Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research

2025/02/06 by Mikko Rönkkö, Markku Maula, Karl Wennberg · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/10422587251315654

Abstract

Configurational research has great promise in entrepreneurship. There are few universal laws or relationships that hold under all circumstances. More often, optimal entrepreneurial outcomes are contingent on many factors. Consequently, configurational analysis using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) has become increasingly popular. However, methodological research in sociology and political science has raised concerns about possible false positive findings produced by this method. In this editorial, we explore the potential and the common pitfalls of QCA in entrepreneurship research, as well as guidelines for its use.

Citations

• Theory Building From Cases: Opportunities And Challenges
• Qualitative Comparative Analysis and robust sufficiency
• The choice of control variables in empirical management research: How causal diagrams can inform the decision

Cited by

• The drivers of resemblance in presidential regimes: explaining the conversion of pre-electoral coalitions into coalition cabinets

Discussions

• "In short, QCA often finds complexity where none exists." This is a great new ETP editorial by my coauthor Mikko Rönkkö, Markku Maula, and Karl Wennberg, illustrating the massive false positives prob [bsky, 27 points, 2 comments]

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