Examining the contributions of social science to entrepreneurship: the cases of Cosmopolitanism and Orientalism

Entrepreneurship is largely seen as an emerging field, and its theoretical development has proven over time to be gradual but inconclusive, leaving the field permeable in terms of its boundaries. The field has seen a host of emerging social science approaches, such as the use of ‘grand narratives’, typically in the form of the theory of capitals applied in the study of various aspects of the entrepreneurial process, amongst others, in garnering resources for addressing entrepreneurial opportunities. The chapter focuses on two particular examples, i.e., orientalism and cosmopolitanism as context and disposition for entrepreneurship. According to Peter Chua, a limited number of social researchers have reflected on and analysed orientalism as embedded in the widely used philosophies of Western theorists. From an epistemological standpoint, cosmopolitanism as a social science–informed approach signifies the need to re-evaluate issues of agency and process within a specific context when enterprise development is considered.