Breaking boundaries to creatively generate value : the role of resourcefulness in entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial resourcefulness is a concept that resonates with practitioners and scholars alike from a diverse set of theoretical and empirical backgrounds. Despite the prevalence and promise of this concept, the literature on entrepreneurial resourcefulness is fragmented and lacks cohesion in how it is labeled, conceptualized, measured, and deployed. In many cases, it appears that bringing resources to bear for entrepreneurial purposes is taken for granted, which limits theoretical development of if and how ventures emerge and grow. In this editorial, we explore the theoretical underpinnings of resourcefulness, offer a definition, and provide a roadmap for future scholarship. In addition, we introduce the six articles that comprise the Special Issue on entrepreneurial resourcefulness, discuss their contributions, and explore how they relate to our overall perspective on resources and resourcefulness. It is our hope that this Special Issue will mobilize additional scholarship to enhance our knowledge on resourcefulness, which we view as a fundamental part of entrepreneurship

Anchors aweigh: the sources, variety, and challenges of mission drift

The growing number of studies which reference the concept of mission drift imply that such drift is an undesirable strategic outcome related to inconsistent organizational action, yet beyond such references little is known about how mission drift occurs, how it impacts organizations, and how organizations should respond. Existing management theory more broadly offers initial albeit equivocal insight for understanding mission drift. On the one hand, prior studies have argued that inconsistent or divergent action can lead to weakened stakeholder commitment and reputational damage. On the other hand, scholars have suggested that because environments are complex and dynamic, such action is necessary for ensuring organizational adaptation and thus survival. In this study, we offer a theory of mission drift that unpacks its origin, clarifies its variety, and specifies how organizations might respond to external perceptions of mission drift. The resulting conceptual model addresses the aforementioned theoretical tension and offers novel insight into the relationship between organizational actions and identity

RISING FROM FAILURE, STAYING DOWN, OR MORE OF THE SAME? AN INDUCTIVE STUDY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL REENTRY

Drawing on a multi-year qualitative study, we explore the phenomenon of reentry into venturing after a failure. The primary discovery of this study is a pathway by which interactions of failure attributions and emotions lead to effective entrepreneurial reentry in the aftermath of a failure. Specifically, we discover three trajectories of reentry: separation (reentry with minimal modifications), reinforcement (no reentry), and metamorphosis (reentry with substantial modifications). We describe the differences between the trajectories and detail three dimensions of primary discovery: negative emotions are not necessarily an obstacle to reentry, as previously thought; perceived controllability is critical in explaining reentry; and the evolution of attributional/emotional responses over time as a result of the interplay between these concepts is central to explaining effective reentry