg Foundation. We explore the dynamic and evolving discourse of entrepreneurship, its impact on society, and its role in shaping the future. With a team of dedicated scholars, we delve deep into the question how the way we understand entrepreneurship links to our ability to address societal change and frames our thinking about society in past, present and future.

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