Re-imagining the growth process: (co)-evolving metaphorical representations of entrepreneurial growth
研究了生物学隐喻“增长”在创业研究中的作用，批判性反思了三种基于生物隐喻的增长概念，提出共同演化隐喻的三个特征以丰富对创业增长的理解，并调和经济增长与可持续性。
We investigate the role and influence of the biological metaphor 'growth' in studies of organizations, specifically in entrepreneurial settings. We argue that we need to reconsider metaphorical expressions of growth processes in entrepreneurship studies in order to better understand growth in the light of contemporary challenges, such as environmental concerns. Our argument is developed in two stages: first, we review the role of metaphor in organization and entrepreneurship studies. Second, we reflect critically on three conceptualizations of growth that have drawn on biological metaphors: the growing organism, natural selection and co-evolution. We find the metaphor of co-evolution heuristically valuable but under-used and in need of further refinement. We propose three characteristics of the co-evolutionary metaphor that might enrich our understanding of entrepreneurial growth: relational epistemology, collectivity and multidimensionality. Through this we provide a conceptual means of reconciling an economic impetus for entrepreneurial growth with an environmental imperative for sustainability.