Sociological and Organizational Perspectives in Entrepreneurship Research
Toby Stuart
HBS 4355
The aim of the course is to survey the contemporary organization theory and sociology literature as it relates to phenomena that are of central interest to scholars of entrepreneurship.
Broadly, research on entrepreneurship examines factors that affect the identification, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities, especially concerning the creation of new organizations. Insofar as there is a central theme in the readings in the course, it is that an actor's social position is a critical influence on the likelihood that he, she or it (when the actor is an organization) will engage in entrepreneurial activity.
Current research on entrepreneurship draws from a variety of different theoretical lenses, and many articles are difficult to classify narrowly within any one research tradition. In fact, one of the frequent criticisms of research on entrepreneurship is that the "field" lacks a disciplinary focus. In this course we attempt to cover a broad spectrum of the literature, although we do not incorporate papers with a primary focus in economics and finance. The majority of the readings in the course have roots in (one or more) of these four broad theoretical areas: evolutionary theory, social network analysis, organizational ecology, and institutional theory.
The course is intended for graduate students in management, strategy and sociology, but it may be of interest to students in other social science disciplines. There are no prerequisites for this course, but a basic understanding of introductory, graduate-level statistics will be helpful
The purpose of the course is:
- To make you aware of some of the interesting research in entrepreneurship
- To facilitate your ability to draw on and engage this literature in your own research
- To cultivate your capability to critically evaluate social science research This is a seminar course.
As with all PhD seminars, the quality of the course will depend on the thoroughness with which you read the material and the ideas and energy you bring to class. All seminar participants are expected to participate in the discussions. Each paper will also have two pre-assigned discussion facilitators. The facilitators do not necessarily speak more than other participants. Their job will be to maintain order in the conversation, keep us on track if the conversation drifts from interesting questions before closure is reached, prompt reticent people to speak, and insure that the discussions center on the most interesting questions and ideas that are raised in a given piece of work. The facilitator will have the "louder" voice to decide which sequences of conversation get cut short and which ones we pursue longer.
In addition to preparing all readings for each session, a second requirement for the course is the completion of a final paper. The parameters of this assignment will be specified for each individual in the course so that the required work can be structured to best advance each individual's research interests.