Researching Entrepreneurship using Phenomenological Methods

Phenomenology
as
a
Method
in

Entrepreneurship
Research

Lecture
at
the
University
of
Oslo,
Center
for
Entrepreneurship,
August
2014

Henrik
Berglund

Chalmers
University
of
Technology

Center
for
Business
InnovaFon

henber@chalmers.se

www.henrikberglund.com

@khberglund

Agenda

•  What is Entrepreneurship?
•  What is Phenomenology?
•  Conducting a Phenomenological Study
•  Sampling
•  Collecting data
•  Analyzing data
•  Presenting results

What
is
Entrepreneurship?

Not small business owner
Not founder of new firm
Related to innovation and developing new
products, services, organizations under
conditions of great uncertainty

Old
economists
knew
this

Joseph
Schumpeter

“What has been done already has the
sharp-edged reality of all things which
we have seen and experienced; the new
is only the figment of our imagination.
Carrying out a new plan and acting
according to a customary one are things
as different as making a road and
walking along it.”
(Schumpeter 1934: 85).

Frank
Knight

“The importance of uncertainty as a factor
interfering with the perfect workings of
competition in accordance with the laws of
pure theory necessitated an examination of
foundations of knowledge and conduct.
The most important result of this survey is
the emphatic contrast between knowledge as
the scientist and the logician of science uses
the term and the convictions or opinions
upon which conduct is based outside of
laboratory experiments, [which] have little
similarity with conclusions reached by
exhaustive analysis and accurate
measurement”
(Knight 1921: 231).

Current
pracFFoners
do
as
well

“a startup is an organization
designed to search for a
repeatable and scalable
business model”
Steve
Blank

“A startup is a human
institution designed to
create a new product or
service under conditions
of extreme uncertainty”
Eric
Ries

Personality traits, behaviors, cognitions or discursive
factors.
Traits research = largely abandoned
Behaviors = PSED etc. ignores individual. Focus
on decontextualized behavior.
Cognitions = entrepreneurial action is reduced
down to the sub-conscious
Discursive = entrepreneurial action is reduced
up to the social discourse
Common
ways
of
explaining

entrepreneurs
and
their
acFons

CogniFve
approaches
to
Entrepreneurship

“Entrepreneurial cognitions are the knowledge
structures people use to make assessments,
judgments or decisions involving opportunity
evaluation, venture creation and growth”
(Mitchell et al. 2002).

Discursive
approaches
to
Entrep.

“Rather than to see entrepreneurs as masters of their
own creation, entrepreneurial identities are formed in the
webs of actualized discourses”
(Steyaert 2004)

If entrepreneurship is about creating new things
under uncertain conditions, are there essential
aspects that research focusing on cognitive
mechanisms and discourses miss?
QuesFon

Researching Entrepreneurship using Phenomenological Methods

Table
from:

Berglund,
H.
(2015).
Between
Cogni9on
and
Discourse:

Phenomenology
and
the
Study
of
Entrepreneurship.

Interna9onal
Journal
of
Entrepreneurial
Behaviour
&
Research.

Special
Issue:
Embracing
Qualita9ve
Research
Philosophies
and
Metho

“The whole universe of science is built
upon the world as directly experienced,
and if we want to subject science itself
to rigorous scrutiny…we must begin by
reawakening the basic experience of
the world of which science is the
second-order expression.”
(Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1945, ix)
Phenomenology

“we must go back to the ‘forgotten man’ of the
social sciences, to the actor in the social world
whose doing and feeling lies at the bottom of
the whole system
…
the safeguarding of the subjective point of
view is the only sufficient guarantee that the
world of social reality will not be replaced by a
fictional non-existing world constructed by the
scientific observer.”
(Schütz 1964: 7-8)
Phenomenology

“Phenomenological approaches to
entrepreneurship seek, as far as
possible, an ‘insider’s perspective’ of
the phenomenon or episode under
investigation.
An important part of this ambition is to
remain sensitive to ambiguity,
complexity and indeterminacy as
entrepreneurs conceive of and work
through particular phenomena or
situations “
Berglund (2015)
Phenomenology
and
Entrepreneurship

