Ethnography in Entrepreneurship Research: Promises, Pitfalls, and Practical Pathways
We seek to make ethnography more intelligible and accessible to entrepreneurship scholars. We begin by defining ethnography and discussing the promises and challenges of conducting ethnographic studies in entrepreneurship. Next, we offer practical advice for entrepreneurship scholars interested in conducting ethnographic studies, including suggested standards for designing, executing, and writing ethnography. We conclude by outlining possibilities for future research, highlighting how ethnographic inquiry can facilitate theoretical and methodological contributions to the field of entrepreneurship.
Authors
- Marco Mismetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1006-9066)
- Eliana Crosina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0724-3625)
- Trenton A. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1419-573X)
- Alfredo De Massis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5552-6497)
- Michael G. Pratt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2917-1781)
Institutions
- Boston College (US)
- Schott (Germany) (DE)
- Stockholm School of Economics (SE)
- University of Luxembourg (LU)
- Business School Lausanne (CH)
- University of Chieti-Pescara (IT)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Babson College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251364820
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 11.04