Conveners
Orla Byrne, University College Dublin
William B. Gartner, Babson College + Linnaeus University
Bruce Teague, Eastern Washington University
Malin Tillmar, Linnaeus University
Neil Thompson, VU University Amsterdam
Karen Verduijn, VU University Amsterdam

 

Key Note Speakers and Panelists
Daniel Hjorth, Copenhagen Business School
Bengt Johannisson, Linnaeus University
Elisabet Carine Ljunggren, Nord University
Chris Steyaert, University of St. Gallen

 

 

About the Conference

 

The third version of this conference is aimed at entrepreneurship scholars and PhD candidates who are using or interested in practice theory-led approaches for understanding entrepreneurial phenomena. PhD candidates and junior faculty looking to learn about practice theory and entrepreneurship as well as make connections and get feedback from top international scholars on their work will find the consortium highly valuable. Researchers that wish to further develop their empirical and conceptual articles using practice theories and methodologies are encouraged to apply.

 

Introduction
Building on the first (February 2016 at VU Amsterdam) and second (February 2017 at University College Dublin Quinn School of Business) entrepreneurship-as-practice workshops, this conference and PhD consortium continues to explore what the ‘practice turn’ (Nicolini, 2009, 2012; Schatzki, 2002, 2005; Schatzki, Knorr-Cetina & von Savigny, 2001), may bring to understanding entrepreneurship. Initiated by such calls by Steyaert (2007) and Johannisson (2011), the entrepreneurship-as-practice movement is now gaining traction, witnessed by such contributions as De Clercq & Voronov (2009), Terjesen & Elam (2009); Goss et al. (2011), and Keating et al. (2013).

While classic “philosophers of practice” (e.g. Heidegger, 1929/1996; Wittgenstein, 1953, 1969, 1982, 1980) and “theorists of practice” (e.g. Bourdieu, 1990; Giddens, 1976) have emphasized the habitual, repetitive and taken-for-granted role of human practices, practice researchers today focus on the coordination of actions that reflect people’s understandings of “how to get things done” in complex settings (Nicolini, 2012; Orlikowski, 2002). Taking a practice approach makes it possible to conceive of the entrepreneurial process ‘as a culturally shaped achievement, the result of engaging with and transforming social practices of doing and living’ (Steyaert, 2007).

Practice theory relies on the general principle of consequentiality: the relationship between situated action and the social structure in which the action takes place (Feldman & Orlikowski, 2011). Practices can be seen as bundled activity patterns that constitute daily life, thus they are non-individualistic phenomena since ‘the organization of a practice is not a collection of properties of individual people [but] is a feature of the practice, expressed in the open-ended set of actions that compose the practice’ (Schatzki et al., 2001).

We see practice theory as a means to advance entrepreneurship research in several ways. First, entrepreneurship as practice continues to move away from understanding ‘who’ an entrepreneur is towards the importance of activity, performance, and work in the creation and perpetuation of entrepreneurial practice. Second, practice theory helps us understand the critical role of the body and material objects in organizing entrepreneurship. Third, the practice perspective helps us perceive and better understand the reproduction of entrepreneurial practices across time, space, and individuals.
Emphasizing the intricate socially situated practices of entrepreneurs comes with considerable theoretical and methodological implications. These will be addressed during the PhD consortium and research conference.
This conference aims at developing empirical and conceptual papers around the ‘practice turn’ taking place in entrepreneurship studies. To do so, we have developed a PhD and Junior Faculty Consortium and a Research Conference to advance understanding of entrepreneurship-as-practice, foster network ties, facilitate collaborative writing relationships, and build a strong community of practice scholars.

PhD and Junior Faculty Consortium
The PhD and Junior Faculty Consortium will be held on 16-17th April, followed by attendance at the Research Conference on 18-19th, concluding with a half-day seminar on 20th April. Location of the PhD and Junior Faculty Consortium is the beautiful castle Teleborgs Slott in Vaxjö (http://www.teleborgsslott.com/). The consortium is organized by the conveners and Linnaeus University, who will be offering 7.5 ECTS for PhD students who complete the course work and papers. Interested PhD candidates and Junior Faculty should submit an abstract (of less than 1,000 words) by December 15, 2017 to William B. Gartner (william.gartner@lnu.se). As space is limited at the consortium, authors will be notified of acceptance or otherwise by December 20th, 2017. Full working papers for accepted students will be due February 15, 2018. The course fee is 4,000 SEK (VAT not included). Some scholarships for attendance will be made available. The course fee includes a welcome reception on Sunday, April 15, lunches, coffee and snacks (fika) on all days of the consortium AND all meals, etc. during the conference.

