Increasing Returns and the Domain of Entrepreneurship Research

Abstract

The domain definition of entrepreneurship research is “in play” as the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division prepares to submit a revision to its 1995 Domain Statement; and as “inclusive” vs. “distinctive” adjectives characterize the debate. In this essay, I argue that the inclusiveness/distinctiveness question itself poses a false dilemma detrimental to the development of entrepreneurship research as a field of excellence, when seen as a domain of increasing vs. decreasing returns. To encourage balanced discussion, I analyze the current and proposed domain statements according to their implicit worldview, content, basis for boundary setting, and implications for resolving domain–boundary conflicts.