A Constructivist Framework for Understanding Entrepreneurship Performance

Abstract

This paper outlines a constructivist framework for understanding the outcomes of the entrepreneurial process. The core thesis of the paper is that, taken alone, neither the personality of the entrepreneur nor the structural characteristics of the environment determine the outcome. Rather, it is argued that the outcome of the entrepreneurial process is emergent from a complex interaction between the entrepreneur, the environment, chance events and prior performance. The framework is illustrated with evidence from biographies of six entrepreneurs involved in successful processes.