Théories de l’imbrication et rationalité entrepreneuriale en milieux contraints

Abstract

This chapter offers a comprehensive theoretical framework for interpreting field data. It articulates embeddedness theory, governance approaches, and management style analysis to conceptualize entrepreneurship as a “total social fact,” embedded in networks, institutions, and power relations. The discussion of bounded rationality underscores that entrepreneurial decisions are not based on optimal calculation, but rather on trade-offs under constraints, where uncertainty, vulnerability, and resource scarcity guide choices. The chapter conceptualizes empowerment as a relational and gradual process, fueled by learning, experimentation, and recognition. Finally, it demonstrates how these tools illuminate the plurality of observed trajectories: improvising, persisting, circumventing, cooperating, and generating value in unstable environments.