Damary Sikalieh

Towards a search for the meaning of entrepreneurship

Purpose – The primary purpose of this literature review paper is to address the question why it is difficult to define entrepreneurship despite the amount of research that has taken place in the field. In addition, the paper also aims to demonstrate how the struggle to define entrepreneurship has impacted on entrepreneurial careers in Kenya.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviewed literature on different approaches used by researchers in the struggle to define entrepreneurship. It focused mainly on the trait, behavioral and opportunity identification approaches. It critically examined the extent to which each approach has attempted to explain what entrepreneurship is, and suggests research questions, methodologies and techniques that will do justice to the complexity of defining entrepreneurship.Findings – The findings of the literature review showed that none of the approaches used to define entrepreneurship gives a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship. There is a lack of a common definition...