Effectuation: Control the Future with the Entrepreneurial Method uri icon

Open Access

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Peer Reviewed

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Abstract

  • Entrepreneurship is a core process in business innovation. In fact, entrepreneurship and innovation are two sides of the same coin and both create value for society and for the individuals involved. The ingredients for successful value creation are not part of the genetic makeup of super entrepreneurs like Richard Branson of Virgin Group or Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook but instead they comprise a method that anyone can learn. The cookbook for the entrepreneurial method provides useful patterns of entrepreneurial thinking and acting employed by successful entrepreneurs to develop innovative products and business models in the midst of uncertainty. And innovation does not stop once a new business is founded. Established enterprises can be revitalized through innovation and the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities. This chapter presents the elements of the entrepreneurial method “effectuation” and identifies ways in which start-ups and managers in large and small enterprises can learn from experienced entrepreneurs how to control an uncertain future, instead of predicting it.