I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and its intersection with where people can discover their personal career journey. I’ve studied entrepreneurship programs in some of the most selective business schools like Wharton, UVA Darden, and Toronto Rotman. In that study, my colleague and I found that academic programs were beginning to break free from a narrowly defined approach to entrepreneurship. Our research showed that even in the classroom students could learn mold-breaking entrepreneurial methods, that tapped into more of our minds than simply scientific management.
I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and its intersection with where people can discover their personal career journey. I’ve studied entrepreneurship programs in some of the most selective business schools like Wharton, UVA Darden, and Toronto Rotman. In that study, my colleague and I found that academic programs were beginning to break free from a narrowly defined approach to entrepreneurship. Our research showed that even in the classroom students could learn mold-breaking entrepreneurial methods, that tapped into more of our minds than simply scientific management.
Jess Wilder
Mar 17, 2023
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Entrepreneurial ways of designing and designerly ways of entrepreneuring: Exploring the relationship between design thinking and effectuation theory
Klenner, N. F., Gemser, G., & Karpen, I. O. (2022). Entrepreneurial ways of designing and designerly ways of entrepreneuring: Exploring the relationship between design thinking and effectuation theory. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39(1), 66-94.
As expressed through the title, the researchers explored the relationship between design thinking and the cognitive principles of effectuation theory. Specifically, if this relationship does exist, and how it may manifest in real practice. The researchers believed them to be related given their shared philosophical roots and strong capabilities of enriching each other in practice.
For their methods, they merely conducted interviews with Australians who indicated via LinkedIn that they were in the entrepreneurial space and had a design background. They found that “entrepreneurial ways of designing” related to five different themes, including: 1) practicing human-centeredness helps unlock knowledge; 2) diversity helps to integrate different views; 3) visualization helps to control the trajectory of a venture; 4) experimentation helps to limit losses; and 5) (re)framing helps to adopt new perspectives which can help combat unforeseeable obstacles. The founders utilized many of these design thinking practices to execute effectuation. Additionally, many of the designer-founders interpreted effectuation through ideas and values that are common in the design profession, as listed below.
They gathered that the key themes related to “designerly ways of entrepreneuring” were: 1) engaging in creative activities instead of social activities; 2) achieving societal gains; 3) prioritizing perfection over speed; and 4) engaging in relational interactions rather than transactional ones.
There appears to be a reciprocal relationship between design thinking and effectuation. These findings can help to advance innovation, and the researchers argue that design thinking practices can even lead to more entrepreneurial activity.