Not only an academic method.
Learning how to better understand the lived
experiences of others is also extremely valuable for
entrepreneurs!
Cf. http://www.cindyalvarez.com/lean/10-things-ive-
learned-about-customer-development-2014
Phenomenology
and
Entrepreneurship

What is it like to live with chronic pain?
What are the various meanings of feeling “distant”
from a loved one?
How does it feel to move to a new school as a young
adolescent?
How does a woman’s sense of identity change during
the transition to motherhood?
RQs
suitable
for
phenomenological

inquiry

Phenomenology
in
Context

QualitaFve
and
QuanFtaFve
methods

How do entrepreneurs perceive opportunities?
Berglund, H. (2007). Opportunities as Existing and Created: A Study of Entrepreneurs in the
Swedish Mobile Internet Industry, Journal of Enterprising Culture. 15(3): 243-273.
http://henrikberglund.com/Opportunities.pdf
How do researchers turned entrepreneurs feel about
their professional identity?
Hellström, T., Hellström, C. and Berglund, H. (2002). The Innovating Self: Exploring Self Among a Group of
Technological Innovators, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(4): 267-286.
http://henrikberglund.com/TheInnovatingSelf.pdf
How is risk experienced and managed by technology
entrepreneurs?
Berglund, H. and Hellström, T. (2002). Enacting Risk in Independent Technological
Innovation, International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management. 3(2/3/4): 205-221.
http://henrikberglund.com/EnactingRisk.pdf
RQs
suitable
for
phenomenological

inquiry
in
entrepreneurship

How do founders experience co-founder conflicts?
What is it like for CEOs to project confidence in front of their
employees, when the startup is close to bankruptcy?
How do founders manage work life balance?
What is it like for founders to fire underperforming executives?
RQs
suitable
for
phenomenological

inquiry
in
entrepreneurship

ConducFng
a
Phenomenological
Study

with
illustraFons
from:

http://henrikberglund.com/EnactingRisk.pdf

Sampling

Purposive – identify a manageable and fairly
homogeneous group of individuals with whom the
investigated phenomenon is salient.
No given #, but depth over breadth.
No need for randomization.

Sampling
-‐
example

12 high-tech entrepreneurs distributed across
Sweden (information technologies, biotech or
advanced services).
They had all taken a key role in driving the process
of inventing, producing and marketing a
technological innovation.
Active in their technology-based ventures for at least
one year.

Data
collecFon

Key trade off – be flexible enough to accommodate the
richness of the participant’s experience, while staying focused
on the RQ and phenomenon.
Semi-structured interviews are the exemplary method. They
give respondents room to elaborate and also lets the
researcher follow respondents’ leads into novel and
unexpected areas.
Prepare an interview schedule and questions. But only use
the schedule as a guide.
Important task – establish rapport with subject. Make them
feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings.
Record and transcribe => captures detail, affords presence.

Data
collecFon
-‐
example

Semi-structured interviews on location in the firms.
Average two hours per interview.
Two or three interviewers. One leading the interview, the
others taking detailed notes.
Initial discussions concerned the company and innovation in
general but gradually moved towards the issue of risk.
Risk was discussed very broadly as related to things like the
firm, the innovation and with regard to both the participant as
well as to the company and business environment.

Developing
an
Interview
Schedule
-‐

Example

Example taken from
Smith,
J.
A.,
&
Osborn,
M.
(2008).
Interpreta<ve

Phenomenological
Analysis.
In
J.
Smith,
Qualita<ve

Psychology:
A
Prac<cal
Guide
to
Research
Methods
(pp.
53-‐80).

London:
Sage.

Developing
an
Interview
Schedule

1)  Think about the broad range of issues you want your
interview to cover.
2)  Order topics appropriately. What is the most logical
order in which to address these issues or areas?
Which is the most sensitive area? Go from general to
specific.
3)  Think of appropriate questions related to each area.
4)  Think about possible probes and prompts.

