Should I stay or should I go? Toward a Meaning-Based View of Entrepreneurial Action

This paper proposes a constructive theoretical shift in entrepreneurship research: from market- and resource-based explanations toward a meaning-based view of entrepreneurial action. We aim to deepen our understanding of why entrepreneurs persist in the face of uncertainty, failure, and unpredictability—conditions under which instrumental rewards often fail to sustain motivation. Specifically, we explore how personal meaning, intrinsic purpose, and existential engagement function as central drivers of entrepreneurial behavior over time. Our objective is to introduce a theoretical framework that accounts for the non-instrumental, narrative, and often deeply personal motivations that underlie entrepreneurial persistence. Building on the discussion about discovery theory and creation theory, we argue that meaning is not merely a reaction to entrepreneurial outcomes but is actively constructed through iterative engagement. By doing so, we respond to emerging calls in the literature to better capture the lived experience of entrepreneurs and to theorize entrepreneurial action as a process of self-construction and purpose enactment—one that often includes social responsibility, sustainability, and long-term impact as integral to meaning.