Commitment to an Emerging Organizational Field: An Enactment Theory

Abstract

This article builds an enactment theory to explain the continuing commitment of entrepreneurs to an emerging organizational field like energy efficiency and renewable energy, which is widely seen as being in the interests of society. The authors propose that when such a field is constrained by such factors as low energy prices and a lack of government support, the actions that entrepreneurs take to educate stakeholders drives the entrepreneurs' continuing commitment to the field. These actions are supported by the entrepreneurs' perceptions of the field's attractiveness, their beliefs that they produce superior products and services, and their beliefs regarding the likelihood of disruptive exogeneous change. © 2010 SAGE Publications.