Structured Entrepreneurship: Reframing Entrepreneurial Entry Beyond Independent Venture Creation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66203/directiva.01202Keywords:
structured entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial entry, ownership formation, capability transfer, entrepreneurial agency, franchisingAbstract
Entrepreneurship research has traditionally conceptualized entrepreneurial participation as a process centered on opportunity exploitation through independent venture creation. While this perspective has generated substantial theoretical advances, it provides limited explanation for entrepreneurial entry that occurs through organizationally enabled pathways such as franchising, social franchising, licensing systems, and other structured ownership arrangements. This article addresses this limitation by examining the theoretical bias toward independent venture formation and identifying key gaps related to entrepreneurial entry, organizational enablement, structure–agency relationships, and ownership access. Drawing on entrepreneurship theory, entrepreneurial entry literature, organizational learning, capability development, and franchising research, the article develops the concept of Structured Entrepreneurship as a distinct form of entrepreneurial participation occurring through pre-established organizational systems that provide business templates, capability transfer mechanisms, legitimacy structures, and ownership opportunities while preserving entrepreneurial agency. A multidimensional conceptual framework is proposed to explain how structured organizational systems facilitate entrepreneurial readiness, ownership formation, and entrepreneurial growth outcomes. The article contributes to entrepreneurship theory by broadening the conceptualization of entrepreneurial entry, integrating fragmented research streams, introducing ownership formation as a distinct entrepreneurial outcome, and establishing a foundation for future research on organizationally enabled pathways into entrepreneurship.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Novrizal Ahmad Fauzi (Author)
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