Example
interview
schedule:

paFent’s
experience
of
renal
dialysis

A.  Dialysis
1)  Could you give me a brief history of your kidney
problem from when it started to your beginning
dialysis?
2)  Could you describe what happens in dialysis, in your
own words?
3)  What do you do when you are having dialysis?
4)  How do you feel when you are dialysing?
prompt: physically, emotionally, mentally.
5)  What do you think about?
6)  How do you feel about having dialysis?
prompt: some people/relief from previous illness/
a bind.

Example:

paFent’s
experience
of
renal
dialysis

A.  Dialysis
7)  How does dialysis/kidney disease affect your everyday
life?
prompt: work, interests, relationships.
8)  If you had to describe what the dialysis machine means
to you, what would you say?
prompt: What words come to mind, what
images? Do you have a nickname for it?

Example:

paFent’s
experience
of
renal
dialysis

B. Identity
1)  How would you describe yourself as a person?
prompt: What sort of person are you? Most
important characteristics: happy, moody, nervy.
2)  Has having kidney disease and starting dialysis made
a difference to how you see yourself?
prompt: If so, how do you see yourself now as
different from before you started dialysis? How
would you say you have changed?
3)  What about compared to before you had kidney
disease?
4)  What about the way other people see you?
prompt: members of your family, friends?
changed?

Example:

paFent’s
experience
of
renal
dialysis

C. Coping
1)  What does the term ‘illness’ mean to you? How do
you define it?
2)  How much do you think about your own physical
health?
3)  Do you see yourself as being ill?
prompt: always, sometimes? Would you say
you were an ill person?
4)  On a day-to-day basis, how do you deal with having
kidney disease (the illness)?
prompt: do you have particular strategies for
helping you? ways of coping, practical, mental.
5)  Do you think about the future much?

Structure
for
interview
schedule

A.  Theme
1)  Question
prompt
2)  Question
prompt
B.  Theme
1)  Question
2)  Question
C.  Theme
1)  Question
2)  Question

Interview
Fps
and
examples

Be
prepared
to
go
oﬀ
script

If
users
get
worked
up
–
don’t
stay
on
script,

but
follow
their
lead
and
drill
down!

Emo9on
=
Importance!

Don’t
talk

You
should
be
talking
as
F]le
as
possible!

Don’t
fear
”uncomfortable
silence”

(let
them
break
it).

80/20
is
a
good
raFo
to
aim
for.

Ask
brief
prompts
and
follow-‐ups

(remember,
they

should
be
takning)

That
sounds
interes<ng…

Tell
me
more!

When
was
the
last
<me
that
happened?

Can
you
give
an
example?

What
do
you
mean
by
that?

Can
you
explain
that
a
liUle
more?

How
do
you
feel
about
that?

Don’t
assume
things

Bad:
You
hate
conflicts
with
your
co-‐founder!

Good:
How
do
you
feel
about
co-‐founder
conflict?

Even
BeRer:
What
was
it
like
the
last
Fme
you
had
a
conflict
with

your
co-‐founder?

Write
up
results
a.s.a.p.

Write
upp
results
and

reﬂecFons

immediately
aeer

the
interview!

Data
analysis

The interview is transcribed verbatim.
The transcript is read and re-read a number of times in order
to establish familiarity with the case.
As you read, feel free to write down reflections in the margin.

Data
analysis

After case familiarity is reached, the interview transcript is
read line by line and broken down into discrete parts, not
according to syntactic rules such as sentences but with
respect to visible changes in meaning, i.e. meaning units
(MUs).
Each MU is then associated with a tentative descriptive
concept and broken out of the text.

