Knightian Uncertainty in Entrepreneurship Research: Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract

While Knightian uncertainty (KU) has been central to entrepreneurship research for over half a century, there remains a lack of consensus on how to define, apply, and learn from the concept. We argue that, despite the apparent fragmentation of views and theories, there has been significant and valuable knowledge accumulation around KU that can inform entrepreneurship research. Reviewing 238 articles published over the past 60 years across seven disciplines, we find that (1) there is considerable congruity in how KU is discussed within, but not across, disciplines and at micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis; (2) cross-fertilization and integration of interdisciplinary insights exist but are insufficiently explored by entrepreneurship researchers; (3) progress in understanding and analyzing uncertainty may come primarily from multi-level, interdisciplinary analysis; and (4) entrepreneurship researchers may benefit from engaging the definitions and theories of uncertainty from neighboring fields like economics and decision science. We suggest a variety of research questions to unite different disciplines across levels of analysis to create a more integrated research agenda for KU in entrepreneurship studies.