Truly, madly, deeply: Strategic entrepreneuring and the aesthetic practices of craft entrepreneurs

Abstract

Research SummaryStrategic entrepreneurship research has long focused on high growth and wealth maximization in the creation of primarily economic value. As such, it has largely overlooked craft entrepreneurs, who prioritize skill, materiality, and immersive action in creating broader forms of value. Deep engagement with materials, alongside daily aesthetic (sensory, tacit, embodied) practices are key to how craft entrepreneurs create unique value and strengthen competitive distinction. Drawing on ethnographic data from two craft‐based settings, we abductively generated three dimensions and associated tensions by which craft entrepreneurs leverage aesthetics for strategic entrepreneuring: materializing, enchanting, empathizing. Our key contribution is to unpack the embodied—and very human—processes by which craft entrepreneurs imagine and give life to unique offerings while creating distinctive value for both themselves and their stakeholders.Managerial SummaryThe focus of strategic entrepreneurship research is often on economic value creation, along with high growth and wealth maximization. By exploring the everyday practices of craft entrepreneurs, we unpack how creating broader forms of value (e.g., symbolic, artistic, social, cultural) through immersive and embodied actions contributes to stylistic and competitive distinction. For the craft entrepreneurs in our study, remaining competitive is about engaging in sensuous practices that result in meaningful and authentic offerings, for both themselves and their stakeholders. By capturing and exploring these daily practices, along with the tensions that undergird real‐time exchanges with stakeholders, we provide fresh insights into how craft entrepreneurs create unique value while delicately balancing tradition with innovation to strengthen competitive distinction.