Data
analysis
-‐
example

Data
analysis

When the whole text has been broken down in this way, start
from the beginning and cut the first MU out of the original
document and pasted into a new document together with a
tentative category heading.
Continue with the remaining document. Each MU is either put
in an existing category or allowed to create its own new
category.
This process will generate a great number of categories and
during the process some categories which are found to be
similar will be merged and others will be split up until all MUs
had been clustered into categories that capture specific
homogeneous aspects of what was said by the participants.

Data
analysis

01. Human capital risk
02. (Risk mangement through) opportunistic adaptation
03. Missing the ”business time slot”
04. Driving partnership processes
05. Managing (or creating) risks through partnerships
06. Uniqeness and product competition
07. Risk learning (for the capital market and for the entrepreneur)
08. Positive risktaking and self-efficacy
09. Perception of venture immaturity (lack of substance)
10. Venture incrementalism
11. Force majeure (unexpected events outside of control)
12. Changes in dominant risk logic (sub-category to 07?)
13. Affecting perception of riskyness
14. Lack of time to evaluate decisions
15. Matching partnerships to venture pace
16. The venture as a test-case
17. Affecting human capital
18. External innovation audit
19. Market risk
20. Financing for corporate autonomy
21. Technological prowess (using the strength of the technology)
22. ”First mover” risk
23. Risk administration (dealing with the expected)
24. Opportunity scanning, market pull
25. Piggy-backing
26. Network activation
27. Creating momentum
28. Abundance of slack and lack of coordination

Data
analysis

The categories and their interrelationships are then focused
on in more detail with similar themes being clustered into
factors and overarching super-factors.

Data
analysis
–
integraFng
mulFple

cases

When categories and higher-order factors have been
developed for all individual cases, the individual cases are
compared.
Here you will again allow new categories and higher-order
factors to develop.
Inclusion in the composit results is not determined by
frequency. Richness of particular passages, importance to
making sense of the whole etc. are also important when
deciding what to include.

Results

The results section is a natural extension of the analysis
process and contains further interpretive elements.
To accomplish a clear distinction between the participants and
the researchers, the participants’ accounts can be presented
using direct quotes.
The style of such a results presentation is shown next. This
results section shows how the factor “Creating and sustaining
autonomy” is described using the categories “External
innovation audits”, “Technological prowess”, “Piggybacking”
and “Creation of momentum”.

Results

Box
4.1

Crea9ng
and
sustaining
autonomy

Several of the interviewed innovators found it useful to utilise different kinds of external innovation
audits in order to assure innovative integrity of the venture. One way in which an interviewee
achieved this is given in the following quote: “I tried to get my academic colleagues to shoot down
the idea on several occasions, but it withstood their attempts. That way I ﬁgured the technological
risk was accounted for.” Another, more externally oriented version was that: “The most important
thing is not to get the product out on the market in a certain space of time, but rather to get an
external actor to validate the concept by showing an interest in that particular technology.”
Technological prowess is a version of the previous category, where the innovator uses the strength of
the technology to achieve autonomy. One example of this was: “The idea is like a shotgun; it’s so
versatile that it can be adapted to new applications, if the initially chosen ones for some reason
wouldn’t work. These additional exits help minimising the risks.” On the administrative/ﬁnancial
side we have found piggybacking to be the rule rather than the exception. Piggybacking is clearly a
commonplace informal strategy for furthering the autonomy of the venture, e.g.: “Too little and too
dedicated money is another risk. We took money budgeted by S (public utility) for machine
purchases and used part of it for developing the innovation. […] It’s easier to obtain forgiveness than
permission.” The last category under this general factor relates to the creation of momentum for
purposes of getting into and staying in the race as an autonomous player. One innovator addressed
this phenomenon directly and stated that: “In a short period of time we have met numerous VC,
recruited personnel, made 350 presentations and presented at eight trade-fairs. This has kept the
wheels spinning […] one keeps up the momentum.”

•  What is Entrepreneurship?
•  What is Phenomenology?
•  Conducting a Phenomenological Study
•  Sampling
•  Collecting data
•  Analyzing data
•  Presenting results
Tack!

Researching Entrepreneurship using Phenomenological Methods

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