Richard Blundel

Critical Realism: A Suitable Vehicle for Entrepreneurship Research?

This chapter provides an outline of the origins and principal features of critical realist social theory, followed by a focused review of the methodological implications of this philosophical perspective. The primary purpose of the chapter is to consider why critical realism might offer a suitable ‘vehicle’ for qualitative research in the field of entrepreneurship, and to assess its explanatory potential with reference to recent empirical studies informed by a realist perspective. The concluding section is a reflection on the issues faced by researchers who are considering critical realism against alternative approaches, together with suggestions for further reading.

Exploring growth in vertical inter‐firm relationships: small‐medium firms supplying multiple food retailers

This paper presents new insights into the growth of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in vertical inter‐firm relationships. It adopts a processual and resource‐based perspective and focuses on the experiences of fresh produce businesses which have achieved high rates of growth while supplying the UK’s large multiple food retailers. The context in which these suppliers operate is shown to be a complex and dynamic supply chain, characterised by increasing structural concentration and close vertical linkages. The primary research investigates how certain SMEs have prospered in an apparently “hostile” environment. It includes a programme of matched‐depth interviews, conducted across the retailer‐supplier dyad. Content analysis of transcripts reveals six factors which appear to be strongly associated with the formation of “successful” relationships. In subsequent interactions, securing “developmental” supplier status appears to open the way to a self‐reinforcing cycle of Penrosian learning and reinvestment. This cycle contributes to growth in the supplier firm. The authors argue that, with certain crucial caveats, growth‐oriented SMEs can develop mutually beneficial relationships with much larger “customer” firms. The paper concludes by drawing out wider policy implications and indicating how this contextualised approach might be used in other contexts.

Contrasting local responses to globalization: the case of volume yacht manufacturing in Europe

This paper is concerned with contrasting the impact of globalization pressures on industrial development in particular localities, with specific reference to the relative performance of regional clusters. A multiple case study approach is adopted in order to examine the decline of volume yacht manufacturing in a long-established English cluster and to compare its responses to globalization with those of major competitors located in other parts of Europe. The case study opens with an analysis of three sector-specific drivers of globalization that have exercised a decisive impact on the sector over the last three decades. In the main analytical section, two alternative approaches to the analysis of clusters (Porter 1990, 2000, Best 2001) are applied to the empirical material. The application of Porters ‘diamond’ framework suggests some distinctive performance-related characteristics, while Bests ‘cluster dynamics’ model provides a more sophisticated explanation of the differential responses and outcomes identified in the English case. The implications for policy are that cluster-level outcomes may be predicated on the internal dynamics of their respective ‘entrepreneurial firms’, and that regional development initiatives would benefit from conceptual and empirical studies that can better address the historical and spatial complexity of the underlying processes.

Evaluating Enterprise Policy Interventions in Africa: A Critical Review of Ghanaian Small Business Support Services

Enterprise policies play a central role in economic development across frica, but more effective, evidence‐based policy evaluation is required to inform future interventions. The paper makes two contributions: (1) to filling this gap in our understanding and (2) to developing more rigorous and appropriate evaluation methodologies. The issues are examined through an empirical study into nonuse of small business support services in hana. Survey evidence from 253 owner–managers is complemented by interviews with owner–managers and service providers. The paper concludes that policy evaluation in ub‐aharan frica would benefit from multimethod approaches to address limitations in official data sets and to facilitate more in‐depth understanding.

Smes and environmental responsibility: A policy perspective.

Environmental policies to promote environmentally sustainable economic activity have often concentrated on larger firms. However, increasing attention is being paid to the role of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurial actors. In this paper, we examine how policy tools are being used to improve the environmental performance of SMEs and to redirect entrepreneurial energies in more environmentally benign directions. The empirical section adopts a case‐based comparative method to examine four instances of policymaking, drawn from different countries and industry sectors. The paper argues that while some interventions have proved effective in their own terms, better integrated approaches are required to address todays complex and deep‐rooted sustainability challenges. The paper identifies several policy implications including the need to: clarify the purpose of any intervention, address potential interactions and trade‐offs; select appropriate tools based on informed reviews of the options; remain sensitive to context‐specific factors; and devise effective vehicles for the promotion and governance of entrepreneurial initiatives.

