Entrepreneurial behavior during industry emergence: An unconventional study of discovery and creation in the early PC industry

Abstract

Acting entrepreneurially in nascent industries is a complex endeavor characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. Nevertheless, entirely new industries do emerge, often as a direct result of entrepreneurial behavior. We extend and apply discovery and creation approaches to study entrepreneurial behavior during industry emergence by means of qualitative analysis of a film about the personal computer (PC) industry’s formative years. We find that discovery and creation behavior are fundamentally interrelated and share a common element: bricolage. Moreover, ideological activism is a major component of entrepreneurial behavior in a new industry’s formative years during both creation and discovery processes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords

• entrepreneurial behavior
• discovery
• creation
• qualitative methodology