What If We Took Entrepreneurship Practice Seriously? Prescriptive Theorizing From Explanatory Models for Practical Implications

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · 2026 · Volume 50 · Issue 6

Abstract

Just because we undertake value-neutral research to explain an entrepreneurial phenomenon does not mean we cannot extend our work through engaging values to prescribe what entrepreneurs (and/or other focal actors) should do. In this editorial, we illustrate how scholars can generate and offer prescriptive theorizing. Specifically, scholars can generate practical implications by (a) focusing on a phenomenon-based problem; (b) identifying focal actors and values; (c) defining desired outcomes; (d) developing an implementation roadmap; (e) thinking about reflexivity and boundaries; and (f) generating testable prescriptions. We offer additional considerations about when and for whom this prescriptive theorizing is most appropriate.

Keywords

philosophy, manuscripts, general areas, psychology

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