Towards a ‘Long View’: Historical Perspectives on the Scaling and Replication of Social Ventures

Abstract Social ventures are now widely regarded as playing an essential role in addressing persistent and pervasive societal challenges. This insight has prompted an active search for readily scaleable and replicable business models. However, relatively little consideration has been given to the longer term growth and performance of these hybrid organizational forms. This paper examines how historically informed research might enhance our understanding of growth processes. It considers the conceptualization of organizational growth in social ventures and the relevance of prevailing constructs. The explanatory potential of ‘long-view’ approaches is examined by applying three constructs (opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial adjustment and institutional structure) in a comparative historical analysis of two British social ventures.

Re-imagining the growth process: (co)-evolving metaphorical representations of entrepreneurial growth

We investigate the role and influence of the biological metaphor ‘growth’ in studies of organizations, specifically in entrepreneurial settings. We argue that we need to reconsider metaphorical expressions of growth processes in entrepreneurship studies in order to better understand growth in the light of contemporary challenges, such as environmental concerns. Our argument is developed in two stages: first, we review the role of metaphor in organization and entrepreneurship studies. Second, we reflect critically on three conceptualizations of growth that have drawn on biological metaphors: the growing organism, natural selection and co-evolution. We find the metaphor of co-evolution heuristically valuable but under-used and in need of further refinement. We propose three characteristics of the co-evolutionary metaphor that might enrich our understanding of entrepreneurial growth: relational epistemology, collectivity and multidimensionality. Through this we provide a conceptual means of reconciling an economic impetus for entrepreneurial growth with an environmental imperative for sustainability.

Penrose, critical realism and the evolution of business knowledge: A methodological reappraisal

Abstract This article examines the challenge of modifying orthodox ‘case study’ approaches to the growth of firms and interorganizational networks in the light of recent work on the evolution of business knowledge.We suggest that a modified Penrosian framework, combined with a qualified application of critical realist practices, could contribute to more coherent and insightful theorizing in this area.We begin with a critique of Edith Penrose’s legacy, including her efforts to initiate a historically informed tradition of social scientific research on the growth of the firm.We go on to consider the explanatory potential of critical realism, when adopted as a methodological adjunct to neo-Penrosian theorizing. Our main proposition is illustrated through a superfactual reinterpretation of certain aspects of the historical case study of the Rover Company (1896–1982) conducted by Richard Whipp and Peter Clark (1986).

Improvisation and entrepreneurial bricolage versus rationalisation: a case-based analysis of contrasting responses to economic instability in the UK brass musical instruments industry

