Philosophical Reflexivity and Entrepreneurship Research

6Critical realism as a supporting philosophy for entrepreneurship and small business studies

John Kitching

Introduction

Philosophy of science issues are under-appreciated in entrepreneurship and small business (ESB) research (Kenworthy & McMullen, 2014). Occasional calls are made for researchers to provide a stronger philosophical footing for studies but few heed them (Grant & Perren, 2002). The inference might easily be drawn that philosophical standpoints are arbitrary or of little consequence in ESB studies. Yet ESB researchers – like all other social investigators – necessarily make assumptions about the nature of the world they study (ontology) and how it can be known (epistemology) (Bhaskar, 1979; Fleetwood, 2005); the sum total of these ...