Bounding Uncertainty:The Uses of Analogical Abduction in Entrepreneurship

Conceptualizing entrepreneurship as problem-solving has shed light on how problems are solved through entrepreneurial ventures. This approach presupposes that problems objectively exist, an assumption that is valid for the world of Knightian risk, in which categorization is possible. In the current study, we adopt the ontological stance of Knightian uncertainty, in which a priori categories cannot be assumed, and therefore problems do not objectively exist. We posit that in the world of Knightian uncertainty entrepreneurs who perceive certain situations as unsatisfactory but remediable engage in problematization which yields problem statements. These problem statements are operationalized to form the basis of entrepreneurial action aimed at remedying dissatisfaction. We submit that to problematize, entrepreneurs engage in analogical abduction, which allows them to develop problem statements by treating target domains replete with Knightian uncertainty as if they were similar to familiar source domains. Such conjectures are selected based on the likeness of relevant attributes between the source and target domains, aid entrepreneurs in bounding uncertainty, and guide entrepreneurial action. Entrepreneurs adopt positive feedback of entrepreneurial action as a rule to guide future action under similar circumstances, while negative feedback leads them to recalibrate problem statements and modify further action. We illustrate this process using the empirical vignette of Starbucks

Knowledge Sharing Research: Bringing Context Back In

In response to the calls for more context-aware theorizing, in this essay we review the empirical research on individual knowledge sharing behavior in organizations, with a specific focus on the context in which employees share knowledge. We build on the “Who? / Where? / Why? / What?” framework to “flesh out” the contexts of the empirical studies on individual knowledge sharing published in top-level journals. Mapping the researched contexts, we indicate several biases of the literature as well as point to under-investigated spaces, suggesting theoretical dimensions, their contrasts, and new empirical settings that are missing from the major stream of knowledge sharing studies. We also find that context has been scarcely accounted for in the existing literature, discuss the reasons for it, show how accounting for context can be used to re-interpret some contradictions in existing literature, and suggest some ways to move forward

Hypocrates is a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor for (pseudo)hypohalous acids and their derivatives.

The lack of tools to monitor the dynamics of (pseudo)hypohalous acids in live cells and tissues hinders a better understanding of inflammatory processes. Here we present a fluorescent genetically encoded biosensor, Hypocrates, for the visualization of (pseudo)hypohalous acids and their derivatives. Hypocrates consists of a circularly permuted yellow fluorescent protein integrated into the structure of the transcription repressor NemR from Escherichia coli. We show that Hypocrates is ratiometric, reversible, and responds to its analytes in the 10 Ms range. Solving the Hypocrates X-ray structure provided insights into its sensing mechanism, allowing determination of the spatial organization in this circularly permuted fluorescent protein-based redox probe. We exemplify its applicability by imaging hypohalous stress in bacteria phagocytosed by primary neutrophils. Finally, we demonstrate that Hypocrates can be utilized in combination with HyPerRed for the simultaneous visualization of (pseudo)hypohalous acids and hydrogen peroxide dynamics in a zebrafish tail fin injury model