Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship : conceptual developments and empirical applications

Leitch, Claire Marie and Harrison, Richard (2016) Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship : conceptual developments and empirical applications. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. pp. 177-190. ISSN 0898-5626

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Abstract

This paper reviews the current status of research into entrepreneurial identity. Identities – individual and organisational – can potentially serve as powerful elements that both drive and are shaped by entrepreneurial actions. Identity is, of course, a complex construct with multidisciplinary roots and consequentially a range of conceptual meanings and theoretical roles associated with it. Building on a framework for identifying schools of thought in the social sciences, we highlight the need for more critical studies of entrepreneurial identity that recognise, first, that entrepreneurial identity is a dynamic and fluid rather than (relatively) fixed and unchanging feature, and second, that research attention should shift from the analysis of identity per se (the identity-as-entity position) to the identity work processes through which entrepreneurial identities are shaped and formed (the identity-as-process position). Following a summary of the key contributions of the five papers included in this Special Issue we conclude with some pointers for future research.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
Additional Information:
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Entrepreneurship and Regional Development on 20/01/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/08985626.2016.1155740
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2000/2002
Subjects:
?? entrepreneurial identityindividual identitysocial identityorganisational identityidentity workprocesseconomics and econometricsbusiness and international management ??
ID Code:
78386
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
10 May 2016 10:10
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
19 Feb 2024 00:36