Entrepreneurship Theory

Most of the literature that talks about entrepreneurship argue about the definition of the phenomena. A general concept of entrepreneurship is insufficient to provide pertinent and permissible definitions of entrepreneurship in academia and practice. Thus, Bull and Willard (1993) provided combined dimensional events that intend to stop disputations on the definition of entrepreneurship. After over twenty years of Bull and Willard’s (1993) concept, this paper examines the combinations of conditions– (a) Task-related motivated, (b) expertise, (c) expectation of personal gain, and (d) supportive environment – and its relevance in the current practice of entrepreneurship using the lens of chaos theory.

Further Development of Entrepreneurship Theory

            Bull and Willard (1993) aimed to discontinue furthering the development of entrepreneurship theory by using combinations of conditions. However, years passed after the original publication, and scholars continuously discuss entrepreneurship theory development (Hall et al., 2010; Naudé, 2011; Wartiovaara et al., 2019) with deviation on the topic. Social entrepreneurship (Huybrechts & Nicholls, 2012; Smith-Hunter, 2008) and innovation entrepreneurship (Schmitz et al., 2017) are a few of the many added infrastructures to the original concept of entrepreneurship. This expansion is parallel to the original thought of Bull and Willard (1993) in using the chaos theory in halting further development of the theory. The chaos theory provided a rationalization for concept expansion to respond to the business environment's dynamic settings (Smith & Paquette, 2010; Taneja, 2013). Bull and Willard (1993) identified combinations of conditions based on chaos theory’s framework to address the discontinuity of further theory development.

Task-Related Motivation

            First on Bull and Willard’s (1993) condition refers to an individual's motivation, which sets up the tone for the venture. This condition or event is the common denominator to all risk-taker individuals who intend to start a venture. This characteristic is a prerequisite of being an entrepreneur (van der Zwan et al., 2016). Stewart and Roth (2007) compared managers and entrepreneurs, which indicated that entrepreneurs showed higher success motivation than managers. This study indicates the relevance of Bull and Willard’s (1993) concept on the definition of entrepreneurship theory. No matter how dynamic the business world can be, as long as the entrepreneur has the motivation to overcome it, they will become successful.

Expertise

            In a business endeavor, knowledge is an essential factor that needs to be combined with motivation. Sarasvathy and Read (2015) recognized that expertise is required in an entrepreneurial venture. Additionally, expertise is obtained through time and practice (Sarasyathy & Read, 2015). For example, Henry Ford utilized his expertise to become successful in the automobile industries where his theories and concepts are used in modern systems (Alizon et al., 2008). Expertise is undeniably essential as a condition for the definition of entrepreneurship. This condition is depicted in all various entrepreneurs that the business world has known –Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and many other contemporary inventors and entrepreneurs. Expertise comes with continuous education and learning adjusted to the dynamic settings of the business world.

The expectation of Personal Gain

            Bull and Willard (1993) implicitly refer to personal gain as the entrepreneurs' ability to see the future. Entrepreneurs are always looking for opportunities to showcase innovative solutions to what is missing in the world. Johnson (2011) acknowledged that innovation could be interchangeably used to describe entrepreneurship. This condition correlates to an individual's motive for inventing a novel that can be recognized as a start of a new venture. The invention of Airbnb influenced tourism sectors and changed their perspective of hospitality management (Guttentag, 2019). Chaos theory is demonstrated as entrepreneurs find solutions to current issues in the world. The expected returns of personal gains are depicted in recognizing the success of the venture taken.

Supportive Environment

            Lastly, the current environment determines whether an idea and expertise are in the right timing and situation. Bull and Willard (1993) recognized the different variables in this condition that needed to be considered, such as market forces, local and government policies, and life cycles to be successful. This condition exhibits chaos theory that urges entrepreneurs to be adaptable to the current environmental situations. Entrepreneurs try multiple times to be successful, and they are equipped with motivation and knowledge on how to create new ideas and products in emerging developments in business model design (Trimi & Berbegal-Mirabent, 2012).

Conclusion

            Bull and Willard’s (1993) goal of fixing the entrepreneurship’s definition is based on the combinations of conditions such as (a) motivation, (b) expertise, (c) expectations, and (d) environment. These conditions are depicted its relevance to the chaos theory of management, which determined the common denominator to all entrepreneurs. The literature years after Bull and Willard's (1993) concept showed the continuity of further development of the theory. However, current literature demonstrated the relevance of Bull and Willard’s (1993) combined conditions in various entrepreneurship concepts such as innovation entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Although the definition is an ongoing work, the general notion of entrepreneurship is presented as malleable to dynamic business settings, as depicted in chaos theory.

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