Making sense out of almost nothing: entrepreneurial sensemaking and innovation in a Chinese biotechnology startup

Abstract

Until recently, studies of sensemaking typically focused on seasoned practitioners, and there is limited understanding about how sensemaking takes place in start-ups that are run by novice entrepreneurs. Drawing on a case study of a biotechnology firm in China, we investigate how three novice entrepreneurs were able to transcend liabilities of newness and smallness by drawing on guidance from internal and external stakeholders. We develop a grounded model of entrepreneurial sensemaking through three distinctive phases of collective improvisation, collaborative selection, and iterative refinements.

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