Towards Integration: Understanding Entrepreneurship through Frameworks

Abstract

While the area of entrepreneurship has grown dramatically in recent years, both in terms of courses taught and the volume of research undertaken, the field has historically relied heavily on other disciplines for much of its content. More recently, a body of core content has emerged within the field of entrepreneurship, although in a somewhat disjointed fashion. This article attempts to integrate this content into a series of frameworks. The frameworks themselves are not presented as comprehensive, instead demonstrating a useful approach for teaching and conducting research on some of the more salient topics within the field. An integrative ‘framework of frameworks’ is also proposed. This integrative perspective is presented as the potential foundation for a theory of entrepreneurship. The application of the frameworks perspective in a variety of contexts is examined.