Agenda

09 Apr 2025 10:00

BEH Workshop | Conceptual History in Entrepreneurship Research

Campus San Giobbe - Aula Saraceno | Online

This seminar is part of the workshop series "BEH - Business & Economic History - BEH," organized in partnership with the Department of Historical and Geographic and the Ancient World (DiSSGeA) at the University of Padua.

Conceptual History in Entrepreneurship Research
With Christina Lubinski, Copenhagen Business School
In conversation with: Camilla FerriNicolai Jepsen e Morten Tinning, Copenhagen Business School

Zoom Meeting
ID: 820 3086 7543
Passcode: jhxcq8

The event is aimed at professors, students, PhD students from the Universities of Venice and Padua, and the interested public.

Abstract
The paper explores the value of conceptual history for entrepreneurship research, emphasizing how concepts evolve over time and serve as both markers and makers of change. While theory-driven research typically prioritizes conceptual clarity (Suddaby, 2010), this often strips constructs of their culturally embedded meanings and ignores how they evolve with lived experiences (Hargadon & Wadhwani, 2023). Conceptual history is an approach and a method that tackles this challenge. To illustrate conceptual history empirically, the paper traces the evolution of the concept of hype. Initially used in early 20th-century criminal subcultures to distinguish themselves from mainstream respectability, hype was later adopted by mid-century countercultures and, ultimately, by late 20th-century startup culture to contrast corporate norms (Wadhwani & Lubinski, 2025). The conceptual history of hype highlights key features of the historical evolution of entrepreneurship culture, including its emphasis on revolutionary futures, rule-breaking, and deviant authenticity. By historicizing entrepreneurial concepts, this paper contributes to critiques of entrepreneurship ideology (Caliskan & Lounsbury, 2022), revealing both its productive and destructive dimensions. It underscores the importance of understanding how vernacular concepts shape entrepreneurial thought and practice.

 

Language

The event will be held in English

Organized by

Venice School of Management

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