Is There Conceptual Convergence in Entrepreneurship Research? A Co-Citation Analysis of Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, 1981-2004

Scholars have often called for entrepreneurship research to achieve conceptual convergence, since convergence is seen as a sign of a discipline's maturity. This study examines the actual extent and nature of convergence in entrepreneurial research using co-citation analysis of conference papers from the Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research conference from 1981 to 2004. The study provides empirical evidence for thenature and levels of conceptual convergence, discusses the scholarly "conversations" over time, and shows how a method from the sociology of science can be adapted to follow the evolution of a field of study. The authors present three arguments (institutional arrangements, novelty-driven research, and competition-reduction growth) to suggest why a field like entrepreneurship may be unlikely to support high levels of convergence. Of greater interest may be the kinds of convergence that characterize the field. The study is based on co-citation relationships in the 20,184 references in the 960 articles in the Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research series published by the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference. The research investigates convergence in four successive periods. For each period, co-citation networks are presented to show the degree that most-cited references are cited with one another. The concepts of the networks are also identified to trace conceptual forces that have shaped the field. Findings indicate that there has been convergence in entrepreneurship research. Levels of convergence have been relatively low, and convergence has not been stable. In addition, it was found that the field has passed through cycles of convergence and divergence and draws from a wide array ofdisciplines. Absence of high convergence is not necessarily due to the field's level of maturity. There is little reason to expect high levels of convergence in a field such an entrepreneurship. (TNM)