How Hidden Language in Entrepreneurship Research Blinds Us to New Opportunities
Researchers studying entrepreneurship unknowingly adopt negative metaphors—like organizations as machines or organisms—that constrain how we think about business creation. By surfacing these hidden mental frameworks and proposing new ones, the work opens pathways to overlooked research questions and a more optimistic view of what companies can achieve.
Originaltitel: “The Odd Ones Out”: How Root Metaphors From Management Studies are Used in Mainstream Entrepreneurship Research
<p>Root metaphors shape and reflect thinking in a field of research. This article analyzes how root metaphors from management studies are used in mainstream entrepreneurship research. We show how some root metaphors have been adapted, particularly those with negative connotations. We use the adapted metaphors to identify blind spots, suggest areas of research largely overlooked, and provide alternative perspectives on familiar phenomena in mainstream entrepreneurship research. We identify a positive root metaphor—organizations as instruments of emancipation—and discuss how it contributes to the canon of root metaphors for organizations, hitherto characterized as neutral or negative.</p>