Entrepreneurship as a Science of the Artificial

Posted: 6 Sep 2009

See all articles by Saras D. Sarasvathy

Saras D. Sarasvathy

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2003

Abstract

This essay connects four key ideas from Herbert Simon’s 'Sciences of the Artificial' to recent research on entrepreneurial expertise: (1) natural laws constrain but do not dictate our designs; (2) we should seize every opportunity to avoid the use of prediction in design; (3) locality and contingency govern the sciences of the artificial; and, (4) near-decomposability is an essential feature of enduring designs. The essay is based on a series of conversations and emails with Simon about the empirical findings of my doctoral dissertation that involved a protocol analysis study of expert founder-entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

Sarasvathy, Saras D., Entrepreneurship as a Science of the Artificial (2003). Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2003, Batten Institute Research Paper No. 2003 S 1, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1442948

Saras D. Sarasvathy (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.effectuation.org

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