TY - CHAP

T1 - Lost for words

T2 - Trying to investigate ‘place’ in entrepreneurship research

AU - Olphin, Cathy

AU - Larty, Joanne

AU - Tyfield, David

PY - 2023/11/10

Y1 - 2023/11/10

N2 - Despite widespread recognition of the importance of place in entrepreneurship research, much less attention has been paid to the methodological challenges that inquiries into place presents. Understanding the relationship between place and entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly important as focus turns to sustainable entrepreneurship and as policy makers turn to ‘place-based’ approaches to regional sustainability challenges. This chapter provides insight one researcher’s experiences engaging stakeholders in discussions about the relationship between a place-based university programme for sustainability and local sustainability agendas. The chapter reveals the struggles experienced by both researcher and participants in articulating what places and the local region means to both individuals and to the programme. The findings provide an important insight into how researchers studying place need to be cognisant of the limitations and flexibility of language when engaging research participants in discussing the relationship between place, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.

AB - Despite widespread recognition of the importance of place in entrepreneurship research, much less attention has been paid to the methodological challenges that inquiries into place presents. Understanding the relationship between place and entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly important as focus turns to sustainable entrepreneurship and as policy makers turn to ‘place-based’ approaches to regional sustainability challenges. This chapter provides insight one researcher’s experiences engaging stakeholders in discussions about the relationship between a place-based university programme for sustainability and local sustainability agendas. The chapter reveals the struggles experienced by both researcher and participants in articulating what places and the local region means to both individuals and to the programme. The findings provide an important insight into how researchers studying place need to be cognisant of the limitations and flexibility of language when engaging research participants in discussing the relationship between place, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.

KW - Place-based

KW - methodologies

KW - entrepreneurship

KW - sustainable development

KW - Stakeholder engagement

U2 - 10.1108/S2040-724620230000017009

DO - 10.1108/S2040-724620230000017009

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

SN - 9781802621860

T3 - Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research

SP - 127

EP - 147

BT - Nurturing Modalities of Inquiry in Entrepreneurship Research

A2 - Higgins, David

PB - Emerald Publishing Limited

CY - Bingley

ER -