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1 - Soft Knowledge and Entrepreneurship

from Part I - The Nature of Knowledge and Entrepreneurship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2024

Weiying Zhang
Translated by
Matthew Dale
Weiying Zhang
Affiliation:
Peking University, Beijing
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Summary

The first chapter primarily discusses entrepreneurship from the perspective of F.A. Hayek’s theories of knowledge, holding that indescribable “soft knowledge” is the most critical to entrepreneurs. Without understanding the importance of soft knowledge, it is impossible to understand entrepreneurship. Using the case of how F. Tudor, the American entrepreneur, created a mass market for ice, the author emphasizes the four points of entrepreneurship: alertness to profitable opportunities, imagination of the future, simplification of complexity, and perseverance and patience.

Keywords

Soft knowledgeentrepreneurshipuncertaintyalertnessimaginationColumbus’ Egg
Type
Chapter
Information
Re-Understanding Entrepreneurship
What It Is and Why It Matters
 , pp. 3 - 12
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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