Participants will be required to complete a mandatory reading list:

 

EAP 3 Doctoral & Junior Faculty Consortium Reading List

 

Required Reading:

 

Books:

• Nicolini, D. (2012). Practice Theory, Work and Organization: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. Oxford. (Preparation should emphasize chapters 1, 3, 6, 7, and 9)

• Gherardi, S. (2012). How to conduct a practice-based study: Problems and methods. Edward Elgar Publishing.

 

Articles:

• Feldman, M.S. and Orlikowski, W.J. (2011). Theorizing practice and practicing theory. Organization Science, 22(5), pp.1240-1253.

• Johannisson, B. (2011). Towards a practice theory of entrepreneuring. Small Business Economics. 36, 135-150.

• Keating, A., Geiger, S. & McLoughlin, D. (2014). Riding the practice waves: Social resourcing practices during new venture development. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 38 (5), 1207-1235.

• McKeever, E., Anderson, A., & Jack, S. (2014). Entrepreneurship and mutuality: social capital in processes and practices. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(5-6), 453-477.

• Pret, T., Shaw, E., & Drakopoulou Dodd, S. (2016). Painting the full picture: The conversion of economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital. International Small Business Journal, 34(8), 1004-1027.

• Schatzki, T. R. (2006). On organizations as they happen. Organization studies, 27(12), 1863-1873.

• Schatzki, T. R. (2012). "A primer on practices." Practice-based education: Perspectives and strategies: 13-26

• Steyaert, C. (2007). ‘Entrepreneuring’ as a conceptual attractor? A review of process theories in 20 years of entrepreneurship studies. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 19(6), 453-477

• Terjesen, S. and Elam, A. (2009), Transnational entrepreneurs' venture internationalization strategies: A practice theory approach. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 33, 1093–1120.

• (Optional) Supplemental Reading and Watching:

• Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford University Press.

• De Clercq, D., & Voronov, M. (2009). Toward a practice perspective of entrepreneurship entrepreneurial legitimacy as habitus. International Small Business Journal, 27(4), 395-419.

• Giddens, A. (1976). New Rules of Sociological Method. Hutchinson, London

• Heidegger, M. (1929/1996). Being and Time. Albany: SUNY Press.

• Orlikowski, W.J. (2002). Knowing in practice: Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing. Organization Science, 13(3), pp.249-273.

• Schatzki, T. R. (1987). Overdue analysis of Bourdieu's theory of practice. Inquiry, 30(1-2), 113-135.

• Schatzki, T. R. (1988). The nature of social reality. Philosophy and phenomenological research, 49(2), 239-260.

• Schatzki, T. R., Knorr-Cetina, K., & von Savigny, E. (Eds.). (2001). The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory. Psychology Press. London

 

In addition, a short video that introduces practice theory and methods by Elizabeth Shove – can be found at: Time stamp start-end minute 5:00 – 13: 30 http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/shove/lecture/filmedlecture.htm

And the videos of Davide Nicolini (EAP1 in Amsterdam), and Theodore Schatzki (EAP2 in Dublin) are available on the EAP website: https://www.entrepreneurshipaspractice.com

The consortium will be organized around lectures by practice scholars, open-ended discussions, paper pitches, practice-based methods training, networking opportunities, a group writing project, paper development, and mentoring. Topics that will be covered in the consortium will include:

 

• • How should we define and use “practice” (e.g., practice theory, practice studies, entrepreneurship as practice) and its related concepts in the context of entrepreneurship?

• • How can we apply various strands of practice theory (such as situated learning theory, cultural and historical activity theory (CHAT), praxeology, and ethno-methodology) to study entrepreneurship phenomenon, while still keeping conceptual coherence?

• • What role does the human body and objects play in entrepreneurial activity? Why does this matter?

• • How does practice approach refocus the ‘outcomes’ of entrepreneurial action?

• • How is a practice perspective related to but different from entrepreneurial effectuation?

• • How can a practice approach link, or go beyond, micro and macro perspectives in entrepreneurship?

• • What implications does practice theory have for entrepreneurial creativity?

