Sankaran Venkataraman

Bio: Sankaran Venkataraman is an academic researcher from University of Virginia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & Stakeholder. The author has an hindex of 32, co-authored 75 publications receiving 19911 citations. Previous affiliations of Sankaran Venkataraman include Indian Institute of Management Calcutta & University of Pennsylvania.

The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research

Abstract: To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.

The Distinctive Domain of Entrepreneurship Research

Abstract: In this chapter an argument is made for a clear articulation for the exclusive domain of entrepreneurship research. To date, the entrepreneurship academic community has neglected to define clear boundaries as to what distinguishes entrepreneurship scholarship from other closely related fields. It is argued here that the well-worn constructs of firm performance or success and failure of the individual entrepreneur do not provide the field the clarity of purpose and unique domain it desires. Similarly, the context of small business is not what will bring singular clarity for the field. Instead, this chapter argues that entrepreneurship research should be focused upon understanding how opportunities to bring future goods and services into existence occur.

Three Views of Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Abstract: For almost 50 years now, following the trail of issues raised by economists such as Hayek, Schumpeter, Kirzner, and Arrow, researchers have studied the economics of technological change and the problem of allocation of resources for invention (invention being the production of information). The bulk of this literature simply assumes that new technical information will either be traded as a commodity or become embodied in products and services (hereafter called “economic goods”), without addressing any specific mechanisms or processes for the transformation of new information into new economic goods or new economic entities (such as new firms and new markets). It is inside this gap that we begin our quest for the concept of an “entrepreneurial opportunity.”

Dynamic capabilities and strategic management

Abstract: The dynamic capabilities framework analyzes the sources and methods of wealth creation and capture by private enterprise firms operating in environments of rapid technological change. The competitive advantage of firms is seen as resting on distinctive processes (ways of coordinating and combining), shaped by the firm's (specific) asset positions (such as the firm's portfolio of difftcult-to- trade knowledge assets and complementary assets), and the evolution path(s) it has aflopted or inherited. The importance of path dependencies is amplified where conditions of increasing retums exist. Whether and how a firm's competitive advantage is eroded depends on the stability of market demand, and the ease of replicability (expanding intemally) and imitatability (replication by competitors). If correct, the framework suggests that private wealth creation in regimes of rapid technological change depends in large measure on honing intemal technological, organizational, and managerial processes inside the firm. In short, identifying new opportunities and organizing effectively and efficiently to embrace them are generally more fundamental to private wealth creation than is strategizing, if by strategizing one means engaging in business conduct that keeps competitors off balance, raises rival's costs, and excludes new entrants. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research

Abstract: To date, the phenomenon of entrepreneurship has lacked a conceptual framework. In this note we draw upon previous research conducted in the different social science disciplines and applied fields of business to create a conceptual framework for the field. With this framework we explain a set of empirical phenomena and predict a set of outcomes not explained or predicted by conceptual frameworks already in existence in other fields.

Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension

Abstract: Researchers have used the absorptive capacity construct to explain various organizational phenomena. In this article we review the literature to identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct. Building upon the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, we distinguish between a firm's potential and realized capacity. We then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firm's potential and realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.