Pivot, persist or perish? Knowledge problems and the extraordinarily tight boundary conditions of entrepreneurs as scientists

Abstract

The characterization of entrepreneurs as scientists (EaS) has become increasingly popular among management scholars because it fits neatly with existing theories of entrepreneurial action grounded in the assumption that entrepreneurs form and test beliefs in an intendedly rational fashion, under conditions of uncertainty, while continually seeking to obtain and process new information. Recent scholarship breathes new life into the EaS paradigm by proposing a framework that builds upon pragmatism in developing a microfoundational perspective concerning causally inferential action and rationality-based heuristics. Yet, the drift towards EaS is not without controversy. Business venturing is rarely analyzable through the lens of natural laws and orderly structures. Moreover, uncertainty is not the only knowledge problem (KP) that entrepreneurs confront. As such, EaS may be ineffective in bringing resolution to these other challenging KPs – ambiguity, complexity, and equivocality – especially when entrepreneurs are entertaining decisions to pivot or persist. In this sense, our work underscores the importance of EaS while also asserting the need for clear boundary conditions.