Still asking the wrong questions: Framing entrepreneurship in a collective theoretical perspective through the historical case of the invention of the tampon

The psychological discipline has contributed to an increasingly individualized focus on the entrepreneur. When psychology entered the field of entrepreneurship the main focus was on mapping the different personality traits of the entrepreneur following McClelland, leading researchers astray by setting up a chase for the heffalump entrepreneur. There has however been a break with this approach. Most commonly referenced is William B. Gartner who presents a critique of the field of entrepreneurship, wherein he questions the general investigative trend of charting the psychological make-up of the entrepreneur (Gartner, 1988). Building on this critique I will use the presentation to show, through the use of a historical case, how much we need new conceptualizations in order to highlight the collective development of ideas, which would also open for a discussion about the values guiding entrepreneurship research