Creativity in a theory of entrepreneurship
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
ISSN: 2045-2101
Article publication date: 24 September 2019
Issue publication date: 18 November 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to integrate a detailed theory of perception and action with a theory of entrepreneurship. It considers how new knowledge is developed by entrepreneurs and how the level of creativity is regulated by a competitive system. It also shows how new knowledge may create value for the innovator as well as for other entrepreneurs in the system.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory builds on existing literature on creativity and entrepreneurship. It considers how transformation of mental technologies occurs at the individual and system levels, and how this transformation influences value creation.
Findings
Under a competitive system, the level of creativity is regulated by the need for new ways of doing things. Periods of crisis wherein old means of coordination begin to fail often precipitate an increase in creativity, whereas a lack of crisis often allows the system to settle to a stable equilibrium with lower levels of creativity.
Research limitations/implications
The combination of methodology and methods facilitates a description of discrete building blocks that guide perception and enable creativity. This framing enables consideration of how a changing set of knowledge interacts with a system of prices.
Practical implications
Policy makers must take care not to encumber markets with costs that unnecessarily constrain creativity, as experimentation makes the economic system robust to shocks.
Social implications
This work provides a framing of cognition that allows for a linking of agent understanding that permits explicit description of coordination between agents. It relates perception and ends of the individual to constraints enforced by the social system.
Originality/value
As far as the author is concerned, no other work ties together a robust framing of cognition with computational simulation of market processes. This research deepens understanding in multiple fields, most prominently for agent-based modeling and entrepreneurship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author owe gratitude to many for their supporting the development of ideas present in this article. An incomplete list includes Richard Wagner, Peter Boettke, Robert Axtell, Abigail Deveraux, Cameron Harwick, Alex Salter, the participants at the Texas Tech Free Market Institute’s Research Workshop, Pavel Kuchar, Erwin Dekker, my wife Ingrid, and the late Ion Sterpan. All errors herein are my own.
Citation
Caton, J.L. (2019), "Creativity in a theory of entrepreneurship", Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 442-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-D-18-00084
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited