“That’s Interesting!” in Entrepreneurship Research^*

* The authors would like to thank several scholars who, in different ways, have commented on and contributed to the development of this article. The article has benefited significantly from suggestions of the two anonymous reviewers of this journal. Thanks also to: Hermann Frank, Vienna University School of Economics and Business Administration, Austria; Matthias Fink, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Jonas Gabrielsson, Halmstad University, Sweden; Gustav Hägg, Lund University, Sweden; Giancarlo Lauto, University of Udine, Italy; and Reinard Prügl, Zeppelin University, Germany. A first draft of the article was presented at the Babson‐Kauffman Entrepreneurship Research Conference at Oklahoma University, Oklahoma, in 2017, and we are grateful for the constructive comments received during the presentation.

Abstract

In order for a work on entrepreneurship to be published and attract attention, it must be interesting. The aims of this study are to understand why entrepreneurship scholars perceive entrepreneurship studies as interesting, what they consider interesting, and how they distinguish themselves from management scholars in their perception of interestingness. The study is based on responses from 915 entrepreneurship scholars. Our results contribute to empirically nuancing the dimensions that scholars perceive as interesting, and also to identifying groups of entrepreneurship scholars that perceive interestingness in different ways, and to demonstrating the similarities and differences between entrepreneurship and management scholars.

Notes

* The authors would like to thank several scholars who, in different ways, have commented on and contributed to the development of this article. The article has benefited significantly from suggestions of the two anonymous reviewers of this journal. Thanks also to: Hermann Frank, Vienna University School of Economics and Business Administration, Austria; Matthias Fink, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Jonas Gabrielsson, Halmstad University, Sweden; Gustav Hägg, Lund University, Sweden; Giancarlo Lauto, University of Udine, Italy; and Reinard Prügl, Zeppelin University, Germany. A first draft of the article was presented at the Babson‐Kauffman Entrepreneurship Research Conference at Oklahoma University, Oklahoma, in 2017, and we are grateful for the constructive comments received during the presentation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hans Landström

Hans Landström is with the Sten K. Johnson Centre for Entrepreneurship, Lund University School of Economics and Management.

Gouya Harirchi

Gouya Harirchi is with the Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics (DEAMS), University of Trieste, and OIS Center, Ludwig Boltzmann Geselschaft.