Here's a holiday present for our entrepreneurship community. A new Journal of Business Venturing Insights call for papers inviting scholars to help us "Debunk entrepreneurial myths, fads and fairy tales": https://lnkd.in/gK_wjNJK
The world of entrepreneurship contains an array of mysterious creatures and stories of heroic crusades, powered by a peculiar start-up jargon. These fuel our collective imagination and encourage individuals to embark on the entrepreneurial journey. Some exceptional cases seem to have set the tone for what the rest should do and achieve; the Musks, Bransons, Draytons, Mycoskies, and Bankman-Frieds of the world. They are meant to change the world and offer what George Monbiot (2018) refers to as the modern restoration story. These stories are the means by which we navigate the world and there are some basic plots that we use again and again. Monbiot describes the basic plot as follows: "Disorder afflicts the land, caused by powerful and nefarious forces working against the interests of humanity. But the hero will revolt against this disorder, fight those powerful forces, against the odds overthrow them, and restore harmony to the land." (Monbiot, 2017)
Perhaps putting entrepreneurship under the spotlight and bringing evidence to the surface is inconvenient and might remove the necessary glamour that keeps entrepreneurship very much alive in the public and political discourse. Yet, we believe it is our collective responsibility to look under the carpet, clean the dust and inform and illuminate public debate through evidence. We have heard repeated calls to focus on what entrepreneurship actually is and delivers, to avoid the dazzling effect of black swans, which gets on the way to understanding real entrepreneurship (Aldrich & Ruef, 2018). We invite researchers to help us debunk myths, fads, and fairy tales, both prevalent in entrepreneurial practice, policy, and media, and echoed and amplified in the academic discourse, by providing for example:
Evidence reviews that help us distinguish what is real, unreal and sub real in the world of entrepreneurship. Evidence reviews will collate and systematize existing evidence to debunk myths, fads and fairy tales. This is an opportunity to build evidence-based new theory challenging prevalent assumptions in the academic discourse and public perceptions.
Counter-insights based on new, primary evidence producing results that run counter to widespread assumptions, which can potentially lay the ground for counter-narratives.
Thought-provoking essays that can help us move forward in our understanding of real entrepreneurship. Essays that draw on the researchers' experience and learnings from debunking myths, fads, and fairy tales. We encourage researchers to unshackle from theory and methods and instead use their voice to resist and criticize what we take for granted.
Historical analyses exploring the origins and tracing the surge of entrepreneurial myths, fads, and fairy tales.
With the above description, we aim to provide some initial guidance as to the types of issues and papers we seek to attract. Yet, unlike a standard call for papers, we want to keep it open and invite prospective authors to help us shape this special issue, both in what entrepreneurial myths, fads and fairy tales should be tackled and how.
Virtual special issue (VSI) process in JBVI
This is a virtual special issue (VSI), which means that submitted papers will be handled as part of the normal submission flow of the journal, but will be designated as belonging to the special issue. Accepted articles will be published in the first available regular issue and will simultaneously appear in a special section dedicated to VSIs. In this way, the content of the special issue can be called up at any time, and it will be continuously expanding.
A VSI is NOT published in one batch but emerges over time as each contribution is published when ready. The implication of this VSI format is that it operates on an open deadline, making the publication process dynamic and timely.
Before submission, prospective authors are invited to discuss their paper idea or research design with JBVI editors. Questions and informal inquiries should be directed to:
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Regards,
Suwen Chen
Media Editor of the Journal of Business Venturing Insights
Post-doctoral Researcher
ESADE Business School
Barcelona, Spain
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