This paper presents arguments toward developing a theory of entrepreneurial differentiation. The comprehensive theory enables the distinction between entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial firms by providing a clear framework based on the idea of differentiation. In developing our framework, we relied heavily on previous research and prior theoretical developments as well as established understanding of entrepreneurial phenomena. Our theory delineates eight specific dimensions of differentiation we utilize to determine and assess the entrepreneurial profile of the firm. We argue that these eight dimensions work together to increase the overall amount of differentiation of the firm, and therefore, entrepreneurial nature of the firm. We then present formal propositions of the Theory of Entrepreneurial Differentiation as we relate our eight dimensions of differentiation to entrepreneurial orientation, management objectives, and organizational outcomes with specific relationships between each of these constructs. The resulting framework provides a comprehensive explanation of how entrepreneurial firms compete. We then assess how these theoretical conceptualizations impact existing research and how future research might proceed given these ideas.

本文提出了发展企业家差异化理论的观点。全面理论通过提供基于差异化思想的清晰框架，从而区分了企业家型企业和非企业家型企业。在开发我们的框架时，我们严重依赖以前的研究和理论上的发展以及对企业家现象的既定认识。我们的理论描述了八个不同的差异化维度，我们可以利用它们来确定和评估公司的企业形象。我们认为，这八个维度共同作用以增加公司差异化的整体数量，从而提高公司的企业家性。然后，当我们将差异化的八个维度与企业家取向，管理目标和组织成果相关联时，我们提出了“企业家差异化理论”的正式命题，并在每种构造之间建立了特定的关系。由此产生的框架提供了关于创业公司如何竞争的全面解释。然后，我们评估这些理论概念化如何影响现有研究，以及在这些思想下未来的研究将如何进行。