Existing research has argued that entrepreneurs identification with their ideas is linked to their persistence, yet scholars have also noted that entrepreneurs ideas rarely survive exposure to stakeholder demands. As such it remains unclear how entrepreneurs remain persistent with their organizing efforts despite frequent changes to their ideas. To address this research gap, I take a grounded theory approach that relies on ethnographic observation, recurring and in-depth interviews, and document analysis. I find that entrepreneurs navigate stakeholder demands by engaging in both sensemaking and sensegiving processes, whereby they alter or pivot their entrepreneurial ideas. As such I develop a theory of pivoting within the context of nascent entrepreneurship, specifying the various types of pivots that get made as well as the consequences for each type. My findings will also contribute to practice by highlighting how entrepreneurs more effectively navigate stakeholder demands on their ideas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-05142012-155300 |
| Date | 22 May 2012 |
| Creators | Grimes, Matthew Glenn |
| Contributors | Elizabeth Lingo, Timothy Vogus, Bart Victor, Rangaraj Ramanujam |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-05142012-155300/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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