In periods of economic crisis and instability, the response of many business organisations is to try and adapt to prevailing market conditions. This typically results in a pattern of retrenchment and rationalisation designed to cut costs. Responses of this kind may be justifiable and, to varying degrees, effective at a firm-level. However, their wider repercussions can include the worsening of a pre-existing economic downturn (e.g. large- scale redundancies affecting local communities and cancelled orders affecting other firms in the supply chain). When faced with an economic crisis, some firms adopt a more entrepreneurial approach, in which the key features are strategic reappraisal and various forms of product, process and organisational innovation (Filippetti and Archibugi, 2011). While large corporations are capable of this kind of transformation, there is an increasing recognition of the important part that smaller entrepreneurial firms can play in innovation (Christensen, 1997) including the reinvigoration of industry sectors through open innovation (Chesbrough, 2003) and contributing to the reconfiguration of geographic clusters (Best, 2001). Studies of long wave cycles have shown that periods of economic crisis and depression can be important for innovation: they can disrupt established industry structures and cause entrepreneurs to see markets and customers in a different light so that they re-think products and services (Barras, 2009). However, comparatively little attention has been directed to considering just how entrepreneurial individuals in smaller firms mobilise the resources necessary for innovation and cope with risk in the unfavourable and demanding conditions that prevail in times of economic crisis. This exploratory study seeks to address this research gap. It does so through an in-depth historical case study of the contrasting responses of two firms, in the same industry sector but operating on different scales with differing modes of production (i.e. artisanal v. mechanised), to the greatest economic crisis of the 20th century, namely, the Great Depression of the 1930s (Crafts and Fearon, 2011). The two firms, which served the same markets and were affected by the same external forces, followed very different paths: the larger one engaged in a series of acquisitions as a means of rationalising production and cutting costs, while the much smaller firm that operated on a very modest scale chose to innovate. This innovation involved developing a product that was new to Britain at the time, namely the sousaphone, an unorthodox musical instrument that hitherto had only been produced in the United States. As well as comparing the activities of the two firms operating on different scales, the study examines why the owners of this small firm decided to innovate in the very difficult trading conditions that prevailed at the time, and exactly how they were able to acquire and mobilise the resources needed to pursue this path. In particular, the study focuses on the use of improvisation (Kamoche, Cunha and Cunha, 2002), that is to say ‘impromptu action’ (Dickson, 1997: p. 37), and the closely related concept of entrepreneurial ‘bricolage’ (Baker and Nelson, 2005; Phillips and Tracey, 2007) or ‘making do’ (Eisenberg, 1990: p. 154), as a means of accessing the resources required. The findings suggest that while large-scale enterprises often concluded that a strategy of retrenchment and rationalisation was the appropriate response to economic crisis, firms operating on a smaller scale viewed the situation differently and responded to the altered trading conditions in more positive, creative and entrepreneurial ways. As a result they were able to identify opportunities associated with new and expanding markets with scope for innovation. The study provides insights into the ways in which these small firms were able to identify and access the necessary resources for their innovations. It also sheds new light on the improvisatory nature of their entrepreneurial response, and its capacity to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to growth in a recessionary environment (e.g. adapting existing resources to new uses, forming unconventional subcontracting arrangements and turning existing skills to new uses). The paper concludes with a summary of the key findings and their implications for future research and practice.

Entrepreneurial Social Responsibility: Scoping the Territory

In this paper we scope the relationship between entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Both entrepreneurship and CSR have attracted increased interest in the early 21st century and been positioned as offering solutions to economic, social and environmental challenges. Previous attempts to determine causal influence between the two concepts have been inconclusive. We clarify the difficult to define concepts of entrepreneurship and CSR by focusing on entrepreneurial process and positive social change in particular. We identify three distinct approaches to this relationship: ‘mainstream’, ‘counter-cultural/critical’ and ‘reformist’ and locate our contribution in relation to these streams of ideas. Building on the CSR definition of Aguilera et al. (2007), we define Entrepreneurial Social Responsibility (‘ESR’) as the dynamic consideration of, and response to, issues beyond the narrow economic, technical and legal requirements of the firm to accomplish social and environmental benefits along with traditional economic gains. We argue that the territory of ESR can best be explored through the use of a multi-level analysis approach to researching the entrepreneurial process. ESR is important both conceptually and in policy terms and is an advancement because it occupies an intellectual space neither fully revealed nor addressed in existing CSR or entrepreneurship research. In moving towards a response to the research question: In what circumstances is positive social contribution an outcome of the entrepreneurial process?, we present conceptual model of ESR which can accommodate a multi-level perspective. We enhance the CSR field by integrating a dynamic approach into the concept, and augment the entrepreneurship field by opening up to more systematic study, the social and environmental qualities of a social phenomenon that is often interpreted within an exclusively economic and instrumental frame of reference.