Figure 4.3. A representation of the concept of entrepreneurial situation
Time as an essential dimension of the phenomenon
The individual/value creation dialogic evolves in a dynamic of change, and change requires time. Including change in our definition therefore implies considering the time necessary for the change process to produce lasting results and therefore requires considering the dynamic of change. In other words, an individual cannot be a born entrepreneur. Given our definition, to assert that individuals can be born entrepreneurs one would have to prove that some traits, present in early childhood, are necessary and sufficient conditions to become an entrepreneur. Yet, if being born into a family of entrepreneurs increases the chances of becoming one, not all entrepreneurs were born into such families. Individuals therefore do not start life with entrepreneurial qualities, but some of them will become entrepreneurs, for a more or less significant period of time. Schumpeter, at the time of writing (1934: 54), defended this point of view:
Because being an entrepreneur is not a profession and as a rule not a lasting condition, entrepreneurs do not form a social class in the technical sense, as, for example, landowners or capitalists or workmen do. Of course the entrepreneurial function will lead to certain class positions for successful entrepreneurs and their families
Including time in our definition leads us to explore another notion: the entrepreneurial situation (Fayolle 2003b), which is shown in
Figure 4.3.
An entrepreneurial situation characterises a subject/object dialogic in a dynamic of change. The dialogic exists and is stable: we are in a zone of conjunction. It does not exist, or disappears: we are in a zone of disjunction. This vision translates the strong conviction that the entrepreneurial phenomenon is both temporal and temporary. As