Entrepreneurship and Networked Collaboration; Synergetic Innovation, Knowledge and Uncertainty

Abstract

This conceptual paper examines the nature of entrepreneurship in innovation processes in time of crisis. Crisis is a time of heightened uncertainty, manifested as increased ambiguity about what knowledge is available yet necessary for innovation. It is argued here that connecting this diverse knowledge is essential for innovation and that this is a key entrepreneurial process. Whilst this point is established in the literature, there is perhaps a gap in understanding how such knowledge is entrepreneurially applied. In systems-based views of innovation there seems to be an assumption that knowledge synthesis just happens as a natural occurrence. Reviewing and synthesising disparate literatures, this paper argues that stocks of knowledge are not, in themselves, sufficient to produce innovation. Instead, entrepreneurial agency is required to collaborate, connect and to combine these knowledge stocks to produce innovation. The paper contributes to understanding and theory by demonstrating how and why this ‘social’ connecting is a critical element of the entrepreneurial role and a crucial part of innovation.

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