Abstract:
This paper critically examines the traditional and contemporary approaches towards
conducting entrepreneurship research and emphasises the need for alternative
research frameworks for future entrepreneurship research. The paper considers the
implications of using different social theories to understand entrepreneurial issues at the
rural community level. It particularly discusses on how to adopt ‘Structuration theory’
(Giddens, 1979, 1984) as an alternative framework for future entrepreneurship
research. This proposed framework openly supports humanistic approaches to
researching such entrepreneurial issues and in the clear recognition of the existence of
multiple realities. It argues that proposed framework would expand the pluralist world of
entrepreneurship research and particularly capable to see insights of ‘power related
issues’ in establishing rural micro entrepreneurship, which is understandably difficult to
research in positivist standpoint. The paper finally demands future entrepreneurship
researchers to be more innovative and adopt alternative research frameworks within
multiple reality ontology, instead of concentrating only the traditional positivist tradition
of research within single ontology orientation.
