Austrian economics and mainstream entrepreneurship: retrospect and prospect

Austrian economics and “mainstream” entrepreneurship research have evolved along largely parallel paths. Yet, beyond their common origins, there is little systematic evidence of the continued influence of the former on the trajectory of the latter. In this chapter, I draw on historical data and bibliometric analysis to address this gap. I document the common heritage of Austrian economics and mainstream entrepreneurship as well as their intellectual divergence throughout the late 20th century. I discuss the extent of Austrian influence, identifying relevant papers and revealing a positive trend in the cross-citation to Austrian field journals by papers in leading management and entrepreneurship journals. Finally, I offer my subjective assessment regarding future opportunities for Austrian contributions in mainstream entrepreneurship.