| Organizer: Per Davidsson, Queensland U. of Technology
Discussant: Sara Carter, U. of Strathclyde
Presenter: Masud Chand, Wichita State U. - Demographic Change: An Enabler of Entrepreneurial Opportunity
Presenter: Satish Nambisan, Case Western Reserve U. WSOM - Digital Technologies as Operand and Operant Resources in Entrepreneurship
Presenter: Dean Shepherd, U. of Notre Dame - Venturing in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters
Presenter: Wesley Sine, Cornell U. - Social Movements and Entrepreneurial Activity
Participant: Dara Szyliowicz, U. of the Pacific - Contested Regulatory Environments and the Effect on Entrepreneurial Activity |
| There is broad agreement that objective, external factors like technological, demographic, socio-economic, cultural and regulatory change open up room for the introduction of new economic activities. However, Shane and Venkataraman's (2000) notion of opportunities as pre-existing external conditions has arguably generated more philosophical debate than theoretical development regarding the specific ways in which external changes affect the establishment of viable new ventures. At the same time, there exist a small number of fascinating and theoretically promising studies of how individual instances of technological and regulatory change (Barreto, 2012; Shane, 2000, 2004), social movements (Hiatt, Sine, & Tolbert, 2009; Sine & Lee, 2009), and even natural disasters (Shepherd & Williams, 2014; Williams & Shepherd, 2016) provide a fertile ground for the creation of new firms and new industries. This PDW explores and showcases the potential of theorizing about aggregate level external changes that enable an array of new ventures. Possibly, such theorizing could apply across seemingly different types of external change, allowing for a broader theory of entrepreneurship enablement. Arguably, focusing on the roles and mechanisms of different types of external enablers can advance the understanding of the "non- agent" side of Shane & Venkataraman's (2000) "entrepreneurship nexus" without getting entangled in the contentious and elusive notion of objective, pre-existing entrepreneurial opportunities or submitting to exaggerated subjectivism and possibilism. It may therefore offer a promising complement to the current main frameworks for studying the factors that lead to the successful creation of new business ventures. |