Journal of business venturing 2023 year in review: The year of the whole-person entrepreneur

Abstract

This editorial reflects on a strong recurring theme noticed when evaluating the JBV publications of 2023 (Volume 38, Issues 1–6) for the annual best paper award. We refer to this theme as “whole-person entrepreneurship”, i.e., how does the who of entrepreneurship shape the what of entrepreneurship. It consists of articles that sought an understanding of entrepreneurs as children, mothers, spouses, religious believers, political beings, hobbyists, victims, and community-members. These articles revealed how an understanding of who “else” entrepreneurs are (other than some role or function) had much to teach about what entrepreneurs do as well as how, why, where, and when they do it. In the following editorial, we offer some evidence for this observation, provide explanation for how the field may have arrived at this “humanistic turn”, and articulate some ways in which it this humanistic turn might shape scholarship in entrepreneurship going forward.