The needle of charisma and the threads of trust: Advancing effectuation theory's crazy quilt principle

Abstract

Effectuation theory posits that the accrual of disparate resources from various stakeholders is key to opening up transformational opportunities to the effectual venture. Here we aim to theoretically unravel the social exchange processes of the ‘effectual ask’—petitioning resource pre-commitments—pertaining to the so-called ‘crazy quilt’ principle. To do so, we introduce and integrate into effectuation theory's foundational mechanics key insights from social exchange theory (SET), which sees social interactions as mutually beneficial ‘exchanges.’ Revisiting a prior debate, we theorize on the different types of trust, how they distinctly influence the entrepreneurship process (particularly in obtaining resource pre-commitments), and how they are built over time. We also introduce charisma as a key factor in the trust-building process, distinguishing two types of charisma—causal and effectual—as individual-level mechanisms for enabling different types of stakeholder trust and commitment.