• • What methodological considerations come with a non-individualist notion of entrepreneurial practice?

• Participants in the PhD and Junior Faculty Consortium will generate two papers as a part of the course work. The first paper will be the individual paper that will be discussed during the research conference (as noted above, an abstract (of less than 1,000 words) is due by December 15, 2017 to William B. Gartner (william.gartner@lnu.se) and a full working paper for accepted students will be due February 15, 2018. The second paper will be a group paper that will be assigned during the consortium.

​

Research Conference
The conference will be held on 18-19th April 2018 (with a welcome reception the evening of April 17). The conference will offer keynote lectures, opportunities for networking, pitch presentations and round-table collaborative paper development sessions. The location of the conference will be the main campus of Linnaeus University.

Scholars wishing to present during the conference must submit an abstract to William B. Gartner (william.gartner@lnu.se) by December 15, 2017. The abstract should not exceed more than 1,000 words. Authors will be notified of acceptance or otherwise by December 20th, 2017. Full papers should be submitted by February 15th, 2018. All accepted papers will be pitched to all conference participants on the first day of the conference. During the second day of the conference, papers will be assigned to small working groups for developmental input and feedback. The fee for the conference is 2,500 SEK (VAT not included). The conference fee includes a welcome reception on Tuesday, April 17, a conference dinner on Wednesday, April 18, and, lunches, coffee and snacks (fika) on the two days of the conference.

The conference will take place over two full days (from 9.00 to 17.00) on April 18 and 19th (with a welcome reception on the evening of April 17) on the Linnaeus University campus.

Address any queries about the conference or PhD consortium to:
william.gartner@lnu.se

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research Special Issue on “Entrepreneurship as Practice”
The conference will serve as an opportunity for scholars to receive developmental feedback on papers that could be submitted to a special issue on “Entrepreneurship as Practice” for the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research. Details on the Call for Papers for this special issue will be posted by November 1, 2017 on the journal’s web site (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journal/ijebr) and the deadline for submissions will be October 1, 2018.

References

• Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford University Press.

• De Clercq, D., & Voronov, M. (2009). Toward a practice perspective of entrepreneurship entrepreneurial legitimacy as habitus. International Small Business Journal, 27(4), 395-419.

• Feldman, M.S. and Orlikowski, W.J. (2011). Theorizing practice and practicing theory. Organization Science, 22(5), pp.1240-1253.

• Giddens, A. (1976). New Rules of Sociological Method. Hutchinson, London

• Goss, D., Jones, R., Latham, J., & Betta, M. (2011). Power as practice: A micro-sociological analysis of the dynamics of emancipatory entrepreneurship. Organization Studies, 32(2), 211–229.

• Heidegger, M. (1929/1996). Being and Time. Albany: SUNY Press.

• Johannisson, B. (2011). Towards a practice theory of entrepreneuring. Small Business Economics. 36, 135-150.

• Keating, A., Geiger, S. & McLoughlin, D. (2014). Riding the practice waves: Social resourcing practices during new venture development. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 38 (5), 1207-1235.

• Nicolini, D. (2009) Zooming in and out: Studying practices by switching theoretical lenses and trailing connections", Organization Studies, Vol.30, No.12, 1391-1418

• Nicolini, D. (2012). Practice Theory, Work and Organization: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

• Orlikowski, W.J. (2002). Knowing in practice: Enacting a collective capability in distributed organizing. Organization Science, 13(3), pp.249-273.

• Schatzki, T. R. (2002). The site of the social: A philosophical account of the constitution of social life and change, Penn State Press.

• Schatzki, T. R. (2005). Peripheral vision: The sites of organizations. Organization Studies 26(3): 465-484.

• Schatzki, T. R., Knorr-Cetina, K., & von Savigny, E. (Eds.). (2001). The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory. Psychology Press. London.

• Steyaert, C. (2007). ‘Entrepreneuring’ as a conceptual attractor? A review of process theories in 20 years of entrepreneurship studies. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 19(6), 453-477

• Terjesen, S. and Elam, A. (2009), Transnational entrepreneurs' venture internationalization strategies: A practice theory approach. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 33, 1093–1120.

• Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Blackwell.

• Wittgenstein, L. (1969). On certainty. Oxford: Blackwell.

• Wittgenstein, L. (1981). Zettel (2nd. Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

• Wittgenstein, L. (1980). Culture and value (Amended 2nd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.