This course is concerned with the intellectual roots of entrepreneurship research. Scientific knowledge is
cumulative in nature. Knowledge about the intellectual roots and history of the field provides an
important foundation, which makes it substantially easier to understand the current debates in
entrepreneurship and to contribute to these discussions.

On completion of the course, the students will be able to:

• Demonstrate mastery of the core ideas put forward in entrepreneurship “classics” in economics,

psychology, and sociology.

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of how entrepreneurship classics have

influenced current “conversations” in entrepreneurship research.

• Demonstrate the ability to understand, analyze and discuss classical contributions to

entrepreneurship research.

• Demonstrate the ability to trace and evaluate the influence of classics on contemporary

entrepreneurship research.

• Read and independently evaluate and analyze classical text as well as learned commentaries and modern works that implicitly or explicitly build on the “classics”.

The course is divided in three parts:
• The entrepreneur in economics
• The entrepreneur in sociology and psychology
• Modern classics
The first part deals with the work of Schumpeter and Kirzner because of their explicit presence in current
entrepreneurship research. But Entrepreneurship also has other foundations; in the second part we look at
sociological and psychological “classics”. In the third part, we revisit some “modern classics” from 1988-
1997 and discuss how older and more recent classics influence current entrepreneurship research.

Class sessions will be devoted to reviewing and critiquing the readings associated with each session and to
discussing the assignment submitted.
This course uses the three-step approach to learning: reading, writing, and discussing, with reflection and
learning throughout the process. Students are expected to read and reflect upon the assigned readings
prior to the session in which they will be discussed. As the goal of studying the readings is critical
reflection rather than memorizing of contents, students shall also hand in written reflections prior to each
session.

Undervisningen bedrivs på engelska.

Admitted to a doctoral programme in business administration, economics0, or a related subject of a
recognized business school or university.

Kursen bedöms med betygen Underkänd eller Godkänd.

The course examination consist of written hand-ins and active participation during seminars.
The course will be examined in the following way:
• Written assignments fulfill ILOs 1-5.
• Attendance and active participation in discussions fulfill ILOs 1-5.
The grades are ‘pass’ or ‘fail’

A course evaluation will be conducted at the end of the course.

Baumol, W. J. 1990. Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive and destructive. Journal of
Political Economy, 98(5): 893-921.
Davidsson, P. 2016. Researching Entrepreneurship: Conceptualization and Design, New
York: Springer.
Elliott (in Schumpter, 1934)
Gartner, W. B. 1988. "Who is an Entrepreneur?" is the wrong question. American Small
Business Journal, 12(4): 11-31.
Kirzner, I. M. 1973. Competition and Entrepreneurship. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago
Press.
McClelland, D. C. 1961. The Achieving Society. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.
Schumpeter, J. A. 1934. The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge: MA: Harvard
University Press.
Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of
research. Academy of management review, 25(1), 217-226.Swedberg, R. 1991.
Schumpeter: a biography: Princeton University Press Princeton, NJ.
Stuetzer, M., Obschonka, M., Audretsch, D. B., Wyrwich, M., Rentfrow, P. J., Coombes, M., ...
& Satchell, M. (2016). Industry structure, entrepreneurship, and culture: An empirical
analysis using historical coalfields. European Economic Review, 86, 52-72.
Wärneryd, K.-E. 1988. The psychology of innovative entrepreneurship. In: Raaij, W. F.,
Veldhoven, G. M., & Wärneryd, K. E. (Eds.). (1988). Handbook of economic
psychology. Netherlands: Kluwer.
Weber, M. 1930/2002. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and other writings:
Penguin.